Speakout 3/4

Thursday, March 4, 2004

To all of you who read SpeakOut, we should be aware that one of our judges in the Scott County Courthouse is honest and fair, but gives no favors. He judges everyone the way the law should, regardless of what it is. My son was in his court several times and the judge let him out on a P.R. Bond because my son fell and broke his hip. Being released helped him get the proper care. After he could, my son went in for his sentencing and was given five years in the Department of Corrections, where he is now. Believe me, I miss my son greatly. It is very hard to see my grandson cry for his Daddy, but at least he knows one day his Dad will come back to stay. I have no regrets for the judge's ruling. This could have saved my son's life. He is earning his GED, going to all drug treatment programs and my son will tell you he will not be going back to prison ever again - he has learned the hard way and has admitted to himself not to choose the life of drugs. Since he has been in prison, I have had calls from some of his former running buddies asking for his address so they could write to him. When he called home and I told him who asked for his address, he said, "Mom, I don't want any contact with none of those people." That makes me very proud to know he is man enough to admit he was wrong. I can assure you that when he comes out, he will be a different person with a different outlook on life and appreciate his freedom and the people and devoted Christians who really love him. So even if a lot of people feel hard over the judge's ruling, think to yourself, where would your kid be tonight? Possibly dead from drugs or hurting someone else's if he hadn't been sent to prison. Thank you, Judge (David) Dolan for being the honest judge you are. - A Mom

To the person who has become judge, jury and executioner, condemning all Democrats, if you were an intelligent and informed person, you would know that not all Democrats in office are for these things. You must be one of those uneducated blind people who vote for your party, no matter who or what they do. It is very easy to look at the voting record of a politician. It is easy to sit on your butt and criticize, but what you do about it is what counts, and I don't mean name-calling. If you are against something, do you write, e-mail and call your incumbents? Saying you're against something is nothing. If you sit by and let things happen without speaking out where it counts, you have no right to complain or name call. Saying "What can I do?" is a copout. Right now, you have one atheist suing to get the prayers out of the inaugural speech. What are you doing about it? Right now you have the gay marriage issues. The multitude can change things easier than one or two people. However, the multitude chose to do nothing but complain. So you can sit on your butt and name call each other or you can do something for what you believe in.

Mike, you have certainly been a proponent of the Sunshine Law, and I applaud you for that. It seems that LCRA needs more of that very Sunshine. The Feb. 24 news of LCRA stated that they went into "closed executive session to make their picks." It seems to me that selecting which property is to be torn down and when is the very process that needs the most Sunshine. I have read the Sunshine Law and find nothing in it that justifies an executive session for this purpose. As that old song from "Hair" says "Let the Sunshine In." Secondly, we have been told that tax money will not be spent to tear down property for landlords. I think that would imply we won't tear down property for someone simply to save them that cost. Yet that appears to be exactly what was discussed relative to the old Coca-Cola buildings. The news implied that we are considering the demolition of one or more of those buildings while they are still owned by the Catholic Church. I would say we should not go there.

According to the National News Service, Vermont Gov. Dean's salary was $86,000 per year. According to local news services, Sikeston's city manager and clerk make more than Gov. Dean. According to this Sikeston resident, it's time for an attitude, salary and personnel adjustment by the city.

KSIM 1400 AM Sikeston is the best medium on arrest in our area no matter who, or how prominent they are. When the big boys get in trouble, and it manages to stay hush-hush in the docket and local paper. KSIM is on top of their game. If I hear it on the radio and do not see it in the paper, that just tells me where the local special interest is. Two plus two still equals four.

I would like to SpeakOut about the people in town who are so concerned about little creatures running around who have no dog house. Why don't you take in that little dog (or all the other dogs and cats running around town? You have nothing better to do than look out your window all the time. Also, it seems like people can't wait to announce in the paper when they have illegitimate children. So you made a mistake. Do we all have to know who he is? He is going to have a hard enough time as it is.