SPEAKOUT

I LOVE FALL weather and the aroma of burning leaves. I wish everyone would burn their leaves. Thank you.

I WOULD LIKE to congratulate the Jackson freshman football team. They're undefeated so far and working to beat Cape this Saturday, Oct. 26. I would like to encourage Jackson fans to help cheer them on to a victory. Good luck, guys, you're doing great.

I'M CALLING concerning the Speak Out column about the parade in the Oct. 20 edition. As for the parade, I really enjoyed it. It was the best we've seen in many years. And concerning the merchants, the parade theme was a salute to business. So the merchants had all the business being there. Thank you.

PLEASE VOTE AGAINST Proposition B. Thank you.

PEOPLE ARE CRAZY to vote for Proposition B when a judge is allowed to bankrupt the system by making insane laws such as in the Kansas City situation. Don't say he made no law. That's what he did.

I WOULD LIKE to say to the person whose comments appeared in the Sunday, Oct. 20, Speak Out, who lives with an alcoholic, and to anyone else who lives with an alcoholic. There is help available for you. Life does not have to be so crazy for you. My life used to be that way, too. There are so many of us who know and understand exactly where you are. We have a fall schedule of meeting times and places where AA and Alonon groups meet. They are listed in the calendar section of the Southeast Missourian. Do something good for yourself. Check into it. It could change your life and perhaps change the alcoholic's life. Thank you and have a good day.

REGARDING PROPOSITION B for education: I thought that the lottery money was going for education. Now it seems that they've robbed our education tax dollars and put the money into another fund, the general fund, and now they're wanting to tax us additionally for education on Proposition B. This money after 10 years will revert to the general fund. They rob one bank to pay another, and then they complain that the bank is empty and that they need more money put back into the bank. I will vote no on Proposition B even though I have two children who are 2 years old. We take advantage of Parents as Teachers. I sincerely believe that we need more money for education, but the money needs to be specifically earmarked for certain programs in education for a specific time period; otherwise our taxes will continue to increase.

Missouri lottery money never was exclusively intended for education. As the lottery law spells out, the money goes into the state's general revenue fund, a primary source of funding most government operations and programs, including education. During the campaign for the lottery a few years back, proponents said it would generate money for education, and many leaders, such as Governor John Ashcroft, urged that lottery proceeds be earmarked for that purpose. However, the legislature specifically rejected earmarking the funds, and for that reason lottery monies have always gone straight to the general fund. Some people have misconstrued the situation to mean that because it was proposed, the money was earmarked for education, when in fact it never was because the legislature refused to do so.

I AGREE WITH the person who called in and said if we would cut out three-fourth of the sports in our schools we would have a lot more money for the kids' education.

IN THE NEW telephone directory that was just delivered, in the introduction part it tells that the bridge across the Mississippi was dedicated in 1978. I think that was a 50-year error. It was 1928. Thank you.

The entry, contained in an introduction to Cape Girardeau, appears to be a typographical error. The river bridge here was dedicated Sept. 3, 1928.

I HAVE A big family and that creates a lot of trash. Now I'm told that they will only pick up solid waste once a week. What are we supposed to do with the rest of the trash? Do we leave it on the street or what? I think these city council people need to remember that they're elected and they can be voted out of office.

TO THE PERSON who's tired of us African-Americans identifying ourselves as Afro-Americans, he or she must realize our heritage is derived from Africa, and we will continue regardless of what occurs. We are African-Americans: African first, Americans second. Call yourself what you like. It's all right with me. Now it is straight.

WELL, HERE IT is Blues Hockey season again. If I don't see channel 11 and some St. Louis Blues Hockey, this will be the last month I pay for cable TV.

I'M IN FAVOR of 911 numbers. I think they are great things to have; however, I do object paying the telephone company for it and then leasing it back from them. Come on now, let's get real. Does anybody want to buy gold brick, a bridge or swamp land in Florida for me?

THIS IS TO the person who thinks that 26 weeks is long enough time to find a job in this town. Well, you obviously never lost a good job before because they are easy to come by. Oh, sure there are plenty of jobs available if I went to work for slightly above minimum wage. Let me rephrase that. It's not that I don't want to work for minimum wage, it's that I can't afford to unless I want to lose my car or my apartment or everything else. And as far as being too picky, I graduated from college five years ago and have been working at a job ever since. If I was too picky, I would have only excepted a job in my professional field. So I am not too picky; I just want to survive, and right now I can do that better on unemployment than on a minimum wage job. Thank you.

IN LAST SUNDAY'S Speak Out, I noticed that Cape Central will always be No. 1 in everything. I just think they ought to hang their head in shame if they're not. They're the biggest school in Southeast Missouri. If they're not, then they should be ashamed of themselves. They should give all their opponents a handicap of a certain number of points or carry on against the bigger schools of the St. Louis area. Then they could have something to be proud of. In the meantime, give due credit where credit is due.

IT'S JIMMY SWAGGART again and again and again. This time again he is caught with a prostitute. That man is one of the biggest phonies I have ever seen in my life. We could put a stop to his very existence. All you have to do is, when you see Jimmy Swaggart on television, just take that little knob and switch to another channel. It would be as simple as that.

I'M APPALLED AT the television and movie industry for their constant exploitation of nudity, teenage sex and gay and lesbian couples. If you are too, we can unite and ban such filth from our living rooms. On Oct. 29, show your disdain by turning off the TV, Believe me, they will get the message. Also, you may write to the sponsors of such filth and remind them we will not buy their products as long as they support this trash. We must think of our children and the example we set before them if we are to teach them what life is really about. Thank you.

I WOULD LIKE to know if there's any way that the city will ever return to two trash pickups a week. It is ridiculous to have only one trash pickup a week. Isn't there some way that they can have only one recycling pickup a month?

I CAN'T BELIEVE that they expect us senior citizens to pay an extra three-eighths cent sales tax for this Proposition B education bill. We hardly have enough money to live on as it is now. Thank you.

I NOTICED ANOTHER article on the front page of the Southeast Missourian today about Proposition B. It's obvious the paper is very partisan on that issue. I wish you would print some comments against Proposition B. I don't think the majority of the people are actually for this tax increase. It will not benefit education in the long run. Thank you.

We did. An installment of the Proposition B series in Wednesday's edition gave opponents' views.