Speak Out A 01/26/02

Stadium black hole

IT IS interesting that the "Cardinals have eight lobbyists trying to lock up votes in Jefferson City." The Coalition Against Public funding for Stadiums "does not have a full-time lobbyist at the Capitol." This situation leaves no doubt where the money and power are concentrated. Every reader who has access to a computer should go to the Web site www.stopballpork.com. Once there you can read the memorandum of intent concerning this economic black hole. While at the Web site be sure to read the article by Fred Lindecke. Folks, you are going to have to pay for this folly unless you contact your local senator and tell him you are against this corporate welfare program.

Effort is appreciated

MR. MAYOR, be thankful for your frivolous blessings. If I had Jim Drury's resources to spend, you would really be upset. You and the university are trying to force the River Campus down our throats and are upset that at least one citizen called you to task. You could have ended this entire sordid affair by putting the issue back on the ballot. Drury even agreed to pay for this. I appreciate what Drury has done on behalf of the citizens of Cape.

Facelift for Houck

IT SEEMS as though SEMO University is missing an opportunity to spruce up the ugliest corner of campus at Broadway and Henderson as well as the ugliest building on campus, Houck Fieldhouse. An attractive, well-designed and landscaped parking garage on that corner would be an ideal space to create new parking as well as disguise the exterior of Houck Fieldhouse. This would save taxpayer money down the road for exterior renovation of the south and west sides of Houck but still serve the parking needs of that end of campus if tied into the shuttle system.

Kelso gang problem

I HAVE been living in Kelso, Mo., for the past 45 years. I watched it grow up from a desolate farming town to a booming small town opposite Scott City, Mo. But there have been some problems that need to be solved. You might not think of Kelso as having a large number of unruly youths, but the gang situation is getting out of hand. Those rowdy yahoos run around on their bikes yelling obscenities at the small children playing in the yards. I'm a 67-year-old woman, and there is absolutely nothing I can do about it. So please get us some relief from this crime-infested village.

Business as usual

UNFORTUNATELY, GIL-BERT Degenhardt's accurate and acerbic letter to the editor alleging economic terrorism against the American people by the likes of Enron will lead Congress to do a lot of tsk-tsking about the tragedy and then resume the tawdry task of further deregulating -- you guessed it -- the energy industry.

Case for River Campus

WHY DOESN'T anyone out there want to support the River Campus project? Southeast Missouri State University has a wonderful staff of music professors from all parts of the country and world and over a hundred music majors and minors that would benefit from the addition of this center. Everyone complains there is nothing to do in Cape Girar-deau. Why not do something about it and add a cultural arts center so that there is something educational to go to? That way the public and the performers benefit.

A quick rescue

I JUST want to say congrats to the crew at the Rhodes in Jackson. The other day I spilled gas all over my shoes, but I didn't know it. I paid for my gas, and when I left the store I paused to smoke a cigarette. After I was done I threw the cigarette down, and the lower half of my body ignited in flames. I went pretty berserk, but the crew rushed to my assistance immediately. One lady sprayed me with an extinguisher while another young man kicked relentlessly at my shins. The fire eventually was quenched, and aside from some mild bruises and ruined pants, I came out OK.

No high-speed hookup

THE CAPE Girardeau area is a technological blunder. I have been living here over two years and have yet to be able to get high-speed access to the Internet. First the phone company tries and fails after the city gets its fingers in it. Now the cable company is facing a similar situation. This seems to be to be a form of information censorship. I believe the leaders of this community want us to remain in the dark ages crawling through the Web on dial-up modems. It's amazing that towns hardly a tenth of the size of Cape have high-speed access. But Cape has always been two years behind the rest of the world.