SPEAKOUT

It could have been really bad

I WOULD hate to see you people when we actually have a tornado or earthquake. You're complaining about the power being off. Well, think about a real dangerous situation.

P&Z needed for growth

ANOTHER REASON that the Cape area is not a metropolitan area is the lack of a planning and zoning commission. That is necessary to have a well-regulated area. Businesses don't want to move to an area where their employees could suffer a large loss in home value when objectionable uses would be allowed in the area where the people live. You can't get the people who are needed without an areawide planning and zoning organization. The managers and specialists of a firm want their home values protected and not to be subjected to objectionable smells and dust and other stuff. Otherwise, they will go where their home value is protected.

Help is available

I WOULD like to speak to the person who said families should join some homosexual group for their loved one who is orientated toward being homosexual. We are all orientated toward sin. The Bible tells us plainly that we are born in sin and there's all kinds of sexual people who are giving into their desires. We can overcome that though. As far as joining a homosexual group, we now know that homosexuality is caused from a lack of bonding to your mother or father when you were young, but there's hope for families. Don't desert your homosexual family member. They're to be loved. We're to love those people as we do any sinner. I'm probably the chief of sinners, but I just want to say this: There's a program called Keys Ministry and the phone number is (507) 352-4110 or you may write Keys at Box 97, Wacoff, Minn. 55990. They can help.

List of things to do

IT IS time to remember those brave souls who gave their lives for our freedom. How we can enjoy the right to kill babies because they are called fetuses? Or allow doctors to drag a baby partway out of its mother, jab scissors into its skull and suck out its brain? Or prosecute this same mother if she decides to bash a baby's brain after it is born? Or fine people for not wearing seat belts or helmets? Or tax people by such devious methods that the poor slobs are unaware that 60 to 70 percent of their income is taken away from them? Or legislate ridiculous rules, procedures and requirements that prevent or make it difficult to build your own house, purchase an auto license or work on your own air conditioner? Or prevent the purchase of a TV signal for a network station from another area? Or pay taxes year after year on the same item which was taxed at the time of purchase? Or re-elect the 50 senators who did not have the guts to throw out a pot-smoking, skirt-chasing, lying, cheating, draft-dodging president? Or prevent prayer in schools?

Make better use of workers

I'M CALLING in response to the woman who called and said her husband worked 18 hours straight and only slept five hours each day during the cleanup from the storm because he works for AmerenUE. She later on tells us to either go to school and learn how to install utilities or keep our mouth shut. I'm not complaining that it took four days to get my utilities back on. What I'm complaining about is when I watched them out there working, one or two would be working and four and five would be leaning up against the truck watching. Usually another truck would pull up, and guys would get out and watch for a while and then get back in the truck and leave. This went on for the entire four days they worked. I could see it from my living room window. I'm also complaining that AmerenUE chose to downsize the staff here in Cape Girardeau. When we have a problem, they pull them in, pay them overtime from the moment they leave their home wherever they brought them from, buy their meals, put them up in a hotel and everything else. Who's going to pay for that? It won't be AmerenUE. It will be its customers. All of us see too many times that AmerenUE people are standing around with two or three or four watching one or two do the work. That's my complaint. Maybe it's time for all of us to start filming that stuff and send it to Jefferson City to the utilities commission. Maybe it's time that AmerenUE, if they're going to downsize, use its people to the maximum ability, not have two working and four watching. It's not how we work at my place of business, and it's not how most other people are allowed to work, especially not when they're making $15-20 an hour. I'll work 18 hours a day at $18 an hour gladly plus overtime, time and a half and double time. My husband gets five hours of sleep a lot of the time. That's not unusual for many working fathers. So quit complaining.

Poem to clear things up

THERE IS a lot of misinformation floating around about SEMO's Dr. Dale Nitzschke. I hope this two-line poem clears things up:

Dr. Dale Forever

Dale is not gone, nor forgotten,

And there is nothing in Denmark rotten.

Shortage of diplomas

THIS IS a concerned citizen regarding the graduation at Cape Central High School graduates. I thought it was pretty bad that they could have a graduation and hand our diplomas and they would run out of diplomas. Seems as though someone in charge of ordering the diplomas would order more so you wouldn't have disappointed faces from seniors walking up there and walking away from the podium empty-handed. I think heads should roll for this.

Cape becoming City of Weeds

WHY IS it Cape Girardeau passes laws and then doesn't enforce them? What good is it? For instance, you've got cars going around town with loud mufflers and loud music. We've also got weeds growing up and cars parked in yards that have been there for two years. The only way they'll do anything about it is if you turn it in yourself. Neighbors have got to turn neighbors in. What good is a law if the neighbors have to turn their neighbors in? Isn't the city proud of Cape Girardeau? It looks like to me like the City of Roses is beginning to look like the City of Weeds. What is wrong? Why can't we get something done?

Moving in the right direction

SEN. PETER Kinder was too hard on public schools in one of his recent columns. He took a public school to task for requiring students to make a project having something to do with Hinduism. The senator should have at least complimented the school for attempting to reunify church and state, something the senator seems to favor. The fact that the school picked a religion to promote that was unsatisfactory to the senator was unfortunate, but at least they were moving in the right direction.

JO ANN Emerson has helped and is helping lots of folks like the man who she helped to get a purple heart and many more. Not much is said on the news about her. But Dan Rather sure will give Clinton praise if he knows it's not right. Dan Rather, I wonder what a lot of Americans think of you.