Speak out 6/26/06

Speak Out education

THE EDUCATION I receive at the hands of individuals using Speak Out is incredible. Take the bit about the individual glad that we didn't get the All America City award. Living in this town, in a diversified neighborhood, shopping in multicultural shops, working with a sampling of every aspect of society, I am told that we don't deserve the recognition. Gosh, what sand hill is your head stuck in?

Lack of ads

THE JACKSON superintendent's comments on how they advertised the high school principal's position are misleading. Any outside candidates would most likely not have checked Jackson schools' Web site for any job openings but rather would have checked other sources such as Web sites that list multiple schools, newspaper ads, etc. I can guarantee you that several people would have applied if the job had been more openly advertised. There are qualified applicants in the district that were not chosen and a large number outside the district. It appears the administration just did what they wanted to do.

Florida voting

THE PEOPLE complaining about the new requirement for a picture ID requirement must have forgotten about the Florida voting scandal in the 2000 presidential election. The main reason for it is to make sure the proper person votes at the right place and only once. To those complaining they don't drive or are handicapped and don't have a driver's license, I don't drive but I have a nondriving state ID you get at the same place you get your driver's license.

Qualified people

IT IS amazing how school officials skirt the law to get what they want. Jackson has hired two retired administrators in the last two years when there are plenty of qualified people. Fisher and Anderson say that they advertised within their own district. They actually expected people to apply when they already stated that they wanted to rehire the high school principal? They didn't have time to put an ad in the paper? This practice of hiring retired personnel needs to be stopped. Jackson has never had a shortage of applicants.

Teacher standards

THANKS FOR your excellent editorial on teacher standards. As you said, teaching is as much an art as a science. I would take that a teeny bit further and say that teacher certification is meaningless, and that colleges of education should be abolished.

No garden of Eden

In response to the person who states "crime is down, and our deputies are well-paid": What county do you live in? It certainly isn't Cape Girardeau County. Maybe you should share this Garden of Eden with the rest of us.

Addiction series

THE SERIES on drug addiction was wonderful and necessary beyond words. Those who object are still living a head-in-the-sand existence with no knowledge, insight or understanding of what needs in-depth coverage in the press.

Likes convenience

I LIKE having the convenience store on Perryville Road in Cape Girardeau. It has been there longer than most of the homes in the area, so whoever wrote that it is a residential area may have forgotten that.

Garage sales

I READ the Speak Out where someone put a sign in their yard and was told to move it because it was on the city right of way. I checked my paperwork on my house and it says that is my yard, not the city's.