Speak Out 5/29/04

Deserve a raise

THE U.S. Fire Administration says a total of 110 (out of about 290,000) U.S. firefighters died while on duty in 2003. The National Law Enforcement memorial fund says 145 police officers (out of about 740,000) were killed during 2003. Statistically, refuse collection ranks third among dangerous jobs in the United States, behind fishing and timber cutting, according to a 2000 study of workers' compensation claims. The study indicates that the high number of deaths can be attributed partly to impatient drivers who try to pass stopped garbage-collection vehicles. The study's findings place waste handling as a riskier occupation than being an airplane pilot or a taxi driver, and the mortality rate for a refuse collector is 100 times higher than what is considered acceptable risk by any standard. Since police and fire have protective equipment, the mortality rate is lower. All a trash man has is a pair of gloves. Do you think police and firefighters deserve a raise more than the public works employees?

Parental motivation

THE EDITORIAL about Brown v. Board talked about the dropout rates of blacks and the fact that blacks continue to do worse on the achievement tests than white people do. There are plenty of black people who do great. They're the ones who are motivated by their parents to do the best they can instead of looking for excuses.

Men are victims too

I WAS in the police station and saw the notice about domestic violence and the Safe House for Women. Where's the man supposed to go in the domestic violence situation when a woman decides to haul off and beat on him? I think this is pretty one-sided.

Ballot verification

CONGRATULATIONS TO the Cape Girardeau county clerk and the county commission. It is the best idea to have us vote on paper ballots and mark our choices with pencil and then use an optical scanner to read the votes. That way, if there's a problem with the computers or someone tries to cheat you can verify the ballot.

Volunteer pride

MY FATHER used to work Sunday through Saturday and volunteered as a fireman and policeman. He never complained if he had to get up in the middle of the night to go take care of a fire or to pull someone out of a car. He didn't get paid for what he did, but he took pride in his work, no matter what.

Sweeper on the bridge

AS AN occasional bicyclist who's enjoying the new bridge, it would really be appreciated if a sweeper could sweep the glass and pebbles off the bridge for the safety of the bicyclists.

Comparing jobs

IT MADE me sick when someone commented the Cape Girardeau police don't do their jobs regarding drugs because they don't get paid enough. Most child-care workers get $2 an hour or less plus provide meals for those precious children. Most farmers get minimum wage or less, with no health benefits or pension, to grow the food you eat. City workers better be thankful for their jobs. All of us have important jobs, so let's quit making one job more important than another.

Simple diet

I JUST would like to give my five cents' worth to all dieting people. All it takes is a little willpower. Eat normal food, but eat half a portion. It does not work for one night or two weeks but it works in the long run. And you don't need a doctor's prescription or an expensive diet plan. Once you take off all the extra pounds, you'll be able to keep it off and won't need to worry about pills.

Breeding grounds

USED TIRES might be causing a lot of the mosquitoes. At the same time it doesn't make a lot of sense that we're promoting wetlands around places like County Park. We're breeding West Nile and malaria carriers, and eventually we're going to start seeing the reasons that the farmers never lived in the lowlands.