SPEAKOUT

WHAT A SURPRISE when I drove through Lorimier Cemetery last week. They have blacktopped the streets. It really looks nice. Also, the flowers planted are very pretty, too. Thank you.

I'M A STUDENT at Central High School and I don't understand how they can force us to stay in school when the heat is so extreme. I'd like to see the administrators come here and sweat through the whole day. Maybe then they'd realize this excessive heat is not conducive to learning.

DOES ANYBODY KNOW if there's a big hidden secret why we can't get a Raiders game shown in this area? Thank you.

I WOULD LIKE to say something about the weeds around the McClure area. I think it is high time the weeds were cut. You come into town at both entrances and all you see are weeds along the road and on all the empty lots and so forth. I think it is a crying shame people don't care how their town looks and let the weeds grow up around their property. I think it is terrible. People should have more pride and care about how things look around their town. Maybe things would be different if property owners would clean up their own property. Thank you.

THIS IS TO the person who called in about the people delivering Meals on Wheels. You don't know what you are talking about. These people who deliver these meals do not get paid; they volunteer to deliver the meals. You need to call in and apologize to these people who deliver meals without one penny's pay. But some people always have something to gripe about. Thank you.

THE CAPE CENTRAL soccer team played a great tournament in Murray, Ky., this past weekend. You're a great bunch of guys. Keep up the good work.

I'D LIKE TO comment on the city's new trash collection. I don't feel like I should have to subsidize the city's collection of recyclable waste. I need my trash picked up more than once a week and I feel I already pay for that service. If I want to recycle aluminum cans, which I already do, I will recycle and sell them on my own, and not save them for the city to benefit from. I don't think it's fair that the city expects the people of Cape to have trash picked up one time a week and also save recycled waste so they can benefit. Thank you.

I CAN'T BELIEVE the city of Cape has its own recycling. They send you a paper showing you how to recycle your stuff for them to pick up. They want you to wash out the plastic bottles, and then you have to pay them to pick it up. Who is getting the shaft? Who gets the money for the recycled materials? Thank you.

The city will get the money from sale of recycled trash. Customers don't have to participate in the recycling program.

I'VE BEEN READING the police report and have noticed in the past weeks where underage drivers have been arrested for DWI. Isn't the legal drinking age 21? Where did they get the liquor to get drunk on? Do the police and court system follow up on where they acquired their liquor or do they even ask? I never notice where these establishments get fined or shut down. Better yet, they should pay the fines because they made the first mistake. They are contributing to alcohol abuse and delinquency of minors. I personally know where they acquire it. Once again, the almighty dollar seems to reign: revenue on the booze, fines over $500, and let's not forgive the lawyer you have to have. Then, there's the insurance that has to cash in for several years to come. What kind of justice and what kind of citizens are we upholding? Talk about the MAD and SADD organizations; we all seem pretty stupid for our continued abuse of our future leaders and citizens and for our local police, who only like to catch DWIs and speeders, and can't solve the murders and daytime robberies that have been committed. Thank you.

MY WIFE and I just moved to Cape Girardeau and this is a beautiful city. The people are very friendly. Thank you.

I WOULD LIKE to know when the human race evolved to such an extent that they have so much excess spit in their mouth. I see these men spitting on parking lots, spitting on the buses, spitting everywhere. What is it about men that they have so much excess spit? Have men suddenly developed an excess spit gene? Who wants to kiss somebody who drools? Men, smarten up and stop your drooling or you're not going to get any loving.

I WANT TO thank Robert Cox for speaking out and saying what I would have liked to have said. I, however, am still teaching and cannot publicly state the things he said. I do want him to know, however, that I completely agree with him and appreciate his taking the time to write the article.

I'M CALLING ABOUT this new trash thing in Cape Girardeau. I think the people, instead of throwing their trash away and letting the city of Cape make money on it, should take it to the recycling center themselves and get the money for it. After all, it is their trash. Thank you.

I JUST RETURNED from the Southeast Missouri Fair this Friday afternoon and wondered why they didn't make Friday afternoon a bracelet day for the kids like they have in years past. There were very short lines and not very many rides running because I don't think most kids could afford the $1.65 that it took to ride every ride they wanted to ride. I would like to see this change next year, if possible, so that the kids who get out early from school could really enjoy their afternoon at the fair. Thank you.

