SPEAKOUT

Behavior really does matter

AFTER READING the opinions in the Southeast Missourian concerning the latest Clinton sex scandal, I was amazed and disgusted to see that an ordinary person from Sikeston believes that Mr. Clinton's behavior doesn't matter. She said that it was in his past and doesn't affect what he did in office. Actually the present accusation of sexual misbehavior did occur while he was in office (not in the past), and it actually occurred in his office. I was just wondering if her local school superintendent engaged in oral sex with a student teacher intern in his office, would that matter? You can bet it would with the school board. He would be out in a split second.

Borrowing not the same as balancing

IF BILL Clinton borrows from the Social Security trust fund to balance the budget, then he is not putting forth a balanced budget.

Swingle makes a better community

I WOULD like to address all these negatives responses in your paper about Mr. Swingle, and I'd like to personally direct this to the comment that said Swingle should seek the judge's position. I guarantee you, had Swingle reached that position and if he were judge, we'd have a better community. I wish you could just reach all the victims out there and let them voice their opinion on what Mr. Swingle has done and what he has done for this whole community. The people you are hearing from are the defense attorneys and everyone else who hasn't even been in the courtroom to hear all these negative remarks. Go to the courtroom and listen for yourself.

No more blocked railroad crossing

WELL ALL the good people live on the south side of the tracks at Scott City ought to really be happy now because there will be no more crews changing at Illmo blocking the crossing since they have moved the terminal. Oh happy day.

Women shouldn't be executed

IN THIS day and time, I guess I don't believe in capital punishment. I do not believe that women should be hung like men.

Perryville Road better than Bloomfield Road

I'M CALLING about the Perryville Road improvement. The worst part of Perryville Road is better than the best part of Bloomfield Road. What about patching Perryville Road like what's being done to Bloomfield Road?

No sympathy for cold-blooded killer

IT'S THE morning of Carla Fay Tucker's execution and I have a few thoughts on it as it begins to take shape. I simply do not have extra room in my heart for extra compassion or sympathy or sentimentality for her. She pick-axed two people to death. As someone recently wrote in the Southeast Missourian, ours is not to forgive. That's God's job, that's the victim's job, that's the job of the victim's family. It is not my place. All of you are trying to get her sentence commuted either because of gender -- which you really won't admit to, but let's face it, it's because she's a woman -- or because you say she's spiritually grounded and has religiously transcended her former evil self and her state of being and now is in one of total penitence. I don't believe that. There's no atheist in foxholes. The woman has had 14 years of 24 hours a day of trying to pull a sham on the world. Her lawyer's main job is to make sure she is not executed. What better way to do that than to claim rehabilitation? It's horrible and evil what she did, and if we're going to have a death penalty, it's for people like her.

Stories weren't representative

I AM in agreement with the readers who did not think the essays of those young writers were an indication of the trend of thoughts of most youth today. They bordered on the unreal and unmentionable subjects. Is that what the judges were looking for? If so, they need to find another word for essay. These writings surely do not represent the serious work of the students today.

Execution is cold-blooded murder

ALL THE excuses in the world do not change the hard fact that putting a person to death is no less than premeditated, cold-blooded murder. Even if every person on Earth made capital punishment the law, it is still merely legalized murder. Even if one of the 18 people who condemned Carla Fay Tucker to death had even one family member on death row or anybody they knew, I wonder how much mercy would be shown, and I wonder how long the death penalty would survive. There but for the grace of God go you.

Doggerel's prize-winning potential

I FEEL insulted. I overheard someone in the academic community say Speak Out poetry is "doggerel." I had to look up the word in a dictionary. It means "trivial verse, poorly constructed, usually comic." I think Speak Out poetry is the exact opposite as the following four lines indicate:

Speak Out poems are serious.

They open a lot of eyes.

I think that the day will surely come

When they will win a Nobel Prize.

