OpinionApril 20, 2007
Speak Out 4/20/07
Scott County tax; Baking soda plan; Common-sense testing; Staying the same; Great teachers; Taxing bicycles; Irrational laws; Flawed system; Helping veterans; Tax and spend; Provide support; Murder auctions; Powell for president; Stealing gas; Apology needed; School not destroyed; Ask for utensils; No taxi service; Walk the walk; Racial agitation; Protecting students; Cruelest month; Better spokesmen; Blame the NRA; Great production; It was a vendetta; Not surprised; Pay the taxes
Scott County tax
MOST OF Sikeston's prisoners face state charges and are to be held in the county jail. If they have local charges, Sikeston pays a fee for room and board to Scott County for those inmates. Sikeston has a building that is more than 100 years old to house the police station. What is wrong with trying to improve that problem by building a new place so they could have room to put a jail in for the local prisoners? Nothing. The sunset issue is what killed this tax. A temporary tax would have passed.
Baking soda plan
WHAT KIND of representative have we elected to suggest that we ban the sale of baking soda from the grocery counters? It may be an ingredient for the making of a drug, but it is also an important item used in baking. Go after the other items used. State Rep. Talibdin El-Amin must have grown up eating out at restaurants all of his life and never had use for baking soda. It is outrageous that he would even have this thought. Wake up, America.
Common-sense testing
THE FAILED No Child Left Behind Act and equally disastrous tests like Missouri's MAP are on the way out. They will be replaced (with government approval) by, believe it or not, final examinations based on material covered in the classroom. Who would have ever thought it? Common sense may actually prevail. I do hope passage of such local school district-developed tests are made mandatory for passing from one grade to another and that passage of a comprehensive final be required for graduation. Most children with special needs should be exempt.
Staying the same
THOSE EXPRESSING happiness over the firing of Central Middle School's principal are anticipating change. So do I. However, I also believe strongly in the saying that the more things change the more they stay the same.
Great teachers
THE TEACHERS at Central Middle School are incredible. I have had three children attend this school with great results. My children were more than ready for junior high school. I don't listen to exaggerated gossip. The teachers there are caring, intelligent and hard-working. They are there for the students. God knows no one gives them the praise they deserve.
Taxing bicycles
MANY OF us can empathize with the bike riders' problems in traffic. However, streets and highways were built for motorists who pay property and gasoline taxes, as well as vehicle licensing fees, for the building and upkeep of those roads. Perhaps the state could consider licensing for bikes that would be using the public streets as well as enforcing traffic laws for cyclists. Bicycle lanes have worked well in many university towns.
Irrational laws
STATE REP. Talibdin El-Amin's bill to restrict the purchase of baking soda because it is used in the manufacture of crack cocaine is only a small step toward laws for our so-called protection. How many things can you think of that might be used in manufacturing various illegal drugs? We have become a nation of irrational laws and taxation on pretty much every aspect of our lives.
Flawed system
IN THE matter of the bill forbidding judges to increase or impose taxes: This is good, so far as we can see. Now if we could pass a bill forbidding our elected officials from increasing or imposing taxes, we might all have more money to spend on our groceries, rent and health care. Our system of taxation with representation is badly flawed, in view of the fact that our elected representatives seldom listen to the people who elected them.
Helping veterans
IT'S ALWAYS nice to read about how an ex-offender can get help finding a job when a veteran can't find one.
Tax and spend
JUST GOT finished reading one of Gary Rust's columns and was dumbfounded. "Tax and spend" has always been the battle cry of the Republicans against the Democrats. Now the Republicans are saying the same thing, except they tell their base to not say "tax and spend" but rather "spend and we will later blame the Democrats for the taxes that must come."
Provide support
THE HORRIBLE truth regarding the administration change at Central Middle School is that the two administrators have had their hands tied regarding discipline. The only way discipline will get better in that building is if the central office gives the new administration and teachers the support they need. This means not backing down when a squalling parent goes to the board office to complain.
Murder auctions
SEVERAL STATES have passed laws making it illegal to use the Internet to auction what is called "murderabilia." Examples have been locks of Charles Manson's hair and paintings by the notorious John Wayne Gacy. Shamefully, the Show Me State is one of the states not passing legislation prohibiting this kind of activity in Missouri.
Powell for president
THE CURRENT crop of presidential wannabes for both parties leave plenty to be desired. The one person who could win this, if he chose to run, would be Colin Powell. Here is a man who has military experience and served well as secretary of state. If he were in the mix, I'm sure he would win either party's nomination.
Stealing gas
REGARDING DRIVE-OFFS from gas stations: It was my understanding that it was a law that if you drive off you lose your license for a year. In Scott City, if you go in and pay $2 and fill up your tank and drive away, it becomes a civil matter. This came from the chief of police in Scott City. Come on, people. We need to do something.
