SPEAKOUT

Picking through the trash

I'M CALLING to express thanks to the people in Cape Girardeau and Jackson who allowed the trash pickers to go through their trash and take out items they could use. My family was one of those families who did that. We appreciate the good items that we picked up, and we always left places cleaner than we found them. We appreciate it and hope the people who put their trash out don't mind us taking some of the items. We like to do that, and it helps our economy. We recycle them and use the items, and we'd like to continue doing that.

Other SEMO achievements

I'D LIKE to comment about SEMO University. When a kid makes the OVC conference, it's all over the newspaper, everywhere you can see -- this kid made this, this kid made that. I'm not running it down. But when SEMO sends some excellent students overseas for student teaching, you never hear nothing about it. So evidently sports must be more important news to SEMO than what the academic achievements are to SEMO.

REPLY: The university does a good job of informing the news media about the achievements of its students, faculty and staff. The Southeast Missourian tries hard makes sure all of these stories get into the newspaper. If you know of some specific good news about students at Southeast Missouri State University that hasn't been in the paper, please call managing editor Joni Adams at 335-6611, extension 121. Thanks.

Tax cut here, new tax there

THE THREE cents of sales tax the state is giving us off groceries won't amount to a hill of beans, because they're already saying they're going to need more taxes for highways. Just wait and see how long it takes to get something to replace this three cents we're getting. Probably before we even get the three cents.

Lower tax here, higher tax there

OUR POLITICAL parasites are lowering the sales tax on food by three cents. Big deal. Why don't they tell you they are raising property taxes? Politicians think we taxpayers are stupid. We will surely remember you on Election Day.

Word is a pet peeve

I CAN'T believe the typo in the Saturday, May 17 Missourian. In the article "Realtors pay utility bills, perform other kind gestures," they said that services were needed to "spade" and neuter two cats. I hear many people say "spade" as though to you get out a hoe and spade the cats. No, it's "spayed." This is one of my pet peeves. Maybe after Random Acts of Kindness week, we would have Pet Peeve Week. This could be the start of something really big.

Unfair to military women

I DON'T condone adultery in the military service. I'm not a woman's rights activist, and I'm no extreme left-winger, but I think the lieutenant is being singled out for that fact that she's a woman. Eisenhower did the same thing with Miss Sommersby. He never was thrown out of the Army. Gen. Patton, I understand, had a girlfriend too. He wasn't thrown out of the Army. If this was a man, I feel they would roll their eyes and forget all about it and look the other way. This is something I think Clinton should intercede on. I think she deserves a second chance. She's proven herself.

Kent Street traffic

I CAN get more than 22 signatures voting yes to have Kent Street opened up. It's time for residents on that street to wake up and realize they're going to have to put up with traffic just like we do on Bellridge Pike.

More zero tolerance

THE NEW zero tolerance curfew policy is great, but how about zero tolerance on some other priorities? How about zero tolerance for four-wheeled boom boxes and window rattlers, especially after dark? How about zero tolerance for drivers who slouch to drive? How about zero tolerance for vandals, glass breakers, shoplifters and petty thieves? How about zero tolerance for drivers who rush yellow and run red lights? Gee, life might actually improve in Cape.

Headlines were poor

I THINK the Southeast Missourian did a poor job on the articles on Ron Shumate. I don't think he deserved those kinds of headlines. I personally think that Ron Shumate should not have gotten fired.

Publicity hounds

MOST PEOPLE that I know are sick and tired of political correctness stuff as illustrated by SEMO's great concern over the Indian mascot. It's hard for me to believe that Indians lie awake at night worrying about such things. In every group, there will always a handful of people who strive for attention, and many have parlayed this attention into very good incomes. Like small children who throw fits to get attention, these publicity hounds will find fault with everything and anything because it feeds their ego and keeps the money coming in. Instead of ignoring these crackpots, the media and now the university actually give them credibility by covering their bogus complaints. My advice to the university officials concerned about offending a very small group of attention lovers is to ignore them. They will eventually move to another campus where they get more publicity.