SPEAKOUT

(Editor's note: Because of the large number of calls Speak Out has received and published concerning last week's issue before the Cape Girardeau City Council, discussion on the matter in this column will end with today's edition.

The Southeast Missourian normally receives 25-30 minutes of taped calls daily. On weekends, the volume is normally a little higher. This Monday, the Missourian had 80 minutes of tape, primarily concerning the council action.

Last week, on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Speak Out tape had 130 minutes of comments, 90 percent of them concerning the council meeting. The response continued in a strong fashion with more than 50 minutes per day the rest of the week.

The Missourian feels that Speak Out has thoroughly aired the public reaction to last week's issue before the City Council. Therefore, we will discontinue printing further calls on that subject.)

I TRUST THAT all the people who read the comments on June 20 will also read these comments. The writer of the June 20 comments apparently did not take advantage of the Habitat open house held on May 19. Most of the board of directors were at the Good Hope house. If the complainant had seen the Good Hope house, he would have also seen a substantial home almost ready for a family to move in. I have to assume he is referring to the mess caused by a contractor with heavy equipment who removed the crumbling retaining wall on his own time at no cost to the new, home owner. Unfortunately, we've had a spring with many rainy weekends and many construction projects were delayed by weather. Habitat for Humanity helps low-income families have a decent home by using volunteer labor. Perhaps the complainant will donate his labor to help the completed restoration of the sidewalk and curb.

MY RELIGIOUS BACKGROUND does not permit me to support gay and lesbians. I feel my constitutional rights are being violated when SEMO forces me to pay a fee, part of which goes to gays and lesbians.

I READ where the Cape Girardeau City Council approved the no-smoking-in-grocery-stores ordinance. I think that's absolutely wonderful. The smokers can continue to smoke in their own homes, killing their own selves, but out in the public, where you have to be around non-smokers, it's just not fair to be killing others. So, City Council, thank you. Keep up the good work.

I WANT TO commend Doug Richards for his presentation to the city council Tuesday night. It's the most common-sense thing that I've heard out of that council in a long time.

IF IT ISN'T music, it's politics; if it isn't politics, it's new laws; if isn't new laws, it's cable TV; if it isn't cable TV, it's smoking or the lake or dogs in the park. I'm so glad there's so much maturity and happiness in America. It's hardly worth living in anymore. Gripe, gripe, gripe. Thank you.

WHAT A LAUGHABLE situation at the Cape Girardeau City Council. Watched the meeting with interest and thought who should the reprimand be passed out to, Mayor Rhodes or Councilwoman Wulfers for totally losing control and crying? Let's reprimand the right person. Let's get control of the council, take charge of the city of Cape Girardeau, and run things in a normal manner. Elect some new council people next April. Thank you.

SPEAK OUT: THIS is in regards to the teenager who is telling parents to butt out of their love lives. That's the problem today; too many parents have butt out and aren't concerned about their children, who they're with or who they are. Just ask the grandparents and the parents who are raising teenagers' children or having to pay for alcohol or drug rehab, or the taxpayer. Believe me, as a teenager, yes, you have rights, but they are limited and your parents have the right to raise you as they best see fit. As a teenager, you have a long way to go, baby. Listen now or pay later. You don't know it all yet. Thank you.

WELL, CHAFFEE'S GETTING ready to have a new coach and I don't think he'll ever be able to replace Coach Mangels. Coach Mangels is the best. Thank you.

I'D LIKE TO know what kind of sick-minded people those people are who have nothing better to do than go around and vandalize a cemetery. My family had just bought a headstone for brother. It cost approximately $1,000. They are very expensive and I know how hard it is to go and visit my brother, and I would hate to think of going to see him and his headstone is broken into pieces because of someone's sick-minded games. I think whenever they catch these people they should make them pay for each headstone they destroyed. I bet this action would cease real quick. Thank you.

IF YOU HAD done your homework before electing your mayor and, or, council person, you would have the facts to put two and two together. Therefore, stop complaining about something so trivial and go on with other important matters facing our community. Keep the mayor that was elected or face the consequences.

I CERTAINLY HOPE we've heard the last of the controversy over Mayor Gene Rhodes. That's practically all that was in Speak Out in Thursday's paper. Let's get on something else. I think there's been enough in there about it. Thank you.

IF GENE RHODES would run for mayor today, he would be re-elected. So why should he resign? Thank you.

MR. RHODES LOOKS like he got caught, but there's a lot of other people doing the same thing he is. People need to open their eyes.

MARY WULFERS: Your crying at the city council meeting has done more to set the women's movement back 20 years than anyone in Cape. This will probably end any woman's chances of ever running for city council again. And to hit another point home: if you see one rat, there are 100 more you don't see. I wonder how many more council members have had a conflict of interest, especially the ones that have been there the longest.

ANYONE WATCHING THE special city council meeting on television can see that four members of the council are going to show us voters that we cannot go to the polls and elect who we want in office. They are going to put him out of office one way or another. The heck with the voter.

WHERE WOULD SPEAK Out be without all the people calling in having something to gripe about? Thank you.

