Speak Out 2/24/05

Checks and balances

NEITHER STATE Sen. Jason Crowell nor state Rep. Nathan Cooper are conscience-less sociopaths. They will do whatever it takes to stop Missouri's governor from enacting Medicaid cuts that would, in essence, ruin or end lives.

On the safe side

I HAD been taking Celebrex for four years when the news came out about it. I wrote my doctor and told him I was stopping it as I had had two light strokes after I had been taking it. I have had three brothers and two sisters who had heart trouble, as well as my dad. I figured that was enough for me to stay on the safe side from that medication.

Network security

A FEW days ago I had a friend come over to show me his new $2,000 laptop computer with integrated wireless networking. When he turned it on, it connected to the Internet. Someone in my neighborhood has a wireless network set up without the security settings on. He surfed the net until around 1 a.m. when the connection went dead. We figure that the owner of the network may have turned his system off. A note to all of you who have wireless networks in your home: Lock them down.

Get prepared

I'M SORRY for those of you who have come to depend upon the government to live. I'm sorry that some would really suffer with the proposed cuts. Having become suddenly single several years ago and being female, I had to learn to live on an income way below what some of you are getting through Social Security. After several years, my income is just now barely above the poverty level, and I have never qualified for help because I have no children at home. I learned what was really necessary and what you can live without. I learned to shop wisely. I also learned that you don't have to run to the doctor or emergency room every time you have the sniffles. Instead of whining about what could happen, you have to learn to live in the here and now and take better care of yourself so the what-ifs don't happen. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Highway needs

I WANT to make sure the Missouri Department of Transportation doesn't forget us in Chaffee, Oran and Morley. MoDOT is going to resurface a section of U.S. 61 between Scott City and Sikeston. Highway 77 Route M are in terrible condition when a rain comes due to the wheel ruts in the pavement. Both highways have not been re-surfaced for many years and are becoming dangerous during bad weather. We would appreciate MoDOT looking at this situation. Don't leave us in the back 40 like you did during the December snow. We pay our taxes too.

Hole needs repair

PLEASE FIX the hole in the northbound lane of I-55 between the 104 and 105 mile marker. It throws you all over the place when you hit it.

Artistic loss

IF EVERYONE but me thinks the floodwall and its art add to the aesthetic value of downtown Cape Girardeau, then all is lost.

Littered vista

AS MY wife and I were approaching the Fruitland exit on I-55 this morning, she said, "Look at the daffodils coming up over there." I said, "I don't see them." She said, "Right there between the Wal-Mart sack and the McDonald's cup." I said, "Oh, yes, I see them now. That Styrofoam cooler blocked my view for a moment."

Litter and taxes

THE OTHER day I noticed a group of highway workers picking up trash on I-55. Thank you, I counted 61 full bags of trash within a mile plus multiple items that could not fit in bags. It sure would have been nice to use those resources somewhere else. Bottom line: If you litter, don't complain about paying too much tax, because you are paying for someone to pick up after you.

Street repairs

I'M READING in Sunday's paper where the city wants to extend the transportation sales tax. I read in yesterday's paper where someone wants to divert $600,000 from the streets. They need to get their priorities straight and decide what they want to do with money. One time the city has extra money, and the next time it doesn't have enough money. I also think the city needs to improve the way it repairs streets. When crews fill in holes with asphalt, they leave a hump. They should learn to smooth out their work.

Disabled parking

I AM a disabled person who has trouble finding a parking space in Cape Girardeau. I have noticed a lot of times I see a vehicle parked in a disabled space that does not have a disabled license plate or rear-view mirror disabled tag. The police need to make more check-up runs on these parking areas.

Bad timing

THIS IS about the airport funding issue. The airline that flies in and out of Cape Girardeau has a Saturday flight that doesn't come in until early in the morning. No one from anywhere around the country can get back home on a Saturday. This creates a real problem when we're trying to schedule flights in and out of Cape. If the airline would adjust that Saturday flight to later in the day where people can actually get home on Saturday, it might help with the round trip out of Cape Girardeau. Until they do that, there's no point in even talking about it, because people can go but they can't get back.

Check on spending

I SEE where former presidents Bush and Clinton are inspecting the tsunami damage. We have seen plenty of that. We need people seeing how the funds being raised are being spent. That is something politicians are too blind to see. They don't really look how our tax dollars are spent. They just know they can spend our tax dollars.

Mad at the dogs

WE'VE GOT two dogs next to us that bark half the night. I think something needs to be done. The city shouldn't allow these people to have so many dogs. If they can't control them, then they need to get rid of them. Yes, I'm mad.

Noisy parties

I FIND it ironic that a college student is complaining about noise from junior high school students in Kent Library. I bet it doesn't equal or match the wild parties that most college kids in this town have next to homes at 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning.

Up to the employer

IT'S UP to the employer to tell you whether a Bible is allowed at work. If an employer does not mind his time being stolen from him, that's up to him. Once a discussion about the Bible runs into company time, employees are robbing their employer.

Add some boulders

I AGREE with the comment about the university fountain. It looks like the builders ran out of rocks and didn't complete the job. If the university would put boulders on the east side of the fountain, there wouldn't be a problem with water splashing out, and there wouldn't be an ice problem in the winter. Forget the artist's conception. We need a fountain that works properly.