Speakout 6/28

How do you choose which SpeakOut comments go in the newspaper? I called about the Mississippi County Courthouse not closing for Mr. Reagan's funeral.

Your SpeakOut comment was printed on June 20.

I strongly disagree with the Mississippi County resident who shamed the Mississippi County Courthouse for not being closed. I feel President Reagan was a very great president, but we already have President's Day when everything is closed. That should be efficient. We don't close for John F. Kennedy, who was a great president, or Abraham Lincoln. If we closed for all the presidents, when would anybody be working. We pay enough now for people to get the day off. President's Day is enough. Nothing should have been closed for that day.

Why is the town, Charleston, that I love, is now like the wild, wild west? When I was growing up there was love and peace and happiness, even though it was a one-horse town. When I thin of home I think of Charleston, But now it's not the same. Is it the change of times or what? The only rivalry we had there was in sports. They have not had a state championship in basketball since I left. My one question is, what can be done to save the youth there? Or, I wonder, is it too late? Just last month we lost two young men to violence in less than 24 hours. Yes, I said "we." That's the way it was when I was there. The whole town knew each other. One cried and we all cried. Back then, no one was left out. We didn't go bang-bang. What is becoming of my home?

It is about time we stand up for our community. The so-called "big names" in Charleston always get what they want. The don't have to support our community, but they always get their way. They take their children to Sikeston to play sports. They don't support our local teams. They can be leaders in our community, but they don't have to put their children on our sports teams or in our schools. They can be our administrators in our schools, but they don't have to live in our town. If Charleston is not good enough for your kids to play on the sports teams, move. If Charleston is not good enough for you to live here, work in the school where you live. Either support Charleston all the way or don't take support from Charleston.

There are two wagons that go down my street selling ice cream and snow cones, etc., but they don't stop at the houses. They play their music and roll on by and the kids and parents and grandparent's don't have time to get to them and they're not going to let the kids run out into the middle of the road. If these people want to sell something, stop in front of the houses and don't just keep going by real slowly.