SPEAKOUT

McCLURE AMERICAN LEGION and Auxiliary: I would like to thank you for the very nice picnic and fireworks display on the Fourth of July. It was as good as any Cape has given and it was a very nice picnic. I hope you continue it next year. Thank you.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE Jackson Fourth of July celebration. It was outstanding. Loved the car show.

I SAW IN Sunday's Speak Out where the convenience stores were eliminated from the no-smoking in grocery stores. I wonder if Mr. Rhodes and Barklage voted on that since they own most of the convenience stores in town.

Your are wrong in saying that convenience stores were eliminated from the ordinance that prohibits smoking in grocery stores because convenience stores were never included in the proposed ordinance. Mayor Gene Rhodes voted against banning smoking in grocery stores and Councilman David Barklage voted for it.

I'M OUTRAGED. I think Mayor Rhodes should resign. In my opinion he is ethically bankrupt. He has continually supported decisions that would increase the values of properties owned by him. Mr. Rhodes is a very wealthy person in spite of the fact he pretends he is just a blue-collar man. For him to support streets all over town, some unwanted by the property owners, then sell the city paving materials is wrong. Who does he think pays for those streets? The property owners, of course; they pay the city and the city pays Rhodes' paving company. That stinks. He is fooling himself if he doesn't see anything wrong with not telling the city council he is a large stockholder in the paving company that was awarded the city paving contract. Mayor Rhodes has misrepresented the taxpayers of this city long enough. If he won't resign, and the city attorney and city council permit him to continue as mayor, they all ought to be impeached.

THE TRANSPARENT VENEER of vengeance which has been increasingly evident since the elitists' defeat at the last municipal election is peeling away. The latest let's-get-Rhodes movement is a blatant display of personal vindictiveness by the losers whose hand-picked and anointed candidate's loss leaves them smarting in frustration. Every council meeting presents the not-too-subtle exhibition of the lettered, degreed faction flaunting the polish and poise they feel to be lacking in the brusque country-boy, hard-working characteristics of Gene Rhodes. The bottom line of the current flap hinges on the fact that ASA submitted the low bid for the subject paving and it would be the acme of naivete to believe that Rhodes political opponents didn't have prior knowledge of his involvement in ASA or any other business in which he has an interest.

MR. RHODES, HOW can you blame Mr. Barklage for not informing the council of the conflict in your financial interests? Are you not responsible for your own actions? So why do you blame Mr. Barklage for your mistakes?

AFTER MONDAY'S MAYOR Gene Rhodes statement, this is one more Cape Girardeau resident calling for his resignation.

THE COUNCIL-MANAGER form of government has been in a constant uproar since day one. If Barklage and the other councilmen can't do better, then it is time for the petitions to be out to get rid of this form of government.

I JUST READ where the mayor claims a councilman tried to embarrass him. Well, I'm an outsider. I don't live in Cape but I believe Mr. Mayor embarrassed himself. Thank you.

WE'RE WITH YOU, David.

WE'RE WITH YOU, Gene.

THANK YOU FOR accepting my call. When you assume something, there's a pretty good chance you'll make an ass out of yourself and me, and the assumption that the members of the Cape Girardeau City Council were aware of the financial holdings of Mayor Gene Rhodes has to border on ridiculous. F.E. "Gene" Rhodes should resign from the city council. His statements saying in part that it's difficult but impossible to separate politics from personal lives says a lot. In this case, politics is personal. I believe without the mayor's resignation, the provisions of the removable part of the charter should be implemented. The mayor is a likable guy but shouldn't be a public official. Until Mayor Rhodes resigns or is removed, the cloud of doubt will hang heavy over his head. Thank you.

REGARDING TUESDAY MORNING'S headline that the mayor claims a councilman tried to embarrass him, he should be embarrassed; he should be ashamed and he should be out of office. Thank you.

