Speakout

Time to upgrade

It’s time to upgrade Sikeston. I have visited Ste. Genevieve, Poplar Bluff, Cape and the surrounding towns in this area and noticed that every town is upgrading. Sikeston has a long way to go. The neighborhoods are becoming an eyesore. It’s time to install new sidewalks, bike trails. It’s also time to rebuild downtown. All of our buildings are pretty much gone. When I went to Ste. Genevieve, I noticed that Ste. Genevieve has a bigger downtown than Sikeston and Ste. Genevieve has a population of about 4,000 or so. It’s a shame that we have a larger population and have a smaller downtown with nowhere to shop. It would be nice to incorporate maybe a McDonald’s, a Starbucks or something downtown where people can go and pick up something on their way to work. Sikeston has a lot to offer, but they are not tapping into their resources as far as having the highways to be a reliable resource to get things in. It’s just time to upgrade.

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I would like to add with my last recording that Sikeston needs to add new buildings downtown, like downtown living, new lofts, plazas. Something that would make downtown look like a downtown because right now it doesn’t. It’s very dated. Also I would like to add that it would be nice to add a rail system that will take us from Sikeston to Cape to Carbondale to Paducah to Poplar Bluff and all the surrounding areas instead of having to drive to those locations to go to the doctor, shopping or things like that. Do you ever wonder why Sikeston residents go to Cape and other places to shop? It’s because there is nothing here and you want to keep the money inside of Sikeston for your residents to spend the money here. Sikeston, it is time to get things here. Every weekend I travel to a different town just to explore and just to get away because there is nothing to do here. No adult entertainment as far as being able to go to a nice pub, be able to relax and chill and play pool or hang out with your friends. Our bowling alley needs to be updated. There is just nothing to do here but go to work and come home. And that’s not good when you have young adults and then you have a lot of things that we don’t have things for our kids to do here. All they have is the YMCA. We need a water park. We need a boys and girls club. Something needs to be incorporated into this town to make it what it should be.

It would truly be ideal to incorporate all of your suggestions. But, unfortunately, it’s also time to take a reality check. Many of your suggestions are far, far beyond our control. But, most importantly, these improvements are expensive. And when we say expensive, think in terms of millions of dollars. We’ve had a government-funded bike trail. Starbucks? Get real. Try Parengo; it’s better coffee with a better atmosphere and a lower cost. Your rail system proposal is interesting. Impossible but interesting. Perhaps you haven’t noticed that our rail system was dismantled. Take notice. Explore the cost of a water park and then get back with us, please. You mention the YMCA by saying “all we have is the YMCA.” Come on. Our YMCA is a showcase, not just in this region but in the state. I could go on and on. But, for now, when was the last city council meeting you attended? How about which committee you have volunteered to serve on? It’s easy to complain. Solutions, however, take effort, not just calls to Speakout.