Speak Out: Riled up about road closures
May 21, 2012 7:26PM
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Updated: July 1, 2012 12:42PM
Riled up about road closures: They’ve got Big Timber Road closed in order to fix that itty bitty bridge. It will probably take them all year to fix that. Now I’ve noticed they are working on Tyrrell Road in Gilberts, which is the detour route. Who thinks up this stuff?
Education in America: This is regarding the caller who said the average college graduate will make a million dollars more in their lifetime. Did the caller ever hear of teachers? Teachers don’t make anywhere near that, and they have to have at least a four-year degree — or oftentimes a master’s degree — in order to make anything decent. In other countries, college is just like high school. There is one in every major community, and they pay the same price as they pay for grade school, middle school or high school. (In America), you pay for a better education so you can have a better job, teach our children, and be competitive with countries like China and Japan that are passing us up in math and science. Everything today is about making money and profiting off of everybody to the point that the average person can’t function. Corporate greed is just wrong.
Unfair punishment: I read in the paper today where a person stole $3,000 from the city of Elgin. She got caught, lost her job, made restitution, and received two years’ probation. If I stole $3,000 from my employer, I’d probably be in jail. How is this justice? People steal from the city and get a slap on the wrist. The little man hasn’t got a chance. Poor people get the shaft.
Focus on priorities: Now that our commander in chief endorses gay marriages, does it mean I’m going to get a job and our economy is going to get better? Why don’t we just focus on priorities once in a while like every American family does every day?
Whistling train is not a pain: I’m calling about the train whistle. Why are people complaining? I lie in bed at night, and I’m an older person who has trouble falling asleep. But when I hear that train whistle, it’s such a soothing sound to me no matter how many times they sound it. I hope it never stops.
Learn the language: We teach Spanish to Spanish-speaking children at School District U46 for three years. When they came to America, my great-grandparents had to stay on Ellis Island until they learned English. Voting ballots are in Spanish? Do they teach the U.S. Constitution in Spanish? They have to be American citizens to vote, don’t they? The YWCA has English as a second language class, and most customer services have bilingual people to serve them. Why would a Spanish-speaking person want to learn English? There are so many opportunities, but we’re not helping them at all.
Code enforcement question: Does Elgin still have a code enforcement office? I called, but all I get is a recording. Parts of the town look terrible. A friend on the east side of Elgin thinks the code department hasn’t been in operation over there for the last two years. I live on the west side, and I’m seeing it happen over here. Does code enforcement still exist?
Editor’s note: It’s possible you were too impatient to wait for someone to answer. You likely heard a recording asking you to hold until someone could talk to you. With this economy, the city can’t staff itself to always have someone available to immediately answer every call.
