SPEAKOUT

I'M CALLING IN regards to the changing of house numbers in Scott City. Little consideration has been taken on behalf of the citizens of Scott City. Did the city realize the problems each individual will face in this process of changing house numbers? Some things to take in mind are changing your mailing address, personal checks, titles, your will, stocks and CDs, and so on. What about the elderly who may not have the means or know-how to even start or complete this process? Does the city plan to assist and transport these people? If you are interested in this major problem we have in Scott City, attend the Aug. 5 meeting at 7 p.m. at city hall and voice your opinion.

THE CONCERTS ON Wednesday nights are for the community, but why do they have to play long, slow, drawn-out music? Are they too old to pick up this music? I left at 8:30; the music was putting me to sleep. Why don't parents, when they take their small children, make an effort to watch them while they're running loose around people's chairs? They're not paying any attention to their children; they're over by the playground talking to friends. We don't come out there to be entertained by kids; we come out there to enjoy the music. Thank you.

A BIG THANKS to each and everyone who helped get the signal lights put in at Donna and 61 in Jackson. Thank God for people who care enough to help us get the light. It is going to be such a relief to go in that area now. Thank you all.

I'D LIKE TO make a suggestion to the Social Security Administration. I'm on SSI disability, and every month my income doesn't change to where it affects my Social Security check. They waste postage in reporting to me that there has been no change. How many thousands of reports go out each month with needless postage wasted? I'd like to recommend that they just contact us if there is a change in our income affecting our check. Thank you.

WOULD IT BE possible for you to find out the cost to the taxpayers for the Cape Girardeau school board to have their annual retreat at the Executive Inn at Paducah, Ky.? Thank you.

Board member Carolyn Kelley estimated the cost will be between $1,200 and $1,500.

I'D LIKE to say that the Cape Girardeau school board might be able to get a little bit of extra money for financing school buildings and things in Cape Girardeau if they didn't run all the way to Paducah, Ky., to have a meeting. The should have it in Cape Girardeau; that way they will save a little money. I think it's about time all the administrators and people that do this planning start saving money themselves so the taxpayers don't have to keep financing them all the time. Thank you.

I WAS WONDERING if there is anyone here in Cape that can tell me how certain sections of Cape Girardeau got its name over the years. On North Main Street is a section called Red Star. Down on South Sprigg there's a section called Smelterville. Along the river by the sawmill there's a section called Mill Town. On South Sprigg Street is a hill called Tollgate Hill. South of the cement plant around Lone Star is a section called Black Lands. Thank you.

IT'S A SHAME the government we have today, not only in the White House but also our city council in Cape Girardeau. I went to Vietnam and fought for the freedom of the people, and I'm thinking about how our government is taking our rights away from us. Was this worth going to war and fighting for freedom? Our government passes laws that you can't drive your vehicle unless you wear seat belts. The city council passes a law that you can't smoke in grocery stores. They take you rights away from you, and you people sit there and wonder why government has more control of you. One of these days your paycheck will go straight to the bank and you people will not ever see it. If I had it to do over, I would have never gone to Vietnam; I would have gone to jail first. Why? Because my rights are being taken away from me. I feel if I want to go to the grocery store and smoke I should be allowed to do that. I think also that these store owners should not stand by and let this happen. I think if they don't want people to smoke, then they should put signs up. I don't think the city council should tell a store owner what they can do and what they can't do. I don't smoke and I don't drink.

EARRINGS WORN BY men are disgusting, but more disgusting than that is the tattoo that women are getting. I hate to see them damage their skin like that.

I'M CALLING TO TELL the women about the sticky stickers, the glue that she can't get off her products she buys from the stores. Squirt some lighter fluid on a cotton ball and it rubs right off, all the stickiness and everything. Thank you.

ON SATURDAY, JULY 20, somebody found my purse in a shopping cart at Schnucks and brought it to the service desk. I don't know the person's name or phone number, but I want to thank the person very much for returning my purse. I just moved to Cape Girardeau about nine months ago. My husband and I like Cape Girardeau a lot. I would like to thank the staff at Schnucks for the people there are really nice. Thank you.

