Speak Out 9/12/10

Great loss

IN response to the obituary for Dr. Gary Kielhofner: I had the greatest opportunity to meet Dr. Kielhofner as a student in Perth, Australia. He was such a charismatic man who spoke passionately. His death is a great loss to the world. We will make sure his work lives on. Condolences to his family.

Name game

THINK again about the name for the new educational institution here. Do a public survey or give residents an opportunity to vote on the name. Don't spend a bunch of money on a consultant and come up with something like the Show Me Center. Give it some thought.

Random kindness

IF you've never had a random act of kindness, I want to tell you how wonderful it feels. The other day, my granddaughter and I were at Pagoda Gardens restaurant. Things have really been tough for us. Some kind person paid for our dinner. Thank you so much. You have no idea how it renewed my faith in a lot of things. May God bless you for being kind to strangers.

Religious broadcasts

I am 74 years old and in severe ill health, so I find it impossible to go to church. On Sunday mornings I always look forward to television broadcasts of church services and hearing something inspirational. Since the new season has started, three of the major stations that always had gospel programs no longer have them. It hurts me not to be able to get these broadcasts. If America does not get back to God, something desperate is going to happen.

Fawn warning

I saw two fawns this morning on the walking trail close to people who were walking. Fawns are still wild animals. If a person on the walking trail got too close to a fawn, would the fawn bite them or kick them? I'm sure they would do something to protect themselves.

Loud in Kelso

BEWARE, neighbors of Bel Air. Don't think of moving to the quiet little village of Kelso, Mo., unless you enjoy hearing the bands at Ray's play every weekend. We're more than a half-mile away and hear the music and singing loud and clear. Come see the traffic jams in uptown Kelso on Saturday night as the band plays on.

Obey the law

I am glad the noise issue with the Bel Air bar has emerged in the downtown area. When is the downtown area going to have to follow all city ordinances? Drive south on Spanish Street from the Bel Air to the River Campus and you will see vacant lots with weeds, a car sitting in a yard that has obviously has been there for some time and a vacant building that needs to be condemned. There should be more enforcement in the downtown area, not less.

Another location

I ask the individuals supporting the rock quarry next to Saxony Lutheran High School to choose another location. The health hazards it will cause to the children attending the school and the excessive traffic will not be a positive addition. Surely there are other places for your business. This rock quarry will produce blasting noise that will disrupt the school. Please do the right thing and choose another location.

Scripture truth

WHEN evil men are in power, crime increases. But the righteous will live to see the downfall of such men. Proverbs 29:16.

Animal rescue

TODAY a gentleman brought a dog into our office that he found on the side of the road. Since he was from Scott City, he first called the humane society that services Scott County and was told they were full and not to take the dog there. He then came to our office asking what to do. While the logical choice would have been to tell him to take the dog to the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri, that was not an option since that humane society takes only animals from Cape Girardeau County. Both places have refused him, leaving only two choices. He could put the dog back on the roadside, endangering not only the dog but human life as well, or he could take the dog to a veterinarian for euthanasia and assume the cost and responsibility. I would be extremely mad if someone made that decision regarding my family pet and I found out that the humane societies had refused to take it.

Football is focus

THE focus of a football game is, by definition, the football game. I don't come to watch the band perform. During half-time we walk around, visit with other people, and get something to eat. The band is background noise and entertainment until the real attraction, the football game, begins again. I've had a child in band, and I know the amount of effort that goes into the performances. The focus is on the band at their events, which are parades, concerts and other musical events. But the football game is not a musical event, and to expect football fans to treat it as such is ludicrous. I wasn't at the game last Friday, but if in fact the band left the field midway through a performance, it is they, not the fans, who should be ashamed. It's the directors who should be held accountable.

Address visibility

DOES anyone else have problems finding local businesses due to a lack of clearly marked addresses on buildings? What became of the need to clearly mark address numbers for 911 responders? Is there an ordinance concerning this issue?

Need a casino

MY opinion on the casino: We need one here. I go once in a while. I'm 67 years old, and I know exactly how much I can spend. I don't go over that. Everybody else can do the same. And why not have it here in Cape Girardeau? It's going to go somewhere, and this is money our city can use.

Parade cleanup

I am a business owner on Broadway. I hate to see the SEMO District Fair parade coming because of all the trash left behind. It is a big eyesore. I hope fair officials have something planned to clean up the trash after the parade.

A good plan

ABOUT the so-called ground zero mosque: The project is a community center, and the mosque is one part of it. The individuals behind it want the center to build unity. They have opposed extremism from day one. I have listened to them in interviews and I think they are good people doing good things. Citizens of New York City as a whole might be opposed to the idea, but Manhattanites whose borough would house the center are overwhelmingly in favor of it. Knowing these facts, I do not see why anyone would want to deny these people their rights to build this community center.

No county rules

ABOUT the loud party on the 5-H Ranch property: I live on County Road 621. We moved to the county because you can do whatever you want. We don't want rules, regulations or ordinances. If 5-H Ranch wants to play loud music, it can. If you want pigs, cows, goats, chickens, ostriches or whatever, you can. Nobody can tell you what you can do on your own property. If you do not like what people do, don't move to the county. If we want to get up and run around our property in the middle of the night with loud four-wheelers and bikes, we can do it. If we decide to put up spotlights and shoot at targets at 2 o'clock in the morning, we do it. It's our land.

Casino spending

I was going to vote for the casino in Cape Girardeau, but now I don't know. It isn't the casino's place to pay for improvements to private property owned by others. Will the Isle of Capri really come to Cape Girardeau to spend that kind of money? It isn't the casino's place to put out that kind of money. That is the property owners' responsibility. Cape Girardeau is getting too much from the casino.

Teacher popularity

WHEN I started teaching, I wanted to teach students things I knew and be a role model and encourage them to be better people. But that's not how you get ahead or keep your job in the teaching profession. I quickly learned that the accolades and the awards go to the teachers who get the students' approval in polls we're always conducting about how students feel about teachers. If you wonder why teaching in this country has gone down, that's a big reason.

Casino jobs

CAPE Girardeau needs jobs for our residents as well as for the out-of-town people seeking jobs. Let's not go backward. My memory tells me we could have had a military base at our airport, but our leaders were afraid the soldiers would be too friendly with our young women. We didn't get it. Some leaders didn't want new businesses that would hire their employees at higher wages. Let the casino be voted in. Give the the people employment and help improve our city.