Speak Out 11/22/04

Making enemies

IT MAKES me sick that the Cape Girardeau School Board is spending $15,000 to get applicants for the superintendent's position. The board wants to give the new superintendent a 36 percent raise. Why not give the teachers a 36 percent raise? I am a Cape teacher, and I didn't even get a 3 percent cost-of-living adjustment this year. I can also tell you that about 25 percent of my paycheck is taken out for medical insurance. Board members are really making a lot of enemies within the community. They better start shedding some sunlight on this issue.

Important roles

I HAVE a lot of respect for police officers. They risk their lives to keep us safe. After reading the article in the paper, I am losing some of that respect. It sounds like they think that they are the only ones in the city who deserve to get a raise. That's selfish. They should be happy they are getting anything, considering that the fire tax that was passed in June was not a public safety tax. Every city employee has an important role.

Don't be greedy

FROM WHAT I have heard, there is only one fire department representative who is complaining about the pay raises. The other firemen are embarrassed over the outcry and are happy with the proposal. The police department is the department that is crying the most. Quit being greedy. The proposal is already giving the police and fire departments larger raises than the general employees. Some people are never happy unless they can see others suffer.

Be professional

I WATCHED the Cape Girardeau School Board meeting on cable, and I am appalled by the board members' lack of professionalism. The camera close-ups showed many board members making rude facial expressions to what taxpayers where saying. They also show very little respect for Mark Bowles. He is still dedicated to his job, yet many board members still grimace about things that he was trying to say. The board members are supposed to be professional. They need to put their personal feelings aside and do what's best for the district.

Didn't miss a beat

I REALLY enjoyed the Moscow Ballet. All the dancers did a wonderful job, especially when the soundtrack stopped during the middle of a dance. The dancers kept on dancing without skipping a beat. Good job.

Can't tell them apart

THE GUY who commented about the people at the restaurant calling him and his wife "you guys" should know some women dress like men, and it's hard to tell the difference. Don't blame the waiters and waitresses.

Spinning our wheels

THE CITY passed a quarter-cent sales tax for the fire and police departments to get raises. Now the city council is going to raise our trash and water bills again to give pay increases to other city departments. I'm not against these people getting increases. I know what it's like to try to make a living. But why are we being taxed double? I think we were misled again by the city council. I will refuse to recycle anything. Why should we clean this stuff up and keep it separate when there's no incentive to do it? Until the city puts a halt to the increase in trash fees, I will not recycle another item. We're just spinning our wheels.

It's about time

AFTER READING the comment about Jackson enforcing some noise ordinances, I'm all for that. It's about time something was done.

Light a candle

WITH IT being the time of Christmas coming, I would like very much to see anyone who reads the paper to put a light in the window for the soldiers overseas. You can get a little candle light and put in your window to keep on day and night until they come home.

Going too far

A LOT of people have been confused about the Patriot Act and what effect it will have on Americans. A lot of politicians Washington have told us that it's just for acts of terrorism, and now they're coming up with Patriot Act II which is going to be an even more severe act on the constitutional rights of our country. For instance, two 13-year-old girls who baked a cake for their class allegedly put glue into the batter, and it made several students sick. Now the prosecution is considering whether to charge the girls with an act of terrorism. This is how severe it has gotten in our country. These people who are promoting the taking away of our constitutional rights are very serious about their agenda and are willing to go to any lengths.

Accept us

EMILY DICKINSON, Winston Churchill, Abraham Lincoln, Isaac Newton all suffered from mental illness. I appreciate what society does for the mentally ill. I am mentally ill, and it's difficult to function without financial aid. What I'm asking is that you accept us. Depending upon the severity of the disease, some can work and support themselves. We may not exhibit normal behavior, but please understand that a stigma has existed for some time for us. This causes us to live different lifestyles that consequently make it challenging for us to fit in. I've seen quality artwork by people eccentric like myself. I think it would be great if some entrepreneur would invest in the skills and talents we have. Many patients in our state write wonderful poetry, and some are musically inclined.