I'D LIKE TO commend the police officer that slugged the guy in the face for spitting in his face. I would do the very same thing; if a prisoner spat in my face I'd sock him, too. I feel like this police officer did the right thing and should not be disciplined. Policemen's hands are tied enough the way it is, but with all the meanness and crookedness going on in our country and our cities, it's time we give policemen more leeway. Thank you.

HARDLY A DAY passes that the news media doesn't encourage us to recycle. Let us meditate on the recycling of aluminum cans. I have just returned from a lengthy stay in California. From one end of the state to the other they are paying 97 cents per pound for aluminum cans. No, a charge is not added when you buy drinks in aluminum cans, which would encourage you to sell them for recycling. The scrap dealers can pay this amount because they can still make a hefty profit when they sell this scrap to the aluminum smelters. I have checked prices paid by several scrap dealers in Cape County and the average runs about 29 cents per pound. Quite a difference, isn't it? Thanks a lot.

I JUST WANTED to say there are still good, honest people in Cape Girardeau. At the end of June I had lost a $10 bill when I was going in to Showbiz Pizza, and a little boy found it and brought it to me. I wanted to say thank you to him. Last week I had dropped my checkbook outside Audi's store and someone was kind enough to take it back to the manager. I wanted to thank these people and let everybody know there are still good people in Cape Girardeau. Thank you.

I'D LIKE TO SAY that us taking care of all the Russians is really stupid. We took care of the Chinese and Japanese and look what they've done: they took over our country. Now that our president says we're suppose to take care of the Russians, they're going to take over our country or what's left of it. I think we should not have to take care of other countries; we should take care of our own people and our country. If it wasn't for us Americans, then the Chinese and the Japanese wouldn't even be where they are today. Remember people, the South will rise again.

I THINK IF somebody spits in a police officer's face, he deserves to have his clock cleaned. Police officers have the right to protect themselves, even from spitting. The last time I heard, spitting on somebody was considered an assault. I wonder why the chief is punishing the officer instead of filing an assault charge against the drunk who spit on him.

THIS IN regards to the Louis Jordan situation. I believe that if the Cape Girardeau Police Department would lose him as an officer, they would be losing their best one. Thank you.

I HAVE A comment on the salary increase the Senate voted for themselves. This is a black eye for all citizens of the United States. The increase alone is as much as many people here in the state of Missouri earn as an annual wage. The so-called public servants have shown their colors again. They already are among the top 1 percent of the wealthy in the United States.

I WOULD LIKE to put my two cents worth in on the senators' pay raise that they voted themselves. One senator from Virginia stated that with this pay increase we would have better government, more qualified government officials. Our own senator in Missouri voted for this raise although he did not need it. He claims it's just a cost-of-living increase. Well, there certainly wasn't this much of an increase in my Social Security cost living last year. I think it's pathetic that these people would sit up there in the middle of the night and sneak them in a pay raise of this proportion. They continue to give our money away to the foreign countries, but when there's something that comes up in this country for some social program they do not have the money. Our own senator in Missouri stated at the town meeting the other day that the only way to balance the budget is to raise taxes or cut spending. I disagree. The only way to solve this debt problem is to quit giving our money to foreign countries. This has been the problem for years and years. They have all done it, all administrations. If they would only stop shipping our money overseas and fighting other people's wars with billions and billions of dollars, we would not have this problem in our own U.S.A. Thank you very much.

I JUST WANTED to say that I'm vacationing here from Texas and I don't know were people got the idea that MTV is not on TV down in Texas. We have MTV in Houston and, as a matter of fact, it's usually on our TV about 24 hours a day. So I think the folks should get their facts straight.

I WOULD LIKE to comment on all the find-a-friend ads that say they want someone attractive and not overweight. Don't they realize that an overweight person could be the best thing that ever happened to them? If they opened up themselves to be more tolerant, and accept someone that's not perfect, they might not have to advertise in the paper. Nobody's perfect.

