SPEAKOUT

Chain gang or military

I JUST saw where they're going to do away with the chain gangs in Alabama because it is cruel and unusual punishment. As a veteran of the Korean conflict, I would like to say that I was treated with cruel and unusual punishment each and every day. It's time to go back to the chain gangs instead of stopping them. These people commit these crimes and they treat them like babies. Stick them in the U.S. armed forces and let them try that for a while and see how they like that. I believe they would pick the chain gang after serving in the military.

Accuracy rather than speed

ABOUT THE mail delivery in Cape: Wrong-delivery mail probably wouldn't occur if the carriers were a bit slower and more attentive to names and addresses on the mail. I have had important mail put in my box. I forthwith let the people know so they could come and pick up their mail at my residence. I'm not interested in receiving other people's important mail. I have failed to get my bank statement, and no one let me know if he or she received it in error. I don't have any idea as to what happened to it, and nobody has been courteous enough to let me know. I prefer slower delivery of mail if it will bring my mail to my mailbox and not someone else's mail.

Spelling bee

CONCERNING YOUR article on Russell E. Bucklew who escaped from the Cape County Jail, trustee is spelled t-r-u-s-t-e-e, not t-r-u-s-t-y. That's trusty. Trustee has two e's.

REPLY: There is a trusty who is a prisoner considered trustworthy and given special privileges, and there is a trustee who is a person given legal responsibilities to administer property or oversee the operations of an organization. The spelling in the Bucklew story was correct.

Abandoned bank accounts

I WAS just reading about bank accounts and how they can be considered abandoned after a period of inactivity. I was just wondering what the period of inactivity was in Missouri and whether or not deposits of interests that you account earns are considered activity. Who made this rule anyway, and what difference is it of the government whether you deposit any money or take it out of your bank account?

REPLY: You can probably get the best answer by contacting the bank where you have accounts. Also, you can call the state treasurer's office at (573) 751-2411 and speak to the folks in the unclaimed property section. This section of the treasurer's office currently holds nearly $70 million in unclaimed property, much of it in abandoned bank accounts and safety-deposit boxes. All of the holdings are on a computer, and the treasurer's office can quickly check to see if any of the unclaimed property belongs to you.

Dole on cigarettes

SINCE BOB Dole has said he doesn't think smoking cigarettes is worse than a lot of other things, does this mean he will accept even more campaign money from the cigarette companies? With these kinds of statements, it's time to send Bob Dole on back to the Kansas flatlands.

Time to ban fireworks

WAKE UP, Missouri. All our neighboring states have outlawed fireworks and for good reason. Here we have debris in our streets and our yards, and our animals are scared to death for two weeks. Shame on Missouri.

Hopper Road freeway

TO THE list of dangerous streets I'd like to add the Hopper Road freeway. Motorists seem to feel free to drive just as fast as they can.

Medicare facts are scary

THIS IS the old geezer again. In my hand I have Your Medicare Book 1996 published by Health Care Financing Administration. You people who read the newspaper should get a copy of this book, look at it. We're talking about Medicare going broke. People, for goodness sakes, if you could see this publication, you'd die right in your tracks. The purpose of this was to blow up the bureaucracy that controls this, to hide the mistakes. It's got to the point where anything that comes out of Washington, D.C., is a bare faced lie. People, raise up your ugly heads, and let's put a stop to it.

Clean up rundown houses

IT'S TIME the city start doing something about rundown houses. Some people they force them to clean them up, others they don't. This is totally unfair, and I'm getting sick and tired of seeing junk here in what is supposed to be the City of Roses.

Legislating morality

I WAS one of the customers at the club when the Cape Girardeau Police Department raided it and arrested entertainers and employers. I cannot believe the city council I helped to elect is now telling me what I was doing is immoral. No girls were nude or vulgar, nor was I solicited by any of them for prostitution. The city council should understand that they cannot legislate morality. The ordinance they wrote up designed to close these bars is because they personally do not like them. Your job is to enforce what we want, not what you want.

Questions about escape

I'M CALLING about the Cape County Jail escapee. What was a killer doing rubbing elbows with a trusty? I thought they had separate sections for people with more serious crimes. I really think Cape County Jail ought to be held responsible for such behavior and not let things like this happen again.

A day of driving in Cape

ON A RECENT morning, the first three drivers I met made serious driving errors. A driver sped through Lexington and Sherwood as usual without stopping at the sign. The next driver had a newspaper in one hand, driving with the other, probably looking at garage sales. He crossed over the center line. The next driver made a complete U-turn out of the right lane. This was not a crazy movie we saw. It was all in three minutes in Cape Girardeau. Is this the norm for our city, bad drivers or poor moral attitude?

Bike riders at night

JUST A few words on the bike riders. On a recent night I came upon two bike riders on Route W. It was dark. They did not have lights on their bikes. They did not have illuminated clothing on. It was a shock that I almost hit them. Why can't they all be a little more careful and let people know that they are there? They were right in front of my car.