SPEAKOUT

Police pay in Jackson

I JUST read the article on the front page of the Missourian about the salaries of police officers in the Southeast Missouri area. It's somewhat amazing to me the starting salary in Jackson, and then sometimes in certain situations they can start a little higher. I think if the pay scale was looked at closely, the citizens of Jackson and other people would notice Jackson thinks more of its sanitation truck drivers than fire and police officers since they're on a higher pay scale, even with longevity. I'm not begrudging the sanitation truck drivers, but they don't have to have anything but a commercial driver's license to work where a police officer has to have certification through the state and firemen now have to be certified. I just wonder what they're thinking of in city when they make a pay scale like that. It amazes me where our priorities are for our fearless leaders at Jackson.

Bundy not convicted

THIS IS in regards to the jail marriage question. For your information, Ken Bundy has not been convicted. He is innocent until proven guilty. I will laugh in your face when the verdict becomes not guilty. And as far as being married, have you ever heard of being married because you love someone and being in love with someone? Just because he supposedly committed a crime that everyone is saying he did does not mean that he has no rights. He has a right like every human being.

One-parent families

I GET so sick of people downing one-parent families. I agree with whoever it was that one-parent families can have just as many successful children as two parents can. I happen to be a single mother who was raised by a mother who mostly raised me by myself the first 10 years of my life. I am a recovering alcoholic and drug addict with over a year of sobriety thanks to my mom. I made a lot of bad choices in my life, but I can't blame my mother who did everything she could. I don't want my children to do things that I did, I want to get a good education and have a good happy life. So for all the people who down one-parent families, don't open your mouth unless you've been there because you don't know.

Jackson starting salaries

IN YOUR article Dec. 30 about the pay hike for the Sikeston police officers starting salary. there's a quote about the Jackson police department's starting salary and then there's an asterisk stating that if an officer has experience, they could make this amount of money. Never in the history of the Jackson Police Department has an officer started out at a salary other than starting salary and there have been officers hired with experience. I think this needs to followed up on.

New history standards

I'VE READ a great deal in the last two or three weeks about the new history curriculum, the new history standards, that have been sent out by the national committee for history standards. I was wondering: Where does somebody get a copy of this? Who do we write to? Who has a copy? Maybe Jon Rust in Washington can answer this question,but I'd like to get a copy and see what's being done.

REPLY: Jon Rust says the National Endowment for the Humanities will be selling the new guidelines in bookstores across the country. You might want to check with your favorite bookstore.

I WOULD like to direct my comments to the Ms. Martin from the Carbondale abortion clinic that they interviewed on KFVS. The poor girl couldn't understand why the pro-life people feel the way they do about abortion. Maybe if she watched the "20/20" broadcast on Channel 3 about the little baby that was saved in the mother's womb, that they cut the tumor off of its little lung and it lived at such an early stage of gestation -- maybe if she watched that, she could understand why the pro-lifers feel this is indeed a baby that people are killing that's in their womb.

Tournament comments

THE U-HIGH Christmas Tournament was a success again. Congratulations to the Cape Central Tigers. Enjoyed watching it.

I WOULD like to address these comments to the ones that are in charge of picking the all-tournament team for the University High Christmas Tournament. First, I would like to know how your could pick a boy from Leopold for the all-tournament team and that you would completely look over Scott City. Scott City was seeded 10th in the Christmas Tournament. They came back and played Jackson, which was No. 7 and put them in the losers bracket. They played Cape Central, played them a really good game, but they got beat. They played Oak Ridge and knocked them out. They then played Notre Dame and lost but had a great game. Scott City didn't even get a boy named for the all-tournament team. Now do you think that's fair? They had some deserving athletes on that team. I would just like to know the reasons.

Mr. Food is enjoyable

IN RESPONSE to the Mr. Food fight, I for one, personally, enjoy Mr. Food and I have a lot of friends who feel the same way. I would like to see it kept on Channel 12. He's only there a short minute, and those who do not like him can find the time to vacate themselves from the TV set for that period of time. I vote Mr. Food stay on.

More names for list

IN FRIDAY'S paper, Paul Greenberg's "Forget the names and the New Year would be happier" listed some names. I would like to add some names: Bob Dole, Rush Limbaugh, Jon Rust, Paul Greenberg and Peter Kinder.

Overbearing announcer

WE THOUGHT the announcer for the Christmas Tournament at the Show Me Center was a little overbearing. It's not necessary to scream out the play. It's much more enjoyable when you announce the game in a sensible manner. Also the music is way too loud at all games.

Nieland is a winner

WHEN YOU first started running the Heidi Nieland column, I thought, "Oh boy, she's another female Sam Blackwell. But I was wrong. She is really a winner. Particularly that column of Dec. 31. That was really a piece of work. I compliment you on acquiring her.

Praise for Judge Calvin

I WANT to praise Municipal Court Judge Edward Calvin for the way he handled the two basketball players for stealing. He did the right thing.

