Speak Out A 06/12/02

Low county salaries

AND I quote: "Cape Girardeau and Jackson chamber of commerce officials say the data also reflect the economic health of an area. They say their cities and the county as a whole are in good shape financially." "The median income in Cape Girardeau County climbed by nearly $12,000 over the past decade." Yet Cape Girardeau County employees earn some of the lowest salaries in Southeast Missouri. Disgraceful.

Better signs, more sales

GARAGE SALE signs give me a headache. All a driver can see is scribble. I don't wear binoculars, so you might as well stick out a blank piece of paper. Put out a large sign with just the time and street. Put it on a heavy backboard so it won't curl up from the wind and dew. It will help all drivers and will help you, too.

Help our old ears

MY EARS need help. Does anyone else have trouble hearing and understanding some recordings on the telephone? The person races through the information and runs the words together, making it sound like garble to aged ears. Please speak slowly and distinctly and play the recording back to check how it sounds. Please help us.

Governor is big news

SEEMS TO me that whenever the governor of Missouri comes to town, that should be front-page news. I noticed that the Southeast Missourian chose to put that on Page 3 after the story about the lady who lives in the mobile home and the cancellation of the Cape air fair. The governor coming to town was a big deal and should have been on Page 1.

Classroom heroes

I JUST finished reading Paul Greenberg's column, "Letters from an editor." I taught in a one-room school with Washington's and Lincoln's pictures on the wall. The last year was in 1934. We have many outstanding leaders since then. I know Washington and Lincoln have been taken down, but haven't we had some heroes to take their place?

License-plate blues

THIS STORY'S called passing the buck and dropping it in Southern Illinois. My husband had a license plate stolen. He happened to find another one a few days later. We called the sheriff. The sheriff said to call the highway patrol. The highway patrol said to call the sheriff. The highway patrol said it would contact the plate's owners. Evidently, they never did. We wound up finding the people ourselves. They told us what town they lived in and we found them ourselves. Now this is our highway patrol and our sheriff's department at work.

It's all too loud

THE ARTICLE in the most recent Reader's Digest regarding hearing loss should be required reading for every operator of sound systems in public places. It has become impossible to attend a sporting event, a movie theater or, unfortunately, even some churches without being assaulted with a noise level that would be prohibited in the workplace. Anyone who has any concern for the health and hearing of their children or even themselves needs to speak up about this and insist that this be reduced to a reasonable level.

Hot and cold history

PEOPLE ARE starting to talk a lot more now about global warming since President Bush has acknowledged this is happening. Anyone who doubts such a thing is happening needs to look in the history books and read something about the Ice Age. Before that, read about the dinosaur. We've had global warming. We've had global cooling. It must be a natural phenomenon.

Taking care of cats

I WOULD just like to make a comment on cat owners who leave their cats outside or let their cats outside. If you live between the 800 and 1000 block of Oak Street in Jackson, I'd just like you to know if you have a little gray and white cat, it crawled in my window well and died. Last year I found three dead kittens in the one in the back. Letting your cats roam outside is not a good idea. Other cat owners have to clean up the mess.