SPEAKOUT

I AM VERY happy to read about the Cape Girardeau teachers' increase in salary. In fact, more power to them. But before everyone gets the impression that all teachers in our area are receiving this increase and indeed even coming to close to matching their salaries, let me assure you this is not the case. I have taught 22 years and have a master's degree plus, and am receiving $19,600 with no hope, it appears, for any kind of increase this year. And my school salary is not that unusual for our area. The need for further funding is still there.

NO MATTER WHETHER it is education, cancer, AIDS research or housing for the elderly, there is no money for the most necessary project. Then we hear the downtown merchants and the tourism bureau asked for money to paint a mural. It makes no difference on which side of the floodwall. I think our city council better rethink making monetary funding to the tourism bureau, especially since much of the tax money comes from people with poor housing and in need of nourishing food and from older citizens who need their money, not for murals, but for everyday living expenses. Thank you.

I WISH TO thank the owners of Clark Appliance who recently helped me. I just moved to Cape Girardeau and signed up for a local sewing class. In the confusion of boxes packed and unpacked, I could not find the power cord to my sewing machine. I was willing to purchase a new one, but when I explained my plight to the owner he let me borrow one from his shop. He trusted me to return it when I found mine. Three days later I found my cord and returned his. I believe I am going to like living in Cape Girardeau. Thank you.

PATRICK BUCHANAN HAD a piece in the paper on the editorial page Wednesday, April 17, that every American taxpaying citizen should read. This is the best column and makes more sense than anything I have ever read about taxes. Thank you.

PEOPLE, LET'S BE honest. It is a myth that students receive a better education by attending parochial schools of our area. Most parochial schools don't have the equipment, labs, computers, advanced classes, special teachers or special programs needed by many of the students. Parochial teachers are not more caring and many are not as well educated because there is not the financial incentive to continue their advanced degrees. Some students with special needs or with disruptive behavior are dropped from or not allowed to attend parochial school, leaving mainly the bright and upper-economic children. Many teachers working in the public schools are very strong in the church doctrine but are not willing to make the financial sacrifice required to teach in a parochial school. If you want religious training for your child, or, if you prefer not to attend with minorities, that's one thing; but please, don't pretend that parochial schools offer a better education. Reality and very little investigation will not substantiate that claim.

I'D JUST LIKE TO say that there are a lot of us reading in the paper about the little boats running up and down the Mississippi. I'd just like to say, as far as a person's tranquility is concerned, between the towboats running up and down the river and the trains, there's hardly a tranquil place to sit and listen and watch the river anyway. I'd just like to say that I really enjoy watching the little boats running up and down the river and all the fun they're having. I might even buy one myself.

I'M GLAD THAT the Gay and Lesbian Student Association is having awareness week. I think it's time for Southeast Missouri stop being sensitive to gay and lesbian issues.

I WOULD LIKE for every parent of the Chaffee basketball team to support Kent Mangels and come to the next school board meeting. Let's tell the school board members what we think of their decision not to rehire Kent Mangels. Let's show our support for a fine, wonderful man. Thank you.

I WAS JUST calling about the ad in Speak Out about how to get hold of military buddy. If it's worth a phone call, give it a try. I would call the Newport News Post Office and tell them your situation, and they'll be able to help you. Thank you.

I HAVE A question. Could someone answer why it is that the Country Club will not allow blacks to be members? Is there an answer to this?

If you are speaking of the Cape Girardeau Country Club, you have misstated the case. The Country Club does not discriminate on the basis of race and, in fact, has black members.

PEOPLE WHO WORK shift work or people ill have to listen to neighbors' dogs barking most of the day. I could not live with myself knowing, and they do know, that their pet was bothering other people. Thank you.