MAYOR RHODES HAS known the rules and regulations of the city council of Cape Girardeau for many years. There's no excuse for his having hidden the fact that his company was bidding on a paving job. He should suffer the consequences. The council should not be so wimpy about forcing these rules. It makes one wonder what councilman will be next to do the same thing. Get rid of Mr. Rhodes. Thank you.

THE CITY CHARTER says, "...such officeholder shall forfeit his position on the staff of the city" or some such. How much more clear could it be? Is the mayor going to force the city to go to the expense of a recall election? How many different conflict-of-interest situations have been tabulated in the past few years? How many were listed in the paper Sunday? Are there others we don't know about?

IT'S JUST AMAZING how they're getting on Mayor Rhodes about his other business when most everyone on the city council has other business interests at one time or another. More than one has large business interests, too. Thank you.

I'M CALLING IN regards to the Mayor Rhodes' issue on basic conflict of interest. I just don't really realize what all the hubbub is about. Seems like anybody that's been around Cape Girardeau for at least five or six years would know that Mayor Rhodes has part interest in ASA Asphalt. Even the secretary of the council knew, but it seems like some of the council members just aren't informed on the interests and who their working with and who they're serving with. Just find it a little bit of a shock. I would agree that probably, as the charter says, that the mayor should go ahead and disclose any conflicts that he has when voting and think maybe he did that when he abstained. This is kind of like saying that Al Spradling, a lawyer on the council, should never vote because he represents people who would have an interest in those different issues.

THE NEW CONTROVERSY about Mayor Rhodes is so obviously political with the councilman deliberately not mentioning the fact that they knew of the mayor's financial interests in this questionable company. He finally found a knife to stick in the mayor's back. Those who know Gene Rhodes know that he is a completely honest person, but like any of us he can make a mistake that was really only a technicality. It did not harm the city or anyone else. Thank you.

I'M CALLING IN regards to Mayor Gene Rhodes' situation. I think he should be made to resign. If it was anybody else in this town, they'd have to take the consequences of their action. Thank you.

I GUESS BY now his honor, the mayor, knows how it feels to have the no-smoking ban in the grocery stores. Thank you, Speak Out.

THE ESTABLISHMENT IS after old Wet Gene again. Won't you ever learn, establishment? He was elected our mayor. Thank you.

IN REGARDS TO the mayor and his accusations, I feel that he needs to resign because this is not his first mistake in not letting the councilmen know what position, what assets he owns here in Cape Girardeau. I feel that we should have him resign. Thank you.

IN REFERRING TO the article on Rhodes here, I quote from one paragraph. Rhodes said: "I feel that the people should also be told when there is a gross hypocrisy afoot and this is a prime example." He is certainly correct because he is the prime example of the hypocrisy. Thank you.

DO WE NEED A mayor like Rhodes, who said he was not aware of the precise wording of the city charter? I wonder how that statement would hold up in any court. Think about it.

I JUST WANTED to say that I was appalled at Mayor Rhodes' actions. I think he should step down or resign as soon as possible. Thank you.

IT APPEARS THAT the tri-lateral commissioners are after Mayor Rhodes again. This time Councilman Barklage is in the lead, and what appears to be basically a technical oversight has mushroomed into a purely political assault against the mayor. I have a little advice for Mr. Barklage: if you want to be mayor, why don't you just run for the office and see if people will elect you? If not, let the mayor do his job.

THIS COMMENT IS directed towards the person who stated that more lives would be saved if women quit smoking cold turkey like men do. Your remark is unbelievably biased. What do you base your facts on? Statistics you found in the National Enquirer? A person's ability to quit smoking cold turkey depends on their willpower, not their sex. I am a woman and an ex-smoker. I've quit smoking cold turkey and I've been smoke free for five years now. Obviously your arrogance reflects your ignorance. I can tell you what would save more lives: if men would stop starting wars. Put that in your pipe and smoke it, pal.

