SPEAKOUT

WE ALL NEED help and sometimes counseling in overcoming problems or obstacles in our lives. To the person who asked for help, you've made the first step in realizing you do need help. So I would suggest getting in touch with the church of your choice and asking to speak to the clergy, the preacher there. It would be a big help. Or call the Community Counseling Center in Cape at 334-1100. In the meantime, just talk, talk, talk to a parent or sister or brother or a trusted friend who will listen. I wish you the best of luck. God bless.

I SEE THAT the self-appointed censors of freedom in America, also known as the American Family Association, want to ban MTV. I do hope TCI Cablevision and the city council do not cave in to these censors of free choice. If you do not wish to have MTV in your home, you can do one of two things: A) refuse cable service or B) refuse to put your TV on the channel that carries MTV. Once again, the AFA shows that they are so narrow-minded that they can look through a keyhole with both eyes wide open. Freedom in America means free to choose, it does not mean having other views forced upon you simply because someone demands the right to determine what you see, hear or read. Thank you. My name is Keith Evans.

I AM A retired teacher. I believe I know a little about schools. People keep talking about President Bush improving our schools. Just how is he supposed to do that? More money won't do anything; it certainly doesn't improve our government. The school board, the community and especially the parents must accept the responsibility for their schools. Do we want the federal government running them? Take a look at our Congress. They haven't balanced a budget in years. Why turn our schools over to them?

I WAS JUST listening to the council meeting on TV and I'm 100 percent with Frank Bean on his statement he made on the council. Why did they bring this issue up to start with? All it is going to do is eliminate competition in Cape Girardeau and make everybody who has anything to do with a contractor pay twice as much. I don't know why the council let this thing go as far as they have to start with without putting a stop to this. There's no sense to it at all when they want to eliminate competition in Cape. Thank you.

I HAVE HEARD it all now. Who does David Barklage think he is? He is now trying to get a special-use permit for a Greyhound bus terminal on one of the sites of business he owns within the city. Does the city have to encourage his bank account? I say no. Let Greyhound get a special-use permit someplace else. Zone it where it's supposed to be, not because someone on the city council owns the property that formally housed a Greyhound bus service. Thank you.

WITH THE FIRST Cape Central football game of the season only a few days away, we just wanted to let everyone know how excited we are about the upcoming sports year ahead at Cape Central High School. We know how the Cape Girardeau school board and the Athletic Task Force worked to get things the way they wanted them in the athletic department at Cape Central. With the quality of athletes we know Cape Central consistently has, we're eagerly looking forward to a successful, winning year in all the sports programs. Thank you.

THANKS TO KBSI for that great telecast of the SIU-Southeast football game last weekend. Boy, they were really great. Now if they'd only show more Cardinals games. Oh well, at least KBSI is going to do another SEMO game. Go get them, Indians.

AFTER READING THE sports column Sunday, now I understand how only 32 percent of football players at SEMO ever graduate. If a student can't pass 12 hours, which is four classes a semester, then what are they doing in college? Is football that important?

I'D JUST LIKE to say that I agree with Coach Mumford. I think the NCAA should spell out its rules on passing classes athletes take, and they should do it very slowly in big letters so the football people can understand.

THIS IS TO the person who wonders why women holler rape. Rape is not always a result of having a friend accompany you home after being in a bar. There are millions of women who are raped by men they don't know or have never seen. Rapists break into women's homes. It's a woman's right to privacy if she doesn't want her named slandered by people like you, who would accuse her of all sorts of immoral acts. Rape is a very traumatic thing. If you don't believe it, leave your doors unlocked one night and find out. You won't have to wonder anymore why women holler about rape. Thank you.

I SAW ON KFVS-TV the advertising about the Jerry Lewis telethon and they showed him running around on stage in front of the national television audience without his pants. I think this is crude and unbecoming behavior, and I think he either ought to be kicked off the program or the program ought to be canceled. There is no excuse for behavior of this type. Thank you.

OUR COMMISSIONERS NEED to get to work with Perry County to build a lake. They don't bicker or quarrel with each other. Their schools and economy are in good shape, and they work for and get what they want; no big grants or handouts from the government. I doubt very much that they have many on welfare. So get with them. Can anything be done to incorporate the Black Forest area? It would be an unusual starting point. Forget about Bollinger County. Let them grow marijuana. Thank you.