I WOULD LIKE to speak of SEMO University. I have always thought of it as an institution that serves this area of the state with a tuition price for the ordinary family. Most of the natives of Cape County are conservative people with a religious background, and they believe in managing and laboring to get the better things in life. I have been proud to say we live near a college from which I graduated; but, when I see in the paper that SEMO University is sponsoring gay and lesbian week, I'm beginning to wonder about it. Thank you.

WHAT'S WITH SCOTT CITY people and city hall? The yards could make all the difference. The whole town needs to clean up the yards and the city ordinance should be better enforced. Thank you.

MAYBE I WAS misinformed but I've always felt that the practice of homosexuality in Missouri was illegal. If this is indeed true, why does the university sanction gay organizations and why does the Missourian publish events promoting Gay and Lesbian Awareness Week? Why not let the burglars and robbers form an organization? The university could sanction it and once a year, when the thieves got together for burglary and robbery week, the newspaper could promote it.

ON THE ISSUE of a seven-day waiting period to buy a handgun, right now in the state of Missouri, to purchase a new handgun from a dealer, you have to go to the county in which you live and apply for a permit. At that time, they do check out your record to see if you've committed felonies or if you are able to purchase that handgun. I object to this seven-day waiting period for a simple reason: Where is it going to stop? It is an infringement on our Second Amendment rights and I don't think it's right. Thank you.

SO THE USDA is now going to decide on the viscosity of ketchup. Come on, this must be a joke. Who cares?

RECENT ARTICLES IN the Southeast Missourian state that coaches Anderson and Wadlington were brought down by members of the sports advisory committee. Are these the same guys who put the negative to coach Levy in order to hire Anderson and then turned on him? Are these the same sports jocks, the has-beens who used to prowl the sidelines, sit in the locker room at halftime and in the press box when Lynch retired as football coach?

I NOTICE IN TODAY'S paper where Bush thinks Congress should give him more power to distribute foreign aid. He doesn't deserve the power he has now. I guess he could appoint Neil, his son, to help him. What a mess the people of this country made when they elected George Bush president, and what a mess he has made of the Persian Gulf War, with the money that was spent and the lives of the people over there and some of our own that were lost.

GENERAL NORMAN SCHWARZKOPF analyzed the Persian Gulf War as miraculous. He declared there was great weather for the air war; there was infantry-man's weather for the three-day ground war with rain, black smoke and haze in the air; there was a sudden wind shift that reportedly prevented Saddam from launching the chemical weapons because gases would have been blown in the face of his own troops. The God who controls all, the weather and the wind, should be thanked and given due credit for victory.

I AM UNABLE to imagine the opportunities available to the people in the big United States who are burdening the taxpayers to keep others up who've never tried.

I WAS READING in Speak Out where someone said that sex is fun and you shouldn't worry about AIDS or abortion; you should have sex for fun. They are wrong. In sexual class you learn that you shouldn't have sex unless you want children, and we learned about the reproductive parts in men and women. Whoever wrote that was wrong. Thank you.

WHY DON'T PETE Kinder write about Nancy Reagan, the way she went on with all those men, instead of about the Democrats? I think he has enough to talk about the Republicans.

I WOULD LIKE to say something about what somebody wrote in Speak Out. I don't think it's right for them to tell kids that sex is just to have fun. At our school we learn that sex is just to have children; it's not to have fun and you should worry about AIDS and abortion. I think they are wrong to say that. Kids might think that it's right and they might just do it.

REGARDING OBSCENE PHONE calls: You may press charges against someone using the phone to harass you or make obscene phone calls if you know who this person is. If you don't know who this person is, it is very easy to find out. Call your phone company and they'll put a tracer on your line, thereby tracking down the person making these calls, and you can prosecute them. They are criminals and they have deep-seated problems. Thank you.

WE ARE PLEASED to find some gasoline stations in this area offering a 10 percent ethanol mix with some grades of gasoline. We drive out of our way to purchase this gasoline and we get better mileage. Think what it would mean to our economy, the cost of farm subsidies and our oil imports if every company offered a 10 percent ethanol gasoline mix and we all used it. We need an energy policy. We can't run cars on hot air generated in Congress. Thank you.