I JUST WANT to say that I had a great Fourth of July weekend. I went swimming, I went water skiing, I went boating, I went fishing, I spent a lot of money. But guess what? I didn't spend any of it in the Cape Girardeau area; I spent at the Lake of Ozarks. Why? Because Cape Girardeau doesn't have a lake. And guess what? I had a bunch of friends that went there, too. Nobody spent any money in Cape Girardeau. When is Cape Girardeau going to wake up and realize we need some recreational facilities around here or this place is just going to go to pits and die? Thanks.

I THINK IT'S unfair that in the state of Texas they're banning MTV. It should be up to the people who are ordering cable if they want MTV or not. Thank you.

I'M CALLING IN reference to the activity fee at SEMO University. I'm attending myself. I also have a son that's attending. I deeply resent the $25 activity fee. I think it should be taken out of the regular college tuition. Thank you very much.

I HEAR ON television where they want to increase the postage on a letter. I don't believe we need an increase. We need efficiency and organization in the post office. A letter that was postmarked July 1 at Cape Girardeau got to my mailbox on July 5, and a June 28 postmark in Jackson reached my mailbox on July 2. I don't think we need an increase in postage.

I WOULD LIKE to congratulate the person who was saying how good Texas was for taking off MTV. They're right; MTV has too much sex and too much violence in their videos. Why don't we do the same thing? But while we're at it, if we're going to punish MTV, we need to punish all the other channels that show too much violence. Therefore, we'd also have to remove HBO, ABC, WTBS, NBC, CBS, KBSI, the news channels, BET, Encore, TNN, Showtime, Cinemax, and any other channel that shows any modern-day programming. That would just leave us with the shopping channels, the religious channels, and Disney and Nickelodeon. Let's get real here, people.

I HAVE BEEN reading with much sorrow in my heart about the vandalism again in Old Lorimier Cemetery. Couldn't the people who are behind so many things that are historical get behind a drive or donations from businesses and maybe put containers in banks or do whatever it takes to get the money to put a fence around this beautiful place? Someone said in Speak Out that would be the only way to stop the vandalism. If by chance anyone is caught doing this terrible thing, the punishment should be very severe. I have no idea about what the cost of something like this is. Thank you very much.

I WAS READING Speak Out today about the lady who found a dog in a car. I believe I would have tried to call the police and let them unlock the car and roll the window down. That way the person who did this could also be punished.

THE CALLER WHO said she has learned the three things she must do for her children who have already grown up is to be commended. It's sad that we do not all learn this lesson to teach our children before they grow up. If we could all have the self-control to do without, the ambition to do for ourselves, and the concern and compassion to do for our family and others, what an almost perfect world this would be.

REGARDING THE RIOT and destruction at the Guns N' Roses concert in St. Louis last week: There's just one reason why the Show Me Center should never sell alcohol. Keep it clean for our families. Thank you.

I WOULD LIKE to ask the person or persons who are responsible for damaging the tombstones in Old Lorimier Cemetery what they get out of doing vandalism such as this? Do you not have any respect at all for the dead? You are undoubtfully very, very sick. You need help. Please let these people rest in peace and quit damaging these tombstones at this cemetery. One day you will have one of your own, and I'm sure you would not want someone to damage it. Thank you.

THIS IS TO the caller who had the labels that wouldn't come off the chairs and so forth. Rub WD-40 in real good, and 99 percent of the time it will take that sticky stuff off. Then you just wash the WD-40 off with soap and water.

I HOPE OUR City Council is through with nit-picking things like smoking in grocery stores. There are much more important things to consider in this city. Thank you.

IT MAKES ME absolutely ill that our city officials will stand by and allow the most historical place in our city to be destroyed, Old Lorimier Cemetery. The present council is awfully concerned about where people can and cannot smoke, and they also have told these vandals they cannot go into the cemetery after 8 o'clock at night. Are they kidding? Get busy and do something about this instead of trying to invade people's rights.