TO THE PERSON working for Meals on Wheels: If you can't follow directions on how to find a farm house, or any house for that matter, you are not qualified for the job. Meals on Wheels needs more efficient help.

KFVS-12, HOW much longer do we have to suffer through "Head of the Class"? It's disgusting.

I SAY LET'S go back off of daylight-saving time now. It's getting time to do that. Thank you.

SOMEBODY WROTE INTO Speak Out about the college students parking in Capaha Park and thinking it was a disgrace. Well, a lot of this problem is because Southeast Missouri State University has found it in their funds to put a sand volleyball court near the residence hall parking lot when there is limited parking available. I mean, do we need a sand volleyball court or more parking to get to class? Thank you.

I WOULD LIKE to talk to the different people in this area but especially to TCI. I do not appreciate the raise on my bill that I received. I've had no raise in income at all for the last two years. If I had a raise to go along with the raise on each of the bills that I must pay each month, I could easily get along fine. The other bills that I have other than TCI are absolutely necessary. We'll have to drop cable if this goes on. Thank you very much for listening.

TAXPAYERS ARE BEING ripped off by public school teachers. They are not doing the job they are paid to do. We must get rid of these teachers that are overpaid. The public is tired of throwing money down a rat hole. Our children are not learning much with our present teachers. They should all be tested and get rid of the ones that don't pass the test. Let's clean house so our children can get a good education. They will never learn anything with our present teachers. Thank you.

I AM 16 years old and since I got my driver's license six months ago I've noticed even more than before that adults often complain about the reckless or unsafe ways that teenagers drive. As a new driver, I have been extremely cautious, unlike many adult drivers who have gotten very lazy with the way they drive. I don't know how many times an adult driver has pulled out in front me, forgotten to signal or ran a stop sign. Just the other day a policeman pulled out in front of me and then he turned off, not even signalling. Being a new driver, I put my seat belt on first thing when I get in my car. Something I don't appreciate is when I am going the speed limit and some impatient person rides on my tail. Adults, maybe if you set a better driving example for teens, you wouldn't have to complain so much about the way we drive. Thanks, Speak Out.

I JUST WANT everyone in Southeast Missouri to know how we are getting taken on the gas prices. Yesterday I was over in the Johnson Shut-ins area and gas was 98 cents and 99 cents a gallon.

THIS IS IN reference to the person who called in about Christians not being interested in what becomes of the children they keep from being aborted. There are many Christian agencies that are quite frustrated because of the absence of these babies to place in Christian homes. There's almost a market in which the agencies will pay virtually everything in order to receive that baby for a Christian home. Thank you.

LOOKS TO ME like if Speak Out is going to print only some abortion-related comments they could print some that are a little bit more specific and less false than the ones that they do print sometimes. This recent comment in Tuesday's paper from this person criticizing the pro-Life people for not doing anything to help pregnant women is old. It is very obvious to anyone who cares to look at all that this is untrue. There are crisis pregnancy centers and Birthright throughout the country, and there are Lutherans for life, Presbyterians for life; there are all kinds of organizations willing to help pregnant women. I myself have talked to many, possibly 100, women who are thinking about having an abortion and the reasons are not what you think. The reasons are that it's inconvenient, there's not enough money; there's plenty of money, plenty of homes for people who don't think they can carry a pregnancy easily. Please quit printing these tired, old comments that don't have an ounce of truth in them.

WITH A GREAT deal of interest I have been reading about Southeast football and the difficulties they had with several of their players becoming ineligible for one reason or another. I hope that the university and the athletic department do not let this issue die. I would like to follow this very closely and see who is responsible for not paying closer attention to the numbers of hours the athletes had participated in. If this is a problem with the NCAA, then I think this needs to be made public so the people of Cape Girardeau will not think that the athletic administration, the coaches and the people of the university are at fault. The article stated that it seemed to be a miscommunication between the NCAA and this institution. If that is true, I hope it is made clear in public so that we can get on with business and have a good, successful football season.

TO THE LADY who wants some feedback on her article about abortion: No. 1, no matter what your background or conditions are, abortion is not an answer. There is always a way no matter how hard life seems. No. 2, because the mother of the child had a bad life doesn't mean the child will. If the mother doesn't want a child or children, then she should do something about it as not to get pregnant. There are good birth-control methods out and an old-fashioned one of good morals. It seems some of these people having abortions lack these. No. 3, it's not up to good Christians, as you say, to raise their children and pay their bills. We are fighting for a terrible law to wipe out abortion and not the children. By showing our discontent we are getting things done. Everyone deserves a chance at life.

