SpeakOut 11/5

Call 471-6636

I'm calling about "Inside information" about the farmers and welfare checks. At one time, my sister lost everything and the only choice she had was to get on welfare until she got a job. That's why I know how much a welfare check. And about the farmer's $10,000, he just received another check from the government. If that is not welfare, what do you call it?

Mike Jensen, I would like to commend you about the Oct. 23 article about the way hourly wages. Yes, the hourly wages in this area are way too cheap. Any hard-working ordinary man or woman who wants a job should start out at least $6.50. Sikeston is one of the worst towns I know trying to get by with hiring people working for as little as they can, the number of hours, and paying them cheap wages. It's time for all this to come to an end here in Missouri and all over, but especially here in this area. I want to see where we can save and give things to our children. This wage thing is part of it. Any time you say something like this, think about our youngsters. They're going to be needing jobs. We need to get this hourly thing on the books and laws. These $5.15 an hour jobs are no good. Everybody should start out at least at $6.50 an hour.

Parents of students at East Prairie Schools should be outraged. Tuesday, when the city's water main was shut off, the school locked the bathrooms from 8 to 11 a.m. and children were not allowed to use the rest rooms. At 11 a.m., the bathrooms were unlocked and students used the commodes which contained other children's waste. There were no provisions to wash their hands before lunch, a perfect environment for hepatitis and ecoli outbreak. Where was the health department?

I am calling about the Region 9 Council Legislative Forum that had to do with voting on disabilities. I believe the media was invited to this event. It was at the Sikeston Higher Education Center and no one from the media was there. This was advertised in the newspapers in towns around the local area. It was very informative. I think sometimes we forget about the folks who have disabilities and need to pay a little more attention to where our legislators stand on it. I am just wondering why nobody from the Standard Democrat or the surrounding area was there to represent the media.

I would like to SpeakOut about the way Sikeston is dragging its feet on this industry thing. You've got that big industrial park out on the north side and yet you're spending money galore around the airport and down there with Scott Matthews' projects all around there. Scott's doing fine, but what you've got to do is get that north side going too.

I live near Dexter. One day this week I was coming to Sikeston, where I work, and I stopped in Morehouse to get a cup of coffee and a cake. I didn't go in, because when I got there, two men were outside duking it out and I was scared I might get into a fight, too, so I came on over and got my little dab of stuff when I got to Sikeston. It's pitiful. I found out that one of them is a board member for the City of Morehouse. We don't have anything to say about what people who are elected do or anything, but I don't think I would get out and vote for a man who would get out in front of a public place and fight like dogs.