Speak Out 8/14/05

One-hour bargain

I'M OPPOSED to extending daylight-saving time because I'm getting old, and I'd like to cheat death out of at least one more hour.

Scott City's interchange

IT SEEMS such a shame to me that we're spending all that money for Jackson, Southeast Missouri State University and Cape Girardeau to get a new interchange when Scott City can't seem to get anything done.

Plenty of druggies

I'M READING about all the drug heists and the fines that are paid and how many people go to prisons for illegal drugs. The prisons are full of druggies. I don't understand why we don't legalize a lot of these drugs. It's either that or build more and more prisons. I don't see any way out.

Change the name

REGARDING THE Aug. 7 article, "Staying the course," Bill O'Neill's comment that "double-directional schools are looked down upon" is absolutely correct. If Southeast Missouri State University doesn't take the cue from Missouri State University, it will soon be looked at as a third-tier (and possibly a fourth-tier) university when it comes to state-allocated funding. Economic factors demand that Southeast change its name.

Enforce the law

I APPLAUD the Oran police chief and hope he continues to enforce the law. The solution is simple: Obey the law.

Doing his job

WHY SHOULD Oran's new police chief change his ways? He is not the person breaking the law. He is doing what the town has hired him to do. I admire the young man.

Community support

TO THE new police chief at Oran: Keep up the good work. I used to live in Oran. It's about time it got a police chief who knows what he is doing and is doing it well. I am sure the majority of the community is standing behind him.

Jackson, take note

GOOD FOR the police chief in Oran. At least he is doing his job. I just wish the police in Jackson would do the same and stop the loud music and the constant speeding, especially on Oak Street.

Attack on liberty

IT SEEMS entirely reasonable that eminent domain should be used to acquire private property when there is a significant public benefit to be gained. However, when the only motive is development, personal gain and economic profit, it seems totally contrary to common sense and the principle of freedom and liberty that private property may be taken by a government. This is the worst case of government transfer of property from one individual to another without reasonable recourse. The Supreme Court has tilted beyond conservatism to totalitarianism in this regard. Where are all the freedom, liberty and property-rights advocates on this issue? Do we infer that they never were in favor of property rights, only the right to profit?

No income tax

THE STORY about the sales-tax holiday left out an important point when it quoted the Tennessee resident complaining about Missouri's 6 percent sales tax versus Tennessee's 10 percent. The story failed to point out that Tennessee residents do not pay state income tax.

Hot at junior high

WE JUST went to the Central Junior High School. It was still in the 90s outside. The old gym has no air conditioning, and the entire area surrounding it and the basement classrooms were hot. Most of the school was quite warm. How hot is it going to be when it is full of students? School should start after Labor Day, when it is cooler. If the building were full of animals in this heat, every animal-rights person would be there making sure the animals were cool and hydrated.

Someone to admire

SCOTT MOYERS' profile of Eli Fishman of Cape Shoe Co. was profound and insightful. Fishman might be deemed the Don Quixote of the Cape Girardeau business world, and for that reason I admire him immensely.

Fiscal excuse

A NEWS commentator pointed out that politicians know that spending billions on pet projects like new or improved bridges and highways is much more likely to get them elected than holding down government spending. What's sad is that so many try to justify the unjustifiable in the name of fiscal conservatism.

Hats off to CMS

I AM the proud parent of a sixth-grader at Central Middle School. My daughter and I went to the school this week to have her ID photo taken. I was impressed. The faculty and staff were friendly, the building was clean and the library was beautiful. The PTA is outstanding. Hats off to CMS. I am thankful my daughter is in good hands.

Personal choice

IF SOMETHING unforeseen and horrible happened and Jay Purcell, Cape Girardeau County commissioner, became indigent, how would he feel about being cremated? The dead can't speak for themselves. Please don't be like the schoolyard bullies picking on smaller kids. I have my funeral plans made and paid for. My choice is to be cremated, but I would not dare make such a personal choice for another human being. My advice to government wanting to cut costs: Physician, heal thyself.

Something different

I ENJOY Speak Out. It is the first thing I turn to when I get my paper. When I see David Limbaugh's picture front and center, my stomach drops. He clearly has such a deep-seated hatred for Democrats that he's lost all objectivity. How about using his space for a special teen Speak Out? I know it would help them to be listened to and help us to know the problems they are facing.

Chemical concerns

I READ an article in the Sports sections, "Herbicides can be useful tool," and I can't believe Larry Heggeman and the Missouri Department of Conservation approve of using poison pesticides and herbicides in wildlife food plots or anywhere else in Missouri. He says that before they are allowed on the market, the chemicals are extensively tested much the same as human drugs. These drugs are approved by the FDA, and then when too many people die from taking the medicine, they are recalled from the market. God help our native habitat and our wild animals and birds, because there is no safe pesticide or herbicide. The lobby from these poison manufacturers and their donations to political campaigns keep these poisons on the market. If Washington had a conscience, it would ban all of these poisons. Let Mother Nature take care of herself. The wildlife and their habitats were abundant and thriving in America before the white man stepped foot on our shores.

Focus on U.S. 60

I JUST read where northern Missouri is going to have a four-lane highway across the state that will parallel I-70 only 50 miles away. What about completing U.S. 60 across southern Missouri? The U.S. 60 upgrade has been needed for years. It's time for some of the state representatives from southern Missouri to lay down the law on this situation. Finish U.S. 60 to Springfield.

Waterpark dream

TO QUOTE Cape Girardeau Mayor Jay Knudtson regarding the new interchange: "Build it, and they will come." What about building a waterpark, and they will come?

Stretching the law

Good luck to the new Oran police chief. He's doing a good job. People need to be aware that they cannot stretch the law and get away with it.