SPEAKOUT

Ordinances and planning

IS COUNTY planning and zoning automatically reinstated without voting for it? By reading today's Missourian you would think so. I can't believe Gerald Jones is already testing ordinances. Mr. Jones, you and your cronies better wait to see if anybody wants county planning and zoning.

REPLY: As has been explained in numerous news stories and editorials in recent weeks, the county commission has appointed a planning and zoning commission to work on a plan that would have to be submitted to voters for approval before it could be implemented. Also, by becoming a first-class county on Jan. 1, Cape Girardeau County also has, for the first time, powers to adopt ordinances. The nuisance ordinance referred to by the caller are not part of planning and zoning.

Interesting arguments

I FOUND the recent article about the NAACP and the Cape schools very interesting. It allows that group to show it's true colors, as it were. The NAACP expects everyone else in society to be colorblind by not looking at a person's color first. The reasons given for not supporting the bond issue are based on reasoning the rest of us can't use but that group can. First I would like to say that the taxation without representation because of very few black teachers is ridiculous. The vast majority of teachers are female. This doesn't make me feel unrepresented because I'm a male. Our school district needs the best teachers it can get, no matter what color they are. Another complaint was that the new school would be in a better neighborhood with nice houses and the kids would feel out of place. That land was bought by the school district before Michael Sterling was even heard of. Should the land be abandoned because of the big houses? If the new school were going to be built in south Cape, the rest of us would be accused of attempting segregation. This reasoning of Sterling's should be sent to the state education department. It would stop the busing of St. Louis city students to St. Louis County immediately. We can all be citizens working together. The NAACP has to be the center of attention or it isn't happy.

Whose No. 1?

I AM shocked that Cape Girardeau would let Jackson get ahead of us in this issue of schools. What happened to the famous Cape-Jackson rivalry? The voters of Jackson have provided new, state of the art buildings for their children. Can't Cape voters keep up? I thought we were No. 1.

There are angels around

I JUST want to tell you that there are angels on this earth. I was shopping at a store that took cash only, and I had overshopped. I didn't have enough money. There was this senior citizen man behind me who said, "I'll pay it if it's less than $2." And he paid that. Then I ran around trying to find someone to write a check to pay this man back, and I did find someone and it was only a check for $2. This woman, I didn't know her, took my check and gave me the $2. I ran back in to give it to this man, and he said, "I do not want that. I want you to keep it." I pleaded back and forth. He said "I'm not going to keep this. You take this and put it in your favorite charity." I thought that was the nicest thing, and I wanted everybody to know there are angels on this earth.

Divide and conquer

I AM an alumni of Southeast Missouri State University. I like the mascot just fine. This political correctness is really not about people and their ethnic differences. It's about dividing people. But since I think the name will be changed anyway, no matter what, a good name for the Southeast Missouri State Indians would be the Red-Tailed Hawks, because there are a lot of hawks that fly over Cape all the time. I'm against political correctness because the people who have put political correctness up are the same people who call people derogatory names. It's just a divide and conquer. That's all it is.

Choice to use seat belts

IN RESPONSE to Capt. C.A. Greeno's letter about wearing seat belts: It is his own personal opinion that Missouri needs a strong and enforceable seat belt law. Let me share my opinion. Seat belts are fine, if that's your choice, and I will agree that they do save lives. But everybody should have a choice whether or not to use them. This is supposed to be a free country, not a communist regime. If you people out there don't speak up and defend yourselves about mandatory laws, such as House Bill 100 and the stronger seat belt law now pending that will enable a police officer to stop and write you a very expensive ticket if caught not wearing one, you will have lost some of your freedom.

A waitress owes Uncle Sam

I'M A waitress working my way through college. I only get paid about $2 an hour in wages, so I rely on my tips to pay my bills. Last week, during a lunch rush I gave good service to a family of six. When they received their food, the head of the family asked for salsa. I forgot to deliver it immediately. When they left, there was a single penny on the messy table. Their bill was about $40. I must pay 12 percent of that to Uncle Sam. This means all my efforts to serve this family cost me about $4.50.

Voting for the future

IN THE upcoming school election, the voters in Cape Girardeau need to realize that the education their children get is top notch. The Cape public school system has served my children well. One is in college now, and my other son is still in school. My oldest son could have been successful in any college he chose, and I give credit to a public school for helping him realize his potential. We've got great teachers and good programs here in Cape. However, we can't continue to have good education going on when the schools become so old they no longer are effective environments for our kids. We can't afford to not pass this bond issue on April 1. I fully support our system and will vote yes for our children, our school, our city and our future.

Real insurance concerns

I UNDERSTAND that some of our fine legislators in Missouri are considering the passage of a bill to increase the minimum requirements for insurance for cars. I think these fine legislators should find a way to enforce having insurance to begin with. There seems to be some kind of a problem when all they do is make stricter regulations for those of us who obey the laws and the people who don't obey the laws don't suffer any consequences. I would like to know what happens to the people who don't have insurance, or better yet, what happens to the people who don't have insurance when they hit someone? My information is that these people don't pay a penny and go free. Some of them even go live in another state. Maybe our legislators could consider that first.

States have Indian names

THIS IS the Old Geezer again. I've got a problem. We're all in a huddle here trying to figure out a new nickname for our basketball team. But this is kind of confusing to us. What are we going to call our state? You know, it's Missouri. How about Illinois? Indiana? Minnesota? Guys, it just goes on and on. Even Alaska and also out there in Honolulu. They've got to have a new name too. After all, that's an Indian name. How about writing in Speak Out what we're going to call those different places?

Question of the day

THE PRIMARY question for today is who will stand on the side of the American people against their government gone bad? America resembles less and less what the founders bequeathed us and looks more and more like the countries our immigrant forefathers tried to get away from. This is happening in large part because the ruling classes that are running our government -- the universities, the media, the entertainment industry, the arts -- have gathered into themselves enormously powerful means of government. They detest our patriotism just like our people's prosperity. But whether the excuse is environmentalism or poverty or crime, the recipe is always the same. Take money away from independent, working people and give it to the favorites of the working class.

A bold stand in column

I APPLAUD Tamara Zellars Buck's column on Saturday regarding supporting the school bond issue. This woman took a bold and prophetic stand in opposition to the NAACP-stated stance. Indeed, unity can achieve more than division, but unity must be a continuing forward-flowing pressure well before the passing of the bond issue. We must continue to pressure the school board to hire more minority teachers and administrators until our school leadership reflects more the makeup of our community. Further, we must work to unify our children at an earlier age within the education system. Bringing the community's children together at age 13 in the seventh grade is much too late.

A lot of taxes

LET ME know if I have everything straight. On April 1, we get to vote for a $14 million bond issue that would raise property taxes 69 cents per $100. Also on April 1, a new 1/2 cent sales tax passed in November for water treatment takes effect. Union Electric has applied for a 19 1/2 percent increase in gas rates and if Sen. Kinder has his way, we will be voting on a 1 cent increase in sales tax to finance the lake. Does this about cover everything?