Receive Daily Headlines FREESign up today!
Apology needed
I COULDN'T help but notice there was no apology, at least not in your paper, issued by the black leaders who condemned the lacrosse players. They were fast in condemning the players accused of raping a black woman. After charges were dropped, I think the least the black leaders could do is apologize for their reaction without proof.
School not destroyed
THE QUESTION isn't whether or not Caruthersville is entitled to a new school because of damage from the tornado last spring. Multiple engineering firms have concluded the building can be repaired and is safe, and the insurance company and FEMA have committed to those repairs. The question is whether the people of Caruthersville want a new school badly enough to supplement those insurance funds to build one. The media keeps referring to the high school as having been "destroyed" by the tornado. It was far from destroyed.
Ask for utensils
REGARDING COMPLAINTS about fast-food places and how they do not always provide eating utensils: It's hectic in a fast-food restaurant. And like the name suggests, it is fast. Check your food before you leave. If you don't get utensils, ask for them.
No taxi service
MY VEHICLE broke down about 4 a.m. Saturday. I called Cape County Transit's taxi service. I called both numbers and got voice mail on both and waited on hold for a long time, but no person ever answered. I had to call someone else to pick me up. Our tax dollars are being wasted on this so-called taxi service.
Walk the walk
TO QUOTE Edmund Burke, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." Another statement I read and liked: "When good men do nothing, they are no longer good." There are too many people willing to talk the talk, but few are willing to walk the walk.
Racial agitation
AL SHARPTON and Jesse Jackson are perpetuating racism. They spring on the latest and greatest hot black/white racial topic. Stirring up anger is what they want to do, which solves nothing and serves no purpose. Anger breeds hatred, and they seem to love to point fingers everywhere but at themselves. I see a half-hearted effort to clean up their own backyard. Instead, they blame everyone else for using words that are accepted and condoned in their rap songs. Rap music and its disgusting lyrics are here to stay unless you have enough guts to stop it. What Don Imus said was awful. I hope his comments will spark some much-needed change.
Protecting students
A TRAGIC event has occurred in Virginia. We ask ourselves how this is allowed to happen. The answer is simple. Institutions of higher education do not allow students to protect themselves and don't provide adequate protection for them. University police are helpless in such a situation. We in Missouri are lucky to have concealed-carry law. If only students were allowed to exercise this constitutional right in Virginia, there would be one dead gunmen and upwards of 30 students who wouldn't have been killed. Push for allowing constitutional rights, such as concealed-carry for qualified individuals, in Missouri schools.
Cruelest month
OKLAHOMA CITY. Columbine. Now the Virginia Tech massacre. T.S. Eliot had it right: "April is the cruelest month."
Better spokesmen
YOU HAVE to wonder why the black community continues to allow Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton to speak for them. I know there are much better people in their community. If they ever want to be credible to the majority of Americans, they must get leaders in place who are credible. If it were not for racism, Jackson and Sharpton would have to get a job just like the rest of us.
Blame the NRA
LET'S ALL thank the National Rifle Association for another success. Due to the NRA's lobbying efforts, another 33 young people in Virginia have been sent to the Promised Land, all because the NRA refuses to accept that everyone can't be trusted with a firearm. Remember, guns don't kill people, ignorance does. The NRA has plenty of that to go around.
Great production
TO THE students at Notre Dame Regional High School: What an outstanding job you did in the "My Fair Lady" production. Our family enjoyed seeing such talent in our youths today. Keep up the good work. To Mrs. King: Bravo! Bravo!
It was a vendetta
I ALWAYS thought the charges against one-time Scott County sheriff Bill Ferrell represented nothing but a vendetta. For the time being, it seems as though I was correct.
Not surprised
I WAS not surprised to see that former Scott County sheriff Bill Ferrell was cleared of charges. The bogus charges were a last-ditch effort by Scott County people of authority to smear a good man's name. He did things at times that Scott County officials disagreed with, and they cannot let it rest. This is a man people thanked for arresting them and changing their lives. I had the pleasure to both work for him and consider him my friend. Those who knew the real Ferrell will remember the good things he did not for just the cream of society.
Pay the taxes
I DO not think there should be open enrollment in school districts in Missouri. We selected a home in a certain school district, which came with a certain price tag and tax. I feel it would be unfair to my family. Statistically, some schools are performing better because of social and economic differences. If you want your child to attend a better school, find proper housing or pay the tax differential.
Story Tags
Connect with the Southeast Missourian Newsroom:
For corrections to this story or other insights for the editor, click here. To submit a letter to the editor, click here. To learn about the Southeast Missourian’s AI Policy, click here.
Related
Advertisement
Receive Daily Headlines FREESign up today!
