Speak Out A 01/29/02

The smell test

I SMELL a whitewash when 85 percent of the congressional investigators of Enron received contributions from them or the Arthur Anderson accounting firm.

It won't work

A CAREFULLY orchestrated Speak Out campaign will not fool Cape citizens into believing the local populace supports the anti-progressive and obstructionist efforts of Jim Drury to forever retard the completion of the River Campus specifically and the renaissance of downtown Cape in general.

Not local anymore

THAT WAS a good article on SEMO's staffing practices and policies. It goes with the idea that SEMO is no longer a local school for the native Southeast Missourian. The board of regents and the administration have lost the message that we want SEMO to remain an affordable school that the average citizen of this community can afford to attend.

Ample facilities here

WHY WOULD anyone want to support the River Campus project? Look at the Show Me Center. What do they use it for? All major concerts are going to smaller cities such as Poplar Bluff and Farmington, and the most recent one is in Memphis. How frustrating for people who live here. All we have is basketball and soccer tournaments. There wasn't even a Christmas show this year. If you were fortunate to see one, you had to drive to St. Louis or Poplar Bluff. The Kenny Rogers Christmas show was excellent and well-attended. Come on, Cape. Prove to us that you'll use the facilities you already have. Don't force us to go out of town or build more buildings.

They want it all

THE JAN. 25 Southeast Missourian editorial warned of the tax-and-spend mentality in Jeff City. It seems that George Bush is the only one who thinks tax cuts are good for the taxpayer. If the politicians in this state have their way, every last cent of the federal tax rebate received last year will be relinquished to the state in one form or another. We have already given up a big chunk of it in local real property reassessment and the increase in school tax. Not much is left of the rebate for stimulation of the economy. Now the politicians want the balance.

Bet on the money

I THOUGHT Jan. 25's editorial was very informative relative to our governor and the legislators' tax-and-spend policies. It is obvious that none of them has any intention of cutting fat from any of the bureacratic departments. I want to make a prediction" The governor will hold back funding from SEMO and other universities. However, he will find money to fund the River Campus for SEMO. Therefore, the SEMO employees will not get a raise, but they will be able to brag about the new campus miles away from the main campus.

Stick to main campus

A RECENT caller bemoaned the fact that no one wanted to support the River Campus project. The university already has a fine arts curriculum and staff on the main campus. That is one reason many people do not support the new center. Why move this department from the main campus? Why must students commute long distances between classes? Why spend more money on rehabilitation of buildings than they cost? Why not spend the $36 million on the main campus for a new facility?

Crack down on noise

I KNOW there have to be ordinances against loud noise levels. I am referring to the loud mufflers on vehicles, especially pickup trucks. Everyone wants his truck to sound like a race car at the track. These vehicles can easily be heard several blocks away, and this is when we are in our house with all the windows closed. If the local cops want to win back some of the admiration of the community, stop these vehicles, give the drivers tickets for exceeding the noise ordinances and then give them a deadline to quiet the vehicles down.

Average advice

THE SOUTHEAST Missourian wants Missouri's governor to abide by some spending guidelines laid out by a couple of groups they like. (Hint: They're not teachers unions.) Missouri's chief executive will not be governed by the likes of reports written by those with their own axes to grind but will abide by the will of the all-knowing average Joe.

Concern for students

A CALLER does not understand why there is not much support for the River Campus. I cannot understand why the university administration is so adamant about having this thing off campus. They were just as adamant about keeping the Show Me Center on campus. Why? So the students would not have to travel so far. Now, however, concern for students seems to have disappeared from their agenda.

Saying isn't doing

DAVID LIMBAUGH wondered why President Bush lashed out aganst allegations of abuse of the detainees at Guantanamo Bay while others in his administration seem anxious to appease the likes of Amnesty International. I can explain. It is a classic example of say one thing while doing another that the president learned very well from his predecessor.

Schools aren't that old

THE CAIRO school system does not have any 100-year-old schools. The oldest is Cairo Junior High built in 1949. The gym was built much later. The other schools were built a few years later.

But it's not Arkansas

I HAD to laugh when a caller mentioned Cape is always two years behind. Try living in Arkansas. I'm from Cape. I love Cape. But where I live now I drive on one of the deadliest interstates in the United States, pay $65 for a phone number that reaches more than 5 miles from my home, cannot buy a lottery ticket and cannot buy beer or wine in my county. I have access to DSL, the only joy I have in this state. Too bad I pay another $60 for that. Do you feel any better yet? I could go on. Be happy with what you have. Cape is a wonderful town.