Speakout 9-22

If I were Saddam Hussein, I would be angry with the United States too. Sanctions have been on his people for 12 years, including medicines. The real threat is the Muslim army which is in every country in the Mid-East, so if we attack any Muslim country, we've got them all to fight, plus probably a loss of gasoline to this country. Do you want to park your car and walk?

Please enlighten me on this. At what age can a child stay home alone? I contact the Sikeston DPS and the officer told me a child could stay home alone at the age the parents determine he or she is mature enough. The officer said the age could even go as low as 7 or 8 years old. But if the child screws up, the repercussions could go back on the parents.

The law doesn't state a specific age. If the Division of Family Services gets a call saying a child under the age of 8 is home alone, DFS has to respond as an emergency and works under a multi-disciplinary response with DPS. If the child is over age 8, DFS has up to 24 hours to check the safety of the child. Officials try to use good judgment and check out all cases as soon as possible. It is the parent's responsibility to determine if the child is mature enough to be home alone without supervision. It is a case by case call.

This is for the East Prairie superintendent. Please explain why the lawn is being mowed at Doyle Elementary with a commercial lawn mower while 3- and 4-year-olds, kindergartners and first and second grade children are playing on the playground. This is not something I heard about. I'm standing here watching him with my own eyes, just like I did the other two times, and I'm sure there have been more. I can't understand why this continues to happen. This time, there's a little girl running behind the mower and there's sand so thick you can hardly see. How can a grown man continue to mow with all those children out there playing? For all of you who are not familiar with the Doyle playground, take a moment to go by there. There are several areas of rocks and gravel and, as we all know, rocks have been scattered all over the playground along with other things like limbs, glass and who knows what else? What happens when a high-powered mower rides across this stuff? Parents, would you start your mower up and stand your child in front of it while you're mowing? Let me remind you, this is not a regular lawn mower. It's a large, commercial mower.

The information you had in the Sept. 8 paper about the Hayti-East Prairie game, the information you had was for Josh Thurmond, who graduated last year. The name you're looking for this year is Josh Boyer.

When is Applebee's scheduled to open? It looks like it's coming along pretty well and we'd sure like to know.

Applebee's will start hiring around Sept. 23 and is targeting an opening date of Oct. 14. Applications are being accepted at the Applebee's in Cape Girardeau.

I heard that an Arby's is coming to town. When?

The groundbreaking for Arby's is expected to take place sometime in October.

I own a business on Washington Street in East Prairie and want to say it's a shame how these big trucks come from the north into town just flying. Where are the police officers? I have seen many near-wrecks. The speed limit is supposed to be 45 mph and then drops to 35 mph. These trucks are running 40 and 50 miles an hour through town. The only reason I don't call the police is because I don't want to be harassed and I don't want my customers to be harassed. It's a shame they can't put a stop to these farmers' trucks. Is that the problem? Is it the farmers' trucks or is it the big company that just moved in over here on East Washington?