OpinionDecember 2, 2007
Speak Out 12/2/07
Openness on the board; Hybrid-car batteries; Stop this nonsense; Valid uses for phones
Openness on the board
I FEEL the Cape Girardeau School Board made a good interim superintendent choice. However, many taxpayers and parents would like to know the board's reasons behind Dr. David Scala's early departure. Hiding the reasons is causing more harm to the district than anything the school board could announce to the public. Speculation is not good for public relations or morale. Early transparency -- honesty and openness -- is a proven method of crisis management, and it helps rebuild trust in the eyes of stakeholders: community, taxpayers, teachers, staff, parents, students.
Hybrid-car batteries
TOYOTA GUARANTEES its hybrid batteries for 100,000 or 150,000 miles depending upon which state you live in. Cars are on the road with over 200,000 miles on the batteries. Toyota pays a bounty of $200 for a used hybrid battery to be recycled and recovered. Therefore, there are no problems with toxic waste. Used hybrid batteries are beginning to show up in junk yards at reasonable prices. Concerns about the hybrid batteries should not be a reason to avoid buying a new or used hybrid car.
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Stop this nonsense
COULD SOMEONE show me where in the Constitution it says you can ban speech because someone or some group is offended by what you say? Are we going the way of places like Sudan, where a teacher is charged with a crime because a teddy bear was named Muhammad, which offended some people. A Boy Scout was suspended from a Kansas City-area school because someone heard him use the word "noose." A while back, a kindergartner was suspended from a school because someone heard him use the word "gun" on the playground. Now a play has been canceled because once upon a time it had a different name that some people find offensive, despite the fact that the author was British and at that time that word did not mean what you think it means now. Where will the word police strike next? Would all of you accept these ridiculous restrictions on speech if, say, the so-called Religious Right were able to make it a crime to swear? Wake up, people, and band together to stop this nonsense.
Valid uses for phones
ON SQUELCHING cell phones: I agree there are people who talk on cell phones too much, especially while driving. But how do you know what is being discussed? How do you know the person is not a physician keeping track of a patient just admitted to the ER? Or an off-duty police officer or other EMS member being called to support others responding to an emergency?
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