THE MEN AND women who watch TV for hours a day had better wake up and see what the politicians are doing to America. They get in Congress and forget all about the people. I am an American citizen. I was born here and I know what's going on.

THE FLOODWALL mural, in itself, is a pretty good idea. However, what is disappointing, even disgraceful, is that Cape Girardeau is supported by and often made famous by the many talented professional artists from Cape Girardeau; yet none of them, to my knowledge, were even approached about the proposed mural. Let's keep our Cape Girardeau projects and the honors and money involved in Cape Girardeau.

OF ALL THE beautiful gardens in town, the one at the southeast corner of Sprigg and Normal is the most spectacular. The colors are simply gorgeous. It's open on three sides. You really need to come down Sprigg, turn east on Normal, and see it from the front on Marie Street. It's worth the trip.

THIS IS FOR the person who called in and said the war was to make Bush popular. I've read some very stupid things in this newspaper but this just about takes the cake.

I WOULD LIKE to thank the city Planning and Zoning Commission for listening to the pleas of the residents on Jean Ann, Cape Rock, Allendale, Greenway, Jonquil and Karen Drive to deny the request for a special permit for a funeral parlor on the corner of Jean Ann Drive and North Cape Rock. It's time the city denied these requests for spot zoning in residential areas. A few years ago it was rezoned for a church despite the opposition of neighbors. Now there is a church building and the request was to use it for a funeral parlor. Like one of our neighbors said: Where do you stop? It's a residential area and we want to keep it that way. Also, more of the concerned people should have been notified by mail or through the news media of this special meeting concerning the matter instead of the very few that contacted the rest of us. Thank you.

THIS IS TO the person who called in regarding the younger generation and the Social Security taxes. You need to take a government lesson. The money we're paying in now is the money you're withdrawing now. Who is to say when I get old enough to collect there will be any money there for me to withdraw from Social Security? As far as the school taxes, I'm young, have no children, and pay school taxes also. I didn't call in to complain about paying Social Security taxes; that doesn't bother me because I understand how that works. What I called in about was the person who called in and complained about having to pay the taxes for the parks because he was old and he doesn't use them, and saw no reason for having to pay those. If only the selfish complain, why did you and your neighbors call in to complain?

I WOULD LIKE to clear up some misconceptions about teachers' tenure. First, it is possible to fire a tenured teacher if the district can prove incompetency or insubordination. I've seen it happen. Second, tenure is implemented to protect teachers from situations that are all too frequent in Missouri public schools. For example, a good teacher with experience is let go because the district wants to save money by hiring someone with little or no experience; or, a good teacher is let go because the district needs a coach. If the facts are known, tenure is protection for teachers, but it doesn't insure jobs to incompetent ones, as these teachers can be released from contracts.

IN REGARD TO the firearms situation, our forefathers did not have repeating rifles or handguns. I know if they knew what the weapons are now they wouldn't have had that in the amendment about the right to bear arms. In other words, if they would put guns down to one shot or two shot, handguns or rifles and not repeating rifles, it would solve a great deal of murder and accidental death. Thank you.

I'M CALLING IN regard to the Chaffee school board not rehiring Kent Mangels as basketball coach. It's one of the biggest mistakes they could make. I think the residents of Chaffee ought to get up and voice their opinion on the injustice done to Kent Mangels and let the school board members know how they feel about the injustice being done. Thank you.

ON THE SOCIAL Security deal, when it was passed in 1937, a small amount was held out of your check and your employer paid for you provided you were employed. If you were on a low-wage job you didn't pay in very much. My first job other than minimum wage was 40 cents an hour at the shoe factory, which amounted to about $16 a week. The minimum wage went from 40 to 60 to 70 cents, to $1 and to $1.25 over the years. It took about 40 years to get where it is today, and the Republican Party has voted against it every step of the way. So, remember that at election time.