HERE'S A MESSAGE to the vandals who struck again at the Old Lorimier Cemetery. Some of our loved ones have been buried there and they're resting in peace. I'd like to ask you one thing. When you die, are you going to rest in peace? It's up to you. You better think about it.

I AGREE WITH the person who hates sticky, yucky price tags stuck on plastic products or elsewhere. I hate it. I wish the stores would take note and find another way to tag prices on their products.

PLEASE TELL YOUR readers that we have had some success in using salad oil to remove adhesive labels from plastic products.

I BELIEVE THAT the mayor and the city council should be required to get a license, not the poor, honest, working people trying to make a living. You don't get a fox to guard the chicken house. Thank you.

FOR THE READER wanting to get those sticky price tags off of plastic, it's easy. Just smear them with a little mayonnaise, let them sit, and they'll peal right off, sticky and all.

THIS IS IN response to the comment about males going to see the movie "Thelma and Louise." I'm a male who did see the movie when it first came out, and I thought it was one of the best movies I'd ever seen. I'd just like to say that there are still some non-typical males out there. Thank you.

I WOULD LIKE to address this to the man who called in to say he ended an engagement after being told that his fiancee had previously been engaged to a black man. I don't want to appear judgmental, but I view this as very narrow-minded thinking and I feel extremely sorry for this person. What someone has done in their past is just that; it's in the past and it should be left there. Relationships come and go. That's just a normal part of life. The type of prejudice this caller exhibited is just a small example of a vicious disease that eats at the very core of our society. I should know; I was the victim of this same narrow-minded thinking as the result of an interracial relationship I was in many years ago. From that moment on, practically anyone meeting me, whether male of female, was advised by co-workers of my past, or should I say they had heard about me from the rumor mill. Unfortunately, most of the time the only bit of truth passed on were the names of people involved; the rest were rumors that had been added to and taken away from so many times that the end result was about as far from the truth as it could get. What my co-workers thought they were accomplishing by continually talking about this for many years after it had happened, I could never understand, and, needless to say, this affected my social life and work environment in a very negative way. The Bible teaches us to treat others the way we would want to be treated, but for the most part I did not see this at my place of employment. Reading Sunday's Speak Out item reminded me I need to forgive the people who talked about me all those years. I've carried this around for too long and it's time to let it go. Thank you, Speak Out, for giving me the opportunity to do so.

I HAVE A bit of resentment toward the customer service businesses in this area. You try to have something repaired around your home and it's like pulling teeth. They either want you to leave your home unlocked all day so some stranger can come into your home and repair your problem or they call you at work and expect you to meet them in one hour or so at your home. You not only have to pay at least $35, but you also lose your hourly wages as well. Come on, customer service people, you work for the public. Why not try rotating Saturdays so your working customers are satisfied or work a few evenings now and then? It won't kill you. I guarantee happier customers, and happier customers make a better business. Thank you.

I FEEL SORRY for the people who have AIDS and got it through blood transfusions. But why should we find a cure so certain groups can continue carrying on like they have been? Thank you.

WE NEED A YMCA for the kids because we just need something to do during the summer and even during school.

TO THE PEOPLE who are fortunate not to have a mental illness, a little insight and understanding of the mentally ill can go a long way. With this illness, the brain doesn't always process or perceive information correctly. These people can be very smart and skilled, yet in a limited way. Depending on what type illness or stage of illness, they can seem to be in a long, slow delirium, not of their choosing. They can respond in a way seeming to us inappropriate. They can be at times too high, too low. They interpret the world through their senses while what they perceive through their senses is not always so accurate. Living personally with mental illness can be scary, tough, confusing, and a daily challenge. There are people out there yet to be diagnosed, people who will never be diagnosed and people whom medicine helps some but does not relieve all symptoms. If you meet someone as I have described, please try to do the mature thing: treat them with compassion and understanding in an insightful way.