Speak Out

Shoddy research

IN RESPONSE to the editorial "Missouri, feds differ on signing up veterans": I generally agree with most of your editorials. However, the person who wrote this editorial obviously spent no time researching the topic. The initiative to get benefits to more veterans costs Missouri only a nominal amount when compared to the benefits the state stands to receive. Since veterans benefits cost the state nothing, how can it be compared to a huge giveaway like the child-health- care initiative? Just because the paper has an editorial deadline doesn't mean that shoddy research should be condoned.

Still a good idea

I'M THE teacher who suggested that poll duty be something like jury duty. Another caller made several comments that missed the context of my call. Children don't pick and choose when to get sick. So, yes, I'm out of school for 2 1/2 months. I went to workshops for two weeks and classes for four weeks, so I wasn't off all summer. And I attended those without getting paid. My husband does take off sometimes when the kids are sick. We take turns taking off with them. But I can't use up sick days without them really being necessary. You're not supposed to take sick days for personal business. I never commented about voting. I called in about working at the polls. I never fail to vote. I vote in every election. If I'm out of town on vacation, I get an absentee ballot. If they're having problems getting poll workers, I'm sure there are other people like myself who cannot get off work to work at the polls, and making it like jury duty might be a solution.

Not a party-line vote

THE PERSON who said Republicans defeated Proposition B is pretty presumptuous. There were Democrats who voted no just like there were Republicans who voted yes. The Republicans have no copyright on keeping taxes down. As a matter of fact, Republicans are very generous about wanting taxes when they benefit their rich friends. I was one Democrat who voted yes on Proposition B, but I know other Democrats didn't agree with me and voted no. It was just the view of the people in Missouri, not a particular party.

Unfairly blamed

MODOT IS being unfairly blamed for not following through on road plans following the 6-cent-a-gallon gas-tax increase. It was widely reported that a lot of this tax money was diverted to other programs under the Carnahan and Holden administrations, and it probably is still being diverted. All of the tax money passed from the gas tax should go for road improvements. The public was deceived by the politicians, not MoDOT.

Not wild roses

I REMEMBER the roses in the 10-mile garden that was between Cape Girardeau and Jackson. Those roses didn't look like the wild roses you see growing out in the country.

Driving to school

MY DAUGHTER turned 16 and got a job this summer. She will be a sophomore at Central High School. I called the school last spring and asked if sophomores would be able to drive to school, and I was told they would as long as they were licensed. Recently, we got a letter from the principal who said maybe sophomores won't be able to drive to school. My husband and I both work full-time. My daughter is saving her money because she wants to go to a private college. She's working on scholarships and working a job to save money. She won't be able to keep her after-school job if she can't drive to her job. This is just one more in a long line of things that have not proven to be what we were told. The school district has an obligation to fulfill the commitments it made to us and to the students. Get some parking lots out there before school starts and get them done. This is ridiculous.

A way to save money

I WAS just wondering when the city is going to announce that it has quit wasting money on legal fees to pursue the River Campus, which we don't want anyway. I mean, since we are broke.