Speak Out 1/25/06

Friendliest carrier

TO THE people on North Park Street and Kurre Lane, I hate to bust your bubble, but we have the friendliest mailman on Georgia Street. Way to go, guy.

Check carefully

I HAVE two children in Jackson School District, one that goes to South Elementary School and one that goes to Jackson High School. My younger child has been exposed to head lice. I was called by the school nurse to remove my child from the school. We have spent several hundred dollars to treat our entire family and our home. Our son returned to school where he was screened and found to be free of head lice. The school nurse called again because there was head lice in my son's hair again. I found out the school nurse was off for a few days and two children were allowed back into the school who were infected with head lice. Several children have been reinfected. We are holding the school district responsible for their negligence and want other parents to be aware of what happened and to check their children closely for head lice.

No negotiating

REGARDING THE hostage taken in Iraq, the reporter from the Christian Science Monitor, I pray that they let her go and everything turns out OK. But I can't understand why our government would negotiate with terrorists. Officials say female Iraqi prisoners that are about to be let go are not being released because of the terrorists' demands. If I were the family of another person who had been beheaded over there, I'd be angry at the government for trying to save someone else's family member but not trying to save mine.

Train a comin'

THE FOLLOWING expresses the concerns of most Sikeston citizens. We fear being overrun with an excessive amount of trains:

I hear that train a comin'.

It's comin' round the bend.

If it comes to Sikeston

Our world will surely end.

Empty trains

THE EXTRA trains in Sikeston would be empty. How could they be saving fuel or taking trucks off the highway? This not only impacts Sikeston but Morehouse, Oran, Chaffee and other towns. Even those who do not live near the tracks would be impacted. I hope you are not in a car accident on the opposite side of the tracks and you or a loved one dies because of the needless delays caused by a train blocking the tracks.

Christian tolerance

A PARENT said she thought it was unreasonable to teach Hinduism in her child's social studies class. She said she was a Christian and didn't want her child learning about another religion. I found her comment to be offensive. As Christians, aren't we told to love one another despite gender, race or religion? As Christians, aren't we told not to pass judgment on anyone, because it is only God's place to judge? I feel accountable when I hear my sister in Christ making comments that enforces the stuck-up, haughty, self-righteous stereotype that has befallen Christianity today. Those who may not understand what I'm saying I direct to Romans 3, especially verse 9.

Comparing beliefs

TO THE distraught parent whose child was "being taught" Hinduism: If you are so absolutely certain your religion is the only one, why are you so fearful? Have you never heard of students being taught comparative beliefs? I don't see much tolerance here.

Dangerous ground

WHEN WE stop teaching our kids about other cultures and religions, we start treading on dangerous ground. The recent comment on Hinduism borders on fanatical religious behavior. If the class is studying about India, it would need to study Hinduism a bit to understand the culture, just as all American students need to study Christian Puritans to understand early colonial America. Kids who aren't exposed to other cultures and religions, and taught to tolerate them, grow up to fly planes into buildings.