SpeakOut 9/17

Call 471-6636

In the Sept. 10 Standard Democrat entitled "Neighbors in need," there was a woman who needed a sofa and her neighbor needed a chair. I have those items, but I called the number that was in there but the phone has been disconnected. If she can leave another number in SpeakOut, I will be happy to contact her.

The number is 472-1172. Service was temporarily out of order but has been restored.

In reference to "Cemetery needs attention," well, I drive past that cemetery twice a day and have never seen that cemetery look the way the caller claimed. In fact, I know the guy who takes care of it and know for a fact that he has had it done since Monday.

I'm calling about the article, "Cemetery needs attention." Whoever the caller is, you are very mistaken. Mounds Park Cemetery is always mowed, the grass is never, ever knee high. Apparently you're in the wrong cemetery or there is something wrong with your eyes. I know the gentleman who mows the cemetery and has mowed it for several years. He stays right on top of it. Sometimes he mows it three times a month and it only gets paid for it twice. Maybe you should consider paying him or mow it yourself if you're that unhappy.

The call may have come in before the work was done. It often takes several days for SpeakOut comments to be published.

What is going on with the City of Morley shooting dogs? It seems that any dog they see running in town, they shoot them and this is against the law. If anyone has a dog, don't move to Morley. We need to find out what's going on up there.

We contacted the City of Morley with your concern and our call was returned by the police officer involved in the incident. On Sept. 4, a Morley woman was trying to get into her home to get away from two stray dogs in her yard. The victim told the officer the dogs were barking, growling and acting like they were going to attack her. As she ran back into her home to get away from the animals, she fell and was injured. "We got a call to pick up the dogs," the officer said. The officer, along with the dog catcher, found the dogs and they had no collars or tags. When the officer and dog catcher tried to pick them up, the dogs ran. So they continued their pursuit of the animals. "When I tried to pick up the black dog, it snapped at me like it was going to bite me," the officer continued. "The dog catcher shot the dog in my defense." The other dog got away. The report is documented with the City of Morley. Owners were not notified because there was no identification on the dog. "I reported the incident to the Scott County Sheriff's Department. According to the sheriff, the action taken by the dog catcher was legal since it was in defense of a human being." The Morley officer said the dog was given a proper burial.

The reason we haven't seen anything on the news or in the paper about the alleged child molester in Charleston is because it seems like in Mississippi County, your best chance of being prosecuted is if you are poor or black, or both. This man is neither. What you're looking for on the internet can be found at casenet.osca.state.mo.us/casenet. The filing date was August 6, 2003, criminal cases in Mississippi County Circuit Court. That's how I found out the identity of this man, and I'm sure other parents are curious too. Let's protect our kids, not this man's identity.