Tired of ads in mail

I'M REALLY tired of all the advertising that is received in the mail and all the cute little gimmicks associated with it. For instance, I received a extremely urgent hand-delivered advertisement from TCI Cable. In the lower left hand corner there are little squares that have been checked off: hand deliver, material inspected, delivery date checked, recipient address confirmed. Well, curiously enough, it was sent bulk rate, U.S. postage paid, which means it wasn't technically hand-delivered It was just normally mail-delivered. And secondly, the address on the envelope is for a business next door that is associated with my residence, but there's no resident there and the name is incorrect for whether it had been my address or my business associate's address. It's just one more example of advertising gimmicks for making people getting something their not.

Looking for just one

SOMEONE RECENTLY said they would like to more of Heidi Nieland's interesting columns. I'd like to see one, if you get my drift.

Send a message

IF YOU disapprove of a postage hike, place all your postage stamps upside down on the envelope. Maybe the postal service will take the hint.

Taxing question

MY BOYFRIEND and his wife are divorced. She held her children on as dependents on her taxes because they live with her. He also held them as dependents on his taxes last year too. Can he do this or will they catch up to him later?

REPLY: It would be best to consult a tax professional, but generally the parent who provided the most support gets to claim children as dependents.

Disappointing players

I'M REAL disappointed in baseball players for their strike. I think it's going to affect the baseball season in 1995. I know it already has tremendously, since it's already going into 1995, since it's been so long. I want to say they're not playing for the game anymore. They're playing for all that money. It's just not a game anymore, the way they're playing it.

Back-handed support

I JUST wanted to lend my voice in support of outcome based education in the public schools. You see, my children go to private school, and the sooner the public schools implement outcome based education, the sooner my children will achieve an even greater educational advantage over the public school system thus insuring privately schooled, home-schooled children will have an even better competitive advantage in the economy of the tomorrow.

Get a shave, Lou

MAYBE IF Lou Hobbs got a shave and a hair cut, he wouldn't look like a gorilla.

Parade/USA Weekend

AFTER MANY years of USA/Weekend, they changed over to Parade. About the time we get used to Parade, they change back to USA Weekend. Come on, Joe, get with it. Is USA Weekend a penny or two cheaper to insert? Thanks a lot.

REPLY: Yes, USA Weekend is less expensive -- much more than a penny or two. But that was just one consideration.

Don't shoot coyotes

I'M CALLING in regard to the Speak Out comment Jan. 1 in regard to the person who shot one of the coyotes with a 12-gauge gun. I would like to remind everybody I also live in the northeast corner of the city where we have coyotes, foxes, etc. but it is against the law to shoot anything inside the city limits. I'm absolutely appalled at this individual assuming simply because it's a coyote, it's a danger to anyone. Doesn't he realize the coyotes and foxes are the primary predators of rabbits, of which we have absolutely too many? We'll be like Australia if we were to get rid of our predators.

TO THE north side coyote shooting redneck of Cape Girardeau County: You idiot, leave them alone. If you have a problem with animals on your ranch or your farm or whatever, call the humane society or somebody in town who supposed to take care of wild animals. I've got nothing but worries about somebody like you running around with a 12-gauge.

TV and the weather

I WOULD just like to have the addresses of the ABC, CBS and NBC stations so I could write to them and ask them why they have the news media stand out in the snow, ice and rain just to show us how bad it is? We can look out the window and see that. I sure would like to say something to them to get to stop doing to those poor people.

'Nuf said

WHO CARES about the Power Rangers?

Tired of reruns

THE CABLE networks can take their reruns and shove them. I'm sure there's other people out there that feel the same way, they run them into the ground. And when you listen to the radio in Cape, you either get Rush Limbaugh or sports and you get news but not on weekends. So what the heck are we supposed to do? Sit and twiddle out thumbs, I suppose.

What about sheriff's dept.

I SAW that recently in the newspaper there was an article in reference to the police department and how much the policemen are earning. I was wondering what the rate of pay for people at the sheriff's department and whether it was comparable and if it wasn't, what's going to be done?

Wrong to shoot coyotes

TO THE man shooting coyotes. Yes there are plenty of coyotes, and this is good. We live in the outskirts of town and wild animals are common. Shooting them is the wrong thing to do because we are actually in their territory. But fortunately, the coyotes don't have guns to kill off people like you, because like the coyotes, we have an abundance of stupid people also.

TO THE man shooting coyotes, to kill anything for the sake of killing is a sin. God put the coyote here for a purpose. How will you explain this to him? On the other hand, maybe the coyote and other animals you have wantonly killed will be waiting for you on the other side.

Support for Phyllis

I'M CALLING in regards to the Speak Out column on the negative publicity you all gave Phyllis Wilcox. I just wanted to show her my support and let her know not everybody out there feels the way that the letters you chose to print do because I don't pass judgment on anybody and I don't think anybody on this planet has the right to pass judgment on anybody else. Nobody's here to judge anybody. Only our creator can pass judgment, a higher power. For her to reach out to people who are unloved and have no families to me is a blessing and to them is a blessing. A true Christian or true religious person. In the Bible it says you've got to love those that are unloved. To me that's what Phyllis has done, she's reached out to people that don't have anything. I give her a lot of respect for that.

