SPEAKOUT

I'M CALLING IN regard to the World Series. When it first started, it did not matter to me which team won. But, after watching the first two games, the Minnesota Twins are so dirty; they have done several dirty tricks. One was when one ran into home base, jumped and spiked the catcher in his chest. Then there was the one where he pulled the leg off the base so he could tag him out when he was running to first base after he was already safe. I want to say that I am in favor of the Atlanta Braves now because I do not like dirty playing in any sports. Thank you.

I SEE THAT proposals for the tourism fund, which amounts to around $600,000, are being solicited on how to spend it. My suggestion is to use this money to reduce the city's and townspeople's debt on the bond issue used to fund the Show Me Center. Why not use these funds to reduce a debt rather than seek ways to spend it? Thank you.

MISSOURI'S EDUCATION IS in the red, teachers and children are blue. I'm voting yes on Proposition B, and so should you.

WELL, I DIDN'T need Ollie North to say that Reagan knew all about the Iran-Contra affair. I knew that Ollie North had better sense than to operate out of the White House basement without Reagan knowing. So now, after Bush has had his turn in the White House, you can tell the truth again, Ollie.

I WAS DRIVING on Kingshighway Tuesday afternoon around 4:30 when an older gentleman's car stalled. He got out to push it off the highway and two teen-age boys jumped out of their little pink Toyota truck to help him. And they say teenagers are no good. I just want to let two teen-age boys know how proud I am of them. Thank you.

THE CONTRACTOR LICENSING ordinance passed by the City Council is a joke. They spent five months and didn't come up with anything that protects the contractor himself or protects the public. It doesn't regulate the quality of work. I don't see how they're going to enforce it. I used to buy a painter's license every year until I found out I was only one of three or four in town who bought one. I asked them why they didn't enforce the painter's licensing and they said they didn't have the time or the manpower or the money to enforce it. How are they going to enforce this new one? It makes absolutely no sense to spend five months to come up with something that is just a watered-down gimmick to get $35 out of contractors.

I GUESS YOU won't print this because it's about Bush, but he's giving Russia a bunch of stuff now while he's letting our people over here starve to death. Thank you.

OLIVER NORTH SAYS that Reagan knew everything. What else is new, Ollie?

IT APPEARS THAT the taxpayers of Cape are going to be socked with a $600,000 bill to tear down the old St. Francis hospital and the Marquette Hotel. How could the city make such a mistake as to try to secure this building and then be held responsible? They should leave their hands off of it. It is not the taxpayers' responsibility to pay to have these buildings demolished. Our city government is getting as bad as the federal government about throwing away taxpayer money. Thank you.

THE SKY WAS cloudy, the wind was blowing, and the weather was cool, but the few people who braved the weather to go to the band festival in Charleston last Saturday were treated to some good high-school and junior-high-school marching bands. Above all they missed a good performance by the Advance High School Marching Hornets, which finished in first place. They looked good and sounded good. I think it's a shame that more people weren't there to see such good bands. Congratulations to the Marching Hornets and their band director. The junior high marching band from Advance was also very good, considering they have only been playing one or two years. This was the first or second time they have ever played together. They took fourth place and just missed third place by a hair. Congratulations to all of the students who worked so hard, and to their band directors.

THIS IS IN reference to the article in Wednesday's paper about the Scott City worker's letter that they received. I read in there that one of the city aldermen says that in his opinion several members of the council were unsure about the letter when they signed it. He said he didn't read the letter in its entirety before he signed it. What is this? Do our city councilmen take a lesson in being dumb when they become aldermen or do they just come by this naturally? Thank you.

I'M AGAINST PROPOSITION B because, what is wrong with our schools is not that they need more money but they need better management. Turn the schools over to a private company to manage, and I can guarantee you that with their efficiency experts they would have better teachers and better students. If the teachers didn't educate the students they would find out why. If it was the teacher they would get rid of the teacher, tenured or not. If it was the student they could discuss it with the parent and maybe have extra tutoring for the student. The school boards are run by parents, and nine times out of 10 all they care about is their own children or their friends' children. Also, they are friends of a lot of the teachers and they need to be put out. One teacher was said to remark that she was thinking about retiring after 30 years but she couldn't live off of $1,200 a month. I know of very few Social Security checks that are that high for one person.

IN RESPONSE TO the gentleman who was so extremely distressed with the Clarence Thomas issue, I would like to point out that I have been harassed and I would like to make it very clear that it's important for females to be able to have this recourse. I understand that some of the revelations may not be true, but to deny us the right to say something is the worse thing that any male could possibly do to the female population. Think about how he would feel if it was his mother or his daughter, or anyone he loved.

WITH AN INCREASE in the sales tax and a personal income tax increase, how do the proponents of Proposition B arrive at 42 cents per month for a family of four? Please explain or look into how they arrive at 42 cents. Vote no. Thank you.

Here's how the Missouri Office of Administration, Division of Budget and Planning, explains it, using as an example a two-earner family with two dependents earning $32,500 annually, the median income of a Missouri family: The average sales tax increase from a three-eighth-cents sales tax would be $49 a year. The average income tax decrease from doubling the dependent deduction would be $44. These result in a net annual tax increase of $5, or a monthly increase of 42 cents.

KFVS CONTINUES overuse of two boring phrases: Heartland this and storm team that. After this never-ending monotonous hammering, it clearly causes an advanced case of ad nausea. A helpless viewer.

