Speakout 5/12

Sunday, May 12, 2002

I'd like to respond to the SpeakOut in the May 5 paper regarding the Foster Grandparent breakfast. The breakfast was held at the Ramada Inn, not Noranda. Please put this correction in.

Sorry for misunderstanding the caller. Our transcriber played the tape several times to get the name and it did sound like Noranda. We certainly apologize for the error.

I would like to SpeakOut about that big district highway department they're going to hold in Sikeston on May 13. All you taxpayers, homeowners and concerned citizens who are interested in the 66 Project that will come out of Kentucky and cross the Mississippi River (and hopefully a new four-lane bridge will be built there near where the old one is, and then they're going to take a new four-lane highway across that field toward Charleston); you people should go and have questions to present because they're going to have highway people there at that meeting from Western Kentucky, Southeast Missouri and the Sikeston area and maybe Southern Illinois. I don't know if Illinois is going to get in on it or not; they're acting kind of contrary. But anyway, I would hope there will be a big turnout for that and I hope to hear something positive come out of this.

I live here in Charleston, and I just went to a local business there in Sikeston (not saying the name of the store). Anyway, to get to the point, I bought a push mower last month and I had to take my mower in to the store. They informed me that I would be waiting at least 3 weeks to get it back. When asked why, they told me the mower has to be sent to Dexter for repairs. I do not understand this because there are 2 lawn mower shops in Sikeston. Why can't these shops do the repair work? Also, when I asked if there was any place else that I could take the mower, the manger was quick to say, "No." Well I called and asked the mower company and I was told by them that I could take it to the shops in Sikeston. I'm for supporting our local shops. Do these stores not believe in supporting our local business owners, where we can get the same service and in the same time or less? Thank You for nothing, you big stores. This is teaching our children not to spend their money in their local town, but instead go to another town and spend your money in that town and help them, and let our town die like trash by the wayside.

Imagine my concern as a parent when I witnessed on the evening news, children getting off a public school bus in the middle of a west end shootout. Why isn't there an emergency plan in place for this type of threatening situation?

There is a car dealer in Sikeston that advertises zero percent down. If you have less than perfect credit, you have to have 40 percent down. If I had $5,000 I wouldn't go there in the first place. But because you've been down on your luck, you can't get anyone in Sikeston to help. I still need a car but have no money down and no help in Sikeston.