Speakout 3/28

Sunday, March 28, 2004

I'd like to respond to the March 19 SpeakOut caller blaming Kerry for losing the Vietnam War. This person said he was in the Vietnam War too, so I guess he's a loser. But let's get to the real point. Kerry went to Vietnam, didn't pull any favors to try to hide from it. Unlike our president now, George W. Bush who had his daddy and all his cronies keep him out of Vietnam, pulled all kind of favors to make sure he was in the Air Force Reserves. Here, a pilot is not going to go to Vietnam when we desperately needed him? And then he didn't show up for all his assigned duties? So our president, George W. Bush, didn't go to Vietnam and hid out over here. But you criticize Kerry for going to Vietnam. I kind of doubt that you were over there or you wouldn't call him a loser.

To whoever wrote "clean up the whole town," you say you have lived on Ruth Street for a long time. I would bet you are the only original owner still there. Cut your losses, get the hell out and let the City of Sikeston tear it down for you. It is a known fact that when lower income and welfare "folks" move into an area in numbers, that littering is the least of your trouble. Right smack-dab in the middle of all that litter, you're going to have drug dealers, theft, rape, assault, child neglect, arson, vandalism and murder. Those "folks" will not work. They will not look for a job. They do not want a job. They had rather steal it from the people who work for a living. That sort of thing is not in my neighborhood. My advice to "clean up the whole town" is, move.

The March 22nd Standard Democrat had a front page photo of an unfortunate 11-year-old boy who was hit by a car while on his bicycle in downtown Sikeston. The final part of the caption said "The injuries did not appear serious and no other information was available a press time." Perhaps information like why an eleven-year-old was not in school.


Just about every school day you can see a few youth of our community roaming around Sikeston during school hours. There has been chest-pounding about getting tough on truancy. Well, here is a good place to start.

As a lifelong voting citizen of Sikeston, I am heartened by recent discussions I have been hearing around our town - specifically, the prospect of a second power plant. Often taken for granted, the Sikeston Power Plant is the jewel of this city. Built in the early 1980s, it was initially labeled an "albatross" and a "costly mistake." But then a funny thing happened. It began to make money - it began to make lots of money! And the hecklers quietly receded into the background. The fact that our plant is fiscally sound and highly profitable recently caught the misguided eye of those who wanted to seize some of the money in an ill-conceived PILOT program. Fortunately, our citizenry realized this was the wrong way to conduct business and soundly defeat their request. We do, however, recognize our city's true need for revenue. And this is where the prospect of a second power plant is being discussed. It is a common-sense idea and the time to start is now. Our current plant is nearly 25 years old. The original site was configured for a second plant. There are provisions for sharing a common goal supply, a rail spur is in place and substation infrastructure already exists. Employees are trained and could share duties between the plants with minimum additional new hires. Spare parts and inventory could be consolidated. With a second plant in operation, maintenance and down time could be covered without having to purchase power from competitors. Reliability would be virtually guaranteed. And from what I'm hearing, it can be legally structured so that profits can be directly applied to the city's general fund. For this to become a reality will require a handful of dedicated individuals with vision. Determination harnessed with persistence is what built Unit One. Let us lend our support and encourage anyone willing to set up Unit Two.