WELL, THIS POLL that people take on the president, I've not ever been polled one time. I wish someone would. I sure would not go for 72 percent for Bush. I guess that's why I'm not called. I live here in Cape and I could get just as many no's as I could get yes'es for Bush. It's all in knowing who to call.

I WONDER IF the gentleman from Oak Ridge would ask the 600 shoe workers who are to be laid off soon if they agree with his point of view expressed in the Public Mind Friday.

I SAW THE EDITORIAL by Jack Stapleton about how miserly and stingily Missouri was and how we were awarded with a Triple A bond rating. I also saw the editorial cartoon by Englehart on the next page of the American taxpayer being loaded under a burden of debt. You can't have it both ways. Before I can give to charity, I have to have a sound financial basis. Gov. Ashcroft should be applauded for handling the situation the way he has. I hope that we don't lose him. I'd like to see him run for governor again. After all, we're No. 2 financially with all the states; we have a Triple A bond rating. I think that's something to be proud of. Thank you very much.

Missouri governors are permitted to serve only two, four-year terms. Ashcroft is in his second term and can't run again.

DO THE POLITICIANS in Washington, D.C., have a sense of direction? It appears to me that they do not. Workers are still losing their jobs to foreign imports and they give billions of dollars away to the Russians, which have been our enemy for 75 years. When will these people who are supposed to make the laws fully understand that the American worker and taxpayer is having economic problems? Why these politicians cannot sit down and even out these imports and exports is beyond me. It is very simple to even this up. Who are they trying to kid when they come out with these figures that the trade deficit has narrowed? The trade deficit has never narrowed; if it has narrowed, people would not be losing their jobs to foreign competition. Japan is the worst of all about protecting their people. They protect their workers because they put limits on our imports into their country. Then, they ship what they want to into our country with no problem at all. Who is going to pay these senators, congressmen, and president their salaries when the American worker is no longer working and paying taxes? Have they thought of this? And, believe me you, it can trickle down to everyone. You do not have to work in a factory; it can strike any employment because it can trickle down. It's time to wake up and put some people in there who are for the American worker.

IF YOU BELIEVE in the Bible, you are against homosexuals and lesbians. Homosexuality is all over the world. They are getting braver and braver with it. If they can expose their selves in the park, they will try other public places.

I'M FROM SCOTT City and I would just like to Speak Out about the enhanced 911 service that they're trying to get down here. I just got my phone bill and the phone bill itself is only $7.55, but by the time they get the extended area service charge, the federal in-user common line charge, the special municipal charge, the relay Missouri charge on there, my phone bill is almost $13.00. That's time and a half of what it would be. Now they want us to put in enhanced 911, and they want to add another charge onto it, but they don't even want to tell you what that charge is. Are we going to have to pay federal, state and local taxes on our enhanced 911 charge? That would be another hidden charge that they wouldn't be telling us about, too.

Telephone customers have been told the maximum they would pay for the service is 15 percent of their basic monthly telephone rate. That is $7.55 for residential service, so the maximum would be $1.13 per month. Taxes would not be applicable to the additional charge.

A WORD OF caution to those who file complaints against insurance companies for exorbitant amounts of money for property damage. The grass may be greener on your side of the fence now, but big brother's watching and he may heed and know that what goes around, comes around sooner or later. You better watch your back, buddy.

I WOULD LIKE TO get the message to the people who are designing women's fashions, especially for women between 50 and 65 years old. This means longer skirts. We are fed up with shoulder pads that make us look like football players. I recently tried on an outfit that had a camisole with shoulder pads, the blouse that went over it had shoulder pads, and the jacket had shoulder pads. Three sets. I looked so comical that my husband laughed his head off.

I READ IN SUNDAY'S Southeast Missourian that Gov. Ashcroft appointed Jodie Capshaw a circuit judge in Columbia. I think that is great. She will be an excellent judge. I was a classmate of Jodie at Notre Dame. She was one of the most popular girls in school. She was a cheerleader and involved in all the school activities. She had a great personality and always had a smile for everyone, and was always on the honor roll. Several years after she became a lawyer, she was the commencement speaker at Notre Dame. She was the same old Jodie; she still had that big smile and good word for everyone.

