Speakout 8/25

Does the City of Sikeston own the wheat fields off Ables Road? I'm curious because for the last month or so I've seen a SBMU tanker truck and what looks like some sort of soil injector, putting chemicals in the soil out there. If the City of Sikeston doesn't own that property, what is the city charging the property owner for the work they're doing out there? If they're not charging the owner, I want to know who has authorized all this stuff at the taxpayers' expense.

First of all, the Sikeston Board of Municipal Utilities and the City of Sikeston are separate entities. The city does not own the land we believe you are referring to. We think you have observed the BMU's "nurse truck," an 18-wheeler that hauls sludge out to an applicator which injects it into the fields. Or maybe you saw the applicator itself. But BMU does not charge the landowners to put sludge in their soil. "We're required by EPA and DNR to get rid of the sludge," explained a BMU official. They are also restricted on how much sludge then can put in each acre.

George Bush joined the National Guard with the influence of his Congressman father, jumping ahead of a long line of other men, despite a 25 percent score on his pilot aptitude test, and despite a series of driving convictions that should have required a special waiver. He was commissioned an officer despite having no pilot experience, no time in the ROTC, and without attending Officer Training School. And then he went missing for a year. Before we start pulling retired soldiers out of their beds and putting them on planes to Iraq, maybe Bush could make up those missing months remaining on his military obligation.

I got my paper awhile ago and I just get so sick and tired of people complaining. They complain about this, they complain about that. People sit on their butts and wait for that paper and if they don't get it just when they think they ought to get it, they call SpeakOut and start griping. We have a good bunch out there at the paper place. I know, because I get my paper every day. The carrier brings it and they are very, very nice. There's always somebody complaining, somebody running Mike Jensen down. I don't know Michael Jensen, but I'll tell you one thing. He's a gentleman and they need to keep their mouths shut about him, just like they do a few of these other things they sit on their butt and gripe about. I'm sorry. I wasn't going to call SpeakOut, but I had to say my piece.

I keep getting two charities that want me to donate through the mail and I want to be sure they aren't scams. "Paralyzed Veterans of America" in Wilton, N.H., and also "Disabled American Veterans" in Cincinnati, Ohio. I would like to know if these are good charities to contribute to.

We looked up both organizations on the Internet. Disabled American Veterans has three major locations listed on its Website, one in Cincinnati. Paralyzed Veterans of America has several sites you can log on to if you have access to the Internet. You can also visit the Sikeston Public Library and use their Internet services to look up these organizations. Another option would be to call American Legion Post 114 at 471-9956 or VFW Post 3174 at 471-7575 for information.

I am proud of the State of Illinois. I saw on CNN News on Aug. 17 where the Illinois government is the first state to start receiving less expensive prescription drugs, not only from Canada, but they are also receiving prescription drugs from the United Kingdom. Prescription drugs in Illinois will be about 60 to 70 percent cheaper than what we pay in the United States of America. These drugs are made by the same pharmaceutical companies, the same kind of drugs we are paying outrageous prices for. Why is the FDA not wanting these drugs to come into the United States? I understand there are a few states who have lawsuits filed against the FDA for keeping these drugs out of the United States because the pharmaceutical companies want drugs to stay so expensive here in this country. We have a choice. We can either take what income we have to buy food or take what income we have to buy medication. We can't afford both.