OpinionMay 15, 2000
SPEAKOUT
EVERY TIME I see pictures and hear stories about another flood, I'm reminded of what a doctor of drainage engineering said about the failure to have drainage systems of adequate capacity. You can't get 10 pounds of stuff in a five-pound sack. Everybody upstream will be doing what they can to get rid of their runoff as quickly as possible. ...
Some ideas about floods
EVERY TIME I see pictures and hear stories about another flood, I'm reminded of what a doctor of drainage engineering said about the failure to have drainage systems of adequate capacity. You can't get 10 pounds of stuff in a five-pound sack. Everybody upstream will be doing what they can to get rid of their runoff as quickly as possible. Any loss from a flood cannot be used to pay for drainage improvement. The 1993 flood the loss was estimated at $12 billion dollars. Dams, bridges, railroads and roads also serve as flow retardants. Improperly placed levees, such as the floodwall here in Cape and the levee on the other bank of the river in Illinois, must be moved to make for sufficient capacity. Keep waterways clear and remove snags. This is necessary, especially in small streams. At times, there are rock bottoms that must be removed or the stream width must be widened. Engineers design trying to please those who hired them first and foremost. Follow the rule Daniel Burnham, the noted architect and designer, gave. He said, "Make no little plans, because they will not stand the test of time."
It wasn't negative
THIS IS for the caller who was wondering about the new Jackson school board member and about the negative campaign he ran. Show me what negative thing he said during the campaign. I don't believe he did. Remember the deficit has been longstanding, way before his time. He's a breath of fresh air. He was the voters' choice, and I respect him and his choices.
Give them some time
SOMEONE HAS already attacked the new Jackson School Board about solving all the problems a month and a few days after the election. If you want the Jackson area to heal, it's time to stop that kind of talk and get back together on things. I'll tell you one thing the current school board members haven't done: They haven't lied to us about what did or did not happen in the school. They haven't gone out and bought 16 acres and paid several thousand dollars without asking the voters. You have to give them a little time to change things.
She puts paper on porch
AN ACT of kindness: I have a neighbor who lives down the street. She gets out and walks her dog every morning, and she always picks up my paper and puts it on the porch. I'm elderly, so I appreciate that very much.
Another unhappy patient
LIKE EVERYONE else, I'm calling about the way these doctors in town treat people. I think it's ironic that they'll prescribe antibiotics for people and never check up on it.
Don't lump us together
THIS IS to the caller who said the people in south Cape didn't want to become better. That person is so wrong and so misleading. Everybody in south Cape doesn't feel that way. I don't know why we should all be judged the same. We have homeowners in south Cape who keep up their property. I'm one of them. Now today's paper says something about weeds not mowed on every yard on 177. That's not in south Cape. This person is riding to south Cape, looking at the people and saying we don't care. He should take another route. Maybe he's on his way to one of the industrial plants that pay high wages in the south part of town.
Those new taxes
THIS CLINTON/Gore administration found three new ways to gouge the American people: New gasoline taxes. New cigarette taxes. And new telephone taxes. Taxpayers need relief and a clean sweep of this corrupt government in November.
Fighting to bitter end
YOU PEOPLE are even after Clinton in his last days in office. Now you want him disbarred and held in contempt. It didn't work to get him removed from office. You're going to keep up until you destroy his wife and his daughter. I never realized what ruthless people we have who hold a Bible in one hand and a pitchfork in the other. I think you would hate anything that was Democrat. You would risk unemployment, lack of health care, anything to elect a Republican.
An interesting perspective
THIS IS in regard to the caller who spoke about our president and "twinkletoes Hollywood." That's interesting. Has the caller forgotten the Reagan years? If I remember correctly, Ronnie came from Hollywood. It's just interesting how you Republicans see things.
A sure way to lose
TO THE caller who thinks that Bush/Bush would be a winning ticket, now there's a real hoot. I hope the Republicans do that, because it's sure to lose.