I WORK AT one of the local hospitals that is in the process of banning smoking. Although I'm a smoker, I'm not against banning smoking at the hospital. This will undoubtedly cause me to smoke less and might even provide the incentive to quit. I hope what I say next is not misconstrued as being cynical. Although exceptions might exist, I personally have never seen an industry with a greater proportion of overweight and obese workers as the hospital industry. Any overweight person who has had a medical checkup knows that the doctor's first advice is to lose weight. Obesity, like smoking, can lead to any number of health problems. Our hospital cafeteria is well-stocked with doughnuts, sweet rolls, pies, cakes, soda, ice cream, and more junk food than any convenience store in town. The best customers aren't patients and visitors; the best customers are the workers. Unlike smoking, obesity can't be banned. However, if hospitals are serious about promoting a healthy atmosphere and image, they should discourage obesity among its workers.

ON JULY 10, a young boy gave me an American flag and put up my lawn chair. Before I could thank and ask him where the flags came from, he was helping another lady. He went on helping everyone that needed help. I want to thank him and commend him for helping people. He should be an example for the other young boys who were in the park. The band concert was wonderful, and thanks to all who volunteer their time for the band. So many people were enjoying the music. My thanks again to the young man that helped so many people and gave so many people the American flag.

WHY IN THE world would anyone get rid of MTV? That is so stupid. Too many people are too sheltered and want everybody else to live sheltered lives, and that's the only reason they did it. We need to wake up and smell the coffee because life is life. If you try to hide it, you're going to just get messed up.

WHY DO OUR own TV networks continue to promote a lie where the foundation of this country is concerned? Regardless of who did the common or slave labor, someone else did the leading, the exploring and the decision-making. There was no such thing as an Indian executive or a black cowboy. I'm a little more than sick of Indians and blacks having to defend themselves for being in this country. I'm also more than sick of the media and politicians exploiting them. Why can't those people be left to simply live their lives in this country like everybody else? If they make it fine, if they don't, too bad; just like everybody else. All of us have been abused or misused at one time or another. It has gone beyond the point of the black vote. It has become utterly boring, monotonous, and ridiculous. Thank you.

I WAS JUST wondering if someone could tell me if they stock fish in Lake Girardeau. Thank you.

Missouri Department of Conservation biologist Dennis Norman said Lake Girardeau is restocked with 12-inch channel catfish every fall. He said no other species is restocked in the lake.

I HAVE A suggestion for the Congress and Senate in Washington. Since the volcano eruption in the Philippine Islands, and all this damage to Clark Air Base in that country, I would suggest that they close Clark Air Base and keep Baker Air Force Base open in Arkansas. The majority of the Filipino people do not want the Americans there. They do not appreciate the revenue that this base is bringing in to the surrounding area of this country. So I say, forget about rebuilding Clark Air Base and keep one open here in the United States, preferably Baker Air Base in Arkansas. Keep the American people around this base and on this base working. Thank you.

A decision to close Clark Air Base since has been made.

I JUST HEARD on the news that the American consumption of red meat is down 11 percent this year. I'd just like to say that my own consumption is just the same as last year. I am a vegetarian.

I THINK THAT 14-year-olds should be able to drive mopeds without a license on the street without getting in trouble. Thank you.

WHY HAS GOV. Ashcroft cut five state water patrol officers and failed to allow money for a state highway employees' raise? On the other hand, he has provided money for a 3 to 5 percent raise for state university faculty members. This increase will amount to $1,200 to $4,000 per year for each individual. Other state employees are being asked to take cuts and layoffs.

The governor doesn't give university faculty members pay raises. That is a function of the universities' governing bodies.

TO THE PERSON who called in complaining about anybody objecting to fund the Gay and Lesbian Association: They said they shouldn't really care because it's just a little bit of money. I don't care if it's one cent, I don't think we ought to be forced to pay money for something that's illegal. It's just because we want to attend the university. This person said we ought to quit making racial remarks. Well, he admitted earlier in his call that nobody complains about giving it the Association of Black Collegians or the NAACP. We have no objections to that sort of thing. I don't know anybody who complained about that. But to help fund this Gay and Lesbian Student Association is absolutely tyranny; to take money from us to give to causes we completely disagree, and force us to do so. I didn't say that; Thomas Jefferson did. Thank you.

