Speakout 3/25

Call 471-6636

To those who have relatives in prison, I understand. But those who do not have someone in prison do not understand. You don't know what it's like. Try walking in an inmate's shoes before you speak out. I was not referring to murderers. As it is, drugs can murder your mind. They get less than anyone in prison. Those who have done crimes other than murder should not have to serve more than 50 percent of their sentence. You do not learn good behavior in prison - only bad behavior.

This is to the person who talked about the Cardinal stadium in the "Wrong approach" in the March 14 paper. You have the wrong approach. You are only taxed if you go to a Cardinal baseball game. You do not pay taxes out of the general revenue. Understand what you're talking about before you start talking about things. Get your facts straight. The stadium will only cost you money if you go and attend a ballgame there. That's where it's taxed.

I just read the obituary in the paper about Meredith Lee. He and his wife were some of the nicest people I've ever met in my life. You could go to the Bank of Sikeston and borrow money from Mr. Lee. We were so glad when he came to Morehouse because until he came to Morehouse, the dictator that ran the bank, if you wanted to borrow $50 you practically had to get down on your knees and beg. You almost forfeited the lives of your wife and children to borrow a lousy $50. That all changed when Meredith came in and did some house cleaning and got rid of that dictator. He went to the bank at Matthews and then to the one in Sikeston. He and his wife were some of the nicest people I've ever met in my life.

There's one thing to be said about term limits when running for politics. At least it gives you time to get rid of Holden before they completely break the bank. If Holden even stays in for the rest of his term, he'll break the state of Missouri. I think the term limits should extend to state, county and even city politics - little towns who have been controlled for years by the same person. Term limits need to go into every job there is. Some people have been in there so long they think they own the town or the city or the state.

To the city of East Prairie, where does the Parks Committee get that everyone will pay the sales tax? The people who get food stamps don't pay sales tax on the food they buy. Farmers don't pay sales tax on farm supplies and one of East Prairie's biggest stores is farm related. Fuel supply warehouses usually sell to the farmers and they will not pay sales tax. When you live in the city limits you will pay city sales tax on all utility bills, plus if you have to buy a car you pay sales tax on that (new or used), plus the fact that if you live in the city, you have to buy a city sticker. Because you live in East Prairie, the sales tax (1/2 cent) will add up to a big increase in your car taxes. The people in the city of East Prairie are paying enough taxes already. The Parks Committee said that by building and putting lights in the city parks, the youngsters wouldn't have any place and there would be less pregnancy. There will just be another spot for them to go when nobody's watching.

If we think Sept. 11 has not affected our children, we are wrong. We need to teach our children that not everything they hear is going to bring them harm. My little girl was playing outdoors. She heard a plane flying low and was terrified. She thought it was going to come through her home. We need to be responsible adults. We need to explain to children what terrorism is. For the most part, children do not understand. We're only blowing smoke when we do. Reassure, explain. Help them to understand. Tell them there are people who don't believe and act as we do. And it should be explained diligently and with warmth and an awareness to be understood. They need to know we have a God who will help do this if we just pray. America is a strong country, a proud nation. Children should understand why we can be strong and proud. My child can recite the Pledge of Allegiance but couldn't tell me what it meant. She does know now.