This isn't healthy
SO NOW McCain and George W. are palsy-walsy. That's enough to make one want to vomit.
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They look like pikers
I READ in Speak Out a comment about President Clinton and his Hollywood connections. Wait a minute. Shouldn't the caller have said "former President Reagan?" You remember, the Republican B-movie actor and his wife who ran the country based on their astrologer's advice? Reagan and his crew make Clinton and his administration look like pikers.
They misled everybody
TO PUT it simply, politicians have misled all of the people in this entire country. Especially all of the children, both black and white. Politicians did it for their own political gain.
No new or old Bushes
THE PERSON who says that with George W. Bush we also get George Herbert Walker Bush should remember that because of his actions during his first term, Papa Bush didn't get a second term. To name a few of his actions: His knowledge of and covering up of the Iran-Contra affair. His speech in which he said "Read my lips, no new taxes." An out-and-out lie. His naming of Dan Quayle as vice president at the convention, and we all know what a dud potato-head Quayle was. His staffing of the war with Iraq and leaving Saddam Hussein in power against all military advice. I think this shows that Papa Bush is a conniving liar of poor judgment and understanding of what the president should do. So read my lips: No new, or old, Bushes. George W. couldn't have learned much from his daddy's knee that would make a good president of him.
Funeral sight was galling
AT CARDINAL O'Conner's funeral service, would you believe President and Mrs. Clinton attending? The cardinal disagreed with the president's policy and morals and values, and spoke of this many times. He had no admiration for the Clintons. Yet, to be in the limelight, the first family of America shows up without an invitation and put on a show of reverence. What gall
More grandparent woes
I'VE BEEN reading about the grandparents, and I just wanted people to know that we've taken our granddaughter who was just a few months old and raised her for eight years just like she was our own. Then our daughter kidnapped her from us. It was the same as any kidnapping, but since we were grandparents it was like "Get over it." We were nothing. Nobody. There was nothing we could do. I hope Speak Out will keep printing these things about grandparents so that maybe someone will pick up on this and people can be helped, not just grandparents, but everyone involved.
Cub Scouts did a great job
I THINK the Scott City Cub Scouts deserve a big pat on the back. They cleaned up the parking lot and grounds around the caboose in Scott City. We're all very proud of the Cub Scouts for their cleanup efforts. They deserve a big hand.
Is it getting hot in here?
SINCE WHEN did it become a felony to hit a politician in the face with a pie? If there's any reason Illinois Gov. George Ryan should leave office, it's because he's a poor sport. I don't recall Bill Gates filing charges against the person who threw a pie in his face. I think there's the old adage: If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen. Ryan needs to remember this adage.
Silence a problem, not music
I HAVE a question. Why is it every time that a younger person does something wrong, the police and the family always go to what music did he listen to? When the real question is, where were people when he needed them? It's about the way kids are raised, the way they're taught think. If you stop and listen to them, maybe you'd learn something. The problem isn't the music they listen to. It's the silence they get from people who could give them answers.
Thanks for cutting grass
JUST WANT to say thanks to Drury for cutting and trimming the grass behind the old Wal-Mart store in Jackson. It looks very nice. Thanks again.
McCain made a sacrifice
TO THE person who called in the item "McCain loses merit," it seems to me you were one of the people standing on the sideline spitting at the soldiers as they came home. They went over there because they had to, not because they wanted to. This was a war of economics. Period. It was not a war to save Vietnam from communism. It was a war to change the way they perceived. People like you make me so mad. The reason I voted for McCain is because he lost all freedom that you have today. He came back and made a life. I'm proud of him. I voted for him, and I wish he was our president.
Sounds like a special interest
I WOULD like for the Southeast Missourian to investigate why this extension of Silver Springs Road is so important. It doesn't go anywhere except to apartment buildings. There are no businesses down there except for a little strip mall with a pizza place and a self-service laundry and a filling station. So somebody got some special interest down there so they can develop some land to build something out there. I think they should be exposed before this is done.
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