Speak Out 5/17/06

Unprofessional dress

IN RESPONSE to the comment about professional dress, I think employees at Southeast Missouri State University need to dress professionally. I am disappointed at attire I see some university employees wear. I have enough sense to dress professionally in the workplace. Professional dress demands respect. I think department supervisors need to enforce strict dress code rules. I have no respect for persons who come to work at a professional academic institution dressed like they are going to hang out at the bar.

Prosecute litterers

WHEN LITTERBUGS are turned in, it is up to the authorities to follow up on prosecution, especially when the littering is documented. No-littering warnings are on signs all over the country, so I feel the first offense should be punishable by a fine, not a warning. Go to other states. It seems as though they've gotten the message and know not to litter. Southeast Missouri, from main interstates to side roads, is a cesspool of litter.

Think for yourself

ANYONE WHO views the approval rating of any political figure as a determination of the type of job the politicians is doing is not very smart. Most successful companies are filled with employees who would give their bosses low approval ratings. These employees support their feelings with no truth. Plenty of politicians help these same people by being a false support system. They would rather bring you and our government down so you will side with them and give them a job. Think for yourself, and question everything you hear. Personally research issues, and don't rely on word of mouth.

Relevant movies

AS A teacher of the Cape Girardeau School District, I can tell you that I have had several substitutes who do not follow my lesson plans and choose to show movies. However, the movies that are shown in my classroom are subject-related and educational. So for all the parents who like to complain about movies in the classroom, please get the facts.

Funeral disrespect

I ATTENDED my aunt's funeral in Cape Girardeau. During the funeral procession, many cars didn't pull over. One motorist pulled up beside the procession and cut into the line. She put her flashers on so it appeared she was in the funeral. When she got to where she needed to be, she got back out of the line and turned her flashers off. I can't believe people are that inconsiderate. I know my aunt would have pulled over for anyone else.

Just passing through

THE MYSTERIOUS blimp-shaped UFO was a blimp passing through. These blimps pass through from time to time to get to different locations.

Longer on green

ONE OF the reasons motorists sit at a light a few seconds after it turns green is because so many other motorists in this town run red lights. Longer green lights are one answer. Some are ridiculously short.

ID for UFO

THE UFO was a blimp. My daughter saw it. She told me what it said on the side, but I don't remember what it was.

Can't be fixed

SOCIAL SECURITY cannot be fixed.. It's a government program. As an astute politician once commented: What has our government ever done that would make us think it could do it more efficiently than the private sector?

Share information

U.S. REP. Jo Ann Emerson should sponsor a law that will allow the Social Security Administration and the IRS to share their databases with the Immigration Service. If someone is using a fake Social Security number, the Social Security Administration could ask the Immigration Service to check it out. It might be a minor mistake, or it might be a system of illegal employment.

Absentee teachers

I AM a teacher, and I am fed up with parental complaints that teachers miss an unacceptable number of days due to meetings. Many of these meetings fall under state-mandated professional development requirements. We do not have a choice. If we wish to maintain our teaching certificates, we must put in the hours. It is much more work for a teacher to be absent than it is for a teacher to be in the classroom. I have only missed 1 1/2 days due to illness in two years. In that time, I have attended well over 100 hours of unpaid professional development. I'm not complaining, I just want to make sure parents have their facts straight. I wonder what would happen if teachers started shining the spotlight on absentee parents who never help their children with homework, never show up for parent-teacher conferences or never inquire about what their child is learning. Believe me, there are far more absentee parents than there are absentee teachers. A school district will have the sort of school that the majority of its parents want.

Fair performers

A FEW years ago the SEMO District Fair promised to start having a night of rock music every year. Since then the fair has given us a band that was washed up 30 years ago and a couple of tired Southern rock acts, which really isn't much different than country music. This year the fair is offering an "American Idol" reject. There are county fairs within driving distance of Cape Girardeau that book better rock bands than the SEMO District Fair Is the fair board so out of touch that these are what they consider good rock bands? Or are they just cheap?

Protecting us

ENTRAPMENT? How is the police stopping speeding parents in a school zone entrapment? This is protecting the community. The last thing I want to see is a child being hit by a car that could not slow down because it was speeding. Police, keep up the good work.