Speak Out 5/18/08

Keeping us informed

HERE WE go again. When elected officials' actions are questioned, they rebel. Jay Purcell, Cape Girardeau County's 2nd District commissioner, seems to be one of the few -- maybe the only one -- who wants the taxpaying public to know what is really going on. Everything elected officials do is our business. I don't care if they're in a car, in a bar, on a park bench or in a room at the courthouse. There needs to be proof of what they are doing as elected officials. More power to Purcell. If he did not tape those conversations, everything he's saying would have been denied. Wake up, voters. Who has shown that they have nothing to hide by trying to inform the public truthfully? Jay Purcell. I've watched the good old boy network in action for a long time. It's time we get behind someone like Purcell.

Check everything

LET'S HAVE the special prosecutor to check into Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle's and County Auditor David Ludwig's use of county-owned computers. That way we won't have to come up with another special prosecutor later on.

Quarry concerns

DID YOU know that a quarry operation can cause your well to go dry or the water to get dirty from the blasting to loosen the rock? This can extend for up to 10 miles from the site of the quarry, sometimes even further. Did you know your basement could develop cracks from the shock of the blasting to loosen the rock for up to 10 miles and more from the blast site? Did you know the particles of dust from blasting, crushing, screening and mining can and has been proven to cause cancer? Just thought you might like to know. Wouldn't you like to have this in your backyard? We don't plan to have it in my backyard on County Road 319.

Reasons to worry

IT'S SO sad. I heard that farmland off Route K will be turned into a rock quarry. I heard that 200 to 300 trucks will be running daily. People in the area will be affected by the noise, dust and extra traffic. I cannot imagine the traffic congestion near Notre Dame Regional High School. If this worries you, you should contact your elected officials.

Great talent

THE JACKSON Junior High School "American Idol" show was well done. The students displayed great talent, and the faculty did an excellent job of putting it together.

You go first

As the new federal building is apparently on the verge of being ready for occupancy with all the problems having been solved, I'll bet the pols who are scheduled to take up part-time residence there are looking at one another nervously and saying, "You go first."

Informing taxpayers

HOW CAN anyone who is a taxpayer in Cape Girardeau County say that Jay Purcell, 2nd District commissioner, acted in a deceitful manner? We have a right to know what happens anywhere and anytime with our county commission. All Purcell has done is expose some specific wrongdoings that have been going on. Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones has been an influential businessman in this county for many years. He is a well-liked individual. I don't believe Purcell's intent was to personally attack Jones but to bring some truth and justice to taxpayers and to mend some wrongs in the county commission. It is hard for a single individual who has been in charge for an extended period of time to give changes a try when things seemed to run well for so long. When a new face appears and makes suggestions for change, confrontations will occur.

Priceless land

IN MY opinion, the North Cape County Park land should be priceless. Once it's sold, it's gone forever.

Rental properties

I DON'T know where you find homes in Cape Girardeau that rent for $500. Duplexes are $600 to $750. Apartments start at about $350. Most places are not fit for a dog. I moved into an absolutely filthy place I had to clean, and the landlord wanted a $400 cleaning deposit. If I had not been desperate for a rental I would never have taken it, but that is what the landlords depend on. They charge as much as they can and do as little as possible to keep up the properties.

Why object?

WHY WOULD anyone be opposed to being recorded if he has nothing to hide? If you have not done or said something you should not have done or said, why object to being recorded?

No shortage

THERE IS no gasoline shortage, The only place you see a line at the pump is at the place that is a few cents cheaper than the one down the street. There are no limits on how much you can buy. The main reasons for the high cost of fuel are the countries that we import it from don't like us and are taking it out on us economically. Elected officials on both sides of the aisle are bowing to pressure from environmentalists and keeping us from tapping our own vast oil reserves.

Clippings in the street

WHY PUTTING grass clippings in the street is a big deal: 1. It's ugly. 2. Wet clippings can be as slippery as ice. 3. The grass gets washed by the rain into storm sewers, the sewers get clogged up, streets flood and the city must pay crews to clean out the storm drains. 4. It is against the law. Cape Girardeau has an ordinance against lawn clippings being disposed of in the street. Got it now?

Enchanting play

HATS OFF to the River City Players' production of "Steel Magnolias." It is an enchanting play with bittersweet laughter. You should catch it.