Speak Out 3/30/06

Illinois floods

THE GOVERNMENT has double standards regarding flood plains. New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast are flood plains that the government will spend millions of dollars in rebuilding. If you live in Alexander County, Ill., which was created mostly by building levees, you will not get paid if you're flooded out. This is discrimination. If everyone moves out, it will take more than a few strip clubs in Alexander County to keep it afloat.

Work won't hurt

REGARDING HIGH school students who work after school: It won't hurt them. I was put to work at the age of 13 when I was in the seventh grade. I worked 48 hours a week for 40 cents an hour. With my parents permission, if I screwed up I was punished. In the summers I washed cars for 50 cents an hour and worked nights in a barbecue joint. This went on till I was a senior in high school. I worked for a janitorial company from 5 p.m. to 5 a.m. nights and weekends and still attended school and graduated. All money that I was paid went to my parents. I was given $9 a year to buy school books but no lunch money. My clothes were from Goodwill. I wasn't allowed to go to dances or movies or have a car or go to prom or ball games. I did not turn to drugs, alcohol or have a police record. Students who work after school are learning a good work ethic.

Stuck in time

WHAT YEAR is it Cape Girardeau? Did time stop here? I moved here a year ago, and I am appalled by some of the people here. There are people here who don't believe in or even know about global warming. They don't know that pollution affects the climate or that people have the right to do what they want with their bodies from abortion to homosexuality. All the bickering on the arts school, public transportation and which way streets go downtown will never resolve anything.

School lunch meat

I WORK in a Jackson school cafeteria. At our school we serve bacon and sausage several times a month for breakfast. We also have meat delivered. There is meat served in the Jackson School District.

School assistance

I WOULD be concerned too if schools were spending money on shrubs when there aren't enough textbooks for students. That's where a PTO or PTA comes in. The problem is the parents don't care enough to show up for the meetings. The top priority should be textbooks for our children, and the second priority should be volunteers willing to help with the landscaping that would save the school money. A working PTO or PTA in each school is important.

DUI vigilance

I SURE hope that the city police and the university police will be as vigilant after the free-beer baseball game as they were on St. Patrick's Day.

Missing a mate

THERE HAVE been several comments recently that make it sound more and more appealing to stay single. I am here to tell you that you need to think before you speak. I had a wonderful wife, and the good Lord took her home about five years ago after about 15 months of marriage. I have said repeatedly that we didn't have enough time together. Enjoy the time you have with your loved one while you have each other rather than complaining about how much trouble she is. Sooner or later that loved one will be gone, and you will be left with the same thoughts I have had to carry around for the last five years, thinking of all of the things you should have done.

Better transportation

IT IS necessary for some services to be provided by the government, such as public safety and public works. These are necessary services that your tax dollars fund, allowing us all to have a higher standard of living. Public transportation is no different. By county government stepping up to the plate and helping the transit authority buy our local taxi company, we will all benefit. The not-for-profit status the transit authority enjoys will allow the same money that is being spent in this community on existing transportation to be matched by Missouri Department of Transportation funds, creating a windfall in funding. This will allow the transit authority to offer a fixed-route system and full-service taxi service under the same umbrella. The end result will be better service that Cape Girardeau County can be proud of. The county commission should be complimented for what it has pulled off, not chastised by uninformed Speak Out comments.

Cape memories

FOR AS long as I have read the Southeast Missourian, I never went to some of the subject areas. Today, I took the time to look at the "Lost and Saved" section. Going to Cape Girardeau was an excursion at a young age. I am thoroughly impressed with the coverage. I do wish there had been pictures of all of the buildings, but the ones that are shown bring back a lot of memories. I appreciate being able to delve into those memories and will take the time to do more extensive reading. I recommend to anyone else to take the time to read about historical Cape Girardeau and remember. My most vivid memory was being in the Christmas parade that started at the old Orpheum and ended at the railroad depot downtown.

Shed was a haven

MY GRANDPA spent as much time as possible in an old shed at the back of the property. It didn't have electricity. Grandma always thought he was making birdhouses that he sold on the side of the road. He told me he had to take a break. He said if he stayed in the house, Grandma wouldn't leave him alone. She'd find something for him to do. Maybe you should get a rent-to-own shed, Sam.