Speak Out 10/27/06

Mess in the park

KIWANIS PARK is beautiful, and improvements have been made. However, it is a disgrace that some individuals have chosen to cut off one of the curbs in the park, making their own road and creating unsightly ruts on the grass. Why haven't steps been taken to catch the abusers or place signs or large boulders on the grass so abusers can't cut off the corners and make these large mudholes after a rain? Something surely can be done that will help to end this mess in this park.

Appalling kickoff

I READ the comments about comedian Ron White's show. I'm appalled that an institution of higher education would have someone like Ron White kick off the Homecoming festivities with a performance like he gave Thursday night, someone who uses gutter language and trashy jokes.

Public or private

A COMMENT says it costs less to send a child to private school than to public school. So let's send them all to private schools. It costs whom less? Taxpayers? Private-school tuition here is around $5,000 or more per year. And when private schools are required to provide all the services public schools have to provide, they'll no longer be cheap or better.

Clean up after dogs

IF PEOPLE want a dog, that's fine. I like dogs too. If they want a cat, that's fine. But pet owners need to be responsible for their pets. At the Homecoming parade all these teenagers were there at Capaha Park getting ready to get in line to march with dog crap all over their shoes. This was terrible.

Support for veterans

I'D LIKE to use this column to thank all the people who showed up for the Homecoming parade and expressed support for the veterans. It was a really good feeling, especially the young people. To be high-fived by young folks and thanked was a good feeling. Those young people were truly the heroes of the day. Thank you, folks.

Fighting OSHA

IF YOU'RE as sick as I am of OSHA leveling stiff fines against contractors for silly rules that don't make sense, call or write your federal legislators and complain. We can band together and vote people out of office if they won't represent our concerns.

Contractor licenses

I'M A licensed contractor working in Jackson. I'm driving around and seeing all these other people who probably don't have a license. I don't understand why they don't have to get one. What's going on? I want my money back.

Stay for the rest

AFTER READING Matt Sanders' review of the Paisley-Underwood performance at the Show Me Center on Saturday night, what a shame it is that he couldn't stay for at least part of the Paisley performance in order to review it as well. The crowd was even more enthusiastic for Paisley's set. The performance lasted longer, the stage was larger and it had a light show and a big-screen video that one would expect of such a star of his magnitude. It's a shame Sanders couldn't have learned that Paisley's band was mostly from Missouri. His guitar player was from Springfield, Mo.; his fiddler was from Joplin, Mo.; his banjo-guitar player was from St. Louis; and his drummer was from right here in Cape Girardeau. The crowd was most enthusiastic about those facts and enjoyed this part of the show as much, if not indeed, more than the beginning of the show.

Keeping tabs

IF OUR politicians are doing the things they are accused of doing, don't they have to answer to anyone? I think they should make a yearly report of their activities to the public.

More protection

LAWS REGARDING orders of protection need to be changed. I have been dealing with my daughter's boyfriend and his drug-addict friends. I'm frightened, but I cannot get an order of protection against the boyfriend because he has not verbally threatened me, although the threat is there. Let's look at this and change the laws so more people can be protected.

Too little too late

I'M TIRED of the catch phrase "Support our troops." There comes a time when Americans go to the polls and think about how we didn't want to be in this conflict in the first place, how we have a president who didn't care about how we felt about Donald Rumsfeld even though in major cities you would hear advertising saying "Please remove Donald Rumsfeld from office." And you've had a president who doesn't care what the American people think. He's playing last-minute politics by saying he's coming up with an excellent plan. It's like the country song, "A little too late to do the right thing now." Last-minute politics does not get my vote.

Cutting corners

THE GOVERNMENT has to protect contractors from themselves. A few years ago a plumbing contractor in this area was down in a ditch that was deep enough that it should have been braced, and he was crushed to death. I also worked in Chicago as a plant manager about 30 years ago at the time when OSHA was just getting started. There were six people killed in a nearby plant. To make the plant safe cost a total of $2,000. If the plant had spent the $2,000, it would have saved six lives. The plant didn't do it because it was cutting corners. I think the government has to control people who want to cut corners.

Change of mind

IT HAS been said a wise man will change his mind, while a fool never does. I believe this applies to those in Washington making decisions about the war in Iraq.