SPEAK OUT

Welcome to Cairo

THIS IS to the citizens of Cairo, Ill. Here is one visitor who will never set a foot in your beautiful town again. My daughter and I were there looking for an antique store. There was a car in front of us and one in back of us. Yet we were stopped for speeding. We tried to explain to the cop that we were looking for a certain store, and we certainly were not speeding. He would not listen to us at all. He gave us a ticket for $75. Last week my son-in-law was returning to Florida. He was given a speeding ticket by the same cop in an unmarked car this time. He said he was in the middle of the town and was not speeding. All I can say to you Illinoisans is, if you want visitors to your town, you had best get rid of this cop who is a detriment to your town.

Handicapped parking

I AM handicapped. I'm in a wheelchair and I truly need handicapped parking places in commercial areas. But the problem that we've had in the last few weeks is when the snow and ice came, the snowplows piled the large amounts of snow and ice in the handicapped parking areas. It's taken several weeks for these areas to melt off, and they're finally becoming available for us again. I'd like to see the snowplows take a little more care and try not to block as many of the handicapped parking spots as they did last time. Besides the ice and snow, we also combat able-bodied people who tend to park in handicapped spots, and also people who discharge their empty shopping carts in the handicapped spaces. It's not like we can jump out of the car and remove a cart when we're in wheelchairs. If everyone would just cooperate a little bit, people who are handicapped can get out a bit easier. Thanks so much for this great service.

Dedicated mailman

DURING THE worst day in December, the day we had sleet, snow and freezing rain, when hardly anyone was out, our mailman, Bill Adams, was. He parked his vehicle at the end of each block and walked the mail. Yes, we got our mail that day. His beard was frozen. He was wet and cold, but he put the mail in a plastic sack to keep it dry and walked everywhere he couldn't drive. I feel this is true dedication to his job, and everyone should know it. Postmaster, you have one gentleman you can truly be proud to have working for the postal service. Thank you, Bill Adams, for doing an outstanding job.

Abortion options

A FEW questions for the pro-choice advocates. Why is it illegal for a doctor to assist suicide, yet all right for a mother to terminate her baby's life? Taking a life is murder. You can't fool God and have it both ways. To those who are thinking about abortion, don't take your baby's life away. Let someone else care for it. There are many other choices.

A child speaks

LAST MONTH my 6-year-old son and I were looking out the window, and I told him how lucky we were to have a nice, warm house. He looked at me and asked why, and I told him that a lot of people don't have a place to live. He then asked me if we had a president yet, and I said no. He said, "When I grow up and become president, I will let all the people who don't have homes live in the White House." The reason I'm calling is, we have once again heard of another leader committing adultery and fathering a child with a civil employee. Now this child will see $10,000 a month. Where does Jesse Jackson get this kind of money? Isn't it sad that a small child thinks more of our fellow man than the ones who are supposed to be leading us?