I HAVE A logic problem for you. It goes as follows: Two instructors, Fred and Greg, periodically teach a course in computer science that meets daily for seven consecutive weeks. The course is broken down into seven successive sessions, each of which takes up one of the seven weeks and is taught singly by one of the two instructors. Both instructors are qualified to teach all sessions and need not teach the same session every time the course is given. Each instructor must teach at least two but no more than five sessions every time the course is given. The two instructors need not teach all the sessions they teach consecutively, but if an instructor takes a break between two of the sessions he teaches, the break must be at least two weeks long. If session one and seven are taught by Greg, then which of the following must be true. A) session four is taught by Fred. B) sessions two and six are taught by Greg. C) Fred teaches a total of three sessions. D) Greg takes one break of exactly two weeks, or E) the sessions taught by Fred are all consecutive. Please, Speak Out, my marriage is on the line. My husband says "D" has to be true and I must admit that's what the answer book says, but I don't understand why Fred can't teach sessions two, three, four, five and six. Help.

HAVE YOU NOTICED what's been happening to the price of gasoline in Cape the last 30 days? For a while it was doing all right. I'm sure that we're all interested in the price of gas since most of us drive cars. I think it's time that someone investigated this jump overnight and find out what's going on. I've been buying gas at the same station for a long time, and for the last couple of weeks or so I've been paying $1.07 for premium unleaded. Overnight I go to get gas at the same place and it's $1.20, a 13-percent increase. Now, that is an increase that sounds like an uncalled-for one, injust, even an unfair increase. We can understand two cents, five cents, but when it jumps 13 cents per gallon overnight, there's something rotten in Denmark.

WOULD EVERYBODY PLEASE pull out a $1 bill and look at the front of it. It has a picture of George Washington and on top of that it says The United States of America. Please turn it over to the back side. It still says The United States of America, and under that in small print it says In God We Trust. Underneath that it says One. Case closed. Thank you.

TO THE PERSON who left kittens up and down County Road 349, I found the mother cat today half dead, nothing but bones. It has evidently taken the life from her looking for her kittens. It's hard to believe a human being could separate 1-month-old kittens from their mother, dropping some at one driveway and another one at another driveway and so on.

I'D JUST LIKE to say thank you to my husband. I mean, he's got to world's greatest husband. We don't have a lot of money but it seems anything I want he always manages to find a way to get it for me. Thanks, honey.

I'M NOT ONE WHO cares if a person smokes inside the grocery store or not, but I do care when I come out and find dirty diapers laying around in the parking lot. Now that is really, really a stinking, dirty thing to do. Thank you.

I THINK PARENTS should have to support their kids until they're 44. Thank you.

ON ABORTION. IF you choose not to use birth control or use it irresponsible and you get pregnant, then you own up to your responsibilities. You don't end a life because of your goof-up. If you don't want to get pregnant, have an operation to prevent it. Some people just think of the moment. How selfish.

A TRUE AMERICAN who knows how to read doesn't have to look very far to see that this country was built on Christianity; in other words, the church. The statement from the man who says our country has become great through separation is ridiculous. Opinions like these are destroying our country, which has the highest crime and drug and murder rate in the world. It's not hard to see something has seriously gone wrong. Go to your library and read about the start of our country and what are forefathers really intended this great nation to be like. We've gone astray and opinions like Mr. Misinformed keep driving it into the ground. Thank you.

THIS IS TO people accusing the 31-year-old son of hating his mother: Maybe he doesn't hate her at all. Maybe she has had a drinking problem for years and throws drunken rages because of nothing but continuous alcohol consumption every day of the week. Or maybe he's grown up in different homes where abuse has continually kept him and his sisters up all night listening to her cry or scream. Or maybe one of six stepfathers held a knife to her throat and threatened to kill her when he was little and he's never gotten over it. Or maybe he lacks only something a father could teach him. Or maybe he's lazy or he's a dreamer.

I WOULD JUST like to make a comment on how the rich people are still running America. When George Bush was nominated for the Republican ticket for president back in 1988, it was front page news just like it was when Dukakis was the Democratic Party nomination. Last Sunday a man from the state of Alaska named Andre Marou won the nomination from the Libertarian Party. He wants to abolish the IRS. Now, I don't know about anyone else out there but I don't recall seeing that in any local papers. I think this is very irresponsible reporting. Maybe the press in the future can correct this.