Speak Out 4/4/05

No classes during tests?

I HAVE a son at Central High School who is a freshman. School officials talk about how important attendance is. My son came home the week before Easter and told me that for the next two weeks he was going to be spending three and four hours a day in the commons area or in the gym playing basketball because the school is MAP testing and the freshmen and the seniors don't take the tests. To check how this is handled by other schools, I called Scott City, Jackson, Oak Ridge and Sikeston. Nobody else's kids, especially the freshmen, are hanging around in the gym or commons area or study hall for several hours a day. Surely there's a better way to handle this.

Inmates? No thanks

NOW WE have proponents suggesting that we send inmates to fight our war in Iraq. These inmates could not make anything of their lives. Do we want that kind of protection in our military?

Parking eyesore

I SO admire homeowners who welcome spring with the beauty of daffodils, forsythia, dogwoods and other flowering plants with which they have landscaped their homes. But there is a house that I pass frequently where the homeowner has cut down a number of beautiful, mature trees, installed a huge parking lot covered with gravel and lined up little rocks around three sides. Since there is plenty of paved parking area, I can't understand this eyesore. I guess beauty is in the eyes of the homeowner, not the beholder.

Keep trash in trucks

I'VE BEEN reading a lot in Speak Out about the trash problem we've got here in Cape Girardeau. If the trash trucks would keep collected garbage in the trucks instead of dumping it all over the street, we'd have a whole lot less trash in the street. I think the city needs to get on these boys about putting the trash in the truck.

Excited about sidewalks

REGARDING THE new sidewalks along Lexington Avenue, Sprigg Street and Bertling Street: I could not be more excited. As the weather starts to get nicer, I will be one of the first ones out there. Lexington is a very popular street for people to walk. With the traffic the way it has been, the sidewalks are a wonderful addition to Cape Girardeau. I think you're going to see more people walking as the weather gets nicer. It will be more like a community where people are out and seeing each other instead of having to walk on the trail and not in their own neighborhoods.

Building trust

I AM also a young black man in Cape Girardeau. Cape Girardeau and most cities across the United States have made great leaps and bounds to accommodate African-Americans and welcome them. The problem is they don't know whom to trust, We can't be angry at them for that, because as we speak my friend's cousin or your acquaintance's friends may be committing a crime right now. As for the police, they will get behind you, black or white, and make sure you're legitimate. That's their job. We could make a difference in Cape Girardeau by simply talking to the public and being pleasant. You have to build trust.

Support for the future

SCOTT CITY needs to get behind the school and the community. The kids are the future of the town. We need to keep them in school and give them the best education they can get. History is important, but the future is important too.

It's not a minimum

TO THE person in favor of ticketing for driving under the speed limit. The speed limit is the maximum speed allowed, not the minimum required.

Self-correcting

THE LITTER problem will fix itself in a couple of weeks when the weeds that never get mowed hide the litter and give the Speak Out callers something new to complain about.

Clean up after pets

I HAVE been walking on the Cape Girardeau walking and biking path for the past month and have noticed that more and more people use the path to walk their dogs. I wish these people would be more considerate and clean up after their pets. It is just the right thing to do. There also is a city ordinance that prohibits defecation on public or private property. Every one who uses the path needs to help keep it a beautiful place. Please be responsible and clean up after yourself and your pets.

Makes no sense

ONLY A fanatic could tie an anti-abortion sentiment to Social Security reform and think it makes sense.

Photo IDs for voters

I HAVE always wondered why voters don't have to show picture IDs when voting. How, by the largest stretch of the imagination, could anyone think it's discriminatory? Picture ID's for those without driver's licenses are available in most, if not all, states. Funny that one political party can rave about voter fraud and then do all it can to resist solutions the problem.

Keep up good work

I WANT to say what a great job Police Chief Don Cobb of Scott City is doing. He has the prisoners out cleaning up the trash in town and on the interstate. Keep up the good work.

Slap in the face

BEING A soldier is about discipline, courage and honor. None of these are qualities of death-row inmates. To imply convicts can do the job of our superb armed forces is a slap in the face to everyone who has served honorably.

Seeing too much

WHILE STANDING in a supermarket checkout line, I saw a woman in front of me who leaned over to get things out of her cart and revealed that she is not wearing a bra. I am grateful none of the youths from my church were with me to witness such a display. She might be a nice woman to be around, but she might lure a crowd she doesn't want. I know spring is here, but women should have consideration and respect for others and especially themselves. How a woman dresses determines what she will attract and how she will impact other lives.

Didn't work out

REGARDING THE situation of David Butler: People, look at your own lives before you start throwing stones. I truly believe this man tried to raise the money for the children's home. Sometimes things just don't work out the way you plan.

Too rational

JIM WENTE'S argument against messing around with Missouri's model Medicaid program was rational and reasonable. For that very reason, it will fail to convince voters. Most voters stereotype Medicaid recipients as lazy bums, unworthy of Medicaid assistance. The cynics who support the governor's meat-ax approach to the Medicaid budget have a winning issue.