Speak Out 2/21/07

Pulling the wool

THE CAPE Girardeau school board is at it again. It is trying to pull the wool over our eyes, just like it did when it said we needed a new school because the old one could not be air-conditioned. Now we have those huge ugly air-conditioning units out in front of the school.

Musical notes

WHILE PROMISE to Burn isn't burning up my playlist, the use of the phrase "too mainstream" in this article has struck a fire in me. I hear that phrase a lot in musical context. When I listen to music, I don't care if the artist is in heavy rotation on the radio or if he has a No. 1 spot on MTV. What is important is feeling and understanding the music itself, not its image. I wish more local bands would take an approach similar to Promise to Burn's. As a musician, it is frustrating to play with bands that only appeal to small groups of people. It's as if appealing to a large audience and packing the house at your shows earns you a bad rap in the local scene.

Testing threat

THE MISSOURI State Board of Education has approved a plan to require standardized final exams statewide. What is the reason for this? Does the board believe our teachers are not capable of teaching the subject matter and writing final exam questions? Is it a way of measuring performance among schools statewide? I don't know what the board was thinking, but there will be several negative consequences. Teachers will teach just what will be on the exam and nothing more. Bureaucrats in Jefferson City will be telling local schools exactly what to teach. If the state wants uniformity in teaching, why not have just one teacher for each high school course, located in Jefferson City, and put teleconferencing units in each classroom? This requirement is a major affront to local control of public education and will prove to be counterproductive.

Clear roads

DOES JACKSON own a snowplow or salt spreader? There are many ice-covered roads in Jackson, while Cape Girardeau roads are all clear.

Drug crackdown

I'M GLAD to see our law enforcement cracking down on prescription drugs and the doctors who are handing prescriptions out like candy. I have never seen so many people on prescription drugs who don't really need them. The crackdown also needs to place in our schools.

Somewhere, nowhere

A RECENT comment discussed the Cape Girardeau mayor's comment, "There isn't anything on the other side of the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge." Others have called it the bridge to nowhere. Actually, there is a lot of somewhere in Southern Illinois, but its access roads to the bridge are nowhere roads. Southern Illinois would have a major asset if it connected an interstate from I-24 to the bridge. It seems that the funding for doing this has landed somewhere in the Chicago area and that Southern Illinois has ended up as the nowhere poor cousin. It would be nice to get a crumb from the table occasionally.

Put a lid on it

IN REGARD to the person who wants Cape Girardeau to prevent residents from using trash cans when putting out trash. Some of us are busy in the morning getting children bathed, dressed, fed and ready for school. Having trash in a sturdy container with the lid fastened allows us working types to put the trash out the night before. Without trash cans, wild animals and dogs without leashes would tear open the bags and spread dirty diapers, rotten food and other nasty things all over your yard. What is worse? A plastic trash can lid in your yard or a week's worth of your neighbor's trash?

Profitable war

I AM a Vietnam War veteran and see the same games played now that were played then, including lies to support the Defense Department's corporations. It is not the first time. It will not be the last time. But all countries sacrifice their young for profits. The rich don't care. Their kids don't die. Why do you think we have one of these things every 20 or so years?

Library problems

AS THE parent of three students, I have watched as my children entered title key words in the Cape Girardeau Public Library search engine only to see them see a "no titles have words matching" message. They have even entered the entire title, spelled correctly, and been told there's no match. Yet the book will show up through another search or will be found on the shelf. One of the librarians told me last week that the program is "really quirky" and that it frustrates them as well. The librarians I have asked for help have no idea how to access the e-books and e-documents that the library has gone to great expense to purchase.

Vote for plates

TO THE person who doesn't like our license plates: Go to the Missouri Department of Revenue Web site. Type in "vote for a new Missouri license plate" and it will show you where to go to vote for a new plate. I like the bluebird one.

County road issues

CAPE GIRARDEAU County has hired Robb McClary as a cleanup man to obtain road easements from property owners. The landowners do not need another county henchman to persuade us to give away land. We are not skeptics. We know the facts. Neither the county nor the Road and Bridge Advisory Commission have revised standards for the road-paving process. The only document that exists is dated March 26, 1999, on the county Web site. Moreover, the commission has not addressed the road-safety issues resulting from increased traffic along roads nearest to more populated areas of Jackson and Cape Girardeau where traffic goes without monitoring by the sheriff's department.

Robber barons

IF NO one remembers the history of the robber barons, you should read up and see same thing happening today. In response to the person that said the unions had destroyed GM and Ford, most of the countries the automakers went to have national health care.

Let them win

A BRAVE soldier is a terrible thing to waste. Support our troops. Let them win.