Speak Out A 05/18/03

Shorter class periods

I DON'T understand why the Jackson Middle School is deciding to go to an eight-period school day. By going to a 45-minute period, students are losing three weeks of instruction in basic subjects. How can that be seen as educationally sound? It seems the school is more interested in having teachers with two hours off than they are in teaching students. That should be remembered when they are talking about overcrowded classes and the need for additional taxes.

Not so dumb

IT SEEMS like the Cape Girardeau mayor and his cohorts think residents are too stupid to understand the wording on the tax ballots. I think his problem is we understood it all too well. If the city can afford all the taxpayers' money it's spending on the River Campus, where is the problem? I say let the university foot the bill for their projects, and we will pay for ours. Perhaps at the next election the mayor will learn we are not as dumb as he thinks we are.

Plain talk

GOVERNOR Holden, read my lips. Veto the budget.

No meetings, please

I THOUGHT Missouri's government and Cape Girardeau's government were in bad shape. But then I heard about the state legislators who flew the coop in Texas, preventing the state government from doing any business. Then I saw on TV where the Cairo, Ill., mayor and city council couldn't even agree on a place to have a meeting. So maybe we're not in such bad shape after all. But a part of me says we might be better off if neither the Missouri General Assembly nor the Cape Girardeau City Council ever met.

Trees, not naked ladies

I AM a resident of Scott City, and I do not appreciate nor like the new so-called art being displayed on the building in our town. It looks like junk, the first thing my grandson said was, "Grandpa, look at the naked lady on the side of the building." Take these eyesores down. If you want to display art, plant flowers or trees. They are much more beautiful.

Time to replace flag

THIS COUNTRY flies its flag high. I think someone needs to replace the flag at Cape County Park. It is ripped and worn looking. We should take better care of our flag at all times, but especially now.

Listen to the people

TO THE Cape Girardeau City Council: Taxes are dead as long as you don't listen to the people. You want a fire station. I will vote for it if the tax stops as soon as you have enough to complete it. Same thing with the police station. This tax money can be spent on nothing else. But as long as you refuse to listen to the people and keep cramming the River Campus down our throats, I will vote for no tax at all.

Still clueless

AFTER MAYOR Jay Knudtson's forum on the tax measures' defeat, we find that the mayor and city council are still clueless. It is beyond comprehension that the city officials cannot understand why people voted no. I'll put it in very simple language for them: If the city of Cape Girardeau can throw $8.9 million away on a project for SEMO that was defeated at the voting booth, they do not need more money.

It works for everyone

IF CUTTING taxes will stimulate the economy and ultimately increase federal revenue, then it will do so at the state and local levels as well. Therefore, I call upon the Missouri General Assembly to begin the process of amending the Missouri Constitution to allow for some real deficit spending. Once that is done, then the state must slash our taxes dramatically to help get our state's economy moving again and eventually increasing state tax revenue. The same also holds true at the county and local levels. Once the constitution is amended as suggested, county commissioners, city councils and mayors should be prepared to slash our taxes. Happy days will then soon be here again.

Great start for prom

I WOULD like to thank the couple who paid for the meal at Steak and Shake of the four Jackson students attending prom. Your act of kindness started our night out great. Thank you so much.

Close the entrances

LAST WEEK, there was another bad accident on Independence Street in Cape Girardeau at the Kmart entrance. This is a very dangerous intersection. However, these accidents could be avoided if the city would simply close that entrance to Kmart and Walgreen's on Independence. There are other entrances. I have called several times in the past, but the accidents continue. There's no easy solution other than closing those entrances.

Take note of junk too

I NOTICE the city is putting signs on lots that need to be mowed. I wonder why they don't put signs on lots that are cluttered with old cars and junk. I think they need to get their priorities straight. We deserve better protection than this from people that don't care what their property looks like.

Too many directors

I'VE BEEN reading all the complaining from school administrators about the budget cuts. I have to wonder about some of the excess we have in the Cape Girardeau School District. I notice that we're soon to be switching some athletic people around, and I notice we have an assistant athletic director at the junior high school. I did some checking. The Cape junior high has one less sport than at Jackson's junior high. Jackson has more students participating in junior high sports. The athletic director at Jackson High School handles sports for the high school and the junior high. Why does Cape need an athletic director at both schools? Let's start looking where we can cut.

Staying out of trouble

TO THE person complaining about the loud noise in the Jackson Park at night. Kids need some place to stay. At least the cops know where they are and that they're not getting into trouble.

Always a red light

I WOULD like to draw attention to the stoplight on Broadway at Caruthers. It seems the stoplight is not set up properly to allow the majority of the traffic on Broadway to flow. Every time I drive down Broadway I get a red light. This needs to be taken care of.

Voters' wishes ignored

I'M CALLING in response to your article about the Cape Girardeau City Council's roundtable discussion with voters who opposed the tax issues. One person said that people have lost faith partly because of the River Campus. He's exactly right. That's the main thing I hear about. People feel their wishes were ignored. Mayor Jay Knudtson says people were mistakenly told by previous city officials that both a tax issue and a bond issue had to pass for us to have any involvement. That's not a mistake. We didn't misunderstand. If someone was mistaken, where were all the other city officials who didn't correct that mistaken notion? It was very clear, and we voted accordingly. We voted not to participate. I will continue to vote against tax increases as long as Knudtson and the city council ignore our wishes.

Selective reasoning

GOV. HOLDEN says he'll veto the concealed-weapons bill because voters had previously rejected the measure. However, he wants to increase tobacco taxes, and voters also rejected that measure. Some might call this selective reasoning. I call it talking out of both sides of one's mouth.

Sirens aren't needed

I DON'T know whether Jackson or Cape really need storm sirens. In this age of TV and radio, you're already warned. All sirens do is create noise, and it can be nerve racking. I was fully aware that at any minute a tornado could happen. I'm not sure sirens would be the best place to spend money.