Speak Out A 04/09/02

Stick to standard

WHY DO we still have daylight-saving time? Why not stay with standard time all year long?

Asleep at the wheel

THE DEMOCRATS are wailing and moaning, "Oh, Mr. Bush has gotten us into these wars and turmoils. Where's Bill Clinton? He kept us all so safe." What a joke. To keep on the good side of the Saudis, Clinton shut down the investigation of terrorist funding while they were giving to religious groups such as Osama Bin Laden. Clinton didn't want to make them mad. Look at the result. He was asleep at the wheel for eight years while security, military secrets and intelligence suffered.

Two great mayors?

WE ARE about to have a tremendous shift in Cape Girardeau. Mayor Al Spradling has been a wonderful mayor. He's a great lawyer. He knows all the legal details. He knows how to make everything work for the city. Now we have a new mayor coming on. He's a mayor of the people, a man who rides a Harley, coaches sports and knows how to talk to the people. We're going to see what's best for Cape: a great lawyer or a man of the people.

Pay for needs first

IT SEEMS some parents need to teach their kids the difference between a need and a want. Some of your callers need to figure that out as well. We don't need a skateboard park in this community. It would be nice to have one, but it's a want, not a need. There are a lot of other things that this city needs to take care of first, such as getting some decent equipment for police officers so that when they come to calls they can hear communications from the central office without having to go stand in certain parts of a person's yard because the radios don't work very well. We need higher salaries for our firemen, the men who put their lives on the line every time the alarm goes off. Those are things we need. I'm married to a man who makes about three times as much as they do without ever risking his life, and it's pathetic that they don't make any more than they do. If those kids need a skateboard park, why don't their parents get together and build one?

Need to vote

I WANT to voice my opinion on the returns from the mayoral election. I think it is pitiful that the residents of Cape Girardeau did not get out and vote. It is a shame that a mayor of a community this size was chosen with only 4,786 votes cast. I am a parent and I have a 19-year-old. What kind of example is this setting for our young people? We all need to vote whether we're 70, 80, 90 or 18. This is not a very good representation of Cape Girardeau. I feel like I have been shortchanged as a citizen.

Let the parents pay

I KEEP reading about the push for a skateboard park. I wonder why these people are so interested in this. Why don't the parents get together and build this park? The taxpayers shouldn't be obligated to anyone who has a hobby.

A big thank you

THE EASTER egg hunt that Schnucks put on for all the kids deserves a great big thank you from everyone. I didn't have anyone who participated, but I'm glad for those who participated.

Voting is important

I THINK it is terrible in a town of 40,000 people that we can't even get 5,000 people to vote. People of voting age should be ashamed of themselves for not voting. I hope future turnouts get a little bit better. We need to get out there and start pushing the vote or the wrong people are going to win.

Not always fertilized

THE LETTER about emergency contraception contained the misconception that this aborts a fertilized egg. At that stage, there's no proof of fertilization; it's only if it were to happen. The letter writer assumed that there would always be fertilized egg involved, but none of this is for certain.

Irresponsible policies

I BELIEVE President Bush disengaged himself from the Middle East problem between the Palestinians and the Israelis, contributing to the violence we're seeing today. And now Bush is trying to come in with an uneven hand, leaning towards Israel and expecting to be accepted as an honest broker. He's for Israel. Why doesn't anyone accept the responsibility of our policies toward Israel, which directly contributed to Sept. 11? Things don't happen in a vacuum. I'm a realist. Why can't we accept that our policies caused this hatred of America?

Mailboxes vandalized

SOMEONE DECIDED to go joyriding down Chrysler Street and East Rodney Drive and knock down mailboxes. Unless we can get someone to call the police department and let them know who it was, we can't file any charges although we all filled out a complaint. It is a federal offense if it was done intentionally. If you know who did this, I suggest you call the police department. I was expecting an overdue child-support check in the mail. So I'm going to be late for my house payment. Teen-agers have gone wild. Parents don't care. Parents, why don't you check the front of your teen-ager's vehicle and see if there's any missing paint.

More bunnies stolen

WE HAVE been decorating our yard on Sherwood Drive at Eastertime for the last 20 years. This Easter was the first time we ever had as much vandalism and stealing. When they took inflatable bunnies on Lexington Avenue, the following nights they came to Sherwood and stole numerous bunnies from our yard. What bunnies they didn't take, they slashed and threw them out in the street. It's sad that they didn't have anything better to do on Easter morning. All together, they stole from our yard four different times the week before Easter. If anybody or any parent knows where these bunnies might be, please return them to our yard so that we may use them again next year for all the children to see. I would think any parent who went into their child's room and saw two six-foot inflatable bunnies would wonder where they came from.