OpinionAugust 8, 2009
Speak Out 8/8/09
Highway signs; Not a pretty sight; Road work; Trash containers; Getting by; Grass in street; Keep it going; Doctors fees; Street beggars; Not a good idea; Moving on; Sharing the road; Hard to take; We are voters
Highway signs
IF you're going to block one lane of the interstate, you need to place your merge sign more than 500 yards from the work site. With all the tax money spent on flashing signs and tenth-mile markers, how hard would it be to flash which lane is closed and what mile marker the work is taking place in?
Not a pretty sight
IF people who text and use cell phones while driving could see how ignorant they look to everybody else, they'd quit and we wouldn't need a law to stop them.
Road work
I travel Highway 51 between Perryville and Highway 72 quite often, and I am unimpressed with the people working the stop and go signs where highway work is being done. One man does not pay attention to his job. Today he's spending more time talking to a woman in a convertible. He's not paying a bit of attention to what's going on with the cars, and he's nowhere near a radio. No cars have come through the other way for quite some time. I don't think he has a clue what's going on. I wish whoever is running this operation would take care of this.
Trash containers
REGARDING the Cape Girardeau trash proposal: If I understand it correctly, the city is proposing buying one large trash container and one huge recyclable container for each household. That's an awful waste of money. We know who will be paying for them, and I'm sure they will be left out on the street to beautify our city.
Getting by
CAPE Girardeau doesn't believe in recession. I see sewer, water and solid waste fees have increased again. When the city or county want something, they raise taxes and fees. My real estate taxes have increased seven of the last eight years, a total of 41.5 percent on a 40-year-old home with no improvements. During those eight years, my Social Security increased 22 percent before higher Medicare premiums. I wonder how much longer I can afford to live in my home. If we must have water parks and ball fields, let the minority that want them come up with the money. Don't put it on the backs of the seniors and the working people and the unemployed who can ill afford it. The mayor and city council should learn to get by with what they have. That's what the people have to do.
Grass in street
I live in the Bent Creek Subdivision in Jackson. It's a shame that a couple of people have no respect for their neighbors when they cut their yard. They blow the grass in the street, leaving it for people to walk through and drive through. It makes the entire neighborhood look bad.
Keep it going
REGARDING the widening of Highway 146 in Illinois: The Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge is still a bridge to nowhere. You still have to weave through small towns, school zones, stop lights, train crossings and numerous predatory local law enforcement speed traps to get anywhere. My solution would to make the bridge go somewhere other than dead-ending at Highway 3. With all of President Obama's stimulus money and shovel-ready projects, we should keep going east with four lanes to Interstate 57 near Ullin, Ill. That would be a worthwhile expense of taxpayer money.
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Doctors fees
THE person who said doctors' office fees are reasonable must have good medical insurance or be wealthy. I don't believe an office fee of $130 is reasonable. A person pays this just to walk in the door. A visit to the doctor can easily run up to $350 with a couple of simple tests. This is not reasonable. The U.S. does have a good medical system, but many people cannot afford to use it.
Street beggars
WHOEVER allows fundraisers to take place at busy intersections and stop lights has got to rethink this. Someone's going to get killed. It's intimidating. People come up to your window and beg money. I'm sick and tired of it.
Not a good idea
I am an old and disabled woman. I cannot roll trash and recycling bins to the curb. I use plastic bags. This plan for new bins is not a good idea.
Moving on
I thank the Southeast Missourian for printing stories about people moving on with their lives, trying to make the best out of their situation. And I always think that the parents are heroes.
Sharing the road
I would appreciate it if drivers would learn to respect cyclists. I am tired of being bullied by drivers for taking up my given space on the road.
Hard to take
IN regard to the story "Sikeston teen drowns in lake Monday": He was my cousin, and it's hard for me to take. My family thanks everyone for the sympathy and prayers for us. God bless everyone. We loved him, and Phillip will be missed.
We are voters
THE Jackson Board of Aldermen should be reminded that the citizens are involved in government. We vote.
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