I WAS JUST READING Speak Out in Thursday's paper about the lady who answered the person who wrote to the 63-year-old woman that the young people were paying our Social Security and Medicare, and I agree with her. That's a lot of hogwash. I was working in 1937 when Social Security first started and they sold us on the idea that it would be a retirement for us. We were making very small wages then but we signed up for it and paid it out of the meager salary we were getting. So did my husband. He worked until he retired at 62 but I didn't work that long, so I'm drawing off of his. But he paid in all those years and it was supposed to go into a trust fund and draw interest. So there should be an over amount to pay for what we're getting. And we're paying a monthly premium on Medicare. So nobody is paying our way and I wish they'd quit calling on welfare because we're not. We paid our way all our life and worked hard and are still doing it. Thank you.

THIS IS IN response to the person complaining about my dogs. My dogs only bark when a stranger approaches. Other than that they're not continually barking. This person must not have a dog; otherwise they would know that dogs are not just for protection but for love and companionship, too.

I THINK THEY should have a cable company somewhere in Cape Girardeau that carries pay-per-view. Every time I go to order something from the cable company they never have it and it makes me mad. Thanks.

COACH KENT MANGELS was a wonderful coach at Chaffee High School. I would like to know why he is not around to defend himself around the board of education. What is wrong with the board? Are they God? Can't they stand the fact that they could be proven wrong and would have to admit that they made a big mistake? Wake up, people of Chaffee, they've done it now. Which teacher will be next?

I WANT TO urge all the citizens of Chaffee to call their school board members and go to the board meeting and tell them how dissatisfied they are with them not rehiring coach Kent Mangels. A great injustice has been done to this wonderful, fair man, and I think the board needs to know that the citizens of Chaffee voted them in and can vote them out when their terms are up for re-election. Thank you.

IF YOU ARE really worried about the federal deficit and really worried about where your federal tax dollars go, you will write your congressman and ask him why the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday Commission receives $300,000 each year from the federal budget. What does this commission do with this $300,000 each year? Why don't you ask your congressman? Thank you.

I WOULD LIKE to relay an interesting experience I had with the local post office. On Thursday I took down my two income tax returns to the state and to the IRS. As they were rather heavy, I had them weighed at the post office, stamped, and put in the outgoing mail by them. Two days later they were returned to me with postage due, insufficient postage. So I put the additional postage on them, took them back down to the post office and mailed them. If I would have waited until April 15 to mail them, by the time they were returned to me my return would have been a delayed return. Where is the efficiency the post office keeps talking about? Thank you.

WHAT CAN I DO? We once had a beautiful little dog in our neighborhood. He was once a nice and friendly dog. Now the owners keep an electric shock collar on it at all times. He has turned bitter and very depressed. I watched him last winter trying to walk across the ice in his yard. His feet were evidently so sore he just couldn't quite make it. Now that the rainy season has come he just moves as close as he can to the house and hangs his head. If he gets too close to an area they don't want him he gets shocked. It makes me sick. Why do people like this even want a dog? What can I do? Thank you.

I DO NOT know exactly what the state passed on the new recycling law they were speaking of in the paper, but I do know this: hundreds of people have sold out and left Cape Girardeau, especially older people, in the past 10 years. I'm 62 years of age and own my own home, which is not worth a whole lot of money but still worth some. I am now disabled on Social Security. I manage to hold my own without asking for help, but from 1980 to '90, the city of Cape Girardeau has collected thousands of dollars in back sewer and trash taxes, which they call sewer taxes in the police report. It's literally in the thousands plus the fines that go with it. They are operating in the black and they admit that they are. They would not talk to BFI on taking it over, but now they are speaking of additional fees on recycling in October. If this should take effect then I, too, am going to sell my house and get the hell out of Cape. I'd be gone in a minute. Thank you.