WHY DOES IT matter if Mayor Rhodes has a financial interest in ASA Asphalt? If their bid was lowest, I think they deserve the job. I think Spradling, Limbaugh, and Barklage are just upset because they don't have an asphalt company. Thank you.

AFTER READING THE newspaper, I just had to call this in. I cannot believe that the three council members that scream the loudest didn't know Gene Rhodes was affiliated with the asphalt company. Why do they think he has abstained from voting? Why didn't they ask him? Why wait and bring this out at a later time? I think they're jealous. Gene Rhodes is doing a terrific job for this city and the common man can talk to him because he listens and he understands. If those three guys on that council don't like it, let them get off.

WE AGREE WITH everyone else that Gene Rhodes needs to resign pronto. There have just been too many blunders and falsehoods. He seems to think we believe that he forgot to tell everyone on the council that he owned the asphalt company. There's no way anyone would believe that. Even the secretary was afraid or reluctant to tell it. Does that sound right? Another big boo-boo that's hard to swallow is that Gene Rhodes stated that he thought David Barklage was the one that told the Missourian. He wasn't, but he expects us to believe this. He shouldn't go around pointing fingers when he's on the hot seat here.

I DON'T THINK anyone who humiliated Mr. Gene Rhodes did as much as he humiliated himself and the city and everything it stands for.

QUIT YOUR crying, Mary Wulfers. You are the hurter, not the "hurtee."

FIRST IT WAS Lexington, then it was Nash Road, and now it's street overlay. We need to get rid of Rhodes now.

WELL, I SAW ON the TV news about our mayor. He just sat there not saying anything. He let his lawyer do all the talking. I think that says a lot without talking. And his lawyer says it was all wrong because of no due process. Another lawyer explained why due process did not apply in this case. I think the city council let the mayor off easy, but how do we know the next time won't be in a few months? No apologies from His Honor. With all the holdings Rhodes has, conflict of interest may crop up in other things. Thanks.

HEY, YOU GOOD citizens of Cape, how about all the good things our mayor has done? Why get all out of shape because he has one flaw in his long tenure of office. I just imagine if the truth is known some of the other council people have a fault or two also. Let's give the mayor credit for the good things and bear with him when he's human and errs now and then. Don't we all? I think he is terrific and I would think we would appreciate all the time and effort he gives for $150 per month.

I HAVE A comment on Highway 72 between Cape Girardeau and Fredericktown and on Highway 34 after it leaves 72 going through Lutesville for at least the first 50 miles. I ride these roads at least four times a week and the driving is really horrible. In the last four years I've only seen one patrol car on any of these roads. That's not a knock against the highway patrol or the county; that just shows that they're hopelessly undermanned. The people know they're not going to be patrolling on these roads and they drive completely wild. You have to drive defensively every foot and be evasive. If we want to spend some tax money in this area and in the state, put a little more manpower out there to help the troopers and the sheriffs. Thank you very much.

I WOULD LIKE to comment about Clarence Thomas being confirmed to the Supreme Court. I'm amazed some of the blacks and liberals think he's going to turn on the black people. The man is black, for crying out loud; he's not going to turn on his own people and discriminate against them. I just think the biggest racist thought going now is that all blacks think the same way. There can be black conservatives, black liberals, probably black Nazis and black racists. Blacks have a diversity of thought, and to say that they don't is a racist statement. I just think that whether Clarence is any good or not, it's an insult to black people to say that they can't think for themselves.

PLEASE, IF YOU don't print anything else, put this in your paper. There are 400 bills in Congress trying to take the word God out of the Constitution. There is also a free number that you can call in Friday's paper under Church of the Week. It's free because I called it. If the Christians don't do something, our nation is going to go under and God will move.

PARENTS, DO YOU know where your kids are at night? Are they left to roam the neighborhoods and vandalize and steal things from people's cars such as mine? Parents, I suggest that you keep an eye on your kids and know where they are at all times.

WHOEVER IT WAS that stole some money on Longview Drive, the police may not be able to find you or know who you are, but I'm going to tell you, God knows who you are.

I THINK THE city council is a joke. First they let a small group from the college tell the people of Cape what they can and cannot do. It was very seldom I saw anybody smoking in stores, and I never saw any ashes on the strawberries. Of course, my eyes may not be as good as Mrs. Wulfers'. I think the college has enough problems of its own without telling the people of Cape what they can do. And now we have another argument between the mayor and certain members of the council. I agree with Mr. Richards: I think it's time to stop all the arguing and get on to the big issues. Thank you.

MOST ALL COUNCILMAN under the council manager form of government have conflicts of interest. Most of them are too closely associated with each other through business partnerships, bank boards, other boards and so forth to be impartial when considering an issue. They vote like their buddy wants them to. Why doesn't a good reporter dig into these associations?

MARY WULFERS SURE can put on an act trying to cry and get people to feel sorry for her. She missed her calling: she should be in the movies.

I WISH WE could borrow Jackson's government for a year or two. We desperately need to get rid of the council-manager form of government.