Speak Out 3/1/06

Familiar expressions

THE EXPRESSIONS on the faces of House Speaker Rod Jetton and Southeast Missouri State University president Dr. Ken Dobbins in the Southeast Missourian's photograph on Saturday reminded me of the expressions on the faces of a photo a few years ago of Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin.

One-way destruction

CAPE GIRARDEAU'S brilliant idea to make Main Street two ways is a one-way ticket to destroying downtown.

Grandstanding

WE NEED leaders with intestinal fortitude, and House Speaker Rod Jetton has shown he doesn't have it. I supported him up until the point when he let the Southeast Missouri State University Board of Regents off the hook Friday. I think it was all just grandstanding by Jetton, Cape Girardeau Mayor Jay Knudtson and all the rest.

Illinois feelings

I READ with interest the Missouri resident's comment praising Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich for all the good things he has done for the Illinois people. I wonder if those folks who live in the southern part of Illinois such as Cairo have those same feelings.

Subtle bullying

YOUR EDITORIAL on bullying in school was much needed. However, your comment that "physical bullying is obvious" needs elaboration. As John Stossel showed in his classic TV special on the subject, much bullying is so subtle that supervisors never notice it.

Vote with care

TO THE individual who has already made up his mind and is voting Democratic next time, please reconsider. I'm not asking you to vote for a party, but chose your candidate based on fact and not emotion. I was party faithful for over 20 years until I realized that the party was not faithful to me. Now I vote for the person based on information available. It could be a mistake, but not as big as the one I made voting strict party lines.

Losing officers

WHY IS it when a small town gets a police officer who actually does his job, the town wants to get rid of him? Delta has lost two excellent police officers because they did their jobs.

Expensive markers

I THINK the interstates need to be repaired before tenth-mile markers are placed on the shoulders. Again our tax dollars are being wasted.

Students are paying

STUDENTS DO pay for Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus -- and pay and pay. Tuition is $158.80 per credit hour, plus $10.70 per hour for general fees. Multiply $158.80 times 124, the minimum number of hours it takes to graduate. Don't forget $17 for books for each class and $85 for parking each year. The cost of a bachelor's degree at Southeast is around $25,000. That doesn't include housing and food. In 1985 the fees, including books, were about $200 per year, not per hour. Add in parking fees back then and you find that if rates had stayed the same for four years, a bachelor's degree would have cost around $1,000. Does anything else cost 25 times the 1985 level? Do you think Southeast is 25 times better now? The River Campus project started several years ago. The students who were there when it started are gone. Will the River Campus be done in another year or two so the current students can enjoy it? I doubt it. Will the fees go up? You can bet on it.

Better than most

NOT ALL people living in Illinois despise our governor. After the previous three governors, this one is not only a blessing, but also has my vote.

Need a highway

DOES ANYBODY besides me think it's stupid for the Missouri Department of Transportation to have a workshop on how to get rid of the funds? We need a highway out here. Highway 72 is nothing more than a cow path with holes in it, and the highway department is trying to give away money to every Tom, Dick and Harry. This ticks me off.

Cairo's future

FOR THE record, Cairo, Ill., is alive and well and nestled between the mighty Mississippi and Ohio rivers. Cairo has wonderful people living there. Cairo is a tourist attraction (Riverlore, Custom House, Magnolia Manor, Cairo Library and the rivers, to name a few) for all to enjoy the rich history Cairo has to offer. There are great restaurants and several wonderful businesses. Sure, Cairo is suffering under the current mayor, but by God's good grace, he will be removed. The city council has been forced to hold firm, but it has done more than it has been given credit for. Fear not. Cairo is not over. Cairo has hit a snag, but the countdown is on.

Own worst enemies

ORAN ONCE had three bars but only one now, three grocery stores but only one now, five gas stations and only one now, two hardware stores and only one now, two clothing stores and none now, a drugstore and none now and a doctor and none now. All those businesses left years before the new police chief ever came to town. I am not afraid of doing business in Oran, but I am sick and tired of having clerks telling me to watch out for the cop or asking me why I came to Oran and telling me I should be afraid of getting a ticket. And I don't appreciate being forced to see the front page of the newspaper proclaiming Oran is a town divided purposely spread out on a checkout counter. Oran merchants, not the police, are their own worst enemies.

Just helping out

I THINK it's great that state Sen. Jason Crowell is paying House Speaker Rod Jetton to consult for him, because if you can't ask your best friend to make your house payment, whom can you ask?

Look at sacred cow

STATE SEN. Jason Crowell paying a consulting fee to House Speaker Rod Jetton is not a crime. This is a common practice that's been used by both political parties for decades. No taxpayer money was used. The funds were from political contributions and entered into the public record. It's apparent that the Southeast Missourian is using all means available to discredit the lawmakers that exposed Southeast Missouri State University's funding scheme. I just wish the Missourian would spend an equal amount of time investigating their sacred cow up on Normal Avenue.