Speak Out 3/27/07

Gas-station charges

THERE'S A bill that state Sen. Jason Crowell or House Speaker Rod Jetton should develop. I don't think gas-station attendants should have to take it out of their measly pay when a person drives off at the pump. There needs to be some law, because one employee can't take care of the cash register and watch three or four cars at the pumps. It's unfair that some stations are charging their employees for drive-offs. They're not paid enough to do that. Someone needs to protect the workers at gas stations.

Future question

FIVE HUNDRED years from now, people will ask one of two questions: Whom do we credit for our survival or whom do we blame for our extinction?

Fixing global warming

I USUALLY don't harp on things, but this one has really got my goat. The way I see it, it will be 1,000 times harder for our grandchildren to fix global warming than it will be for us to prevent it now. Republicans need to stop whining, step up and do what's right or shut up and let the rest of us do it.

Signals work

I SAW a first in Cape Girardeau. I saw someone with his turn signal on trying to get in another lane, and I saw someone let them in. What's this world coming to?

City's conscience

I JUST hope the mayor, city council and engineering staff of Cape Girardeau are proud of themselves. Hardee's closed, and there's no question in anybody's mind that it closed because of the situation on Broadway.

Use the sidewalk

To the early morning walkers on Lexington Avenue: I drive on Lexington between 6:30 and 7 o'clock in the mornings. It's still dark, and it's hard to see the people who are walking in the street instead of on the sidewalk. I thought it was illegal to walk in the street when a sidewalk is available. For your own safety, please cross the street and walk on the sidewalk.

Lake opportunity

I also believe a lake would be a great investment for Cape Girardeau and Southeast Missouri. Think of all the business opportunity and electrical power savings Jackson and Cape could have from a lake formed by damming one of the rivers. Let's all get onboard and make it happen for the future of Cape.

Dogs and children

A reminder to people with dogs or children and living in apartments: Please keep your dogs and children on your own apartment property. Why do people in Cape Girardeau think it's OK to let their dogs relieve themselves on other people's lawns?

Senior care

It is hard to imagine anyone being shocked to realize that most seniors do not want to be in nursing homes. Few of us would want to trade our homes for a shared bedroom with no privacy if we had a choice. We should be trying to find alternatives to nursing homes. Medicaid picks up the difference between Social Security and the nursing-home charges for low-income seniors. It would cost less for the government to pay family, friends or home-care employees to care for them, and it would also eliminate the need for families to disperse assets early enough so their seniors will qualify for those government contributions.

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Taking the blame

As for Hardee's going out of business because of the road widening, I wonder if the company would release any information describing the lack of employee retention, theft problems, bad service and revolving-door management that the restaurant had for the last 15-plus years. Hardee's has no one to blame but itself.

Heartfelt message

The passion of a mother whose daughter was killed by an illegal alien brought tears to my eyes. She will be among thousands of citizens accompanying 31 talk-radio hosts to Washington next month to lobby Congress for meaningful border security and employer sanctions.

School safety

I commend the Jackson Police Department for stiffening up its patrol around the West Lane Elementary and Jackson Junior High schools. However, the police are doing this only in the mornings. There needs to be better patrol in the evenings when there are more pedestrians and children walking and riding bikes in the streets, particularly on Oak Street. Too many people drive way too fast for the road to be safe.

Unbiased news

What a great op-ed from Michael Jensen, publisher of Sikeston's Standard Democrat. The American people deserve unbiased news. Just give us all the facts, plain and unadulterated, and let us use our brains to assimilate those facts. People who know only one side of an issue but make a determination that it is the correct side are themselves biased.

Humor in refunds

I'm still laughing over the comment telling liberals to send back their tax refunds. When the IRS sent out all those refund checks after the tax cut a few years ago, two relatives were spouting about how wrong it was for Republicans to do that. When I asked if they had returned the checks, they looked at me like I was crazy. Railing against tax cuts but willing to accept the money from them? Nice to know I'm not the only one who sees the humor in it.

Hopes for ice rink

It was great to see the old Zamboni from the Plaza Galleria find a new home in Colorado. It also brings closure to the hope that a new owner might open the old rink or build a new one. Many skaters are still hoping for this.

Leaves over potholes

I guess it is more important to blow leaves off the street than to fill the many potholes that are in every alley in Chaffee, and it seems to do no good to ask our council members to bring that to the city's attention, because nothing is being done about it.

Biology lesson

You editorialized in "History and science" that it was too bad Sam Cooke sang "Don't know much about biology" and you then waxed eloquently about the need for formal education in biology and other subjects. Sam Cooke was correct and, in a sense, a prophet, when he sang those words. You really don't need to know much about biology anymore other than what scientists are discovering to be more true as every day passes. Simply stated, biology is destiny, and our only hope is, if need be, to alter it.

Hecklers' good deeds

I read that the High Hill Hecklers are embarrassing to Southeast Missouri State University. I guess no one actually stops to talk with them. Did you know that they raised money to pay for the funeral of a Heckler who drowned last year? Did you know that they are the last to leave Cherry Hill, placing all the trash in the city-provided barrels? Did you know that they collect aluminum cans for recycling fund-raising by a local group?

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