Speak Out 8/10/06

Easement inconsistency

PREVIOUS COMMENTS have noted the inconsistencies surrounding the road easements within the county. One Speak Out comment had inaccurate information. My family was told to sign a document to deed 50 feet of property to the county from the centerline of our road. We were given no other options. The comment that mentioned a 30-foot easement may have been noting the current standard, but that is not the same as what all of our neighbors were told over two years ago. We all had to sign away 50 feet of easement. These inconsistencies are unfair to property owners. Let's make all easement requirements the same.

Higher fuel, less pay

YES, A gallon of designer bottled water may cost more than a gallon of gasoline. Fortunately, that water isn't required to fuel our vehicles so we can drive back and forth to work each day. Unfortunately, there are some who are spending an extra $20 or more in gasoline a week just to keep their jobs, which amounts to a $20 or more cut in their pay.

Life's lessons

I AGREE with the Jackson parent complaining that she is buying school supplies that go into a common pool that all students use. This seems counter-productive. Children should learn to take care of their belongings. This is part of learning. If a child feels no ownership or responsibility, why should he care if school supplies are misused or mistreated? I'd like to hear a teacher's explanation of this policy.

Graduation access

HERE IS something for Jackson High School administrators to think about. Next year when the Class of 2007 graduates, seriously think of having it at a place like the Show Me Center where there is plenty of seating and handicap accessibility. Those in wheelchairs or walkers have a hard time maneuvering on the track at the football field, and the gym is not nearly big enough to accommodate the families for every graduate. It is wonderful to graduate outside on your home football field, but there are some people, mostly elderly, who cannot go to graduation due to the toughness of getting to a seat at a football field. Try the Show Me Center. It's big enough and offers easy access.

Throwing rocks

I WANT to know why there are so many semis hauling rock and not using their tarps. Why should we have to pay for the broken windshields? Something needs to be done about this. If the semis are not throwing the rocks on your vehicle, they are dumping rocks on the road for someone else to throw up at you.

Where the jobs are

ILLINOIS HAS a state minimum wage higher than the national one. Every morning a steady stream of cars pass over the bridge bringing people from Illinois to their jobs in Missouri. Very few go the other direction. Coincidence? I think not.

Up-or-down voting

THE WHITE House and Republican leadership are always harping about an up-or-down vote on everything from appointments to bills in Congress. This is a great idea. Let's have an up-or-down vote on the Iraq war and see how it pans out. Let's see how our elected representatives vote.

Unhappy smoker

I AM a smoker employed at Southeast Missouri Hospital. Contrary to our administrator's comments, we are not happy with the decision to go smoke-free and feel it is a violation of our rights.

Ready to learn

I AM so sick of teachers saying they are underpaid. Last year, my child's teacher missed almost 20 times. She went to Las Vegas to renew her wedding vows and missed a couple of days of school even though it was around Thanksgiving vacation. She missed a lot because of her back. The school system hires a sub while the teacher listens to the students read to determine their grade level. As far as continuing education goes, go on your own time. The rest of us have to. The conventions are not being attended, and the teachers who do go talk about their hot-tub experiences or where they ate to the students. Wouldn't it be better to stay in class and teach? My child wants to learn.

Democrats killed it

I READ where someone was going to vote Democratic for the minimum wage. If I'm not mistaken, there were 40-plus Democrats in the Senate who killed the minimum-wage increase.

Mow intersections

SINCE THE Missouri Department of Transportation isn't mowing right-of-way on small highways, would it please mow intersections so we can see to turn? It is dangerous.

Eating mosquitoes

HAVE YOU noticed the swarms of dragonflies in the air? Don't get out the poison bug spray. Dragonflies eat mosquitoes. In fact, this past week we haven't been bothered by mosquitoes at all. That's the balance of nature at its best.

Tattoo expressions

I'M A business owner. I have a tattoo, I don't think they're dirty or gross as long as they're tastefully done. It's a way of expressing yourself, just like piercings. Times have changed.

System failure

I READ a comment that said only an idiot would hold a teacher responsible for the failures of parents and students. I disagree. I hold the whole school system responsible for my son's failing basic math. He has a learning disability. Instead of having him repeat the class, he was moved on to algebra the next year. If he can't pass basic math, how is he supposed to pass algebra? The system is setting him up for failure. So, yes, I hold the school system responsible.

Real convenience

SOME CONVENIENCE stores in this area advertise that the drive-through is not just for sodas and cigarettes. Stop complaining about having to wait in line while they provide this service.

Sewer energy

REGARDING ALTERNATIVE fuels: Something that's going to waste is human waste. Instead of treating sewage, we ought to put the stuff in silos. It would create methane gas. We could have almost an unlimited supply, and you wouldn't have to spend all the money treating the sewage. This could be a wonderful source of energy, and the raw product wouldn't cost us anything.

Smoking bias

I HAVE been a cigarette smoker for 56 years and am in good health. I do not believe tobacco causes all the illnesses it is blamed for. I think a person is born with weaknesses within the body that no one knows of until it surfaces, whether they are a smoker or nonsmoker. I have seen nothing addressing that issue because it is so easy to blame tobacco. I saw a doctor one time who asked if I was a smoker. I replied yes. He told me that was my problem. I asked if he could determine that without checking me, and he replied yes. I walked out of his office. My problem was not smoking related. I do not need that kind of prejudice from a doctor.

Expired tags

I'M CONCERNED. I see a lot of expired temporary license tags in town. I just spotted two at the mall, and last night at the house there were two next door. I just don't understand these expired tags. I thought when the date is up was when vehicles had to have regular plates. I'm confused about this.

Quick assistance

THANK YOU for six to seven men who came to our aid Saturday on East Jackson Boulevard. Our trailer with a riding lawn mower unhitched and landed on top of the guardrail. Within minutes, these men, some in business clothing, stopped and lifted the trailer and set it on the ground.

Something's wrong

I WONDER what the heck is going on up in Alaska. If a major oil company doesn't know the condition of its pipeline and is going to have to shut down a 400,000-barrel-a-day pipeline because there are holes in it that they didn't know existed, there's something wrong.

Let Israel do the job

I REALIZE President Bush's go-it-alone cowboy diplomacy has been a catastrophic failure. However, he seems to have overcompensated in the other direction, working with the French on some namby-pamby U.N. resolution designed to stop the Israeli-Hezbollah fighting. Although no one seems to want to say it, this whole thing is about Syria and Iran. Israel should be allowed to be our surrogate and complete the task once and for all, lest we be inevitably dealing with it again in the not-too-distant future.