Speak Out 02/20/04

Tolls and meters

I MOVED here 20 years ago. I was surprised you didn't have to pay a toll to get on the interstate, and downtown Cape Girardeau didn't have parking meters. Why not put some in and make Cape some money?

Sports boosters

WITH ALL this talk about having to charge students to participate in sports, I am confused. Doesn't Central High School have a booster club? The schools I attended had a booster club. This was a club of parents, alumni and others who supported the athletic departments. They would have fund raisers like car washes, dinners and drawings to raise funds to pay for equipment and bus trips for the athletes. It is my experience that if a poor kid really excels in sports, the boosters would find a way for this kid to participate, even going as far as finding carpools for him or her to get to practice and the games.

Time to pay up

WAKE UP, Cape Girardeau. You get what you pay for. The city is about to cut out quite a few services in an effort to deal with the budget crisis. What is it going to take for you to realize that this crisis is real and not the product of mismanagement? The mayor and city council aren't walking out to their cars with pockets full of cash every afternoon. The money is being spent on you. And until you are ready to pay for the services you expect and take for granted, life around here is going to get progressively worse for all of us. It's time to take care of Cape and quit carping about having to pay for it.

Annoying co-worker

I'M IN total agreement with the caller who has an inconsiderate co-worker. I sit next to someone who chomps ice, popcorn, carrots and celery all day. This can be very annoying. Let's please have some respect for your fellow co-workers.

Legislative needs

IT WOULD seem our legislature would have more pressing things to handle than changing the name of a school that has been established for years and is known as such. Leave it alone and do what you are elected to do. Address funding for schools. Take care of what is needed for the uninsured, homeless and children needing help. Look at the adoption laws and make it easier for people to adopt children. It is time the elected officials did their jobs.

It's already corrupted

WHY WOULD anyone consider the Super Bowl to be family viewing? The advertisements are crude and geared toward beer-drinking, testosterone-crazed jerks. During the game, there is no attempt to bleep out profanity when coaches and players shout it. Greed and corruption took precedence over team success years ago. So why be concerned that Janet Jackson is corrupting such an honorable sport?

In the next life

IN RESPONSE to the person who said, "All who have not believed in Jesus as the Christ and trusted him to save them from spiritual death are indeed spiritually dead and are children of the devil.": Be careful about making such remarks. In your next life you might have to come back as a non-Christian and put up with people with attitudes like yours.

Let court decide

I DISAGREE with the Benton County prosecutor's determination that the abduction of the 1-month-old child does not meet the criteria for a kidnapping. I believe taking a small child away from his family would be classified as terrorizing the victim. At any rate, I would charge the suspect with all three crimes mentioned in the paper and let a judge and jury decide.

Where are they?

BUY AMERICAN? Most all of us would if you could find "Made in America" on the label, but that is virtually impossible. Stores could arrange their products and put "Made in America" signs above them

Awesome TV

I'LL BE the first to admit I complain a lot about the way Missouri spends our tax money. However, the decision of the state Senate to spend $20,000 on a plasma-screen TV and a bunch of fancy stuff that goes with it was absolutely awesome.