SpeakOut 7/25

Thursday, July 25, 2002

Call 471-6636

This is to Johnny and Sharon Beck. Will one of you please call your former landlady in Sikeston?

Why isn't the City of Sikeston cutting the grass over in the Sunset area? We pay taxes, too, and it is a jungle over here. I see them riding with the blades up and the blades should be down, cutting the grass.

The city maintains city-owned property and contacts owners of private property to take care of their own yard work. If that fails, the city attempts to take the owner to court to have this done. When there are absent land owners (deceased or can't be located), the city tries to take care of the problem.

The other day I was driving through East Prairie. When I reached the town's parking lot, I observed a young police officer (who was on duty) with the hood of the police car up. There were about five or six young adults surrounding the front of the car For six minutes, I watched this officer and the teen-agers look the engine over and cut-up, like they were at a social gathering. Then I asked myself why are my tax dollars paying a police officer to hang out with his friends while he is on duty; let alone the fact that if there was a real emergency, he would have been late due to his unprofessionalism. With this kind of behavior in the East Prairie law enforcement, I hope I am never in a life or death situation.

Maybe this is public relations and perhaps it's not a bad idea.

I'm curious. Who's paying for the sidewalk being built beside Salcedo Road? Is it the city or who? It's the worst street in town to drive on, and yet there's a sidewalk where no one walks.

The city is putting the sidewalk in. This project is an attempt to give children a safe place to walk to and from Sikeston Middle School. The roadway is a state road and is maintained and taken care of by the Missouri Department of Transportation. You can call MoDOT at 472-5333 or toll free at (800) 275-6636

What a wonderful story about Tim Foust. Even better, what a wonderful person. Thanks, Tim, for caring and showing it.

I think it is important to realize that many serial killers begin their criminal activities by harming animals. They then work their way up to humans. Perhaps societies' intolerance of animal cruelty will pay off in the long run by identifying these perpetrators and allow intervention before they do harm to people.