SPEAKOUT

Downtown street in need of repair

I WOULD hope that the city with the transportation tax could find enough money to fix the street on Broadway at Spanish Street. This is getting to be a very large chughole around the manhole that's caving in. I think they should take some of the transportation tax and fix this street. We've been dodging this place all winter long.

Trucks are tearing up street

HEAR YE, hear ye, all you taxpayers. Have you been on Bainbridge Road lately? You have to hit a big pothole or crash head-on with an oncoming car. After the dump trucks are finished hauling their rock and gravel, we will be paying for the resurfacing of the road. The trucks make about 10 to 12 trips in front of my house, and they are really messing up the road.

Hooray for lower blood alcohol content

KINDER AND Heckemeyer, please stop your political quibbling. Hooray for setting 0.08 percent for blood alcohol content for a threshold for drunken driving. Unless you've had a loved one killed or maimed for life, you will never know the pain. Who cares if the mandate is from the federal government or the state as long as it works?

Let the rich pay their fair share

THE CITY must decide how to assess for streets. How did they decide the last 50 years how to assess the streets? What's fair to all the people who have paid for these street projects over the past 50-75 years in this city? Now that the rich people show up with their lawyers, we're going to change the way we do business. And rest assured it's going to be for their benefit. Therefore, that means the taxpayers are going to have to come up with some money somewhere to offset it like we did in the sewer project out at the veteran's home. Mayor Spradling said, "The council should keep it's promises that it made to voters prior to passing the transportation bill in August 1995. The council said at the time that property owners wouldn't be assessed any of the costs of expanding, widening or improving existing residential streets if owners donate the right-of-way." What is the problem? The owners can't donate 30 feet off of their property? Those rich landowners who have hundreds and hundreds of acres out there can't put a street out there through growth? I say hang it to them. Make them pay. The whole city's paid for years and years. Why should the rich be excluded from their fair share in this city?

Sports should tighten belt too

IN RESPONSE to Coach Dement's article, I hope you realize that a large portion of taxpayers in this community were born at night, but we sure weren't born last night. Coach, the athletic department serves a small percentage of the amount of the total school enrollment. Your hardworking athletic department has never implemented a school intramural program for that other portion of students. Secondly, it seems like if you need funding for a new gym floor or a new track, you always have the Boosters Club to come to your aid. Coach, budget cuts are needed, so tighten your belt, it's going to happen.

Concern about hospital sterilizations

I JUST read the article about the possible hospital merger in Cape Girardeau. As a concerned citizen, I don't believe the community understands the full implication of Southeast Missouri Hospital's no longer performing sterilization procedures. Therapeutic abortions are not an issue, as neither hospital have ever performed those. But sterilization is. After delivering a new baby at Southeast, no longer would postpartum tubals be available. That means the new mother would have to rearrange her schedule and undergo another stay at a local clinic to have the sterilization procedure performed. This doesn't even bring up the issue of the added expense. And what about the women delivering their babies by C-section? Usually, when the decision is made in advance, the tubal is performed at the same time as the C-section. This makes sense as the abdomen is already open. Under this new agreement, that would not be possible. The new mother, freshly recovering from delivery by surgery, would have to make other arrangements and then have another surgery. Is this decision really in the best interest of the community?