SPEAKOUT

Call 471-6636

I'd like to SpeakOut about the homeless shelter here in Sikeston, where people move in and out. A young lady was there with two children and they had head lice. She went in to ask them to give her something for it because she has no way of going anywhere. They told her she's on her own and she developed it at the shelter and it seems nobody can help her. There are roaches in the place and they get into the beds and the heating is not adequate and not fixed half the time. I think somebody needs to be overseer of this place and try to fix it or do something about it.

We contacted the Delta Area Economic Opportunity Corporation (DAEOC) with your information. "In response to the submission made by the concerned citizen in regards to the Domestic/Homeless Shelter, DAEOC would like to provide information concerning the complaint and a personal rebuttal from the family mentioned in the column. DAEOC contracts services with Scott Blake Pest Control and sprays the shelter on a monthly basis. We did have a unit of which the heater was not working, however an alternate heating source was provided until a new heater was installed by Western Auto on Dec. 18, 2001. The mother of the family submitted the following statement: 'I am responding to the report made about the woman and the two children. Yes, I did have head lice, DAEOC referred me to the Health Department and the Rescue Mission and they could not help me because they had run out of the medication. So the staff at DAEOC went out and got it for me. I was never without heat. DAEOC has helped me out a lot. They even let me stay longer until I got my money so I could have a roof over mine and my children's head and provided food. Therefore, they have helped me out.'"

I see there's been another right-wing Republican conspiracy. This time they've gone as far as to kill "Buddy," President Clinton's beloved companion. This assassination just shows how heartless the GOP truly is. This is obviously an inside plot, considering that Buddy was guarded supposedly by the Secret Service. I call for an independent counsel, headed up by the ACLU to conduct a thorough investigation of this. Obviously, there is dirty work at hand.