Appalled by terrorism

I'D LIKE to say as a Christian that I'm appalled at something I saw on the news last night. It was a spokesperson from the group Operation Rescue speaking out in support of the recent terrorist attacks on the abortion clinics. And terrorist attacks are just what these are. They're no different from the attacks carried out in the Middle East that we see on the nightly news every day. And as a Christian, it really bothers me to see people like this give Christianity a black eye. I'd also like to say these people, if they were truly Bible scholars, they would realize the Lord reserves the right of judgment for himself only, not us. And also if they would read a little further in the Bible, that although we may not always agree with the laws of the land and even though they sometimes go against our convictions and our religion, we are supposed to obey them.

KFVS college games

COULD YOU please ask KFVS 12 in Cape Girardeau why they are carrying Kentucky basketball versus SEMO or Mizzou games? Does KFVS think there's more people in Kentucky that listen to their station than there are in Missouri? Why are we picking up Kentucky basketball? I have called and they will not tell me. I think maybe you could find out for us.

KFVS coverage

I JUST recently returned to Southeast Missouri from being away for quite a while. Growing up here, I'm real familiar with KFVS Channel 12. My indication is that they're not covering Southeast Missouri and basically are only covering Southern Illinois. I'm a little disappointed with this coverage since it's pretty well their home town that they should be carrying in Southeast Missouri.

Cars parked in yards

I WOULD like to see the city enforce our codes on parking in the front yards and so on. We have some buildings that are in real bad shape and we have some garages in terrible shape, I'm talking about the area of South Benton, South Pacific and South Ellis from William Street south to Hackberry. I just wish the city would enforce the ordinances on these things. It would help our community considerably.

No police help

I DROVE through an intersection at Perryville and West Cape Rock Drive and saw a traffic jam there created by a stalled car. I and other people were amazed and disappointed when we saw a city policeman drive through the intersection and didn't even stop to help or inquire.

Words for conservation

I WANT to address the Missouri Conservation Commission. They have come out with a summary of Missouri hunting and trapping regulations. On the front of the book they've got 1994. Well, you get this book when you buy your 1995 license. It doesn't say anything about the 1995 season anywhere. I want to direct their attention to page 26. It says, definition, games birds. It gives 13 birds down there. They're all game birds. Some are migratory and some are not. Then you look over here on page 28 and it shows this nimrod of a guy putting a woodcock in his hunting pouch and it relates to a migratory harvest information program card while you're hunting this bird. Now is that a migratory bird or not?

Better mail service?

BY THE time this is printed, the postal rates will have gone up, but I wonder if this will ensure better handling of the mail. I received a magazine recently with a kind of glossy cover that had folds already in it, the page edges were torn, and the address label was torn. It seems with the amount these people make and they're entrusted with other people's property, so to speak, they could handle it better. I believe we are entitled to receive the mail as it is originally sent from those who sent it to us, such as magazines, letters or whatever it might be.

Annoying voice

IF THERE'S a woman alive with a more annoying voice pattern than Mary Ann Maloney, I don't know who it is.

Now it's our fault?

IT TAKES a lot of audacity for a caller to claim that Bill Clinton's problems are the result of the citizens not giving him a chance. I guess it's the citizens fault that the president faces a possible sexual harassment trial after he leaves office. And I guess it is we, the citizens who are also responsible for Whitewater, Travelgate, Coopergate, Jennifer Flowers, lies about tax cuts, lies to Haitian refugees, Jocelyn Elders, Web Hubble, illegally taking files from Foster's office, perjury by members of Hillary's health care staff and the list goes on and on. I guess none of this would have happened if we had just given good old Bill and chance.

School board races

I READ in Southeast Missourian where Ed Thompson was going to run for re-election on the Cape School Board. I thought he learned his lesson when he so vigorously supported Dr. Clark and created the uproar. I will do whatever I legally can to see Ed Thompson and his other cronies on the school board defeated in a re-election. No, Ed, we haven't forgotten how you raped this town for your own desires. If you're really interested in improving the school board system, step aside and let someone else lead the effort. We don't trust you, Ed Thompson.

It was a revolution

TO THE old Democrat liberal who is still chanting the same mantra of the last 40 years, wake up, get with it. There's been a political revolution in this country. It happened Nov. 8. Newt Gingrich isn't asking for a chance. He doesn't need one. He doesn't have to beg for anything. After Jan. 4, you're really going to see what a conservative can and will do for the working man.

Facts on Newt

TO THE person who is spreading the garbage about Newt Gingrich serving his wife divorce papers when she was near death in the hospital. You must get your news from the Enquirer or some kind of fluffy magazine at the newspaper check-out. If you'd like to know some facts, I can tell you. Newt Gingrich was 19 years old when he married and his wife was four years older, his math teacher. During their divorce, she asked for and received more alimony, not child support, than another woman would have asked in any position, even fighting a disease. He agreed to every demand she made except for the last one. She kept coming back year after year after year wanting more alimony. She is a talented person in her own right. They were not wealthy by any means. He provided for her very well.