Speakout 10/3

To the person who found my pink ice ring in the Dollar Store Saturday, would you please return my ring. It has much sentimental value, and there is a reward out for it. Please return it. I hope someone reads this message and feels my heart. I am very sad about my ring.

Back to the future?

A horrible, horrible thing has just occurred to a young man. The scene of 2005. Or is it 1950? A young black man stops in a rural Sikeston neighborhood to inquire about an empty house. As he is asking questions, some of the neighbors, a belligerent white man, comes angrily across the lawn and asks, "What's your problem?" The white man calls the sheriff, and the sheriff arrives questioning the young man like he was a criminal. The young black man proceeds to prove himself telling the sheriff's authority that he has no record, does not drink, smoke or use drugs, that no criminal record will ever be found on him. He was just simply inquiring about an empty house. This young man is as he says he is. A young black man that tries to do right. The moral of the story is that his skin is dark. He was forced to prove his character. There are bad and good people of all colors. It is not a matter of color. It is a matter of character. Judge character first. This is truly a case of harmful and hurtful discrimination to a fine young Christian man. The one truly lacking character in this story is the bigoted white man in the neighborhood. I pray that this young man doesn't think all people are this bigoted, narrow and ignorant. I would like to apologize to this young man for the actions of my own race.

I was just wondering if any of the law enforcement in Charleston, East Prairie and mainly Scott county have bothered to do one background check on any of the 6,000 people that have come out of New Orleans and Katrina before you bring them in to your community and your house. I would bet money, that nobody has done anything like that.

It just burns me that someone would have an issue with individual recognition of the "boy from the East Prairie football team." Historically individuals have always received praise and have been written about from the high school to professional level. If this weren't true, we wouldn't know such distinguished players such as Jason Aycock and Chris Johnson who were phenomenal players for EPE in their day. Recognize individuals, does not take credit away from the team. Paris Tipler has raw exceptional talent that could take him all the way possibly pro. I am sure if we could do that, and adults would not hold him back he could do it. I am proud of the EPE team as a whole, but I am discouraged because it is hard for African-American kids to get praise without a father. I am just a concerned aunt and I am proud of you. Keep up the good work.