SPEAKOUT

Where's the plaque?

I REALLY enjoyed the article about the monuments in the Common Pleas Courthouse park. There's another thing I'd like to ask about though. During our bicentennial in 1976, the local DAR chapter placed in the courthouse a plaque containing the names of the Revolutionary War soldiers who lived here in Cape Girardeau County. During the remodeling of the courthouse inside, that plaque was removed. Where is it? I was told it was taken to city hall, but I do not know this for sure. If so, it does not belong there. It belongs in the courthouse.

REPLY: Your information is correct. The plaque is on the wall in the first-floor hallway at the east end of city hall. The plaque lists the names of 37 Revolutionary War veterans who resided in the Cape Girardeau District of the Upper Louisiana Territory.

The new look

APPLAUSE AND plaudits to Joe Sullivan on losing 65 pounds. I'm sure your heart, your muscles and your chairs thank you. Your new picture is more youthful, a little tongue in cheek, and friendlier. That supercilious upward tilt of your chin in your old picture gave you an arrogant, imperious and disdainful appearance, no doubt the result of trying to blend a couple of excess chins. Thank goodness. A new you, a new executive look. Hurray.

REPLY: Thanks for the nice compliment. The editor reports he has never been called supercilious before. After looking it up in the dictionary, he, too, is glad he is no longer has a supercilious tilt.

Better off now?

I'D JUST like to say I've seen a lot bickering back and forth between Democrats and Republicans about how the Republicans are trying to hurt the elderly and hurt children and hurt students and how they're mean-spirited, to quote Richard Gephardt. But I'd just like to say this, the last 30 or so years the Democrats have controlled Congress until this past election. If we think about it and look back, can anybody really say that they're better off than they were 30 years ago.

Downtown speeders

I WISH the police department in Cape Girardeau would police the downtown area for the people who speed down Main Street. It's amazing how fast these people go. I work down here and watch the cars go by. Some of these people literally race down Main Street in front of the stores. It's amazing someone hasn't got hurt.

Plenty of space

THE JACKSON city administrator stated when the city bought the former Boatmen's Bank building for a city hall it would accommodate city government and the Jackson Public Library. When it came time to make whatever changes in the new city hall that were needed, it was estimated to cost $280,000 for remodeling, and the floors weren't stressed for a library. Therefore a new place for a city library had to be found. The new city hall has 22,000 square feet of space, probably at least five times the size of the old city hall and library combined. Seems like plenty of space in the new city hall for a library. As far as floor stress for a library, check this out. When the new city hall was remodeled for Jackson Exchange Bank in recent years, I understand it was made earthquake proof including those pillars over the drive through area. That indicates to me there was plenty of built-in support for a library. So why are those steel beams being chopped up, thus reducing the strength of the building?

Next in line

I'M CALLING in response to the article concerning the resignation of Tom Anderson on the Scott City School Board. I would just like to make a comment that since Mr. Anderson only had an additional 33 votes on Debbie Miller, I think that Debbie Miller should be next in line for that board position.

Thanks, St. Francis

I'D LIKE to comment on St. Francis Hospital. My little boy was in there in the middle of October, and I thought they were just wonderful. The pediatrics ward is just great. I'd like to thank them all for such a wonderful job.

Illmo cleanup

MRS. HUEY, thank you for cleaning up downtown Illmo. It hasn't gone unnoticed. This lady has spent literally days working on grown up grass, weeds, just cleaning up the streets and the sidewalks, and it looks wonderful.

No agenda

WHY ARE the Democrats resorting to negative political advertising? With lies and half-truths, they're promoting no agenda at all. Who are they hurting? It's the American people and our future. Why don't you clean up your act?

One jury message

I JUST saw a story on something which they call jury nullification. That's when the jury goes against the evidence to acquit someone, let's say O.J. Simpson, in order to send a political message. The jury is more concerned with the message that they send than with the verdict or the defendant or the people who are the victims of the defendants. I just have one thing to say to juries. You have one message to send, and that's to the defendant. The message is don't do it again, leave innocent people alone.