I'VE BEEN READING the recent articles on Proposition B and I had a question. They keep referring to mission enhancement. Could you please explain just exactly what that is? Thank you.

As defined in the proposition, mission enhancement includes mission reforms, institutional change, quality improvements and new programs. These include building and equipment maintenance, funding of the state student grant program, recruitment and retention of economically and educationally disadvantaged students through grants and scholarships, incentive funding for improving undergraduate education, and funding for community college and four-year-institution mission reforms. Under the proposal, each public college and university would submit to the Missouri Coordinating Board for Higher Education a revised mission plan, which the board would approve based upon its determination of mission needs. The board would establish requirements for appropriations to individual schools; therefore, missions and appropriations to each school would vary and missions could include new activities other than those specifically outlined in the proposition, said a higher-education spokesman.

VOTE NO FOR Proposition B. Your taxes will go up and you won't have any guarantee of any of the money being earmarked for your district. It will go to the big universities and schools in places such as St. Louis and Kansas City. It is earmarked for AIDS, extra counselors, special classes, for pre-schoolers with poor skills, training for teachers to be able to deal with children coming from stress-related situations, and in projects to show how colleges can work with high schools to prevent dropouts. I say vote no.

THE LEGISLATORS IN Jefferson City have finally given us something to help ourselves. Now we need to do our part. Get out and vote yes on Proposition B on Nov. 5. Thank you.

I JUST WANT to know, do anti-abortionists ever think about using all that energy they have to help children? Thousands die every day due to hunger, lack of adequate prenatal care and disease. What about foster kids, immigrant farm workers' kids? Why not help the kids that are here? Carrying signs, holding hands, sitting in air-conditioned booths at fairs is an easy way to protest. Why not really do something and help the kids have a life worth living? Buy air conditioners for the Cape school system, vote for Proposition B or do something. Thank you.

I CAN'T BELIEVE Missouri is 47th in the nation in education and funding. That's embarrassing.

I READ IN the paper were a average Missouri family of four with both parents working would only have to pay about 42 cents a month for Proposition B. I think that is very affordable for what we get out of it. I'm certainly voting yes. Thank you.

I WANT EVERYONE to get out and vote no on Proposition B. I am a member of a silent majority middle-class. I can hardly pay my bills now, I can't afford any more taxes. Please, silent majority, get out and vote no.

I THINK THE state of Missouri should hire some Philadelphia lawyers to come in and explain all the garbage that's been added to Proposition B. I doubt in my own mind if those who originally drafted this bill would even know what they are voting for if the election were today. I think we're going to have a lot of sick people after election time when they find out what all this bill contains. Thank you very much.

I WOULD LIKE TO say this to the doctors and people who take the Medicaid card. We do the best we can. We can't help what the state does. Don't take it out on us patients.

I AM A BUSINESSPERSON here in Cape Girardeau, and ever since they took away our two days of trash pickup I've been finding the dumpster at my place of business is getting fuller and fuller every week. I pay for that dumpster for my patrons, not just for the general public to throw away their home garbage sacks. I believe that they're paying for two days of trash pickups and they should be getting it. I pay for mine and you know they don't deserve to have this taken away from them. That's about all I have to say. Thank you.

I NOTICED IN Speak Out the other day you answered a question on what will be done with the money from Proposition B after 10 years. You responded that it would go into general revenue. That is not entirely correct as I read it. Before the 10 years are up, the General Assembly will be able to vote to keep it in education. I think that should be explained. When the time is up, I'm sure a strong lobby from all the schools, parents, and businesses will influence the General Assembly enough to keep the money in education. It will simply not automatically revert to general revenue. I thank you for your time.

We answered the caller's question based on what the proposition says would happen to the money at the end of 10 years. The proposition says the money shall go into general revenue after 10 years unless otherwise reallocated by the legislature. No one, including us, can predict what the legislature will do in 10 years.

I HAVE BEEN employed with several different retail businesses. Every year I have received a United Way card. If I choose to donate to this organization, I may. Every year it has been an experience that has been handled very poorly. When a manager has to hound his people for $1 that should tell him that they choose not to donate. But every manager has been the same: they say they need 100 percent contribution from their employees only so they can put a feather in their hat when they come in front of their organizations to say they had 100 percent contributions. Managers, if you had to stand and tell the truth about how you received the donations, you would be ashamed. I would donate a lot more if it wasn't paying for the feather in the manager's hat.

WILL SOMEONE PLEASE help me? I woke this morning at 3 a.m. in a terrible dilemma. The news last night says we have 2 million Americans out of work. I know our working force is approximately 100 million people. This 2 million is 2 percent of our working force. But the media also says 6.9 percent of Americans are out of work. Somewhere along the way we have lost 4.9 percent, or 4,900,000 workers. If this is the case, have we 4,900,000 people on welfare? If so, they're not really unemployed, as they receive checks and food stamps. Or, is there really 4,900,000 who never work? If so, our unemployment is only 2 percent of workforce. Someone help me so I can go back to sleep. Thank you.

I'M CALLING IN regards to the recyclable trash pickup. I feel it is totally unfair. We are a single couple living together and we do not have any recyclable materials except maybe one plastic jug once a month, very few pieces of clean glass, very minimal part paper; however, we are still being charged the full amount for trash pickup. We don't care to recycle because of the limited amount. I feel that it is a travesty and I am only going to turn my sewer bill and trash bill in this month for $4.50 since I'm only receiving half the service. Thank you.