Speakout 3/18

If anyone is interested in having a community yard sale in Blodgett, call 481-0056.

We the people of Sikeston would like to know when the sewer assessment is going on for our water bill. We have paid for years and years on this. If the city manager could let us know, we would appreciate it very much.

City officials are not involved with sewer billing. Board of Municipal Utilities officials confirmed there is no special assessment slated to go on the sewer bill. Do you mean when will it go off? If so, BMU officials confirmed there are no special sewer assessments, just ongoing charges - just like for water or electrical service. The sewer system has ongoing expenses associated with the treatment plant and general maintenance; it takes money to operate the system.

How much is Trey Hardy being paid and exactly what are his job requirements?

As noted in several recent front page stories, Community Redevelopment Coordinator Hardy is responsible for supervising code enforcement officers and serves as a liaison between the city and the Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority. His salary is $35,500.

I read Tom Nunnelee's article in the Standard Democrat. He remembers a lot about Kenny Rogers and so do I. I was working at the Diagnostic Clinic when Kenny Rogers came to the rodeo. He came out there to the day room and carried a kid on each arm. Those kids had him around the legs and he was walking, dragging kids. They went wild around him. The only ones who paid so much attention to the children out there were Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. When they came, they went to every bed to visit all the kids who couldn't get out of bed. They visited all the children. But when Michael Landon came to town, he refused to come out there. He said he had children at home and didn't want to take that retardation home to them. I never liked him after that. But those children just loved Kenny Rogers, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. They really, really paid attention to the children. When the CP Center had to leave the center because they couldn't pay the rent and used a storeroom at the Diagnostic Clinic because one of Charlie Blanton's brothers bought carpet for it (the storeroom had a concrete floor) so the kids would have a carpeted floor to play on. I remember that because I was working there then. Kenny Rogers has done an awful lot for that place.

In response to your SpeakOut "Questions for Bible scholars," Adam and Eve were the first humans created. Stone age people are science theories that have no scientific proof. You can find all your answers on the website: Answers in Genesis. It will also help you to know God is real and lives today and created everything!

I like the bridge column you have added to the daily paper.

I appreciate the recent articles covering the activities of the Sikeston LCRA. It appears to me that this has been turned into just another opportunity for taxpayer money to be redistributed to the city's slum landlords. We're paying their taxes; we're cleaning up the messes which they've allowed to exist; and then we're buying their properties, providing capital for the slumlords to buy more property to begin the cycle anew. Why is it not the policy of our city government to collect every nickel of reimbursement from these people who have created the slums of our community?