SPEAKOUT

Monday, January 14, 2002

Call 471-6636

As sad as it is that two people were killed and two others injured in the recent collision involving a Scott County deputy sheriff, to me it is not too surprising. I've predicted for a long time now that it will happen on Highway 77 between Benton and Interstate 55. I live in that area, and it is not at all uncommon to see the deputy sheriffs' cars passing at unbelievable speeds heading toward the interstate. Anyone leaving or returning home, pets or children on bicycles or walking are in real dangers from these vehicles along that section of Highway 77. It is too hard to judge the distance they travel in such a short time when going at such speeds. Maybe it's time for this to stop.

Would someone at the Standard please tell Derek James to calm down, take a deep breath and think about what he's writing! His ramblings about the Sikeston-Charleston game were hilarious. His babbling would lead you to believe that Charleston is the best 2A team in the history of high school basketball - that would trounce any 3A or 4A team - except, of course, for those dynamic, rise-to-the-occasion Sikeston Bulldogs. As a matter of fact, if you missed the sentence that stated Charleston actually won the game 56-55, you would have thought Sikeston stomped them by 20 or 30 points, based on ol' Derek's glowing review. Get a life and get real, James. Both teams are fair to good at best, which does make for a good game against each other. But don't try to blow smoke up our wazoos and make it sound like Sikeston could compete with a team like, say, New Madrid County Central. Just accept the fact that has been obvious for many years now - Sikeston's athletics are in a shambles, and there is no big turnaround looming on the horizon. You're just wasting good ink trying to make them sound better than what they are, the biggest 3A school in the state that can't compete with 2A teams.