SPEAKOUT

Gangs are frozen

I AM very thankful for the frigid weather we just experienced. It seemed to halt the gang and drug activity on North Hope Street in Jackson. It is the first Friday night in months that we haven't had large numbers of teens traveling in packs and vehicles making repeated stops at a home in this neighborhood.

Site selection

YOUR REPORTER was wrong. The reason the GSA did not consider the old St. Francis Hospital site for the new federal building was not because of its distance from the existing federal building. In fact, according to the GSA representative at Thursday night's meeting, close proximity to the old federal building is low on the list of priorities. The GSA representative went on to say that all that the city would have to do to allow the GSA to consider the old St. Francis Hospital site would be to designate that site as part of the commercial business district. I'm wondering how your reporter missed such an important piece of information.

REPLY: The GSA has consistently said proximity is very high on the priority list for selecting a site for the new federal courthouse. But the caller also is correct. The limited area in which the GSA has concentrated its search was defined by City Hall. If city officials want the old St. Francis Hospital location to be considered, they need to revise their definition of the downtown area as well as rezone the property in question, if the property owner makes such a request.

Cemetery follow-up

WHAT WAS done to the jerks who allegedly vandalized the Old Lorimier Cemetery? The 17-year-old was to appear before a judge last Monday. What happened, was the punishment just another slap on the wrist?

REPLY: Five persons -- three adults, two juveniles -- have been arrested. The three adults face state property-damage charges and will be tried in circuit court. Kevin Coker, 17, has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing Feb. 23. Brian Lowe, 23, and his wife, Susan Lowe, 20, are scheduled to appear in court Feb. 13 to enter a plea. Information about juvenile offenders isn't made public.

High-paying welfare

WELFARE PAYS too well. In New York City, welfare provides the equivalent of an hourly pre-taxed wage of $14.75. In Detroit, $10.90, in Baltimore, $11.35. In 40 states, welfare pays more than $8 an hour. In 29 states, welfare pays more than the average starting pay of a secretary. Can we afford to continue to trap people in this sort of dependency? Can those on welfare afford to take a job?

Dose of reality

YES, MRS. Clinton, I also believe it takes a village to raise children. A village where fathers go to work and mothers stay at home with those children. A village where moms meet moms who live next door while the kids play together and learn by watching their parents about love, trust, friendship and helping one another in times of need. But how can we possibly draw such a beautiful picture when so many of today's kids are shipped to day care and preschool and never have the opportunity to see a community of adults coming together? With so much discussion of quality vs. quantity time, how can we expect those overburdened parents to care about the village in which they live? Mrs. Clinton, I find this village of which you speak doesn't even apply to you. As your child was in her formative years, you decided you could have it all, career and motherhood. Need I remind you the trouble this has caused. Mrs. Clinton, might I suggest instead of crossing the country telling people how they should raise their children, you should return to Pennsylvania Avenue and lead by example. Show those families who send mommies up to pound the pavement, that pounding out homemade bread and handing out daylong hugs and kisses and love to their kids is the more noble and profitable career to pursue. Improve your image, Mrs. Clinton. Go back and listen to "Stand by your man" as you peruse the red-checkered cookbook. Get photo ops with Chelsea baking bread or show her how to mend the torn off arm of a beloved teddy bear. Teach her to be a wife and mother devoted to her husband and to sacrifice for her children. After a year or so of being out of the public spotlight devoting every minute available to supporting your family, write to us again. The book will probably be shorter and will give us all who do know about the environment in which our children excel a great pat on the back and the affirmative action that our career path is the one that should be emulated. That village is one where I'd love to have as my neighbor, Mrs. Clinton.

God and government

ADRIAN RODGERS, the former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, was quoted in the "Word and Way" journal of the Missouri Baptist Convention recently as follows, "America stills ranks No. 1 among nations," Rodgers said, "but unfortunately it ranks No. 1 in homosexuality, radical feminism, divorce, destruction of family values, the occult, crime, and violence." He called for a return to the founding principles of the nation. Our declaration was founded on belief in God. You do not have to be a Greek scholar or a rocket scientist. "This national problem boils down to failure on the individual level," Rodgers explained. "Americans today are more concerned about a balanced budget than they are righteousness. We're trying to make America a better place to go to hell from. The problem is much deeper than a government fix," Rodgers said. "Government cannot make us good, only God can do that."

