I AM sick and tired of all the kids who walk in the middle of the street. If the police won't do anything about it soon, some kid is going to get run over.

Current violation

IF I drive straight through the stop sign on Mount Auburn Road at Hopper Street and two weeks later the city takes the stop sign down, does my crime go away? Of course the crime remains, because it was committed before the law changed. Mark Bliss began his recent article by writing, "In a move that violates current city law, the Cape Girardeau City Council hired a municipal judge who doesn't live here." In the next paragraph, however, Bliss reports that the mayor and council believe that, "To make it legal, the council has to change a city ordinance on residency requirements for a municipal judge." The judge was hired before the ordinance was changed, and that was a move that violates current city law.

Making more terrorists

PLEASE EXCUSE me for being a dodo here, but I'm just not getting it. How will we ever know when we've won the war on terror? It seems to me that attacking other countries in the Middle East is just going to make more people mad and create more terrorists. I'm just not buying it.

Not a good plan

HAVE YOU retirees with a good co-pay prescription plan through your employer thought about what will happen if this flawed Medicare plan goes into effect? As I understand it, this plan will only pay about half of our expenses with the rest coming out of our pockets. When you have a serious illness this could ruin you financially. There is no way your health-insurance provider will pay if Medicare has this plan. Please write your federal legislators and tell them we oppose this plan. I already have.

Aussie crime is up

THERE'S ONE place you can check if you really want to know some facts about guns. That is Australia, where three or four years ago guns were banned, and the crime rate has soared.

Watch out, criminals

IT'S OFFICIAL. The Missouri House and Senate have overridden the veto of Gov. Bob Holden, and we have a concealed-carry weapons law. Now law-abiding citizens can carry concealed weapons. Be careful, criminals, because you'll never know who has a gun. Crime will go down in Missouri. I am so thankful that our legislature had enough sense to override the governor.

Ominous prediction

I WISH to make a prediction that I hope will not come true. I'm a World War II combat veteran and have handled all types of guns for the last 65 years. With the new concealed-carry gun law, many deaths will occur from drunk and mad persons. Repeal will follow.

Thanks for gun law

THIS IS in regard to the right-to-carry gun law that passed recently. I wish to thank Peter Kinder, Jason Crowell and Rod Jetton and everybody else who supported this. Thank you very much. We appreciate it.

Wasted trip

I AM so glad the state auditor has chosen to audit school traveling expenses. It is about time. The trip to Lake of the Ozarks for a seminar that administrators and teachers make every year is nothing but fun with about 25 percent of the time spent in the seminar. Sometimes family members get to go.

Raise is too big

THE EDITORIAL about the big pay increases for federal employees was very interesting. I hope everyone reads it and complains. This has got to stop.

Inequitable raise

HOW CAN the city council tell city employees there is no money for a raise, then turn around and change a law to hire an out-of-town judge for over $10,000 more than a local person would have taken?

It's a business too

A WINERY is a business no different than the beer stands that have occupied space at the fair for as long as I can remember. Do like I do. Walk by those stands and booths you don't want to do business with and let the rest of the world keep on going. Tasting wine is different than drinking the whole bottle.

Let them know

PAY RATES for National Guardsmen may be cut. Instead of talking about the possibility, do something to log your feelings by contacting your federal legislators in Washington. Do it now. I don't think the pay cuts will ever happen, but don't leave things to chance. Make your feelings known to the proper authorities.

A local product

WINE IS a local agricultural product and has as much right to be judged at the fair as granny's pickles and apple pie. Get a grip.