Speakout 4/10

Monday, April 10, 2006

I have a very long SpeakOut. Dear Mr. Jensen, We receive the Standard-

Democrat and we read about the new ethanol plant and were happy to hear about the 55-65 new jobs that are very much needed in this community. However, I was very disappointed in reading the Bulldog Barker that construction of the math and science building had been halted and the Standard-Democrat was not the least bit curious as of why. You will recall that the School Board and the school administration came to the patrons and taxpayers of our school district and asked that we pass a bond to build a new math and science building and make general repairs to the high school building. You will also recall that the school made a very big deal of hiring a consulting firm to advise them of the needs of this school district or perhaps it was a feasibility study. Some questions you might ask on behalf of the citizens of the R-6 School District: Is it legal to use money from construction bonds in the operating budget of the school? Are those funds not supposed to be kept separate? Why did the school board and our superintendent of schools not inform the public earlier that they were not going to finish the math and science building on time as promised? Now they are saying that they are hoping that someone will step forward and donate the money to finish the project. The question is why didn't they ask that someone before they asked the citizens to pass the bond issue? If the feasibility study made the front page news in your newspaper, why didn't the halting of the proposed school construction make headline news?

In the Sunday, April 2 edition of The Standard-Democrat it explains that the first seven pages of the Bulldog Barker were April Fool's Day articles.

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Well, the ole taxpayers are being played for suckers again here in Sikeston. The children came home from school today and told me that there ain't gonna be no new math and science center built after we passed a bond issue. I voted for it. Now they say they don't have the money to build it. What did they do with our money? Did they go to the gambling boat? Would you please find out for us why they aren't going to build our new math and science building and what they did with every penny of that money? Not with just a dollar, but with every penny.

Repeating, it was a Bulldog Barker April Fool's joke.

This is to the person who is acting like the owner of Squiggles and Giggles skipped town with her money and clothes. We definitely are still here. This is Susan Cooper, one of the owners. You would have found us. Sorry, we weren't hiding. We closed in January due to health problems I was having. Now, please put your name and number in SpeakOut and I will contact you.

A comment about the April Fool's Joke in the Sikeston Bulldog Barker school newspaper. For generations and generations the true measure of an April Fool joke has been how many people are fooled. The students deserve an A. People lighten up.

This if for all the people who handle food. It is a good idea to wear plastic gloves. If you handle money with gloves on, you are supposed to throw them away before handling the food again.