Speak Out 8/16/04

Highway improvements

THERE WAS a lot of hard work from the county and the community between Gordonville and Burfordville on Route OO. For seven years we've waited for the white lines to be painted on both sides of the road. The county did a tremendous amount of work on this road, and we really gladly appreciate the continuing work.

Take a look

MY CHILDREN did not go to Jackson High School. We moved here after they were out of high school. We chose to come here. I visited the high school. I urge anyone who has any doubts about the proposed bond issue for a new high school and the necessity for it to visit the high school. It's absolutely ridiculous the conditions in which some of these kids are in and in which some of these teachers are teaching. Those conditions wouldn't be tolerated in the business world. Walk through all the different buildings, look at different classrooms and see what you think.

Noisy four-wheelers

I LIVE in the west part of Jackson. I wish the police would start patrolling our street. In the evening, there are four-wheelers that run up and down the street making a lot of noise. It's chaos.

Practical schedule

FOR THE third year in a row, I am making a suggestion. For the past two years I have made this suggestion to the principal of the high school and to the board office. Now I am making it public. Maybe some more people will add their two cents' worth to this. Central High School has its back-to-school registration, which takes an hour to an hour and a half to go through. Most freshmen and sophomores do not yet drive, yet their registration is during the day when parents have to take off work to take their kids and write checks for lunch and yearbooks and other things. It would be better to have the freshmen and the sophomore registration at night.

Biking suggestions

IF YOU are an adult and choose to bike on narrow roads, I think you should have to buy a license plate and carry biker's insurance so you can be held responsible for any accident you cause. Some roads should be posted "No biking" or "Single-file biking only."

Downtown changes

I CAN'T understand why city officials want to make Water Street one way south. It should be kept like it is and extend Water Street north of Broadway all the way up to where the old sand company used to be, or at least up another block so that people who do not want to go downtown can go straight up Water Street and avoid the Broadway-Main Street intersection. We had a beautiful park and an old depot with brick pavement all the way down to Merriwether Street from Independence. But the powers that be tore it down. It was a wonderful museum if they kept it like it was. But that's in the past.

Pay the taxes

THIS IS with regard to the tax in question on the new fitness centers. I believe there shouldn't be any question about taxing. This is not charitable. How many people are enrolling just because it's a fitness center? I say no to being tax-free.

Caring attention

I WAS sorry to read that a caller had difficulty with Alma Schrader Elementary School personnel, because I have always found them to warm and caring. The secretaries always take care of my needs and have always gone out of their way.

Street suggestion

INSTEAD OF changing both Main Street and Water Street, why not leave Main Street as southbound and make Water Street one way northbound? That way you only have to work on one street.

Messy interchange

WHY DOES the Missouri Department of Transportation take better care of the intersections along I-55 at Cape Girardeau and Jackson than it does at the Scott City interchange? If anybody's been by Scott City, the interchange is overgrown with weeds. It's just pitiful.

Quit lollygagging

I COMMUTE from Jackson to Cape Girardeau every morning. The slow lane usually moves faster than the passing lane. Let those who live in the day-to-day grind get to work so they can pay their taxes. I would like to see how many of these local drivers could navigate any real traffic like in Atlanta or Boston. All drivers should move with the flow of traffic. Lollygagging is what causes the accidents.

Graduate talent

THIS IS in response to the person who wrote in about a graduate designing Southeast Missouri State University's new logo. As an active alumnus, I admire the university's choice of mascot. If Southeast is truly graduating qualified people into the work force, then why wouldn't it put its money where its mouth is and hire a former student, especially for something as significant as this? Anything short of that would be a slap in the face to past, present and future graduates.

Rainy-day poncho

TO THE couple from Farmington on the 1500 Kawasaki: I want to thank you for the poncho in the rain. I hope you had a safe ride home. I made it just fine, wet but in good shape. Thanks again.

Tax deduction

IF THE new fitness centers at the hospitals are tax exempt, then does my monthly membership become a tax-deductible contribution?

Unreasonable plan

THE PROPOSED tax increase the residents of Jackson would face if the proposed school bond issue passes would be an outrage. The property tax on a $100,000 home would increase $120 a year. That isn't a reasonable proposal. I am tired of the Jackson School District trying to shove some kind of tax increase down our throats. What would be impressive is to see the school board come up with a plan to make the district operate more efficiently without taking more hard-earned money from taxpayers.

Highjacked religion

PERHAPS SOMEDAY we can come to understand that religion doesn't necessarily come from or lead to spirituality. Christianity is just as susceptible to highjacking as Islam, and nationalistic myopia is dysfunctional. As we self-righteously pontificate our views to the rest of the world, we might recall that it hasn't been all that long ago that in our society women were property unable to vote, peoples of African ancestry were enslaved, raped and murdered, and we successfully conducted a campaign of genocide against the indigenous peoples of this continent -- all sanctioned by the religion of the day.

Yield on green

A LARGE problem with traffic in Cape Girardeau is the left-turn lanes. It's high time that the city changed left-turn-only lanes to left-turn-yield lanes. I can't tell you how many times I wait when there is absolutely no oncoming traffic. It gets more and more tempting to run the red light.

Sales-tax holiday

SUSPENDING SALES taxes on school supplies is a great idea. Florida has a full week before the start of a new school year when sales taxes are suspended. The supplies bought cannot exceed more than $50 per item.

Train safety

With all the pedestrian traffic being generated in downtown Cape Girardeau, how safe will it be when trains come through next to the floodwall? I think there's some liability there.