Speak Out 7/10/05

Enforcing the law

THE FOURTH of July disturbance is an example of no parental supervision of children and no respect for the law. Sprinkle in drugs and alcohol and you have a mess with a few of those involved complaining about racial bias. It's a shame so few can upset so many. Thank God we have law enforcement which is appreciated by most of us.

Bumpy interstates

BUMPETY, BUMPETY, bump. Interstate 55 from Sikeston to Matthews or Interstate 57 from Sikeston to Charleston are bumpy all the way following recent resurfacing. The Missouri Department of Transportation and the contractor doing the finish work must have been off that day. We have to live with this for the next 10 years. Come on, MoDOT, do a better job.

Mess in the park

I'M CALLING about the fireworks mess at Arena Park. Someone shot off a lot of fireworks by the volleyball courts and didn't clean up the mess. It's terrible. Over by the 4-H building, there's a lot of soda cartons and soda cups. It's terrible. These people need to clean up after themselves.

Negative history

WOULD CLINT E. Lacy be in favor or against the flying of the flag of Saudi Arabia alongside the U.S. flag at a 9-11 memorial? The Confederacy was, albeit briefly, a foreign country and an enemy of the United States. As far as I know, we do not fly a Japanese flag at Pearl Harbor. I can only imagine the outrage at an inclusion of Saudi flags in New York or Washington. How the Confederate flag is different because of history makes no sense to me.

Judicial reasonableness

IT'S NOW fair game to blame the judiciary for any laws the public doesn't like, but it's time to stop the madness. Judges at all levels are there to interpret the law and provide balance in the system. If people don't like the laws, speak to your legislators and try to change the law. Judges shouldn't become the scapegoats for every legislator who can't meet the unrealistic campaign promises he made. People like Tom DeLay demean the entire process, which has served this country well for much longer than he will ever be in the public eye.

Keys to success

WE ALL know that to get ahead in life is simple. Life will not be perfect, but it will be better if you get the best education that you can, don't do drugs, don't have children before you are married, work hard at your job, stay married and don't fight with the police. Some groups in our society have been brainwashed into breaking all of these rules. Something is misleading young people in our society. People on the tough side of town can have a better life, and we want them to succeed.

A real entry

A GRAND entrance? I disagree with the editorial that praised the "aesthetically appealing" commercial strip along Interstate 55 near Siemers Drive. A comparison was even made to a similar stretch of road along Interstate 270 in St. Louis. That is exactly what makes these areas most unappealing. It is too late for Cape Girardeau. The mistake of haphazardly placing big-box stores right at a major city entry point has been made, but it is not too late for Jackson. Please, let us use our heads and do some actual planning so we can prevent Center Junction from becoming just another corner full of bland big-box stores. We can take the time to plan a real entry to the area. It's worth the effort.

Not to be tolerated

I AM so grateful that Cape Girardeau police officer Adam Glueck and Sgt. Kevin Orr stood their ground when accosted during that holiday fracas along South Hanover Street. It is ridiculous to think that the gang mentality should rule in certain parts of town just because an angry mob can assemble. I agree with Mayor Jay Knudtson: This type of behavior should never be tolerated.

Re-upping numbers

MILITARY ENLISTMENTS maybe down, but re-enlistments are holding strong.

County roads

JUST SO that everyone concerned about county roads understands, the landowners do pay to have the roads paved. They pay by being forced into giving up the 100 feet of their property from the centerline of the road along the length or the road and deeding it over to the county -- all without the normal compensation due in similar governmental land takings. The county sees this as a just trade-off for the benefit of gaining a paved road. However, this rule was only created recently, and it has not been applied to all landowners. That is what we get for having the county commission set up as it is. It can make its own rules without any public voice.

Assigning blame

I CAN only hope that the blame-America-first crowd waits a decent interval before assigning ultimate responsibility for the devastation of London on the United States.

Terror aftermath

I HEAR rhetoric from the administration and from Patriot Act supporters about the terrorists attacking "our way of life." Yet the only changes to my way of life, and I'm sure it's the same for many, have come from the administration's responses to terrorism. Nothing has changed other than two ongoing wars, a system of control based on fear and a growing list of restrictions on freedom.

Iraqi deaths

THIS IS not meant to be callous, but I'm sure with the events in London the calls for prayer, remembrance and condolences will come anew. Yet the current death toll for civilians in Iraq is nearing 25,000 (www.iraqbodycount.net), more than eight times that of 9-11. Tragedies like the one in London are sad and deserve the media attention, but I hope people keep the Iraqi number in mind as well.

Big yardsticks

SOMETIMES THE yardsticks people put out for the police to follow are much longer than the ones they use themselves.

One-way streets

WHOEVER DECIDED a long time ago that Water Street should go both ways was a lot smarter than the people now. With a one-way Main Street going south, it makes it unbearable that they've got Water Street going the same way.

Racial issues

REGARDING THE situation that occurred on Hanover: People don't want to address the real issue here in Cape Girardeau. The whole issue is about race, it's about race. Nobody on the south side of town trusts the police officers. Many situations that have occurred there and continue to happen should give everybody a clear message as to what is going on. Nobody's stupid.

Police response

I FIND it sad that a Cape Girardeau police officer had to get injured on South Hanover in order for the police department to pay more attention to this area. I am a neighbor in the community and a member of the neighborhood watch group. I feel the police department has been ignoring this area. It has been brought to the attention of the police on several occasions that this is a volatile area and that there are problems. It is difficult to even get the police to respond in a timely way to anything down here. I hope the situation can be resolved. Mayor Jay Knudtson supposedly has given the police department full authority to correct this problem, and I hope the situation is corrected.