ALL THESE SHORTFALLS of the state are a direct result of President Reagan's policies of cutting out federal-money programs to the states. Why this president did this I cannot understand, because all they did was take it from the states and send it overseas to the foreign countries. I am so totally disgusted with politics in this country that I am about to vomit. Now Russia is holding her hand out for a big fat check from the U.S. to bail them out. Why can't these politicians in Washington, D.C., see that our own country is in trouble? Quit giving our money away. You cannot buy friendship; you have to earn it and you will not earn it from these freeloading countries. I do not believe in free handouts to people who are willing and able to work and can find work, but you see old people in nursing homes being mistreated and not having the proper medical care, and at the same time the politicians are voting to send our money overseas. It's simply ridiculous and ludicrous. If I had the chance and the finances, I think I would leave this country and go to some country that is getting money from the United States, because I feel we would have it better financially because they do care more about the foreign lands than they do their own country that they were elected to represent. Thank you very much.

THE TWO YOUNG boys working at (a Cape Girardeau restaurant) do not appear old enough to obtain working permits. What is the law regarding child labor?

The U.S. Department of Labor law says employees must be at least 16 to work in non-farm related jobs. It says youths who are 14 and 15 may work outside school hours in various non-manufacturing, non-mining, non-hazardous jobs under conditions that no more than three hours are on a school day or 18 hours are in a school week. Youths 14 and 15 may work eight hours on a non-school day or 40-hours in a non-school week, the law says.

I'M JUST WONDERING if anyone besides me has noticed how television stations have started cutting into the movies after the station break and the commercial break. When the movie comes back on, all of a sudden they cut it off and put some more local ads on. I'm wondering if there's any recourse we as consumers have. I'd like to hear from other people. Thank you.

I THINK IT'S A crying shame that the city of Cape Girardeau passed a law where you can't smoke in grocery stores. I think they should do what is right and try to pass a law where you couldn't harass people, call them up on phones, aggravate them, and do things such as that. But no, they want to take your rights away from you smoking in grocery stores or smoking out. Now I see where they're wanting to pass laws where kids under 18 can't smoke either. I think that should be up to the parents. I don't see how you hurt anybody by smoking a cigarette in a store or anywhere else.

I RECENTLY MOVED to Cape Girardeau and was wondering if the city has laws regarding weeds and abandoned vehicles. The neighborhood we moved into has both. The weeds around the vehicles are very unsightly and our neighbors on both sides have a fence that they never clean the weeds from, and they both have dilapidated vehicles which haven't run, I was told, in years. They have lumber and old tires scattered with weeds all over them and I wondered what I can do about this. Thank you.

The city has ordinances against both.

WELL, AFTER THREE times in the last 30 days of being bumped into in a store by someone playing with a kiddie cart, I think it's time for me to move on and find stores that don't have those things. When I walk in a store and see a kiddie cart, I walk out. I think it's time a person better get out while it's safe because pretty soon they're going to promote skateboards in the same area. Thank you.

I PLAYED in the Cape Jaycees Municipal Golf Course in the Southeast Discount Golf 18-hole mixed scramble. I'd like to convey my feelings of compliments to the people in charge. Carol Williams did a wonderful job and everybody at the golf course should be complimented for the shape the golf course is in this year.

ON SUNDAY, JUNE 14, at 7 a.m., I witnessed something so unbelievable I feel I must share it with your readers. A woman was parked close to the door (of a grocery store) in a marked no-parking area with her car emergency lights blinking. She had entered the vestibule, inserted her money to buy a St. Louis paper, and while the paper dispenser was open so she could get her paper, she was methodically going through all the other papers, stealing the coupon magazines from them. So, if anyone who purchased that paper expecting also to get the coupon magazine feels cheated, don't blame the carrier or store. Watch for that woman on Sunday mornings. Thank you.

I FOUND A wallet-size address book at Schnucks and turned it in, but I surely didn't want a reward for it. Thank you.

I AM AN authority on the subject of singing. While those of you who do not know, Bette Midler cannot hold a candle to Gary Morris' rendition of "Wings Beneath My Wings."

