Speak Out 12/17/06

Cut the bonus

I AM employed at Dana Corp. Although I realize there had to be cuts made in order to survive this bankruptcy deal, I think if Mike Burns, the CEO, was interested in helping the company come out of this, he should have started with cutting out his bonus of $11 million instead of cutting jobs and benefits of the employees.

Crime in Oran

I READ Matt Sanders' article on Oran hiring two police officers. I disagree with the comments of the man who gave an interview. Listen to the police scanner or come to Oran and see for yourself. The Scott County Sheriff's Department is working a call or two here every night.

Return the penguin

I WOULD like to ask that the person who stole my wooden penguin yard decoration on Luce Street, to please return it, because it has sentimental value. And if anyone has seen or received a 24-inch wooden penguin with a scarf and hat holding a "Happy Holidays" sign, please call the police.

Appalling stretch

ALL THE First Amendment says is there will be no religion established by the government. It is an easily read amendment, and our wise Forefathers would be appalled to know how far those words have been stretched. To offend no one, all of us have had our rights limited. There would be nothing but a pagan celebration at this time of year if it wasn't for the Christ child whose birth we celebrate, even if he really wasn't born on that particular December day. Merry Christmas.

Religion shuffled off

THE FOUNDERS were not intent on building a wall between church and state. That has been done by our Supreme Court. If you read their writings, you will see that the Founders were all God-fearing men who knew the value of faith and prayer. Their desire was that all would be free to worship as they pleased. However, we are not free to worship as we please where we please. Pay attention and think. You'll see I'm right. Religion is being shuffled off to a back room in this country, and that is sad.

Ballot wording

THANK YOU, Southeast Missourian, for pointing out what we really voted for on Amendment 7: giving elected officials a pay raise. Since most voters will not take the time to plow through the proposed amendments or try to figure out what all the government-speak actually means, wouldn't it be great if ballots listed a brief and honest pro-con on each issue?

Time to eat

I WAS shocked and upset finding out that my 8-year-old son has only 20 minutes to eat his lunch at Jackson schools. He's been a picky eater since he was an infant, and I have made tireless efforts to make him eat his breakfast, lunch and dinner. Now I understand why he comes home from school with a headache quite often and is always starving. Orchard Elementary School won't allow my child to take a snack to recess with him because some child supposedly choked on a snack sometime back. I was told that if I want my son to have a snack I must send enough for the whole class. Who can afford to feed a whole class when a mother is trying to make sure her child is getting proper nutrition. I thought our school systems were supposed to be looking out for the best interests of our children. Why not allow our children time to eat their lunch and not teach them bad eating habits like scarfing down their food too fast. If Missouri officials are so concerned with the time our children are in the classroom, one would think they would take into consideration that a child's learning is severely held back when that child is not feeling well due to lack of nutrition.

Foreign exchange

MORE JOBS are being taken away from Americans and being sent to Mexico, yet millions of Mexicans are leaving Mexico to come to U.S. for work. Many of them send their paychecks back to Mexico. The greed of American companies is weakening our nation. American-owned companies want Americans to buy their products, but they won't let Americans make their products. What's wrong with this picture? "Made in U.S.A." seems to be a thing of the past.

Thanks for checkbook

CHRISTMAS CAME early for me this year. Last week I lost my checkbook at the mall. Thinking the worst, I rushed to the bank the next morning and then to the mall to see if the checkbook had been returned, which it hadn't. My frustration was in full bloom when I received a call on my cell phone that a woman had found my checkbook. She is a teacher at Egyptian School in Tamms, Ill. This is a sincere thank you to a special person.

School fun

MIDDLE SCHOOLS, especially Jackson's, are excellent. My child had the best education at Jackson Middle School. My child had a teacher that I was particularly impressed with at the Jackson Middle School who inspired a love of history that my son carries with him today. The kids went to Washington D.C. When you get to Jackson Junior High School and Jackson High School, there's nothing special for these kids. I think it's sad. If you want to motivate the kids, you need a little fun to go along with school work.

Christmas lights

I DON'T understand why Cape Girardeau doesn't put up more Christmas lights. We have beautiful Capaha Park. Why don't we decorate that park? After all the money that the city has asked for in taxes, we deserve Christmas lights. It's sad. This is a nice town with nice citizens but we can't decorate for the citizens. It's sad. But I guarantee you the mayor and the city will have their hand out for more taxes but what do they do for us?