SPEAKOUT

Shopped until we dropped

In response to Mike Jensen's column, "Can we stop town's population decline?" We need a mall like we used to have. That would be a good place to start. A big huge mall. How about more jobs other then restaurant type? Bring back a few factory jobs.

Better jobs, more people

I'm calling about the editorial in the paper on Oct. 12, wondering why the population of Sikeston was going down. One thing is there is not enough good-paying jobs. Somebody making $8-$10 an hour are not going to be able to afford housing. Eight hundred dollars a month rent is too much for this town. I'm sorry, but that's just way too much. Also the city council is trying to keep things too secret. They don't want to have meetings when the working person is off around 6 o'clock or so. The average person can't get in during the day and have their voice heard. They are out working while these big shots are running through what they want to run through. That's part of the reasons. A city council member has a bunch of junk in his yard, and he gets by with it. He's against the LCRA. Nobody says anything to him. Again, it's the elite that runs the town and everybody else is getting tired of putting up with that stuff. Do a little changing and a little listening to what the citizens want and I think you will see an increase in the population. But mainly, we need good paying jobs with benefit.

The people's town

This is addressed to Mr. Jensen's Sunday editorial about why nobody wants to move to Sikeston and the younger population doesn't want to stay here. And then you mentioned in your article on Wednesday about paid protestors. I've never heard of this before. How do you know they are paid? Is this an idea you had? If you really want to know why people don't stay here it's because there's no jobs. You speak of the oppressed people in Ferguson. People are oppressed and made fun of by the police departments. Look at Sikeston's police department. We have more police per capita than Cape Girardeau has. You can't even go to the rodeo without a dope dog sniffing around on your butt. There are cops on every corner. I've never seen a drug arrest at the rodeo and I've never seen a fire there in the last 25 years. If Sikeston really wants to do something, have Ameren go ahead and give Noranda a reduction in their rate and have them support jobs that are good jobs. If you build a 14-screen theater in Sikeston, you can't fill the three-screen one we have now. All it's gonna do is bring some minimum wage jobs to Sikeston. And if you look outside when you go to the movie, police will be sitting in the yard. Cut down the police activity in Sikeston, run the dope dealers out and put them in jail and leave the people alone. Let them run their own town. Don't let BMU and DPS and continue to put money in their pockets and run the town. Ask the people what a good town is and how to prosper. Thank you Mr. Jensen. You're a champ.

Kids need something to do

I'm calling about the article in the paper that was wondering about our declining population. One thing I think that would be a major improvement is something for our children to do. We have nothing like a public pool, skating rink or anything else for them to do. I think that would benefit the city greatly.