Speakout 1/27

I was not impressed with the article "State director of DPS urges call to service" in the Standard Democrat on Jan. 20, 2004, especially because of the quote at the top of the page where both "spanking" and "non-violence" are mentioned. How can we be "non-violent in our neighborhoods" when we are encouraged to "spank" our children?

What a stupid idea it is to send three of our policemen involved in the National Guard to Iraq. We just had a man knocked down in the main part of town, east Center Street, and three other robberies this week. There are parts of Sikeston that are more dangerous than Iraq and we are sending our policemen to Iraq. How stupid can you get?

Tony Heckemeyer on Radio Station 1400 AM Friday morning likes to say he is a conservative. Well a conservative is not for gun control and he is against this conceal and carry law and he is also for abortion. He says he is pro-life but he isn't pro-life, if he is pro-life why isn't he against all abortion?

This is Santa and I am taking orders for next year's crops. Mrs. Claus and the elves are planning fall vegetables for this year - potatoes, beans, turnips and yes, squash and tomatoes. Just call Speakout and leave your order early so Mike can get it in the paper this year early. I'm sorry we have to charge this year because we can barely make ends meet. But remember: Farmers you get 10 percent discount on everything.

I would like to thank Josh Bill for finally standing up and calling out the city government about the finances. But there is one question I would like to address and that is how did the city officials come up with all these Christmas bonuses for all the employees?

I was reading Speakout today, Jan. 18. In Speakout someone put something in here about the election for the taxes. Says we don't have to pay taxes on the restaurant food and who ever wrote this don't know what they are talking about. We do pay taxes on food on restaurants. I mean I have never bought a hamburger anyplace where I didn't have to pay taxes. Whoever this is needs to correct it. I don't understand what they mean about not paying taxes for food in the restaurant.

Why don't you go back and read the answer again. Yes, there is a sales tax imposed on food sold in restaurant but the article stated that Cape Girardeau has imposed an additional tax on food sold in its restaurant - a similar tax not imposed in Sikeston.

It is Sunday morning and I have no Parade magazine in my paper. Your paper just keeps getting smaller and smaller and smaller. Is it going to disappear.

The Parade magazine has returned to the Sunday paper.

This is in regards to the tax that Sikeston wants to use to clean up the areas. There are a couple of homes over on Sixth Street. The Code Enforcement has been notified several times. One of them they won't do anything about the other one they give the guy a couple of slaps on the wrist and he still has a bunch of junk cars in the yard and he won't clean them up. It is a rent house and the landlord won't make him do it. The property owner won't do it. I think it is just a joke to get more money out of the citizens. They shouldn't be closing Fire Station No. 2 when they should be closing Fire Station No. 3.

Mike Jensen and all his Republican friends are always saying the Democrats are tax-crazy and all they want to do is lay taxes. I just noticed Mike Jensen and his friends must be becoming Democrats since they want to lay this 1-cent sales tax. Need I say more?