Second thoughts about the president

I HAVE to admit that we need to stop dragging the president through the mud. Put yourself in my position. I have an 11-year-old daughter. I hope that she might one day have the wonderful opportunity to become a White House intern. That's a pretty good thing. God forbid she should ever become intimate with a married chief executive. Of course, President Clinton has acknowledged lies about his extramarital affairs before, and he is embroiled in other sex scandals as no other sitting president before him. No, on second thought, I don't think I'd like my daughter to spend time in close proximity to such a powerful and charismatic individual. He's not the sort of man I'd trust with my little girl. And, now that I think about it, with the future of my country.

Figuring out Clinton's game

I'VE BEEN watching President Clinton going around to all these shows and groups promising everything everyone ever wanted, plus a little more. These gullible people are believing this. President Clinton knows he can't do it and probably doesn't even want to. But I figured out his game. No matter what happens, he comes across as the good guy who wants to help, then he can always blame the Republican majority for not getting it done. I think these Republicans should go out and promise twice as much as Clinton and tie it to a reduction of government or make it contingent on the surplus revenue coming in so they will have a way out, because it won't materialize.

Prison guards hear different story

ON THIS Carla Fay Tucker: A lot of these clergymen are sold the idea that most convicted killers would rather die than serve life in prison. That's the story they tell these chaplains. I was a guard for Menard Corrections in Illinois for almost 15 years. Believe you me, those inmates tell the guards a different a story than they do the chaplain. They'll see the chaplain maybe once a week or once every two weeks, but we see them almost eight hours a day, and they have a different face they put on to us. They have a lot of the chaplains snowed like they had Pat Robertson snowed. I think this lady even had the pope snowed. I would like to talk to those guards in the prison about what kind of an attitude she had when she wasn't around the chaplain.

Noise ordinance is needed

I SINCERELY thank the Cape Girardeau City Council for the noise control ordinance. I only hope that the ordinance is more than a lot of noise.

Clinton not qualified for war

I WANT to comment about the latest on Iraq. Now Russia has said that the United States is treading dangerously, possibly even getting into a third world war. Clinton is not the right person. Somebody who is perceived as a draft dodger and coward should not be leading troops into battle. If we do something, Russia may get into it. It's because the United States is militarily unprepared. Clinton has gutted the military. And that's the reason that young boys likely will die now.

Stop the blaring car stereos

I'D LIKE to say I agree with the loud noise ordinance changes that are about to be made. I have, more than once, been ticketed for speeding trying to get away from people whose car stereos are so loud that I can hear them over my radio with my windows up. So, if they can do something about stopping people riding around town blaring out music, I'd appreciate that.

Donations sought for fund raiser

ON MAY 28, the SEMO Alliance for Disability Independence will be holding its annual auction to raise funds to help with ramps, modifications and other adaptive equipment. We are asking the area residents to please consider donating garage sale items to us. This is a very worthy cause. We would ask that no clothing be donated, please. And no furniture, as we don't have a storage area large enough at this time. For more information, please write to SEMO Alliance for Disability Independence, 121 S. Broadview, Suite 12, Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63703 or call us at 651-6464. Please ask for Marie.

Olympics puts world in perspective

WITH THE Winter Olympics just getting under way, I really hope that we can all get back to the global significance of the games and remember that there are hundreds of athletes from all over the world coming to Nagano under way more adverse conditions than we're sending out well-heeled, well-groomed, properly outfitted, properly trained and conditioned and nourished athletes.

Writer sends letter about jail term

I JUST got done reading David C. Johnson's letter to the editor in the Feb. 4 edition of the Missourian, I can say one thing. It's a sad, sad day in American history when a man gets sentenced to 30 days in the city jail and advertises the fact by writing a letter to the editor.

RM19Storm Wrecks Jackson Buildings, woman injured by flying debris

$100,000 loss is sustained by Sunday storm; Mrs. C.F. Brennecke badly hurt.

One woman was seriously injured, several others were slightly hurt and damage estimated at nearly $100,000 resulted when a tornado swept through the business section of Jackson early Sunday night. Striking first near the cemetery in the southern part of town, the tornado swept along toward the northeast, leaving in its wake a trail of debris.

Mrs. Charles F. Brennecke, the only person sustaining a serious injury, received a fracture of the collar bone and minor hurts.

