SPEAKOUT

Prices keep going up

ALL THESE news people on television and Bill Clinton and all the other politicians are bragging about the economy being so good and inflation being down. I'd like to know where they're getting their information. Every time you go to buy something, it's come up in price, food, building materials, automobiles, homes, lumber -- everything. I thought if the economy was good, then prices would remain stable. I do know one thing: If the increases in the prices of goods are not keeping up with the total cost, these people on Social Security and fixed incomes and the people who are working are in trouble. Something needs to be done about this to make what they're saying about the economy be true. I do not believe it one bit that the economy is this good and prices are coming up like they are.

Where is the Oak Ridge interchange?

AS I read the front page of the Missourian, I see where the Missouri Department of Transportation is trying to decide on the Highway 34 bypass. They also mentioned "that there are other projects that needed to be carried out." Specifically mentioned are the upgrading of the Route K-Interstate 55 interchange, the construction of the proposed East Main interchange at Jackson, improvements at Center Junction, the new Mississippi River bridge and a proposed connector road between Cape Girardeau and Scott City. Once again, where is the interchange that Oak Ridge was promised more than 25 years ago? Isn't it about time that Missouri kept that promise?

Problem with cutting weeds

ALONG THEMIS, Boxwood and Silver Springs, we have weeds growing that give us different varmints, snakes, mice, rats, mosquitoes, everything you can think of. I know the city has a weed abatement deal, but why can't I get this done? I've called the police department for two weeks trying to find the health officer. Evidently he is pretty well hid out. We've lived here almost 12 years, and at least once a year it looks horrible because the weeds are so high they don't cut right.

`Kids' is a term of endearment

I READ with interest in Speak Out the comment about "Stop calling children kids." Well, I wonder if you have kids. My parents had nine of us kids, and it was with fondness and love every day that they called us or referred to us as kids. I'm not almost 50 years old, and my daddy's been gone almost a year. My mother is elderly, and she still refers to us as her kids. I can think of nothing better I'd like to be called.

Tattoos and common sense too

TO THAT person who said anyone with common sense wouldn't get tattoos, I beg to differ. I'd like to think that I've got some common sense. I've made it through life this far. I've got two tattoos, one on each ankle. Does this make me good for nothing? I don't think so. I've been to college, and I was an honor student while I was there. I'm now holding down a full-time job and supporting myself. Did I mention I've got a pierced tongue too? Wow! I take that out when I'm tired of it. It's a form of expression. It's not for everybody, but you know it works for me. If kids are running wild, it is not because of tattoos or piercings or whatever. You have to be at least 18 to get them. Find something else to complain about.

Not satisfied with handling of case

CONCERNING CHILD molesters and taking the law into your own hands: A similar situation happened to me 31 years ago, and I regret every day that I didn't take the law into my own hands and finish him off. I was fool enough to believe the system. I said let the law take its course. Well, I'll tell you about the law. If you're nobody or not prominent and it happens to your child, they go into court and your child gets put through it. The case was dropped, and I didn't know anything about it until about two months later.

Heidi makes Wednesday paper worthwhile

IN RESPONSE to the comments made on Heidi Nieland's column: I think she's a very excellent and skilled writer. She is very entertaining. I look forward to reading the paper on Wednesday just to read her column. Don't take her out. She's an excellent writer.

Tattoos mark you for life

THIS IS regard to the comment in the newspaper about tattoos. I have four of them. The first one I got on my way to Korea in 1953 at the age of 22. That should have been my first, last and only. But you young children, young people and even the older people who are getting tattoos nowadays, there's one thing you have to remember. They're not all that pretty. Sometimes you may even get an infected needle in the deal and lose an arm or a leg or whatever. I have seen this happen in the past. Also, you will be a marked person for the rest of your life, because once those tattoos go on, they cannot be removed unless they are surgically removed, and nine times out of 10 they will leave a terrible scar. So just think about this before you get a tattoo of any kind whether it be a small butterfly or a naked woman on your belly. Remember, boys, men, girls, women, do not get tattoos, they are no good for you or anyone else.

Vote on pension bill was big mistake

TO PETER Kinder and Mary Kasten, we've been reading about the bill that you both voted on last week. There's a group of us here discussing this, and you say in the paper that you shouldn't have voted for this. Why did you do it? We are all sitting here disgusted, and we know why you did it. It made a lot more money put in your pocket. We who have to work don't get that kind of money given to us like you do. We all think you made a mistake.

Suggestions for regional crime lab

A SUGGESTION, not a criticism. Regional Crime Lab: We need it. Why not move the tennis courts on Henderson to the Sprigg location and use this for your building? Next, build a school, not a monument. Such an edifice gets old, gradually deteriorating as far as appearance goes. What is up front in any building is its utility, not prettiness or somebody's ideas. Think about it.

Need central PO in Scott City

WE REALLY need a new post office centrally located in Scott City. The one over in Illmo is just too far for us old people to make the trip over. Thank goodness one of the grocery stores sell stamps.

Discipline is parents' responsibility

I DISAGREE with spanking our children in school. It's the parents' responsibility to discipline our children, not the teachers. If my child does something so bad he needs to be spanked, let me know, and I'll determine what the punishment should be. My husband and I both work 40 hours a week and still find time to spend with our children. Our boys respect us and others because we show them love and respect. And no, we don't spank our children because we don't have to. Spending just 30 minutes a day alone with your child, even if it's just playing a game or reading a book, can make all the difference in the world.

Something is wrong at the airport

JUST READ in the Missourian that the airport board wants to hire an airport restaurant manager. I've been associated with the Cape Girardeau airport since 1982 as president of the Cape Girardeau Pilots' Club and as a mechanic at Midstate Aero. I can't believe we need a separate airport restaurant manager. What is wrong with our airport manager wearing two hats? The airport manager makes approximately $40,000 a year. A restaurant manager's salary runs anywhere from $28,000 to $40,000 a year depending on the facility that person is running. Cape Girardeau needs to stop and look at what they're doing to their airport. Also, I read in the paper the other day where they want to have another company come in and give them an update on their master plan at the cost to the taxpayers of $75,000. I was on the board when a company from Kansas City, did the first master plan at a cost of $50,000. We're going to spend $125,000 of the taxpayers' money in less than a 10-year period for a master plan. Something's wrong at the airport, and I think it starts at City Hall.