SPEAKOUT

Rudeness displayed by the elderly

I JUST from the farmers market at Plaza Galleria in Cape. It was my first time and last. I've never encountered such rudeness of all types on such a large scale from elderly persons who are the first to condemn teen-agers. Most teens that I meet could give lessons in manners to that bunch. Now I know where the teens with no civility learned it. Incidentally, I'm 55.

Consider the clarity of these comments

A SPEAK Out caller recently told us that in his view "it's hard to tell what your paper says half the time." The caller should confine his reading to Speak Out if he wants undeniable truth and crystal clarity.

Rush misses the point on teen smoking

OUR LOCAL hero, Rush Limbaugh, has made some comments that are completely off the wall. He still does not really ascertain what he is talking about. For example, he said that there have been no 14-year-olds killed by cigarette smoking, no 14-year-olds killed by second-hand smoke. However, there have been 14-year-olds killed by drunken drivers. These two things do not go together. He does not ascertain that. When a 14-year-old starts smoking, gets hooked and keeps smoking, he dies. But Rush Limbaugh does not ascertain that.

Growth is a reality of life

I'M CALLING in response to Joan Seabaugh's letter in the paper about the lake. I don't really care if we get the lake or not. I'm a fisherman, but that's beyond the point. What really gets me is she's complaining about the growth in our community and struggling schools. That's part of America. All I can say is I hope she doesn't have grandchildren, because that's part of growth in our community too.

Cape should vote on a bus system

I AM not an elderly person by any means, but I would like to see a more viable transportation in the city of Cape Girardeau -- a bus system. I believe we should put it to a vote whether we want real public transportation as in a bus system. Take a canvass of the Cape Girardeau students who would rather take a bus from their home or near the home instead of paying parking fees or getting fined for parking in the wrong place. Take a canvass of the elderly who must depend on an atrociously overpriced system, ever with federal subsidies, to get from one area of town to another and then back again. Take a canvass of people who would rather read a newspaper than drive in the atrocious traffic that Cape Girardeau has nowadays. Do this and put it to a vote.

Money should have been better spent

I THINK the money Scott City spent on a full-page ad in the Missourian to advertise their first annual Railroad Days could have been used for a more worthy cause.

Voting is best form of term limits

I'LL HAVE to disagree with Ashcroft on wanting term limits for Congress. I think it is now as it should be: the voters limit the congressmen and senators by their votes. If they don't like one, they vote him out.

City must keep up curb, sidewalk repairs

I'M SURE glad to read in the paper where a few repairs are done to the sidewalks and curbs. I hope they keep it up. This seems to be just a very, very small amount done, but it's really worthwhile.

Use flags in funeral processions

I THINK it would be a good safety measure if the funeral homes would once again use the flags on the funeral procession cars like they used to. With the automatic lights turning on so many cars when the motor's started and the bumper-to-bumper traffic we have in this town, it is hard to distinguish if it is a funeral procession. And sometimes the hearse is out of sight, so I think this would be a good safety feature.

Stay away from white-elephant property

WHY DOES the city of Cape Girardeau want to get involved in a piece of white elephant property on Broadway and Main? Just stay away from that white elephant property down there. That's good advice for the city council.

Congratulations on 17 percent rate

IN THE last legislative session about one in six proposed laws in Missouri actually became law. One out of six is about 17 percent, so about 17 percent of proposed laws actually became Missouri law. And you know what? A 17 percent failure rate isn't bad. Congratulations, Missouri legislators.

You wouldn't even have to make the holes

I SUPPORT Southeast Missourian editor Joe Sullivan's clarion call for a golf course in downtown Cape. One of the many advantages of having one located there would be that there are already a lot of 19 holes on Main Street.

Think about what's on the inside

I AM a white female under the age of 18. The past couple of days at school a class of mine has been discussing the topic of racism. I was really saddened today when I realized how many racist people I went to school with. People should try to think of skin color, think of it as wrapping paper. It's what's on the inside that really counts.