Speak Out 4/27/07

Like a snowball

FALSE RUMORS are like a snowball. They accumulate the more they're told.

City was listening

SEVERAL PEOPLE have criticized the Cape Girardeau City Council for its action recently regarding the proposed housing on Bloomfield Road for mentally troubled people. I truly applaud a 16-year-old who's gotten his act together after having been on drugs and has been sober and clean for six months. But I'm not going to invite him into my home to live, and I'm not going to welcome him to date my daughter. The city council had to look at the whole picture. It had to consider what the community wanted. The people in that neighborhood spoke out about their fears and their concerns, and the city council responded. There are many places such a center can be built that won't affect elderly people or families. I applaud the city council for listening to community members and acting accordingly.

Mixed message

I WONDER how much Sheryl Crow's personal aircraft contributes to global warming. I'm embarrassed that she is from Southeast Missouri.

Don't cross the line

DRIVERS IN Cape Girardeau: Do not cross solid white lines at intersections. It's dangerous, and it happens all the time.

Important headlights

I WOULD like to respond to the comment that said not to bother the police with the trivial matter of a headlight out on your car. I was injured in a car accident that happened at 10:30 p.m. over 20 years ago. The car that hit us crossed the median of the interstate and had one headlight, so we had no idea what was coming toward us. I now have a permanent disability. My mother and sister were injured seriously. One headlight a trivial matter? Not in my book. More importantly, it's against the law.

Police work

FOR THOSE complaining about the police not doing enough: Maybe they have undercover officers working on drug crimes. And if they don't do something about speeders, people will gripe about not writing tickets. The police are doing a fine job. Let them work. They cannot please everyone.

Change at the top

TO THE parents and students of Cape Girardeau who are upset about the firing of the principals at Central Middle School: You can do something about it. Go to school board meetings. When positions are available on the board, band together and select someone from your group to run for the position on the board. That is the only way things are going to change. The change needs to be at the top.

Lingering fear

TODAY I was at my college and heard someone yelling in the hallway. I began to think about what I would do if someone started shooting. I can't imagine the fear that the Virginia Tech students felt when they went back to school.

Two-wheel transport

I FIND it quite annoying that there are so many complaints about gas prices in Cape Girardeau. Europe has gas prices far higher than those in the states. What do they do? They travel on two wheels. Motorcycles and bicycles are popular in the rest of the world. Many large motorcycles built 20 years ago get 60 miles per gallon.

Shades of Cold War

IT SEEMS we didn't learn anything from the Cold War. Erect fences, separate groups, show our wish for isolation. I believe the Bush administration wishes the Cold War were still on so it could build more terror.

Public hearing

AT THE very least, the Cape Girardeau school board owes us a public hearing to air our views on the ousting of Frank Ellis.

Congressional oversight

PRESIDENT BUSH continues to threaten Congress over and over regarding escalating the war. The presidency is not a kingship. Congress' ability to place limits is what the Founding Fathers called checks and balances.

Wearing seat belts

THERE WAS a comment that the New Jersey governor was not wearing his seat belt but the trooper who was driving was. The article stated that if the governor had his on, he would have walked away like the trooper. Read the April 19 paper about the local accident. The only one out of three people wearing a seat belt was killed, and those who were not wearing one were only hurt. Another one happened April 9, and a 10-year-old who had hers on died while the others who had theirs on and one who did not have his on lived. It has been almost 50/50 for some time now. Quit pushing this issue down our throats. There are more important things to worry about.

Beware of beggars

DON'T FEEL sorry for every person who stands at an intersection begging for money. "60 Minutes" did an episode about these people and how much money they make in a year. Some were over $50,000. I would love for one of our local news agencies to stake out these people and see where they go when they leave the intersection. A few years ago I was at a restaurant and watched a couple park their nice car and walk to the intersection and beg for money.

Students not recruited

THE DIFFERENCE between the situation facing the Leopold School District versus other schools in the area is that Leopold did not recruit students. Parents know a good thing when they see it and choose to enroll their children in that district. I believe most of the students in question have been attending Leopold for many years. I'd send my children there if I could. Keep up the good work, Leopold.

Remembering Tommy

I WANT to thank Matt Sanders for writing about Tommy. Though few knew it, he was a dear friend of mine, and I miss him greatly. Thank you so much for honoring him with the column. He was the most beautiful, amazing man I have ever known, and he touched the hearts of everyone he ever met. The world is a darker place without Tommy. I don't believe I can sum up the man I knew and loved in a few words. A great injustice to the world was done the day Tommy DeWolf died. Thank you again so much for your words, and promise to remember him always, I know I will. "The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering." -- Author unknown. That would be our Tommy.

One square

I'M GLAD to see that Sheryl Crow is involved with the global-warming issue. However, her use of one square of toilet paper is pushing it just a bit. On the up side, if people only used one square per visit, there would be a lot more hand washing, which would result in less spreading of germs.

Use the trail

CONSIDERING THAT many roads in Cape Girardeau are in dire need of repair and the city has numerous drainage problems due to urban sprawl, I do not want to pay for a bicycle lane. There is the La Croix Trail, you know.

Riding coattails

YES, THE president only paid 14 percent of his income in taxes. Of course, Democrats don't want you to know that he paid another 16 percent of his after-tax income to charities. Remember the adage, "I've never seen a poor man give another poor man a job"? The wealthy are the job providers, and many if us are riding on the coattails of their hard work and their money.