Speak Out A 04/29/03

Cut the deadwood too

I HAVE heard that Missouri state offices were ordered to turn off every other light in all their buildings to save money. Gov. Bob Holden, you're not fooling anybody with these silly maneuvers. We all know that it would be a far better idea to cut the deadwood sitting under the lights.

Unrealistic promise

DICK GEPHARDT'S plan would take our tax refunds and give the money to employers to insure their employees, which would provide health care for 41 million uninsured Americans. What hogwash. Those 41 million, including women and children, would not all be employed and eligible to receive health insurance. Blowhard politicians will tell us anything to try to get elected.

Close the school

GORDONVILLE school is joining grade levels to save money? Get real, school board. Close that little three-room school and let the students ride five minutes longer. A lot more than one teacher's salary could be saved. No more traveling special teachers to Gordonville. No more utilities. Sell the building. Local politics keep that school open. Get some guts and bite the bullet. It's the right thing to do.

Thanks for sack lunches

I JUST wanted to say a big thank you to the Notre Dame Regional High School students who brought sack lunches to all of us in the surgery waiting room at St. Francis Medical Center. It was greatly appreciated. Thanks to a great group of young people.

It's hard to cut

I GET tired of the people who say the first place to make cuts is sports in the Jackson School District. Jackson loves its football. Those stands are full on football evenings. It's a way for the youths to socialize in a pretty positive way. Maybe we should cut band first. It's extra too. I see places that could be cut. But because so many things add to the school, you hate to see anything cut. I've not noticed that many frills.

Great story

IN RESPONSE to the article "Rescue and recovery": Great article. I appreciate the feeling that goes into a human-interest story like that. It kept me interested.

Parental supervision

THIS IS in response to the person who wonders about the skateboard park's liability. While I agree with the helmet issue, the question of who would pay for injures seemed a no-brainer. Who pays for the injuries the summer league baseball players get? The parents. Parents should supervise their kids more instead of letting them run all over the town from park to park.

Playing in the street

SOMEONE ASKED, "Why do we need more parks when kids can play basketball on a dead-end street?" Does anyone else see the problem with that? The last I knew, people could still drive on all streets, including dead-end ones.

Please curb the noise

WITH ALL sincerity, who in Jackson -- whether it be the police or city council -- can do something about the noise and fast driving from the cars on East Main, North Shawnee, Mulberry and Cedar streets? Even when we are inside our homes, we can still hear these vehicles. Surely there are noise nuisances laws that can be enforced. My neighbors and I are asking for help.

Skating in Jackson

WHATEVER HAPPENED to the idea of an outdoor in-line skating and roller hockey area in Jackson?

Restraints are needed

DEMOCRACY IS a process. Without constitutional restraints like limited government and protection of minority rights, it may be used by those who would transform it into a religious or secular dictatorship. The Russians have essentially done the latter. An undetermined number of Iraqis seem to want to do the former.

A simple no

I DON'T know if it helps answer questions being asked by Cape Girardeau officials, but it is apparent to me that most people voted against the tax proposals on the ballot because they punched out the word no.

On-the-job safety

WHICH IS worse, someone getting fired because of illegal drugs or me going to work and having to work with someone who is under the influence of illegal drugs? I work on a dangerous machine that requires everyone there to be on their toes and watching each other's back to keep everyone safe. I don't want the person watching my back to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. I have a husband and three daughters whom I want to keep coming home to every day.

It's good for you

WHY WOULD a parent ruin her kids by giving them beer when they were so young? Because it's unpleasant and bitter to the taste buds of youngsters. As grownups, they have no desire for it. That's too bad, because modern medicine shows that moderate consumption of beer is good for you.