Keep the lights on

I WAS disappointed to notice that SEMO is no longer lighting their entrance signs and that lights on the Academic Building dome are burned out. While this certainly isn't a time for expansion in light of the budget situation, it is important for SEMO to maintain what it has. The entrance signs and the lighted dome are important symbols of the vitality of the school. I hope this will be addressed prior to family weekend and homecoming.

Working for a living

REGARDING THE comment about women working overtime: I noticed the comment only mentioned women working 10-12 hour days "at the expense" of their children. What about the fathers of these children? Are they exempt from spending time with their kids, or is that women's work? Has anyone stopped to think about the fact that some parents (both married and single) have to work those kinds of hours in order to keep the rent or mortgage paid, the lights on and food on the table? I know what salaries are like in Cape. Never before have I lived in a community where it is so impossible to earn a living wage.

Downtown aquatic center

THE RECENT guest column about building a park downtown was an excellent idea. By building the $5 million aquatic center the mayor supports at the location where the old shoe factory used to be, the city could help downtown and create a great draw to Cape Girardeau.

Story with a moral

THERE WAS a farmer who had a dog. This dog was very mean and vicious. To control the dog, the farmer tied her up and each day. As he came by her, he would kick her and scold her. As time went by, the dog had pups. They were gentle and loving. But each day the farmer would pass by and kick and scold the dog and her pups. The old dog had several litters and eventually died. The farmer still treated the pups with disdain and hatred because they came from the mean old dog. The pups were nothing like their mama, yet they were treated as though they were. One day the farmer came by and, as usual, started to abuse the pups. They pups rose up and attacked the farmer and ran him off. They were tired of being punished for something they did not do. The moral of the story: I'm tired of being kicked and scolded for something that happened hundreds of years ago. Reparations for slavery is wrong, and it would do irreparable damage to race relations.

Let leaders pay

AFTER READING some of the proposals for short- and long-term traffic growth submitted by the engineering firm hired by Jackson, I have come to the conclusion that it is a waste of money. We should take this group of so-called leaders of the community and have them pay the $100,000 the city wasted.

A little sustenance

STUDENTS DON'T go to a school library to purchase cappuccino and snacks, according to a Speak Out caller. If they don't, they should. Student hunger and thirst are often beyond that for learning. Students cannot live by knowledge alone.

Middle-school busing

I ATTENDED the orientation at the new Cape Girardeau Middle School. I was very impressed with the facilities, faculty and staff. My biggest concern and that of the majority of other parents with whom I spoke was the lack of organization in the busing of these fifth- and sixth-grade students. It appears that the development of the routes and stops of the buses for this school did not take into concern the clusters of students who were considered walkers at their previous elementary school. The situation is so disorganized that I walked away without finding a bus schedule that had a stop within three-fourths of a mile of our house. There are at least half a dozen middle-school students within two blocks of our house. This situation needs to be addressed immediately.

No savings here

THE UNIVERSITY says it will cut administrative jobs and send those people back to teaching, but the university's policy is that administrators keep their full administrative salary even if they are no longer in administration. So I don't see how it will save money to put two deans back in the classroom, and it sure will demoralize the professors to have somebody teaching their classes for twice the pay.

Economic stimulus

LIKE MANY other callers, I was mad when I first heard about police officers getting a raise. Then I realized it's not a raise. It's an economic-stimulus package. The city is trying to get more money spent at fast-food restaurants, doughnut shops and any other place with fried food. Thanks for the help, boys in blue.