Speak Out

Right on the mark

I JUST want to say how proud I am to be a Southeast Missourian subscriber after reading your editorial on the Jeanna Martin fiasco. You are right on the mark. She should have to pay back all the taxpayers' money spent in searching for her. Her family should have told her to get back home the same way she got to South Carolina. How could she do that to her family? Thank you for speaking out on this.

Pipeline to God

IT'S BOTH sad and humorous when a man of the cloth falls prey to temptation and writes a letter to the editor implying he has a pipeline to God and knows what things are and aren't appropriate topics for prayer.

Salvaging a salvo

DAVID LIMBAUGH'S diatribe diminishing and trivializing the ongoing battle to stop the spread of AIDS by referring to it as a politically correct cause is depressing and disgusting. However, Limbaugh's willingness to make passing reference to the disease as being a terrible one salvages his salvo from being deemed despicable and damnable.

Worth the money

PROP B is not about money. It's about safety. Yes, the last gas tax was not used wisely. Many do not realize, especially in this part of the state, that Proposition B includes a clause that mandates use of funds solely for its original purpose. No diverting of money this time. Missouri's highways are some of the worst in the nation -- third-worst in the latest study. Proposition B should not be about more or nicer roads. It's about taking care of the roads we've already built and protecting the lives of travelers. Please don't vote against paying a little more at the pump when your, or someone else's, life is at stake.

Signals are a blessing

REGARDING THE traffic signals at Sprigg and Normal: As a recent graduate from Southeast, I have clear memories of sitting in traffic on Normal Street watching as poor, hapless motorists tried to beat the traffic on Sprigg. Sometimes this was met with disastrous results. The concept is not primarily for pedestrians, but for vehicles. Regarding any concern about rear-endings that may result from this project, there are speed limits for a reason. If people use common sense along with a little common courtesy, the signals at Sprigg will be a blessing.

Obvious neutrality

HOW POINTLESS. It has properly been bandied from pillar to post by everyone for remaining neutral on Proposition B. However, Charles Kruse, president of the huge agribusiness lobby, the Missouri Farm Bureau, wrote a letter to the editor stating that the organization is neutral when it comes to Proposition B. We know. We know.

Military spending

I WOULD much prefer Pentagon employees to use government credit cards to buy Elvis souvenirs from Graceland than for millions of taxpayer dollars to be wasted on the Osprey and other military hardware not even desired by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

Important to vote

I HAVE concluded that if you folks continue to sit at home and neglect your voting rights, we as a city and nation will soon suffer serious consequences and eventually wither on the vine. Please exercise your right to vote. Otherwise, we will be represented by the minority who actually do vote. As for you younger voters of 18 and 21 years of age, it's time we hear from you. The future is yours to see.

Mow the scenic drive

I'M CALLING about the scenic drive on Highway 3 between Gale and Thebes in Illinois. I was wondering if the highway department was going to mow it this year or let it grow up in high grass again like last year. When it's mowed, you see people getting off the road and taking pictures, but no one wants to get out in that tall clump of Johnson grass.

Attacking the crooks

I WANT to comment about these business scandals and the fraud that are going on, causing people to lose their pensions and investments. President Bush is the first president to attack this problem. This has been going over the last 10 years. Former attorney general Janet Reno simply covered up for these people. Attorney General John Ashcroft is indicting them, and Bush is leading an attack to restore confidence in business and in integrity. People learned from what the government was doing. It's good to see a man here go after these crooks. It's so refreshing. So many times people lose faith in government. I hope Bush and Ashcroft get them all.

Closed track is bad PR

I WENT up to SEMO's track the other morning and I found it locked and signs around the track saying that the track could only be used when the SEMO coaches were there during the daytime. I am an alumnus of that university. I had been running early in the mornings for several years. For people who have to get up and go to work in the morning, we can't wait until mid-morning to go to the track. For several years there have been some of us going up to use that facility, and there had been no problems. This is another instance where the university alienates itself from both its alumni and the community. I think this is a mistake.

Long-term problem

APPARENTLY THERE are geniuses out there who actually think that these scandals didn't begin until George Bush was elected president. Fact is, these companies began cooking their books long before the last election. Lack of oversight of these corporations can be blamed on both parties. Those who think this is only a Republican problem simply have their heads in the sand.

I'VE BEEN following this story about the missing Mississippi woman who, we now find out, has disappeared of her own accord and went off with a truck driver. I'm just amazed that we haven't heard that she's been charged. Her family was petrified. They thought something had happened to her. That's cruelty to her children to not let somebody know.

Spending during cuts

IT SEEMS very surprising that in the midst of a financial crisis, Southeast Missouri State University can spend $1.65 million on a new greenhouse, remodel a sewage management service center, add on to a building that is less than two years old and re-sod the entire softball field. This in a year when insurance rates have been increased dramatically while salaries have not been increased nor are they predicted to increase in the next year. Where's the fairness? I know life isn't fair, but I guess it just clearly describes the priorities of this university administration: not keeping valued people. Faculty members are already leaving. I wonder what's going to happen when the students realize the quality of the faculty has dropped dramatically.

First, an accounting

I THINK MoDOT needs to account for all the tax revenue it has collected since 1992 before it asks for any more.