SpeakOut 6/27

Thursday, June 27, 2002

Call 471-6636

I'm calling in reference to an article that President Bush wants by the end of the decade to help fund home ownership. In his article, he wants to help poor families, black and Hispanic, to buy their own homes. In my opinion, they have already gotten enough help - free housing, food stamps, Medicaid, assistance on utilities and telephones and vehicles if they need mechanical work. I'm 100 percent for helping someone if they can't work and are beyond being able to keep the maintenance on their homes. Who are they going to call when they have trashed the house, knocked doors and walls in, break windows and tear storm doors off at the doors? The landlord? And Bush wants a $200 expansion to the American Dream down payment fund and who will pay for that? It will go into a program of grants to fix the homes that the people have torn up. Before this program goes into effect, there should be a survey on how many of those poor families actually have a 40-hour a week job. There should be government funding or grants for landlords to be able to fix their houses up after the tenants move out. Then maybe the west end of Sikeston would have a better appearance. The President and our judicial system needs to get into the real world.

I was wondering about the white gravel roads. Has anyone ever checked into the health hazard the dust creates? On Country Road I35 in East Prairie, it is so bad you can't see the house in front of you. The chemicals the farmers go down this road and you can't stand to be in the yard. You are covered with this stuff and I can't breathe. Who do you contact about this health hazard? Would the Environmental Protection Agency have anything to do with this? Who do I contact?

You can call the Environmental Protection Agency Region 7 at (913) 551-7020 and ask for Jon Knodel or Ward Burns; or visit www.epa.gov//region07

Can someone tell me where the SEMO Motor Speedway is? I see where they're having a special guest on Aug. 13 but they didn't tell where it's at.

It is off Highway H in Blodgett.

I would like to thank three wonderful ladies who helped my brother and me today at Ferguson Medical Group. They were really nice. Chivalry is not completely dead in the city of Sikeston. You know who I'm talking about.

I see we have potential new members in the Butt Check Club in the City of Miner. It appears that recent legislation, sponsored by Sen. Peter Kinder and Rep. Peter Myers, that the City of Miner can sit on its butt and get a check out of the tourism tax. The way I understand it, the money could be used for the general operations budget and not the original tourism tax that was passed. To be eligible for the Butt Check Club, the residents of Miner would have to vote to approve this. I'm sure it will go through because I can't imagine anybody not voting to sit on their butts and get a check.