Speakout 6/22

Tuesday, June 22, 2004

I am going to ask again, these people putting their garbage and trash on the sidewalk a week before pickup time. The trash blows everywhere in other people's yards, the dogs tear the trash bags open, the rotting garbage is everywhere. It is close to the front porch. They will drive through it with their vehicle and not pick it up. Do these people have a hang-up of some kind?

How come it's OK for a farmer to burn 400 acres of wheat stubble and pollute the air, but if I try to burn a pile of leaves the code enforcement officer comes down to put it out? Can someone from the federal or state government answer this for me?

The city of Sikeston has an ordinance in place about burning within the city limits. So your question is for the city, not federal or state issues. Call code enforcement at 471-2512.

Does anyone know what teams Fernando Vina and Eli Marrero are playing on now?

Vina is playing for the Detroit Tigers and Marrero is playing for the Atlanta Braves.

I would like to comment on the sales tax that was overwhelmingly passed in Cape Girardeau. No wonder this relieves the citizens of Cape of a burden on their part because everyone who shops there will be paying their share of the sales tax, therefore, leaving them with much less to pay. It's nice to have nice fire departments and increases for their police and firemen, but the citizens in the rest of the state who shop there do not benefit from it.

On Sept. 8, 1892, the Youth Companion magazine published the pledge to the American flag, written by Francis Bellamy. It was sent to schools across the country and, on Columbus Day 1892, more than 12 million children recited the pledge. The original pledge read as follows: "I pledge allegiance to my flag and to the republic for which it stands. One nation, indivisible with liberty and justice for all." At the first National Flag Conference in 1923, a change was made to clarify which flag was honored by the pledge. The words "the flag of the United States of America" replaced my flag. The pledge grew in popularity during World War II. In 1942, Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance by adopting it as part of the flag code. The words "under God" were added in 1954 and remain today a daily ritual among school children. The Pledge of Allegiance is a treasured American tradition. God help us all.

To the people who walk their dogs on MacDougal Street, you need to use a pooper scooper to pick up after your dogs after they use the bathroom on the sidewalks. You wouldn't want others to let their dogs use your sidewalks.