SpeakOut 2/11

Call 471-6636

It really saddens me to see that so many young and middle aged men and women there in Sikeston are landing residency in prison. Every time I read the online newspaper from that area, a certain percent of news is, whose home the Feds or local Police Office bust! What is really going on down there? First of all, how in the world are the officials allowing the drugs to enter such a small town? Is this a game of the higher man bringing in the drugs and let the poor so-to-speak make a few dollars, go on a trip or two and then send in the Feds to bust them and next they are doing six to 15 years in the federal prison? From what I see and hear, clearly we have a psychology vs. sociology war going on here. Nature vs. nurture war has taken place and to add to that a conflict social, which happens to place the people of Sikeston on the Macro levels. Now, I would expect a larger city with such problems as this, but a small town where you know my grandfather and I know yours?

Come on now, as far as I can remember you can ride from one end of the town to the next within 15 minutes. Next, where are the jobs? We must remember that everyone is not, and I say not, college bound! I know here in the state of Wisconsin, Chicago, New York, etc., you would expect this type of behavior, I can go as far as to say that prison is what we call a baby booming business here! Prison has became the number one slave trade here and there is no respectable color either. However, that's like a rat is in the hat coming from a town as small as Sikeston! In order to stop some of this, you first have to start with the Head, attack the Head and then you can work with the body. The people who are selling these drugs do not have the money to bring this deadly weapon in the town. Remember that. There needs to be more jobs and jobs that can pay enough to take care of a family. Again, everyone is not college bound, but that don't mean they're dumb! It only means I may be better with my hands than a book or computer. I was once told it take the grass roots to bring about a change. So it's time for the grass roots to stand together and fight. And, by all means I am not saying it's okay to sell drugs or rob, No it's wrong, but in most cases the first thing a person says when you ask them why they did what they did, they will tell you I could not get a job where I can feed and pay my rent on time. So just maybe If there were more jobs created it might help make a change. Please create more jobs, encourage the people to work together. This is my opinion only.

I noticed in the paper some people that complained about the mayor and the trash in the roads. The mayor is so worried about cleaning up trash in this town. Why isn't he worried about jobs in this town? I wish the mayor would get to work and get some businesses. Everything is moving out of Sikeston into other counties. Please get some jobs in this town so I can quit driving to Cape everyday.

I know your policy against so-called profanity, but I know no other way to express this. Thank you for printing the article detailing the story of the dogs rescued from Michael Vick's home in Atlanta. I don't consider myself a violent person, but after reading of the tortures my heart rate went up and I'm overcome with rage. I want to beat that s.o.b. Vick and anyone else that treats animals that way to death. Give me a bat and hold the &%#$. I noticed some people running ads for free Pit Bull puppies in your paper. I think you Mr. Editor should make it your personal policy not to accept or run ads for free animals, particularly Pit Bills. You have to know, and so does everyone, the possible and probable fate of those poor puppies. If the football league plays that *&$# again, I hope their stadiums are torn down. I don't want another *&$# dime spent on a group of so-called business men that make psychopaths rich and powerful. It's obviously an organization that has no morals whatsoever.

Larry Elder's column entitled A Democat or Republican was smart, immature and inaccurate as usual. But remember this when you vote Missourians, it's the Republicans that are crowing about the value of human life, but they're the ones who slashed Medicaid, leaving the disabled, parents and children to suffer. Matt Blunt would not even meet with disability activists. It wasn't just Matt Blunt that was wrong. No one in the Republican Party made a visible effort to stop this callousness. Voting Republican is against the interest of the common man and woman.

I am a Standard Democrat subscriber. I read your paper everyday and have for a long time. Hats off to your program, you have a good one, except for your Sports Department. This is to your big-time sports writer, if you call him that. Yeah, I mean the one and only Josh Mills. Where'd you get that rookie? I give credit to the varsity Sikeston basketball team, Michael Porter is a one-man team. You did beat the Portageville Bulldog boys on a Saturday afternoon. I agree, give credit where it's due. Now let's get to the varsity Portageville basketball state ranked girls game against your Sikeston Lady Bulldog squad. Again, Mr. Mills, give credit where it's due. The Lady Bulldogs of Portageville were cremating your Lady Bulldogs of Sikeston. We beat you two times as bad as the boys beat us. Get your sports desk together and get Mr. Moore back. At least Mr. Moore would come down to our house in Portageville Bulldog country and cover the sports the way they need to be covered.

Mike, I know you are an expert on getting roads and bridges fixed. Well, Highway N in Scott County close to Cargill is being worn out. And surprisingly the road is really wearing out on the side where the loaded trucks are going in toward Cargill. After they're empty, it's not worn out as much. Wonder how that works? Do all you can to fix our roads.

I am so sick and tired of Sikeston Schools. I went all through this school system when Lynn Twitty was superintendent. And you know, I thought maybe things would change, but they haven't. The superintendents here still do not care about the students, or the parents or the grandparents. They have to get out in inclement weather and go after these children. When the weather is bad, like it was Jan. 31 with the sleet and all, the least they could do is have the same care and compassion for their students as other schools in our surrounding area and call school off early. But evidently, they don't. It's time that Sikeston has a heart for their students like the schools surrounding them do.