BUSH GOT UP THERE and said inflation was down. I'd like to know what's coming down. You go to the doctor and they've raised their fees. You go to the drug store and drugs are up. Nothings coming down in the stores. Now he's wanting to cut the interest, which he has. It makes it that much worse for the guys who had to work for $2 or $3 an hour and tried to save a little money. Thank you.

OUR FAMILY REALLY enjoyed the fair parade on Monday; however, I was concerned for the school band that was dressed in full uniform on such a hot day. I think school T-shirts would be more appropriate than a winter uniform.

I HAVE JUST had an antique piece of furniture redone that is just beautiful. Now I need your readers' help. It originally was a part of the old Ross Hotel in Perryville. I bought it years ago at an auction after the hotel was closed. Please, can anyone tell me when the hotel was built, by whom, how many owners, and when exactly it closed? I would appreciate anything anyone can tell me about it so I can put the information down for my children, who will have no idea of its history, because even the building has long ago been torn down. Thank you.

I'D LIKE TO MAKE a comment about the SEMO District Fair. I think it's a wonderful fair and I enjoyed it a lot with my daughter yesterday until we went into the Arena Building and we were walking around and there was a booth that was displaying pictures of cut-up babies, prominently displayed where everyone could see them, even small children. I have a real problem with that. When I told the people who were running the booth that I didn't think the pictures should be displayed that way they laughed at me and told me my daughter needed to see those. Well, she doesn't need to see those. She's only 6 years old, and regardless of whether I'm for or against the issue doesn't matter. Pictures like that should be kept in a place where small children can't see them. I was under the impression it was a family fair. I really question their judgment on letting an organization like that display pictures of that nature at a family event. Thank you.

THE VERTICAL HOLD on my television has just gone crazy. Also, I'm getting a terrible noise on my telephone connections. I was wondering, is anyone else having this problem? Is this because of sun spots or is it something else? Or, does it just mean I need a new television?

I HAVE A suggestion to the fair board for the parade. I would like to suggest that it be on a Sunday afternoon like at 1 or 2 to avoid the Monday evening rush-hour traffic. Thank you.

I AM A freshman at Jackson Junior High and no, I do not watch MTV but I do believe it should be kept on the cable. If MTV was eliminated from cable, something else would be censored or done away with, taking away more freedom or selections from teenagers. I feel that parents who do not want their children watching MTV practice something called censorship. I know what you're saying, parents: We don't know where our kids are at all the time. I then suggest you take enough interest to know where your children are all the time. Thank you.

I BOUGHT ONE of the Y.E.L.L. newspapers that you were selling. They had a winning prize number in there and the little sheet said they would be in the paper Thursday, Friday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. I have looked through Friday's paper three times now thoroughly, cover to cover, and I can't find the numbers. If they're in there I would like someone to please call in and tell me where I can find them. If not, I'm curious why the Southeast Missourian didn't print them when the piece of paper said they would. I think the Y.E.L.L. issue was a good thing, but I think we should have our winning numbers printed. Thanks.

Sorry, the numbers inadvertently were omitted from Friday's edition. However, the numbers that have been printed in each of the other editions are the same winning numbers that would have been in Friday's edition.

JUST FOR THE record, only a part of the classrooms in Jackson School District are air conditioned. The high school, most of the junior high school, the primary annex and the outlying schools that include Gordonville, Millersville and Burfordville are not air conditioned. The majority of the students and the staff in the Jackson district are suffering from this terrible heat. The article in the Missourian this morning stated that all of the buildings were air conditioned. I thought this should be brought to the attention of the public that very few of the buildings are air conditioned. Thank you.

The story of Thursday incorrectly said that Jackson classrooms are air conditioned. A spokesperson for the school had told a reporter that they were air conditioned or partially air conditioned, leaving the impression that most of the classrooms were air conditioned. A number of people called Speak Out to say the schools were not air conditioned.

ALL THE WOMEN have the right to control their fertility and reproduction choices. The recent Supreme Court decision barring federal funds to family planning clinics for dispensing information about abortion is a violation of our First Amendment right to free speech. Right to life, what a lie, you don't care when women die. Pro-choice activists will never quit. Women's lives depend on it. Thank you.

I WANTED TO thank the SEMO fair board, and I believe it's K-103, that brought Neal McCoy into our area. We went to his show and it was was one of the best concerts I have ever seen. The enthusiasm and spirit he puts in his show just makes you feel great. He's got a personality, and I hope and wish for him the very best of luck and success. But now I have an empty spot because he is gone, and I just wish that there were things that I could have said to him and tell him how much people in this area appreciated him. I wish him the best of luck forever.