Speakout 10/30

Are they going to wait until someone is killed before they do something about the intersection of Highway 61 and H Road by the Industrial Park? There is a wreck there almost every month. If the highway department would open up McCaulah Road over to Rose Parkway, that would take a lot of traffic from that intersection while we are waiting on a stop light, which may take some time.

I am a senior citizen in Sikeston. My husband and I used to live out on a farm and I was wondering if one of the good farmers around can tell us what is growing out on H road toward Blodgett. Right past the nursing home there is a field out there with something growing in it and we don't know what it is. We would appreciate an answer.

I am sick and tired of hearing about deadbeat fathers. Everywhere you look at fathers who didn't get custody of their children, there is that stigma of having a deadbeat dad. Well, that is not always true. There are some great dads out there who are trying to do the right thing, but the deadbeat mothers won't let them. My son, for example, raised his boys to be polite and responsible young men when he was in the home and, by the way, it wasn't his fault there was a divorce. Seems there was another man in the picture that he didn't know about. Of course he couldn't get custody of the boys (now ages 14 and 16) who have not been treated right since the divorce five years ago. But the mother gets custody unless she has committed a terrible crime. What about the crime against these young men? She just sits and draws that child support check (which, by the way, she spends on herself or her deadbeat husband). These kids have seen very little and now she wants more and more. Where is the justice system for our kids today? It sure is not on the side of my grandsons.

This is a letter to those men who should have been sterilized to never have children. I cannot understand a man who has a child and thinks that because he only sees the child once in awhile (when they are young), they have done something right. Developing a father-child relationship takes more than lying in the recliner and making sure you have your beer or dope. Waiting until the child is a teen-ager and then blaming everyone but yourself when something goes wrong is a loser's cop-out. Ask yourself a few questions: Have you offered support when needed? Have you even smiled at your child or asked how they are doing lately? Or have you grumbled because they are not perfect, like you are? Ha! Take a good look at yourself and maybe you won't judge your child so harshly. Be the adult. Don't sit around and whine because they want nothing to do with you. There is usually a reason. You are the parent. Make an effort to develop a good relationship with them. It is never too late. If you are negative every time you see them, why should they want to be around you? You do not realize what kind of negative effects your lifestyle can have on a child. If you can't add anything good and positive to your child's life, just completely stay out of it. You might save this young person a lot of heartache in the future.