Speakout 1/20

I just came from Wal-Mart and their was a young boy out there working and trying to get all those old carts in. It was sprinkling rain, cold and the wind was blowing. I think it would be nice if we would take our carts back to where they have a place for them so they won't have to run all over the lot and pick them up here and there. Besides, it messes our cars up sometime, and gets them scratched up. Think about the other person once in a while and put your carts back where they belong.

I was just reading SpeakOut and was surprised to see that someone thinks that teachers get paid too much money. They have a very tough job. They have to teach a lot of the students things that they should have learned at home. Maybe we should use some of the tax money on streets and potholes that they used to build the new jail in Benton. There were 13 violations in last night's paper of drunken driving and no driver's license. Was not one of them issued a day or two in jail? If not, they should have to spend one or two weekends in jail. That's stupid. Some of the speeders on Ables Road and I

-55, make them pay fines and let that go on the roads and potholes.

I'm calling in regards to the no smoking, no joking editorial that was printed on Wed. Jan. 11. For number one, they've been caught committing a crime and they are convicts. Number two, why should people have to pay for their cigarettes. I don't think it's fair that convicts get to have everything that we get to have on the outside. When you go to jail aren't you supposed to lose your rights?

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I'm calling in about the no smoking in the jails. I support this because I believe once a person goes to jail they have lost all of their rights. Not only this, but also it causes a hardship on the families having to support them while they are in jail. They have to send money to pay for the cigarettes.

To the teacher and Mr. Blunt both. The teacher who started out $24,000 five years ago and Mr. Blunt, I'd like to tell you both that I think you need to step down and not worry so much about these schools. You need to worry about these older people that are on fixed incomes. You cut Medicare and you are leading toward the teachers and these schools. You better stop and realize that these older people that are on Medicare paid taxes years ago that are paying these teachers' salaries. Mr. Blunt and you need to realize that there are other people, too. Yes, I would like to come in and set down in your classroom. From what I understand today, these teachers are making more than they did 30 or 40 years ago and they're having teacher's aides so they don't have to do it all. They also have a pension plan. Not many people can retire in 30 years. Either stick it out or get another work field. You can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. You have better health plans than these Medicare people have. You are not paying insurance, the taxpayers are. I don't think you have a thing to worry about. You should have to work and sweat in a factory where you make minimum wage. You'd think $24,000 was a whole lot starting out. Teachers make enough. Older people should be on the top and teachers and schools on the bottom. Hey $24,000 teacher, you are probably sitting in your classroom drinking coffee and eating a candy bar. You probably don't even help the slow kids.

I read in the Mississippi County Reporting Eagle last week that the Detention Center in Mississippi County had made more money this year than they had made in the six previous years. Where is our grand jury? In SpeakOut a few weeks ago, you stated that only Judge Dolan had the right to call the Grand Jury. When is he planning on doing this? And if he doesn't intend to call a Grand Jury, then why not? As a taxpayer, I would really like to know where all the money that the state audit found missing went to.