SPEAKOUT

Need liberal attitudes

I NOTICED we have a new coalition in town. It's supposed to better the community. I've lived her for 25 or 30 years. We used to have a population of 35,000 people. Now it's always 34,475. Sounds like we're losing ground with the people we have here. And also the coalition sounds like it's going to do a great deal of good. We tried this before, just like we're trying to raise taxes. I think we need to look at it, people of Cape Girardeau, to elect new people who have enough gumption and aren't so conservative and are a little bit more liberal in their attitude to make this city grow. I appreciate it.

Thanks for fixing things up

I REALLY want to thank all these big banks for merging and really fixing things up for us and giving us a lot of service. It's really been very helpful. I called this morning to see if my 90-year-old aunt qualifies for a standard deposit box free, which is what the advertisement says. I couldn't even get the question answered locally. I've got to call an 800 number, and then I've got to go through all kind of options saying I can do this and I can do that. You really have helped us out a lot. I'm so glad these banks are merging and complicating things.

Vote no on boats in moats

THIS IS about Amendment 9. The riverboats knew the law as it was passed but pressured the gaming commission to agree to boats in moats, which they knew was not what the voters approved. Now they want people -- claiming they following the laws and the rules -- to vote yes. If the casinos had not tried to change the law, there would be no reason for Amendment 9. They thought they were going to get by with this, and now they find they may not get by with it. So I think everybody should vote no.

Tobacco warnings ignored

WHY SHOULD anyone who has smoked in the last 25 years get anything from the tobacco companies? They have been told the bad effects of tobacco for longer than that, and now they want to blame the tobacco companies for the health problems. Get real. Unless you're a zombie, you could have quit or not started smoking. No one owes any help from tobacco-related health problems unless it's caused by secondhand smoke. You've caused your own problems, and you should have to live with it or pay for it.

Go to another church

I READ with interest the letter from Randy Dooley about the lady minister from Chaffee who was asked by the new Baptist minister in town to remove herself from the Chaffee Ministerial Alliance's Thanksgiving worship service. I have a question. Why is the new Baptist minister in town permitted to dictate to the Chaffee Ministerial Alliance? Why not solve the problem by eliminating that Baptist minister? There's been such peace and tranquility in this Chaffee Ministerial Alliance. Or have that Thanksgiving worship service at another church.

Reasons to support River Campus

I HAVE four recommendations for any individual in Cape Girardeau proper that has questions about the benefits of the proposed River Campus and the seminary redevelopment project in downtown Cape Girardeau. The first would be to read Gary Rust's excellent commentary Oct. 20. In that commentary, Mr. Rust accurately described the project as one that has vision. My second recommendation would be for those individuals who question the tax issues to become truly informed about those tax issues. It has been explained all over the city that most residents will see their taxes lowered with the approval of this proposal, not increased. My third recommendation would be for individuals who have not been down to the seminary site ever or in some time to revisit the site prior to the election and particularly go down to the old grotto and look back on the historic seminary buildings and then to look down the river and across what will be the new Emerson bridge. This is truly a site worth preserving for so many reasons. And then fourth, in line with Mr. Rust's commentary, I would encourage those people who have any doubts about the value of the project to take a 4 1/2-hour drive and visit the River Market District in Little Rock. My family and I just journeyed to Little Rock to visit other family members and were astounded by the quality and caliber of improvement in the entire downtown district because of this one redevelopment project that runs along the Arkansas River. The Arkansas River is not the Mississippi. That portion of downtown Little Rock cannot be compared in any way with downtown Cape Girardeau. If Little Rock can make that project happen and have so much entertainment, restaurants, retail benefits, tourism benefits, economic development benefits, community benefits, certainly the progressive citizens of Cape Girardeau can make the seminary redevelopment project a reality for Cape Girardeau, Southeast Missouri and this region.