How can we help?

THE TOP story on the front page above the fold you talk about assessment tests at local high schools. Cape Girardeau got 73 and Jackson got 100 on the assessment test. And then you go on for paragraph after paragraph about how administrators feel about the assessment and how the administrators feel about the upcoming No Child Left Behind tests. We don't really need to know how the administrators feel about the tests. What we need to know is what we can do to help the students. How can we have our schools better so that our students score 100 percent? How can Cape Central do a better job that will help the students in their future lives.

Changes needed

WHEN CAPE Girardeau does even halfway decent on MAP tests they spend money on banners and things and celebrate the fact they are doing halfway decent. In Jackson, halfway isn't acceptable. And when we do well, we don't put a banner out. We recognize the fact that we're doing our job and what's expected of us. That shouldn't be an outstanding achievement. That should be business as usual. Nothing's going to change until we get some new chiefs in the Cape Girardeau School District, not just over at the board office but at the buildings as well.

Much safer now

I JUST came through all the lights on Mount Auburn Road and Route K where all the construction has been going on. I want MoDOT and Cape Girardeau to know that my family and I appreciate all the work that went into these intersections. It makes it much safer. And I think it's going to work perfectly.

Out with them

IT LOOKS like performance scores bear out what has been evident for a long time: the Cape Girardeau School District is bad. The buck stops at the school board. Out with all of them. And then put in a administration that knows how to do basics. Accountability is required. Money is not the answer to any public endeavor. Problems need to be first recognized and then corrected. Higher property taxes are not even a consideration. We need a new tax basis for support of public institutions. We've been fooled and conned long enough by our school system and other public institutions.

Thanks for purse

THANK YOU to the very nice guys at J.C. Penney. I lost my purse and asked them if they had seen it. Both dropped what they were doing and looked for it until they found my purse. There are still really good young people out there. Thank you.

Not a good plan

I HAVE been reading about a movement to change our U.S. Constitution so that the governor of California can make a run for the White House. I pray that this movement falls to pieces in a hurry.

Not that difficult

COULD SOMEONE in City Hall tell the community why is it so hard to decide what to do with the police/fire tax? Look at what the title of the tax is. That's what the community voted for. A first grader could figure it out.

Please clean street

THE NEW Minnesota Street is wonderful, and we as homeowners on this new street appreciate what has been done. Our only complaint is that the city has yet to clean the street of debris and dirt from the curbs. Grass is growing in the curb because the dirt has never been removed. I would like to ask the city to clean this new street. I know that our city employees are busy, but please send a crew to clean our street.

Pay the teachers

JUST THIS morning I read the results from a nationwide poll concerning what is most important when it comes to having a great school district. This was a multiple-choice poll with four possible answers. One of the four answers was quality of administrators. Another was parental involvement, and another was large budget. I found the results to be as most would expect. The majority of those who took the poll said that well-paid, excellent teachers are the most important quality of a good school. Only 9 percent said administrators were important. Why does our school board want to pay a new superintendent $140,000, which is three times the average household earnings in Cape Girardeau. It becomes obvious that a large part of that money should be distributed among the best teachers in our district.

Not a good reason

FROM TUESDAY'S paper about Bloomfield Road: "The proposed improvements will make it easier to ticket motorists." It seems to me this is the only reason anything is ever done in this city. It's a further insult to the residents and visitors of this city for this to even be considered as a reason for improvement.

Action superintendent

I'M SICKENED by so many Cape Girardeau teachers coming out to protest the prospective hiring of a first-rate, action-oriented, competent superintendent, one who will do whatever it takes to educate this town's children, one who would dare ask the teachers to work a full day for a day's pay.

Comparing duties

ON AVERAGE, a police officer dies in the line of duty every 48 hours in America. How many garbage men die in the line of duty a year? How many garbage men ran into the twin towers on 9-11? How many garbage men saved your life by taking a drunk off the street before they collided with you and your family?