SPEAKOUT

Looking for bribes

The Israelis and Palestinians are back at Camp David looking for another bribe. Yes that's what it is. We give them money for them to promise to quit fighting each other. Next thing you know they go home and fight with each other. Then they come back and ask for another bribe. Well, how long do American taxpayers need to give them bribes in order to get them to quit fighting? I say let them fight.

High school's name

I enjoyed Gary Rust's July 12 column relative to the Cape Girardeau School District. I'm excited to see that we are going in the right direction. There is a lot of great information there that I think the public in general is not aware of. One other point I'd like to make is to consider renaming Cape Girardeau schools, particularly the high school as Cape Girardeau High School. There appears to be no need to use the name Central High School. I think that probably relates back to the days of University High. We only have one school. Let's be proud of it and let the rest of the state and the city know who we represent. Let's become Cape Girardeau High as we open and build a new facility for the future.

Let kids have fun

Somebody called in about a fireworks war zone and asked what we think. I think it's absolutely ridiculous that some of these people in this community are so narrow-minded and so selfish that they cannot allow kids to have one or two or three evenings of fireworks. And they can't go on until midnight. Oh my goodness. That is so late. My heavens, you would think midnight was the middle of the night. It's not. So this effects you for a couple of nights. Big deal. I've got neighbors on both sides of me who moved in after I bought my house. Both of them have big dogs that bark all night long, every night. We have learned to run the ceiling fan or something else to muffle the noise. I deal with it 365 nights a year. A lot of people do. You get past it. That's part of compromise. What is wrong with the kids being allowed several nights out of 365 to do something that is fun? We all got to do it when we were younger. Why, when you get older, do you get cranky? I can't believe the fuss that is being made over this.

Leave it alone

After reading Mr. Woodford's letter regarding the veteran's memorial, I sat down to write a letter to the editor. I thought the decision had been made that they were going to move it, so I didn't send in my letter. I missed Mr. Blue's letter to the editor, but after seeing several Speak Out comments I have decided to call my mom and have her to keep the copy of Mr. Blue's letter so I can read later. As I have read articles from your paper and watched news broadcasts concerning the possible relocation of Memorial at County Park North, I become teary eyed. My father's burial flag has been part of an avenue of flags. There are family friends' flags that are a part of the Avenue of Flags. We have visited the Avenue of Flags through the years. I'm having a hard time of understanding the reasons for the need to build the new nature center at the memorial location. I have not lived in Cape Girardeau or Cape county for many years. But I was born and grew up in Cape Girardeau. My father was a member of the American Legion. My mother is a member of the American Legion Auxiliary. I have kept my auxiliary membership at Unit 63 because my heart is still with these ladies. After reading Mr. Woodford's letter, it brought back memories of my parents' involvement in the American Legion and the auxiliary. I had the privilege of attending Girls State. I was involved in Girl Scouting for over 11 years. My parent and life experiences instilled in me very strong emotions of respect for the veterans and for our country. Why not build the nature center at another site at the park? The memorial should not be moved.

What has he done?

Mr. Clinton said that Al Gore was the best vice president ever. Get real. Name one thing that Mr. Gore has done except his faith and allegiance to Slick Willy when he had his affairs in the White House. Gore is a lap dog and a Clinton praiser to feather his own nest. He has to ride his teammate's coattails. He even changed from pro-life to pro-choice. This may backfire. However, he is the perfect candidate for liberals and an anything-goes society.

Silence on election

There appears to be an eerie silence surrounding the August primary election. Please remember the Jackson school bond issue is also a part of that election. Democrats, Republicans or independents need not declare any party affiliation to vote that part of the ballot. When voting, just ask for the school bond ballot. Before voting, there are some things to consider. The year 2001 will trigger an automatic reassessment of all real property. Jackson is experiencing a considerable shortfall of funds regarding garbage collection. However this will not be discussed in public forum until after the August balloting.

Controls needed

I have already witnessed two accidents at the intersection Bloomfield Road and the new Mount Auburn extension. The question is this: How many accidents and injuries does the city require before it reaches the obvious conclusion that a stop light or a four-way stop will be necessary at this intersection?

Outstanding schools

Gary Rust recently published a series of statistics showing that Cape Girardeau has good schools. You'll get no argument for me on that one. We have excellent schools. At the same time, student achievement at area parochial schools is absolutely astounding. In addition, parochial schools offer an ever-widening variety of extracurricular activities and have the added benefit of offering a religious-based education, something public schools are sadly prohibited from doing. All in all, it is comforting to know that in Cape Girardeau parents and students have a choice of school systems, all of which are outstanding.