List of dangerous cities is a scam

Most dangerous my foot!

That's my reaction -- and it should be yours -- on a report out this week that Sikeston was the most dangerous city in Missouri.

Okay, for starters, this announcement fails to pass the smell test.

It just smells fishy that our small community is more dangerous than St. Louis, for example.

And when you peel back the layers of this story and you discover the origin, you see that we've been had.

When I first heard this report, I laughed. But some did not laugh. Some took this report as gospel and the coffee shops were abuzz.

Well, read on the front page of today's paper to see that a security alarm company is responsible for this damning report and, rest assured, they will be in full force trying to sell security alarms here backed up with this cracker jack report on our dangerous label.

It's a scam folks! We are far from the most dangerous city in our state and let's be clear about that.

I was amused-- and disgusted -- that there were some here who thought --and I use the word thought liberally --that we should use this bogus report as an opportunity to bring "healing" to our community.

And though I am careful not to slam other members of the communication business, our local CBS affiliate ran this story without one single attempt to determine the accuracy or origin of this highly questionable "study."

It took our news staff about a minute and a half to make a phone call and dig into the story behind the story.

Do we have crime in Sikeston? Duh!

Are we addressing that crime? Another duh!

But to label us as the meth capital or the most dangerous city is a great disservice to our community and the tireless efforts underway to bring progress and improvements here.

If something seems too good to be true, it probably is. And if something seems patently phony, it probably is as well.

Take everything you read or hear with a grain of salt. In this case, take much more than a single grain.