OpinionJune 9, 2001
SPEAK OUT
I READ the item in Speak Out about nursing homes and how people will not care for their loved ones. It's not always a matter of will or won't. Sometimes it's a matter of can or can't. It's not always that these people are dumped in nursing homes. Sometimes it's the only choice the families have...
The only choice
I READ the item in Speak Out about nursing homes and how people will not care for their loved ones. It's not always a matter of will or won't. Sometimes it's a matter of can or can't. It's not always that these people are dumped in nursing homes. Sometimes it's the only choice the families have.
No taxes, no refund
YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY right. Our property taxes have all gone up 11 percent because the assessor reappraised our property. He did that because the state legislature passed a law saying he had to. Yes, we've been tricked. And now every two years we're going to get higher property taxes. What we need to do is to get hold of all the boards that tax us and get them to have a tax rollback of 11 percent so we're just paying the same amount. We need to talk to the county court, the library board and the school boards to ask them not to increase tax rates, but to decrease them by 11 percent. They've got plenty of money. An 11 percent decrease is what we need.
No coverage
THE SPORTS guys cover the Capahas, the Legion teams, the Babe Ruth teams and even the Junior Babe Ruth teams, but they never cover the girls fast-pitch softball in the area. This is a hotbed for girls softball. There was a softball tournament in Jackson this weekend with 25 teams from as far away as Kennett, Poplar Bluff and Hannibal, Mo. Yet there were no pictures, no coverage. It wasn't even mentioned. I wish your sports department would expand its coverage and be more fair to the ladies of the area.
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Dock their salaries
I'M SURE Mayor Spradling and the rest of the city council wouldn't listen to this, but I think we taxpayers in Cape Girardeau need to make a stand. We have the worst street situation I have ever seen in my life. We're talking about making this roundabout bigger when city engineer defended it as perfect over and over. It's not perfect. It's too narrow. I've been in roundabouts in other cities, and those roundabouts are all bigger, even those in smaller towns. But nobody would listen to the public. I actually called the city engineer's office and I gave him the names of seven towns with roundabouts, and all of them were bigger than the proposed one in Cape. I was completely ignored. Personally, I think the expense of enlarging or removing the roundabout should come out of the salaries of the city engineer and everyone else who had input into this. I'm tired of paying for their mistakes with my taxes.
Unappreciated helper
I SYMPATHIZE with the lady whose child's phone would ring through the school year but not now. It is called being taken advantage of. I used to be a regular volunteer at my children's schools but no more. The high school and college kids who get paid to help out at the school get gifts donated by the parents and a cake. I don't even get a thank you. I guess I'm angry because I've been sick for the past couple of weeks, but no one has called to ask how I'm doing. But they call me when they need me for free help. I love those kids, but some of the teachers getting paid don't seem to care if the children have supervision or not, especially on the playground. I've seen one adult watching up to 120 kids at one time, and you wonder why the kids are being bullied and getting hurt. Think about it.
Voting for money
THE DEMOCRATS on the Sunday-morning political talk shows were complaining that people who don't pay taxes won't get a tax rebate. This is amazing. They actually want to send tax refunds to people who didn't pay any taxes in the first place. These people who don't pay taxes, the takers, are getting close to outnumbering the people who do pay taxes, the givers. Over 150 years ago, Alexis de Tocqueville said that America will rapidly decline when the people become able to vote themselves money. That day is getting close.
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