I'M ONE OF the small-minded people who called in about a portion of the student activity fee going for the gay and lesbian activities. I am morally against the gay and lesbian community. I feel it is nothing but blackmail on the part of SEMO. If they want to have their own activities and fund it themselves, I have nothing against it, but I don't feel that I should be forced to fund an activity by a group of people that I am morally against.

THIS IS IN regard to the man talking about woman drivers. I'm a woman driver and I do have a driver's license. I have only had one accident and a male was at fault. Thank you.

I WAS JUST wondering why there were no lights above the streets on William Street between Sprigg and Lorimier. It is very dark and I have almost hit two people. Thank you.

THIS IS TO the individual who said he or she would quit smoking if I quit driving my car. I promise to quit driving my car and will commute by bicycle every day. Please live up to your end of the deal. Thank you.

I THINK IT'S unfair to associate the violence in large cities with the movie "Boys N the Hood." I saw that movie and it plainly was anti-violence, murder, teen pregnancy, and drugs. And it was pro-education. I salute the film's producer and director for a fine movie.

THE CITY CAN refuse a property owner a building permit just for the simple reason that it may be a few feet closer to the street. This has happened to Mr. Pind. It happened to me several years back. I was not allowed to make my garage bigger for that reason. There is no way that this garage of mine would have interfered with the street whatsoever if it had ever been rewidened, which it will never be. I think the city council should start bending just a little on some of these things in their older neighborhoods. They will let the Downtown Merchants Association place a clock right in the middle of Main Street. Now tell me, which is more inconvenient: a garage on a lot 20 feet from the street or 10 feet from the street, or a clock sitting right smack in the middle of a busy intersection? A good place for this clock would have been at the foot of the stairs of the courthouse park on Spanish Street. Why did they stick it in the middle of Main Street? Thank you.

I'M CALLING TO let people know that they can call their telephone company and have blocks put on their phone free of charge in order to keep anyone from using these 900 numbers. And you can also write Mr. Gregory J. Voight, chief of informal complaints and inquiry bureau enforcement division, FCC Common Carrier Bureau, in Washington, D.C. 20554, and let him know your thoughts on these 900 numbers. Thank you.

I'M A 16-year-old in Cape Girardeau and I was just reading Speak Out. I've been reading about all the people talking about the mayor and the council. I just think it's pretty ridiculous. The government is supposed to be for the people and all these people are upset with the government. They should do something about it.

WOULDN'T IT BE wonderful if somehow we could determine who received welfare by using the word deserving rather than qualify? I have doubt that I have ever met a person who wasn't ready and willing to extend a helping hand to a deserving person through taxes or personal help. However, the rule is only to use the word qualify. That includes multiple illegitimate children, lazy folks, made-up back pains, or what have you.

TO THE CALLER who recently called in erroneously citing women drivers for being unable to drive, I highly suspect it was a male. I suggest the bearer of sexist fault try to familiarize themself with traffic records and he will learn most accidents are caused by males who are usually drinking. I was nearly killed by a drunken male driver in 1967 whose driving turned out to be very critical. Thank you.

I WOULD LIKE to remind everyone to buy American products. Even if it is a little bit more expensive, it's worth it to save our industry here in America. Thank you.

I JUST SAW the results for the straw poll for the lake issue in Bollinger County, and it's time for the people in Cape County to get the monkey off their backs. The people of Bollinger County obviously don't want the lake so let's drop this issue once and for all. The horse is dead, KFVS and Cape County. Quit beating it.

I'D LIKE TO suggest that we all call our senators and representatives about national health care. We and South Africa are the only two countries in the western world that don't have such. I'm sure it would help some young women get off of welfare. On minimum wage, they can barely make it on one salary, and they can't make it on one salary and can barely make it on minimum wage. When sickness comes, and there is no insurance, they have no recourse then but to quit work and go back on welfare in order to get medical help for their children. Can you blame them? Thank you.

OUR POOR STATE of Missouri hasn't improved a bit in 10 years. In your 10-years-ago column of July 11, it says that then-governor Christopher Bond had vetoed a $360-per-year pay raise. And here 10 years later, our Republican governor is again withholding from the universities' budgets, and our employees can't even have a cost of living that pays. We're in bad shape. Thank you.