SPEAK OUT

Options to living in a growing town

I JUST read the comment from the person who says he's tired of all the people moving to Jackson. I haven't lived in Jackson all my life, only for about 25 years, but when I moved here, I found Jackson to be very clanish, very small-town. I love the progress in this place. Time only moves forward. If you can't stand all the people in town, you have choices.

More about the AmeriCorps program

I'M CALLING in response to the letter to the editor written by Bill Thompson, the project director of the AmeriCorps program in Cape Girardeau. It seems Mr. Thompson was upset about some issues that were not clear in a previous story. He wrote that allegations of poor management came from members who did not wish to abide by the federally mandated program's policies and procedures. However, Mr. Thompson failed to mention that many of the members who quit did so because we were being harassed by one of the full-time program staff members he spoke so highly of in his letter. Yes, all of us did sign contracts with the program, but where in those contracts did it say that members must tolerate consistent harassment, discrimination and having each other's personal business spread throughout the office? Many members also discussed this situation consistently with Mr. Thompson, who didn't seem to have the time of day for us. Mr. Thompson also claims that there were many members counting volunteer hours that they had not actually done. Think about this, if we were going to lie about hours, we'd have completed all 1,700 of them that first day of the program. It's important that you practice what you preach. Our supervisors are often gone from the office, yet they still get paid for days when they aren't even there. Why is it acceptable for staff to go home and do laundry, meet with friends or just drive around town all day running personal errands? I think the article written by Tamara Buck was excellent. She did her job. She interviewed many people, those who have good and bad experiences with the program, as well as an article telling the community exactly what the AmeriCorps program was all about. That article was based on information she received from Mr. Thompson and his staff. If Mr. Thompson is upset, then I guess it's because Ms. Buck printed what was true.

Flat tax would help the wealthy

I HOPE you people understand what is being done to you. The Republican Party is having the hearings on the IRS. The only reason they're having the hearings is because they want to change the way the tax code is written so they can help their friends. They want the flat rate which will serve the very wealthy the most. The flat rate tax is a joke, because if it would have been good they would haven't pooh-poohed it when Jerry Brown presented it several years ago. All they're trying to do is play hard-ball politics and help the very wealthy. It's a very sad situation.

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Our words dress up our thoughts

I LIKE very much the column by Tamara Buck about foul language. Lord Chesterfield said, "Words are the dress of our thoughts which should no more be presented in rags, tatters and dirt than your person should."

Abuse of handicap plates needs to stop

I AM calling in response to "Able bodies using handicap parking." I feel that the caller was referring to people who have handicap plates because their spouse was disabled, and when the disabled spouse passes away, the able-bodied spouse keeps the handicap plates just to get a better parking space. I believe that when these people renew their plates every year, maybe there should be some way of checking it out, and if the disabled person is deceased, then the able-bodied person should go back to regular plates. Save the handicap parking places for the disabled, not the lazy. I know some people who can use the disabled spaces, and they refuse to do so because they say there are people out there worse than them. Also, I feel that if the state doesn't do anything about this, maybe the public who know people who are abusing these should report them to the proper authorities when we see them parked in a handicapped place.

Use trees to memorialize abortions

I'M CALLING about the crosses displayed on the lot between Siemers Drive and Interstate 55 meant to represent each abortion performed. Wouldn't it be more productive to plant a tree for the abortions performed? Although the meaning of the cross display is important, I think a lot of people consider it an eyesore. Trees would not only beautify the area along the interstate but also represent life. Just a thought.

Violence isn't condoned -- ever

I'M SO furious I can hardly say this but I'm going to try. I'm the one who called in who saw the beating in public in a store. I didn't call the police but I did call Speak Out. I thought that was the least that I could do, and it's probably more than others do when they see something wrong in public too. Someone called in and thought that I was serious when I said "hitting your child in private is one thing but beating them in public is another. Don't do it." I had facetious sarcasm as a weapon, and that's all I had left to me that day. It had just happened Perhaps I was semantically incorrect in picking my words as carefully as you might like, but in no way did I ever mean that I condoned beating, in public, in private, man, woman or child. I don't condone violence of any kind, although I'm tempted to throttle the caller right now for being so petty as to call in and pick on a comment that I meant in all honesty.