SPEAKOUT

Thanks for big-band evening

WE WOULD like to thank the Jackson High School Jazz Band and the director of music, Pat Schwinn, for allowing people to enjoy a night of entertainment with the big-band sound. If you didn't attend, you missed a fantastic evening. To see the young people dancing with the older generation was very inspiring. Thanks again, Ms. Schwinn, for a nice evening.

Clean up mess on Lombardo

I AGREE with the person who called in about the mess left on Lombardo from the creek project. The city needs to clean this up.

Close all the gun factories

I FEEL they should close down all the gun factories. And no one should have to carry a gun. And no one needs to carry a gun.

Praise for Chaffee team

CONGRATULATIONS, CHAFFEE baseball team, for your title win. From a taxpayer of Chaffee who supports Coach Walls, keep up the good work, boys and Coach Walls.

Say no to condemnation

TO THE City of Cape Girardeau: You should be ashamed of yourselves. Taking land from someone to build a lake or a dam and making her pay for lawyer fees and spending her time trying to keep it. For no reason does the city have to take something that is not theirs. City residents are ones who pays city taxes. So speak up, Cape Girardeau. Say no to this.

No grounds for respect

I WANT to comment about some people saying they trust Clinton to lead us in the war. But the majority of people don't in this country, and the people who are sold on Clinton get kind of mad because the ones who don't support him do not want to go and fight for him. He is having trouble in congress. There is no respect for him. Well, I just want to say this: That is what you get when you vote in a draft-dodging coward as the commander in chief. What did you think you were going to get? Nobody is going to trust him. You don't want to go, and you're the ones who voted for him. You don't want to send your kids, but you still voted for him. Why do you think other people who didn't trust him to start with are suddenly going to want to trust him with the well-being of their sons, daughters, and husbands to go over to fight a war that he is not qualified and not able to lead? He is the one who is fighting the war the way LBJ did, doing all the choosing in Washington. It is ridiculous to think you can get people to follow a coward like this. Remember what Clinton said: No man should have to go fight a war that he doesn't believe in.

He has worn me out

IF BILL Clinton can't do anything else at least he has perfect timing. He bombed Yugoslavia just in time for NATO's 50th anniversary. Clinton has worn me completely out. I've lived with shame and terror for the past six years because of him, and his is the worst and most corrupt administration I have ever seen in my 70-year life.

Let them hang out and talk

HOPEFULLY THE good citizens of Cape won't be lured into a false sense of security. Ticketing a few out-of-town college students for being in Capaha Park after 11 p.m only postpones their decision on where to go for pizza, and there is nothing done to stop real crime. What is wrong with the kids being where we can see them? When I was growing up in Cape, we hung out at Wimpy's. Both the police and parents knew where to find you. Let them hang out and talk if they are behaving.

Some school concerns

I HAVE a couple of things to respond to the paper about the school system. One, in Speak Out there was a response about the autistic child in the district, and the caller said it cost the school nothing. Where does he think this money is coming from? What the schools receive is money from the state for special programs, but usually it doesn't cover the entire thing. Many times it is called an unfunded mandate. That means that the state tells the schools what programs they have to have in order to get state funding but do not necessarily fund that program. And many times they will fund the program for a while and then drop it. So this does cost our school district something. It is not like it is a free ride. And I agree we do need the program, but people need to realize that the school district does not have an unlimited amount of funds for the special-needs program. Another thing, concerning the school attendance lines: I live in the Clippard district, and I think the lines were done to appease the parents in the Clippard and the Alma Schrader district. It is very evident that the new lines are not the best for the school district. As this board has done many times in the past, it does what it thinks it needs to do to appease the people that vote. And the people from the Alma Schrader and the Clippard district always vote.

Get ready for the worst

HEY PARENTS and grandparents, especially the Democrats and moderates out there who think your commander in chief is so wonderful: Are you prepared to measure your teen-age kids for body bags to contribute to the draft dodger's pseudo warrior legacy? How about the spouses or other relatives already in the military or the Guard or Reserves going over there? Well, a lot of you brainwashed clowns voted for this jerk of the century. So bite you lip like he does and shop for nice headstones. Look for body bags and funeral homes near you. Give your loved ones one last hug as they are sent off to be sacrificed as lambs for Bill's legacy. This will cost well over $6 billion of your tax dollars, so stop whining about Ken Starr's measly $40 million to bag at least some of Clinton's criminal thugs.

We must take responsibility

I WILL start out by saying that I pray to the Lord for those suffering in Colorado. America's schools began their decline in the '60s with the outlawing of prayer. We must all take responsibility for not standing tall and defending our God-given right to prayer anywhere at any time. I am very concerned also that the federal government thinks we are so dependent on it. Why send federal counselors to Colorado? That is the clergy's job and our job too: to stand beside and console and cry for our brothers and sisters. Because of the actions of the deranged Satan-influenced degenerates, mark my words, the feds will launch an all out assault on firearms. Please let us all remember that the guns weren't at fault in the killings. The mindset of those individuals was to kill, and it didn't make any difference what they used to accomplish the deed. They could have just as easily have used poison, fire, or screwdrivers.

No respect for human life

I WANT to comment about the school shooting in Colorado where the students went on a rampage. I just want to say that this is all brought on by lack of respect for human life. This is what we have reaped. We have reaped the wind, and we are going to reap the whirlwind. This is the end result of liberal government. This is exactly what happened in all the other countries that have liberal government. You have a breakdown. Children feel worthless. It robs mankind of the self-respect and respect for your fellow man. We have had 50 million abortions in this country. This is Bill Clinton's utopia. This is the end result.

City needs more sidewalks

I'M GLAD to hear that a community organization is trying to get more sidewalks and bicycle lanes built in Cape. These measures would make Cape a better place to live. It is also not surprising that this newspaper, conservative as it is, is against such a progressive measure.

Too much exposure

I HAVE a comment to make about the situation in Colorado. It is a very sad and serious situation. But I can hardly wait for Bill Clinton to jump on the NRA or somebody else when really the true problem is not that. The problem is we need to expose our kids more to Sunday school and church and less to the violent movies and TV programs. The entertainers bear a large responsibility in the situations that have occurred out there.

It's treasure, not trash

I'M CALLING about the article that says Spring Cleanup brings out trash hunters. It is not that we are trash hunters. We are treasure hunters. I take offense to the fact that it says trash, and it should be treasures.

Scavengers say thanks

THIS IS about the Spring Cleanup week. I'm one of the trash scavengers, and I want to tell everyone who is kind enough to let us have the things they didn't want that we really appreciate it and we thank you very kindly for allowing us to get in your junk piles and go through your goodies. Also, God bless each and every one of you and thank you for being so nice to us.

White-on-white crime

I WAS wondering how come when a black teen-ager commits crime or murder, it is black-on-black crime and something needs to be done. But when it is all these white kids killing all these other white kids, they have problems at home and are alienated or treated bad. I want to know why you all are making up all these excuses when you just need to face the fact that it is white-on-white crime.

Still favor guns?

OK. CHARLTON Heston, do you still think we should all have guns in our homes?

Too early to mow lawn

WE WOULD like our neighbor on Tulip Lane to please have some consideration for other neighbors in mowing his yard at 6 and 6:30 in the morning. You wake up adults and children, and you should have more consideration for other people around you. Most people don't go to bed at 8 at night. And most people don't get up at 4 in the morning. Please have some consideration for your neighbors.