Speak Out A 06/07/04

Future emergencies

I WOULD like to request that the Missouri Department of Transportation leave the crossover asphalt between the Interstate 55 northbound and southbound lanes that was put there when the Diversion Channel bridge was being rebuilt. It could be used in case we have some kind of emergency where one side of the bridge might be out. I think it would be feasible.

Pessimistic liberals

I HAD to respond to the comment that said conservatives are not nice and prone to pessimism. It is the liberals who harp for weeks on anything bad happening in the war on terrorism and bury any good news with one paragraph on Page 17. It is the liberals screaming about unemployment and the economy when the truth is we are in the biggest boom in 20 years. And last, but not least, it is the liberals who have turned "I am offended" into a national mantra.

More roads, more potholes

CAPE GIRARDEAU has too many roads to patch and sidewalks to fix to be thinking of building a yellow brick road to downtown through housing areas. More roads just means more roads with potholes.

Dangerous jobs

LOOK AT the statistics. Cape Girardeau police over the past five years have been involved in numerous officer-involved shootings including two officers who were shot and injured in the line of duty. Our residents need to take a closer look and compare the statistics of police officers' and firefighters' work-related injuries in our community compared to other city employees. It is not uncommon to read in the newspaper about a charge of assault on a law enforcement officer or about a firefighter with smoke-related injuries. Police and fire department personnel need and deserve not only a raise, but also equipment and training that will prevent injury or the loss of life. I encourage all residents to vote yes on the fire tax to help keep our community, police and firefighters safe.

Booming street

I'D LIKE to suggest that we change the name of Henderson Avenue from College Street to William Street to Boom-Boom Street. I call the law on these boom-boomers at least five or 10 times a day. Sometimes the police come and write tickets, and sometimes they dance as they go by.

Power loss

I HAVE just returned from the grocery store where I spent over $200 replacing the food that had to be thrown away because of no refrigeration for 42 hours after the recent storm. This does not include replacing the half-side of beef or all the other meat in my freezers. When I saw the AmerenUE trucks Monday night, I figured we would get electricity during the night. The next morning, we still didn't have electricity. I read in the paper where AmerenUE said all electricity had been restored Monday night. I knew there was a problem. I called AmerenUE again and got a recording saying the utility company was aware of the outage. When a crews finally arrived Tuesday afternoon, the explanation was workers had put up a new pole the previous night and failed to reconnect the main line to our block. I am sure I will notice a $200 credit on my bill to compensate for all the inconvenience.

Low pay for teachers

THE PUBLIC needs to know the truth about the salaries of teachers in the Cape Girardeau School District. I have been teaching for a couple of years in the district and was upset by the fact that my sister makes more money in a year as a waitress in St. Louis than I do teaching in Cape. My parents get on her to do something with her life. They say she should do something more responsible like me. Why should she? She is living better than I am. I get paid too much to be on WIC but not enough to keep my head above water. If the school district keeps salaries frozen for another year, I will have to consider taking a different job. I fear for the future of our youths.