Speak Out 7/19/06

Cape's fair share

I HOPE Cape Girardeau gets its fair share of money from the proposed county tax increase like the county commissioners offered to Jackson. If Jackson gets $25,000, Cape should surely get $75,000.

Gorgeous flowers

WHAT BEAUTIFUL flowers there are in the Immaculate Conception School parking lot flower beds in the center of the parking lot. They are beautiful. Whoever is responsible for planting and taking care of those flowers, you've done a wonderful job. And to readers, if you haven't seen it, be sure and drive by and look. They are just gorgeous.

Buying votes

WHAT AM I reading in the paper about Cape Girardeau County paying Jackson city $25,000 a year if the city endorses the proposed county sales-tax increase? Isn't this buying votes? The county can pay me for my vote.

Shooting rockets

I WAS really under the impression that bottle rockets were outlawed in Cape Girardeau and surrounding cities. There were two to three young men -- not boys -- in the neighborhood shooting bottle rockets at each other and at homes. I was scared to death around the Fourth of July.

Confederate blacks

I WANT to respond to whoever said that blacks who fought for Confederacy did so involuntarily. It's not true. Canton, Miss., has a huge monument to the blacks who fought on the Confederate side. At the Second Battle of Bull Run, Stonewall Jackson used blacks. This is something that has been hidden in history.

Are crosses signs?

WHAT ABOUT the white crosses that are on private property inside the city limits of Cape Girardeau? Surely they violate the city's sign ordinance. Perhaps the mayor and council can address this situation.

Tax-increase perks

HEY, CAPE Girardeau County residents, look what all you're getting for your proposed sales-tax increase. The county is going to pave roads that most residents don't even know exist and will never use in their lifetime. Mayor Jay Knudtson will probably get some type of bribe like the $25,000 offer made to the Jackson Board of Aldermen. And we'll all be safer and better protected from the rampant crime in Cape County with the addition of Barney Fife-caliber deputies. I'll sleep better and probably not turn on the home-security system anymore. Thanks, Cape Girardeau County, for taking care of its residents.

Not affected

I WOULD like to comment on Dr. Michael Wulfers' column on stem-cell research. He evidently is not personally affected by any disease in his family, or he would want this work to go on.

Invest in stocks

I JUST read T.J. Greaney's column about economic signs that the end is near and wages not going up. My income has gone up. I've benefited from the president's tax cuts because I get dividend income. Since I don't pay much in capital gains, I earn quite a bit more. My advice to people is to put their money in stocks, and they'll make lots of money. Then they don't have to worry about anything.

Free rides to church

I'D LIKE to know if the new transit system is going to furnish free rides to church on Sunday like Kelley Transportation did. They did it for my mother for many years. Now I'm disabled and can't afford a taxi.

Outside the city

THE REASON police in Oran aren't hassling people at the other tavern is because it's not in the city limits. Otter's was the only bar in the city limits of Oran.

Precious time

I DRIVE a van for one of the nursing homes in Cape Girardeau. I'd like to ask the administrators of the doctors' offices if they would not tell their doctors to hurry up. There's no good excuse for me bringing an elderly woman, in at 1 p.m. and not getting her back home till 5 p.m. Come on, doctors. Your time is not the only time that's precious.

Sewer tax too

MAYBE THE Cape Girardeau County commissioners need to propose another tax increase. Why not propose another $5 million tax so the county can install sewer systems for all the county residents instead of the septic systems that they currently have? What's wrong with that?

Intestate noise

THOSE WHO think the noise is bad from ATVs need to think about the interstate noise level, which is rising every year as the traffic increases. Maybe we can pass an ordinance on the noise level from the interstate. It's in the city limits.

Eyesore sidewalks

THE CITY doesn't do a a good job maintaining its new sidewalks. As I drive down Sprigg Street and Lexington Avenue, I see weeds on both sides of the sidewalks, some of them 3 feet tall. If you want these sidewalks so bad, and if you want to project a positive image to future businesses relocating in Cape Girardeau, make your sidewalk areas look good.

Desperate need

I HAVE never seen the streets with so many chugholes. This city wants to keep raising taxes. Let's get some of these streets smooth.