Speak Out 4/2/06

Booster-seat freedom

I THINK the proposed booster-seat bill is ridiculous. I think the people who are happiest about booster seats are those making a profit from them. My three children are grown, but I don't think anyone should have the right to tell a parent how long a child should be in a booster chair. By at the age of 3 my children weren't in booster seats. Freedom is important in America, and it shouldn't be infringed upon.

Money and learning

I FOUND some interesting information from the Department of Education in reference to school funding. Per-pupil spending in Missouri was $7,462. The percentage of eighth-graders who read at proficiency or better levels was only 31 percent, and only 26 percent were proficient or better in math. Putting more money into education is not the answer. Low test scores make the case for school choice.

Trucks on the street

WHY DO Cape Girardeau police allow Siemers Drive to become a parking lot for trailer trucks? Four or five times a night you can see trailer trucks parked between the Shell station and White Castle. Shouldn't they have to pull into a parking lot? I think it is unsafe. If there's no sign saying you can't park on that side of the street, there should be.

Freedom not to believe

THE FOUNDING Fathers did not fight for the people to believe in God. It was almost the opposite. They fought so they wouldn't have to believe what others wanted them to believe. It was to have free will.

Crime time

REGARDING RECENT complaints about jail inmates' food and making them pick up trash: Why are they in jail? They have committed crimes and deserve bad food and having to clean up after others. They are the bad ones, not us. We are giving them free rides, and they have to do a little work to help out. Quit living off the system.

Good decision

WANT A good, clean, natural high? Drive downtown on Main Street, which is now two-way. Way to go, Cape Girardeau. You have made my drive home and into town more of a pleasure knowing that I no longer have to drive three and sometimes four blocks out of my way. I hope others enjoy the change as much as my family and I do.

Hiding the facts

THE CAPE Girardeau County Transit Authority is refusing to give all the facts about the deal it is making with Kelley Transportation Co. to buy the taxi service. If the transit authority is run by the county, that means tax money is running it. In this case, the Sunshine Law should be involved, and the transit authority should have to make all the facts public.

Enforce existing law

REGARDING THE proposed legislation requiring 8-year-olds to be in booster seats: This law is being pushed by a woman who let her 2 1/2-year-old ride with just a seat belt on. That was her mistake. I think stricter enforcement of the law requiring children 4 years old and under to be in a car seat is the answer.

1950s history

IT APPEARS downtown Cape Girardeau has a case of facade-ism. Like many other of America's downtown districts, everyone is too eager to create an old-time feeling that really never existed. I wish everyone could appreciate the metal panel facades of the 1950s and 1960s. Those buildings are also listed on the historical register more and more.

Voting incentive

I DISAGREE with your editorial that the Democrats need to offer concrete proposals for extricating ourselves from Iraq. Voters don't need an incentive to vote for Democrats, knowing as they do that a Democrat-controlled Congress and presidency could do no worse and possibly a lot better.

Low-cost landscaping

I HOPE the recent complaints about planting shrubs at the high school when there isn't enough money for textbooks was aimed at Central High School. We planted some that were all donated. We also planted some that we got an excellent deal on from a garden centers. The total cost wouldn't exceed $300. I bought the fertilizer and all the stakes.

Boulevard speeding

IT LOOKS like the police are no longer patrolling north West End Boulevard for speeders. The speeders are getting worse than ever. This isn't a race track. It's a neighborhood with children and school buses loading and unloading. Police department, do something.

No rights here

Illegal immigrants don't have any rights, nor should they have any. They have broken the laws of this land that the rest of us have to live by. They drain our tax structure to the breaking point. Go home to Mexico and demonstrate to President Fox.

Taxi drivers' pay

I'M ALL for the taxi drivers making better pay. Why doesn't someone ask the taxi drivers what they would like out of the Cape Girardeau County Transit Authority? Are these driver going to get better pay and more benefits out of this deal, or are they going to make less money so the drivers have to find something else to help support their families?

Mob policy

WILL OUR country let mobs decide our immigration policy? If this happens, mobs will rule our country. Arresting and deporting these illegals would have been a good start toward cleaning up this mess.

Waiting for a ride

THIS IS in response to comment about how generous Kelley Transportation Co. is. It indicated that Kelley gives free rides to the Safe House for Women. This is not the case. The taxi company gives the first ride of the day free to the shelter. The rest have to be paid for. This does not compensate for the two- to three-hour wait that shelter residents have to endure before they can get to their appointments. I feel the taxi company has done a disservice to the community by taking advantage of those less fortunate in our community.

Transit details

I AGREE with the editorial regarding the huge amounts spent to study the transit issue, and all the while negotiations were underway to purchase the taxi service. This seems like money was spent for naught. I will also agree that if taxpayer dollars are going to be spent on a loan payment, a public pronouncement should be made. However, if Kelly, as a private company, wants to keep it quiet, I don't know what anyone can do about it.

Can't afford it

TO HAVE a full-service bus system in Cape Girardeau, buses would have to travel on every street in the city at least once an hour. That would require at least 50 buses and 200 employees, and the buses would run empty or near empty most of the time at a cost of millions of taxpayer dollars. The city could never raise taxes enough to pay for this. It isn't going to happen, so forget it.