OpinionSeptember 1, 2007
Speak Out 9/1/07
Fighting crime; Wasting tax dollars; Spewing venom; Rough street; Jogging safety; Time to leave; Teaching children; Dear Abby
Fighting crime
CAPE GIRARDEAU'S leaders constantly want to raise taxes to fund their pet projects. You never hear them talk about increasing police patrols or hiring more police officers. I don't mean ticket writers. I mean real neighborhood patrolling and real crime prevention. I might vote for tax increase for more crime fighters.
Wasting tax dollars
IF YOU are interested in what the Cape Girardeau City Council is doing with your tax dollars, here is one tidbit of information. Arcturis, an outside consulting firm, was awarded an $81,985 contract for the purpose of comprehensive planning. I forgot the amount that was paid to an outside firm to come up with the slogan "Where the river turns a thousand tales." I think it was in the neighborhood of $60,000. The city owes firefighters a considerable amount of back pay connected with the minimum-wage increase and wants to take benefits from new hires. Does anyone believe that the fire tax that we passed is going to benefit the firemen for whom it was intended? Voters need to take a look at this mayor and council's record before giving them more tax dollars to waste.
Spewing venom
DAVID LIMBAUGH, what do you think about the Idaho senator who embarrassed himself, his family, his state and the country? How about spewing your self-righteous venom toward this guy? You seem to have a lot to go around, but I predict no acknowledgment of this idiot's actions.
Rough street
IS THE city planning on fixing Lexington Avenue in Cape Girardeau? For more than a month the road has been in rough shape, and there seems to be nobody even looking at repairing it.
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Jogging safety
I HAVE a job that requires me to go to work fairly early in the morning. I see a lot of joggers early in the mornings, which is great. However, they should stay on the sidewalks for safety. Most do not wear any reflective equipment. Use the sidewalk that your tax dollars paid for and stay safe.
Time to leave
AMERICAN LOSSES in Iraq are close to 4,000 souls. The prime minister of Iraq lashes out at the U.S. military. American opinion is almost 80 percent against the war. Now that Karl Rove is gone, will President Bush see that we need to get out of Iraq?
Teaching children
THIS IS in response to the poll the Missourian took about the No Child Left Behind Act. The response about parents being ignorant because our children are failing is a scapegoat. I didn't realize that when I graduated from high school and took vocational training I would need a teacher's degree to do homework with my child. I am a single parent who has an A-honor roll student. I'm the one who taught him how to read. If a student does well, the teacher takes the credit. If a students does poorly, the teacher blames the parents and the student. Let's see why the government got involved in the first place.
Dear Abby
I HAVE a friend who is running around on her husband, and she treats him terribly. He is such a good guy and tries so hard to keep the family together. She lies to him and her fellow workers all the time. She thinks people don't know that she's lying. She uses people and then drops them. I think she has a mental problem, but I don't know how to tell her she needs help. She is destroying herself and her family. She is in church every Sunday, but it doesn't seem to do her any good. Could someone tell me how to help this person before she self-destructs?
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