Speak Out 1/24/04

Willing to pay extra

THE DAY they put religion back into public schools I will return my children to the public school sector. Until then I will continue to pay my taxes plus the tuition to send my children to a religious school.

Jackson's mufflers

I AGREE with the person who called in a few weeks ago about the epidemic of loud mufflers in Jackson. It's nothing new. I don't know why the police or the board of aldermen don't do something about it. It hasn't been that many years ago that you would definitely have been stopped or ticketed for having that much noise from one vehicle. Now it seems to go unnoticed.

No new spending

WHY DOESN'T the federal government, state government or local government say no new spending instead of increasing taxes for new spending and hollering about our debt all the time? Wouldn't that be much better?

Stop the coyotes

I'M GETTING concerned about all the coyote sightings in the city limits and residential areas. I saw one on the corner of Penny Avenue and New Madrid Street, and I know they've been seen off the new highway and West End Boulevard going towards William Street. Isn't there something animal control could do about it, set out traps or something?

No audit solutions

I UNDERSTAND why some taxpayers may want a state audit of the Cape Girardeau schools, but I think that would be a mistake. A state auditor is not going to find solutions. Those in favor of the audit want to know why so much money is being spent and why results are not better than Jackson's. The auditor is not going to figure that out.

Dangerous pickup

I OBSERVED something that should have never happened. While driving east on Independence a red pickup whipped in front of me to make a left-hand turn onto Kingshighway. The pickup was being driven erratically and blocking traffic. I managed to get around it and saw a bunch of kids inside, and not one had seat belts on. That's plain stupid. If any parent reads this that knows who the individual was who had the children in there, yell at them or scream at them or whatever you have to do to put a stop to it.

Democratic assessments

I THINK if we're serious about balancing the budget, then Howard Dean is the person for president. And I'm just delighted that John Kerry had at least one day to be happy in the Iowa caucus. He deserved it.

Sharing the money

I THINK we have to take a good look at the people who are running for state positions. I don't think just because you raise a lot of money means you deserve to be elected. I think we need to consider the alternatives and lead the way as often we do when we are disgruntled in America. It bothers me when one candidate contributes to another candidate. I would not want any money I give to one candidate going for another candidate, because I sent that money to him, not to the other candidate.

Fast times in East Cape

I WAS in Cape Girardeau Saturday night, and it seems it doesn't matter what light you pull up to, there's always someone there to run it. I continued across the bridge to be passed by somebody going about 80 mph through East Cape Girardeau. Where are the Illinois State Police and the sheriff's department? They should be concerned about this.

Head in a hole

ISN'T IT odd we can find billions of dollars to rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan but can't find the money to rebuild the United States infrastructure? How many Iraqi children and our soldiers have to be killed before we realize that you can't end terrorism by terrorizing others? President Bush is bad news, and you need to get your head out of the hole.

A loss of trust

REGARDLESS OF where you stand on any of the specific issues that are facing the Cape Girardeau School Board, I think it speaks volumes that the public trust has been lost so much that there's a group of citizens calling for an official state audit of the school district. It will take years to regain that trust after all of this confusion.

Students: Ride buses

ONE THING you could do about Scott City's traffic problems: If all the high school kids would use the buses instead of parents taking them to school plus all of those with their own cars, there would be no need to change the traffic flow.

Make a complaint

THIS IS in response to the person who called in about the derelict vehicles in Cape Girardeau. That's the responsibility of the police department. As it's been reported in the news lately, the department is severely undermanned, especially the nuisance abatement division which handles that type of issue. The person who called would have probably been better served by calling the police department and making a complaint instead of calling Speak Out.

Jobs in Mexico

I CANNOT see a good reason for opening our borders to illegal Mexicans coming here for work. We've already sent most of the jobs down there. Why don't the Mexicans get them?

Keep Guard at home

OUR NATION has the Air Force, Army, Marine Corps and Navy to defend our great country. What justifies sending hundreds of our Missouri National Guardsmen to fight in a foreign country? My understanding is that the National Guard was intended for enlistees to stay close to home and be available for emergencies in the United States such as floods and earthquakes.

State perks

SOME PEOPLE think state employees are greedy. I am a state employee. We do get more holidays than most, but so do banks and other federal and state institutions. We didn't ask for those days off. Do any of you ask for your days off, or does your boss give them to you? As far as benefits and pay, we haven't had a raise going on four years. I make $20,000 a year, and I've been at my job for five years. When I retire, my salary will be cut in half. I don't think that's so great.

Deserving of award

CONGRATULATIONS ARE due to Bob Polack and the Southeast Missouri Coalition for Peace and Justice for their deserved Martin Luther King Jr. community service award. I have long admired their Freedom Corner commitment to the cause of peace. Come snow, hail, freezing weather or verbal abuse, they have been a constant. Their opposition to this insane war in Iraq should be admired by the entire community. Every claim they have made about the lies of the Bush administration has proven correct.

Redundant audit

AFTER WE spend money on a redundant audit of the Cape Girardeau School District, let's all go complain that our child doesn't have a band teacher because his salary was spent on the audit.

Question of fairness

PERHAPS YOU have a piece of property and you are paying for it's upkeep, taxes and insurance. Would it be OK for trespassers to hide on that property and enjoy it when your not looking? I don't believe President Bush's immigration plan is fair to naturalized citizens who took the time to jump through all the hoops in order to become legal American citizens.

Can't do it all

SOMETIMES TRYING to educate the uneducable has become a baby-sitting situation, and it is detracting from the education of all. If you haven't seen the problems created by sending one school bus to pick up one special student or haven't seen one teacher having to change one 9-year-old student's dirty underwear or personally experienced the class disruption caused by one child's tantrum, then you haven't been looking closely enough. No Child Left Behind often means no child gets ahead.

Special message

CHURCHES THAT spend thousands of dollars on unnecessary items are among the problems in this area. As a Christian, I have found that one of the biggest problems pertains to not being spiritually fed and being spiritually fed up by pastors and church members who would rather tell me how bad I am as a person and how sinful the world is. As a believer of Jesus Christ I would from time to time like to hear a message about love, peace and how to get along with my neighbor rather learning how to chastise him or her. Some of the meanest, cruelest and most hypocritical people I know proclaim to be Christians. What would Jesus do? More than likely he would teach people about love and compassion and less about hate and which Mercedes to drive.