Local lingo

PETER KINDER wants to make it where Missouri teachers speak perfect English. Better yet, the entire Southeast Missouri area should clean up its act of speaking. My relatives from Denver were visiting here in Cape, and with the hillbilly slur of Cape they had no idea what was being said to them.

Cheers for Heidi

I'D JUST like to say three cheers to Heidi Nieland on her Saturday's column. She has got it so right. Congratulations, Heidi.

Gays and churches

I WOULD like to make a comment on what Jerry Falwell has said all along. First of all, he was right. He said first the gays will come out of the closet, and then they would use TV talk shows to desensitize the way the American people feel. Now they are doing the final assault. They are attacking churches. And if you look at what the Southeast Missourian is doing, by printing a fourth of a page about a gay/lesbian preacher preaching it's OK to be gay and stuff. The Bible clearly explains, "It is an abomination for a man to lay down with another man." How many idiots are there who don't buy this? The average person does not accept the gay lifestyle as normal.

Voters are responsible

I WANT to comment about the boy who was killed over in Bosnia. I saw Clinton on TV giving his condolences. It just makes me sick to see a draft-dodging coward talking our brave boys whom he sent into this war. The only reason we're even involved over there is to get people's attention off the Whitewatergate scandals that he's in. The blood of these boys in Bosnia and the little kids at Waco is on the hands of the 43 percent who voted for him, and they'll carry that to their grave.

None of the above

I NOTICE where Bob Dole had on TV that everybody had to vote for somebody and it might as well be him. Well, I just wanted to say I'm not voting for any of those crooks up there, and if America's got any sense, it won't either.

Sickening article

I'M JUST utterly amazed at what some people say and do. I read that article about the new Metropolitan Community Church. They're basically welcoming those people with open arms when our Bible and our churches believe that homosexuality is wrong. Basically the article said that these people are saying that the biblical account of Sodom and Gomorrah isn't a warning against homosexuality, that it's just bad being a bad hostess and about rape. I found the article sickening.

Recycling sense

THIS IS in reference to the caller who plans to quit recycling. I hope he doesn't. I too have a couple of well-educated neighbors who do not make any attempt to recycle. I don't know why those people don't realize unless we all get together and clean our environment by recycling, we are all eventually going to drown in our own effluvia.

Be responsible

I'M COMMENTING on the subject of recycling. To the people who say they are not going to recycle anymore because of their neighbors, you're not recycling for the right reasons anyway. I'm a responsible citizen who works, has a 11-year-old and a 20-month-old, and I'm 40 years old and I have time to recycle. All you have to do is put it in a paper sack. I hope you people start thinking about our future as well as our kids'. Don't wait until, as the old saying goes, "you don't miss it until it's gone." So quit complaining and get out there and recycle whether your neighbors do or not. Be responsible adults.

Trash limits

I WOULD like to comment on the trash situation in Cape Girardeau and recycling situation. I think it's totally unfair that every family in Cape is limited to three bags a week of trash when you've got a single person living in a home. She can put out three bags of trash. If you've got a family of eight, you're limited to that same three bags of trash. It's very discriminatory. It should be so many bags of trash per person in the household, not three bags, that's the limit, that's it.

Thanks, Biokyowa

ON BEHALF of students and teachers of Cape Girardeau I would like to express sincere thanks to Biokyowa for bringing the St. Louis Ballet Company presentation of "Nutcracker" to the Show Me Center. It was a wonderful and informative program and extremely well-received by the audience. What a beautiful way to support education in our community.

Gambling vote

THE RECENT editorial in the Southeast Missourian raised serious questions about changes in the gambling laws in Missouri. Specifically, lifting gambling limits and cruising requirements. These were crucial factors in voters' decision to approve gambling. Is it possible for the voters to vote on repealing the law permitting gambling in the state? If so, what are the procedures of getting this issue on the ballot?

REPLY: Changing the state law would require a constitutional amendment, which can be placed on the ballot either by legislative action or initiative petition. Voters in cities also must approve riverboats, and some cities like Columbia have voted several times on the issue, most recently to ban gambling through a city charter amendment. Cape Girardeau voted twice on the local gambling option. The first time it failed, and the second time it passed.

Bad-mouthing campaign

IT'S election year again, and all you hear is a Democrat and a Republican bad-mouthing each other. That makes us all not know who to vote for. I just hope the Democrats and Republicans who get in next can get along.