OpinionMay 4, 2007
Speak Out 5/4/07
Bring them home; Blowing trash; Bike licensing; Excellent drivers; Bus safety; Commander in chief; Rolling stops; Raise New Orleans; Clean parks; Crime is everywhere; Thanks for start; Big dreams; Fighting vandalism; Real needs
Bring them home
IT'S TIME we bring the troops home. We've lost too many boys for such a little cause. I understand about the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. But we went over there for Saddam Hussein. Now he's dead. I have six relatives over there. One of them is going to be sent home because he's hurt.
Blowing trash
I'M CALLING about a trash truck traveling down Highway 25 with trash blowing everywhere. I know the driver could see what was coming off his truck. People need to be sent back up the highway to pick it all up. I notified the sheriff's department, but I don't know if anything will be done. I hope the driver gets the message.
Bike licensing
I DON'T have a problem with bicyclists having their own lane, but I do have a problem with not obeying the law. On Saturday there were six bike riders coming to the Bertling Street/North Sprigg Street four-way stop. All six of them ran the stop sign in front of me when I had the right-of-way. If Cape Girardeau wants to give bicyclists their own lane, I suggest requiring a bicycling school, special licensing and a license tag on the bicycle.
Excellent drivers
I THINK Jackson School District bus drivers are doing an excellent job every day. Almost every driver out there has rolled through a stop sign at some point.
Bus safety
I'M NOT saying you should run stop signs, but sometimes it's safer if it's clear to not stop and wait for something to get into your view. I'm a bus driver and have rolled through stops because it was safer for me and the children I was in charge of. We take our responsibilities seriously.
Commander in chief
OUR PRESIDENT hopes someone will be held responsible for the mishandling of the information of the death of football star Pat Tillman. Tillman was used as an example to patriotism to build the morale of those volunteering for service. The president is commander in chief. Is he kept in the dark by his subordinates? Is he not told the truth? Does he not know what is going on? Attorney General Gonzales can't remember anything. His boss, President Bush, wasn't told the truth about how Tillman died. Is he commander in chief or a figurehead for the Pentagon?
Rolling stops
ANYONE WHO has driven a truck and trailer or loaded school bus will soon realize that a dead stop is usually more dangerous than a rolling stop. In a rolling stop, the driver has time to look both ways and, if clear, move quickly onto the main road. If they are forced to make a dead stop, particularly up hill and turning left, they're pulling out at about 2 miles per hour, crossing a lane, making the truck or bus more vulnerable to fast-moving traffic. If they are forced to make a dead stop, there will be more accidents due to fast drivers coming up on a virtually stopped bus. The Jackson bus drivers have an excellent safety record.
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Raise New Orleans
NOW THAT it's been shown that more than a quarter-million people have not returned to New Orleans, it's time to either to launch a Manhattan Project and raise the town or forget about New Orleans. With the way the weather and ocean levels are going to change, the thing to do is keep people out of there unless you want to pile in enough dirt to build above sea level.
Clean parks
A BIG thanks to the Little people and big people who keep our parks in Jackson looking so clean and beautiful.
Crime is everywhere
DON'T STEREOTYPE the south side of Cape Girardeau as a place where prostitution and drugs going on. It's going on in other parts of town, too.
Thanks for start
WE WOULD like to thank the three young angels who helped us get our car started at Panera Bread. They were a young man named Kevin and two young women who looked to be about college age. They worked and worked to get the starter cables to reach. After all the work, they still weren't sure the car would start, but it did, and we made it home safely. There are good young people around, and we met three of them.
Big dreams
IT SOUNDS to me like Patrick Morgan with the Cape Girardeau School District is doing a lot of wonderful dreaming with somebody else holding the purse. Dreaming how great something can be and how great something needs to be are totally different.
Fighting vandalism
I'VE BEEN reading the comments about the vandalism problems downtown. In my opinion, it's both of the police department's and the business owners' responsibility. Shop owners should do everything they can that's reasonable and legal to make their business safe and secure. The police officers need to patrol the area as often as they can while taking care of the rest of Cape Girardeau as well. It's a balance. If everybody's doing his part, it will cut down on crime and vandalism.
Real needs
A RECENT comment suggested that the government should provide universal health care, free college tuition and many other programs. For the government to do this, it must tax those who have studied hard in school and worked their way through college. They now work for their income and are saving for contingencies. The government then takes taxes from them and provides services to those who seem to always have their hands out and expect the government to take care of them. Yes, there are calamities and misfortune. Generally there are programs and agencies available for those short-term events. It's too bad there are those who consider government handouts to be a lifelong entitlement. We all should help those who are truly in need.
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