Speak Out 3/19/07

Road safety

TO JOGGERS who want respect: Earn it by staying off roads that are too narrow to allow parking. Same for bikers. Safety is not only the responsibility of those in automobiles. If you jog or bike on Route W, you are creating a hazard. If the city allows groups to promote runs on narrow roads, the city is creating a hazard. Kingshighway is wide, and you can run or bike for miles.

Simple majority

PLEASE CONTACT your state legislators and let them know that you're against HJR 11 and also SJR 20. It's a shame that when the public goes to the polls to vote, our vote is not secure as a people. It won with 51 percent of the vote, and it doesn't really matter if it was a close vote.

Jail supplies

SOMEONE SAID everything is provided for you in jail. From my experience with my daughter, I know that isn't so. I had to make multiple trips to Jackson. I had to call the captain on several occasions for basic supplies. When you go to jail, you don't get a welcome-to-jail package.

Wasted space

I READ that the federal government spent $50 million on the new federal courthouse. Why did they spend that much money on wasted space? They could have used that money for a big industry where it would benefit everybody.

Property affront

ONE OF the most basic rights in any society is property ownership. In our culture, it is a given that what belongs to an individual should not be taken away from him without his consent. Any attempt to force an individual to relinquish his property by imposing an unbearable tax burden is tantamount to government-assisted theft of land from those people who have owned it for generations. That this has been instigated by the powerful and rich is shameful, but it is criminal that our own elected officials should be involved and actively participating in such a conspiracy. The attempt to rezone the farmland north of Bent Creek so that farmers who own it will be forced to sell is a disgrace to our community and an affront to the values that we cherish as people.

Not enough chairs

I ATTENDED the Beckwith lecture at the university. It was an interesting program on the steamboat Arabia. However, there were not enough chairs. About 10 of us had to stand through the whole program. While there was plenty of room to set up more chairs, nobody from the university seemed interested in finding any additional chairs when it became apparent there weren't enough.

Not being taught

PLEASE DON'T blame the computer because your son can't read or write cursive or do his multiplication tables. As a concerned parent, I taught my child how to read and write cursive. He is in seventh grade and says most of his fellow students either do not know how to write cursive or don't care. In math, he took a test last month, and the teacher said she graded only a few, and the students had done so poorly she threw the test papers away. My child does schoolwork in the classroom, and the teacher sends it home without correcting the spelling errors. I go over it with him. That is why they are pushing so hard for preschool -- not so much because it helps the children, but because the more they know the less the teachers have to do. The school board and superintendent don't care. You have around 36 percent of the students making A and B honor roll at Central Junior High School. There needs to be some housecleaning.

Junior high letdown

MY CHILD went to North Elementary School, which seemed to do a good job of teaching phonics and reading. There was a short time afterward that North Elementary School was recognized for its high MAP testing. The problem wasn't with the grade school. The problem was with junior high school. That's where my child's spelling started to falter, because there were no longer spelling lists handed out.

President's critics

I'M STILL a Bush supporter, and my husband is also. We voted for President Bush. We're strong people. We haven't turned on the president. If I hear soldiers criticizing him or the war, my support for U.S. soldiers will dry up. I will not send any donations for those who criticize the president and his war efforts. Anyone who criticizes the president is not doing his job and is unpatriotic. Wartime is never a great time. Unfortunately some things are necessary.

Keep it private

I WAS always brought up to believe that private conversations were for the home. When you're in public, you don't say anything that you don't want others to hear. Be mindful of where you are. Private conversations should be kept at home or maybe in a car with a cell phone. We don't want to be subject to some of your private conversations.

School patrol

THIS COMMENT is to Daniel Ayers: Every morning you used to patrol the elementary school. Since you are gone the police no longer patrol here. Cars are starting to drive faster in the school zone by the crosswalk. People remember you keeping traffic slow for our children. I thank you for caring about our children and our community. You are remembered and missed.

Inflationary push

IF SUDDENLY there is concern about inflation, why are liberals trying to push through a minimum-wage increase?

Driving in left lane

I WAS wondering if Cape Girardeau was going to do anything about the people who refuse to leave the left lane. I have lost count of how many people will dart from the left lane to make a right turn at the last moment. The city should also look into a serious overhaul of some of concrete pavement around town. Some major roads, such as Mount Auburn Road, are in states of disrepair. And just in case you were wondering, asphalt overlays do not work over concrete that is in bad shape.