Buildings in the path of the storm which were entirely demolished were:

The Episcopal Church

Residence of Mrs. Sutton

The Masonic Hall

Residence of Henry Dalton

Residence of Frank Medley

Corinthian Baptist Church

Mrs. Brennecke, who was at the home of Sikes Rodgers, was hurt by flying debris. She was knocked down by timbers.

The streets early today were littered with debris, twisted fragments of telephone posts, and wires cluttering the thoroughfares.

Leaving Jackson the storm continued on its northeasterly course, wrecking barns and outbuildings on farms in that direction.

The larger monuments in the old cemetery were torn down by the storm's fury. While all ornamental trees were demolished.

Wires on telephone and telegraph poles were twisted, and communication in town was impossible for several hours.

PATH TWO BLOCKS WIDE

The tornado cut a path approximately two blocks wide through the heart of the city.

Residences along the path of the storm were either demolished or the roofs torn off.

The Episcopal Church, standing at the corner of First East and First North Streets was wrecked and cannot be repaired. Both the south and north walls are caved in and roof stripped off. A house opposite the church, owned by Mrs. M. J. Sanford and occupied by Mrs. Sutton was demolished, but no one was at the home.

The Masonic Hall, High and First South streets, was razed, only parts of the wall of the edifice remaining. The storm only slightly damaged the building housing the Cape County Post, but swerved to the east and wrecked the the residences of Henry F. Dalton and Frank Medley. Corinthian negro church, an old frame building, standing in the southern part of the city was wrecked. Henry Ueleke's new home nearby was badly damaged and his garage was destroyed.

BUILDINGS UNROOFED

The Milde building, east of the courthouse, was stripped of its roof, and a plate glass window in the front smashed. The lively barn of Henry Gockel nearby was unroofed, and the Milde Bottling works considerably damaged. The Kneibert building, occupied by the Jackson Mercantile Company was partly unroofed. Hunter Brothers' home was damaged considerably. Glass fronts at the McAtee Mercantile Company, Haupt hardware store and Jones drug store were smashed by the gale.

The storm swept past the county courthouse without inflicting any apparent damage. Not even a window was broken in this substantial structure.

The storm continued northward, damaging buildings on the farms of Fred Ristig, Albert Winkler, Louis Steimel, Oscar Schreiver, Charles Noland, Ray Woods and Jesse Johnson.

RM19Jackson Storm cut funny capers

garages gone; cars not damaged

Jackson, March 12- Persons who experienced the wrath of the tornado that swept through Jackson early Sunday night were discussing some of the freaks of the storm.

The house of F.H. Schrader, in the path of the tornado, was left untouched, while a grape arbor in his yard, not 30 feet from the house, was demolished and the vines levelled.

At the home of Rev. C.B. Colter, pastor of the Baptist church, which was also in the direct line of the "twister", his garage was blown away, while his automobile remained unharmed.

The garage of Henry A. Ueleke, was also partially destroyed, but an automobile in it was unscathed. Outbuildings on many lots were missing today while the residences remained intact.

At the Baptist church services were going on. Some of the members evinced anxiety when the storm appeared, but the pastor, Rev. Colter, dismissed their alarms with, "It is a bad storm, but we'll escape it."

The words were scarcely uttered when the full face of the tornado struck the building. Bricks began to fly and people fled from the edifice.

The storm could be heard approaching with a roar which grew in intensity with every passing second. As the cyclone struck the town, it seemed to be only a fraction of a second until it was gone. It could be heard departing, the roar gradually receding.

The town was cast into darkness immediately after the storm, and for a few minutes those whose homes had been wrecked struggled desperatley in the darkness. Hail and rain followed the wind, and it was impossible to see through the blinding downpour.

THIS WAS THE SOUTHEAST MISSOURIAN ACCOUNT OF THE MARCH 11, 1923 TORNADO THAT HIT JACKSON, MO.

JACKSON, MO., WAS LUCKY, THE SAME DAY JACKSON, TENN., WAS HIT BY A TORNADO THAT CLAIMED 20 LIVES AND INJURED 40 MORE.

IN OTHER JACKSON NEWS OF THE DAY THE JACKSON HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL TEAM ENTERS STATE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT.

Follow-up story on March 13 worth retelling as well.