Letters To The Editor

SPOKANE MATTERS

Health district phone system from hell

I recently had to contact the Spokane County Health District and found no one home.

I called the information line and got a recording. I called the emergency number and got a recording. I called the business office and got a recording. I was given a variety of numbers to call by a voice speaking at warp 10, and wasn’t able to write them down.

I then started at the beginning of the departments listed in the telephone directory and called the first seven numbers - all recordings.

Is the public being served?

I was fortunate enough to call the lab and spoke briefly with a young lady who transferred me to a recording. After 17 attempts, I threw my hands up and called the commissioners’ office. I was given a number not listed in the directory. Phone call No. 19 was of no help and I was transferred to phone call 20.

This system is a disservice to the health district employees who must deal with a very frustrated public. The anger is brought on by the health district’s idiocy.

I don’t believe for a minute this system is cost-effective. This system is not just extremely bad management, it’s a blatant insult to the public.

I can only speak for myself, but I deserve better.

I should be able to call the information line and have a human direct me to the appropriate department not listed in the directory. Do the words “customer service” mean anything? Linda Becker Veradale

Officials should be replaced

The voting and especially the non-voting public have a lot to answer for these days.

First, we have a congressman who thinks food inspection regulations should be weakened. How soon he’s forgotten the children who died from E. coli contamination, and those who will suffer for the rest of their lives.

Second, we have a county commissioner who thinks he knows everything and doesn’t stop talking long enough to learn anything. This has to explain why he followed the other commissioner in ridding the county of employees with the best minds and abilities. Some guys just can’t stand smarter guys or, worse yet, smarter women.

Then there’s the coroner. He gets no respect, and for very good reason. He fails to recognize his own limitations while complaining about those who are capable. I suggest the doctor sit back, collect his check and let those who care about public safety do the job.

We only have ourselves to blame for these fiascoes. Let’s hope people will be concerned enough during the next election to correct the wrongs created by these folks. Blame yourself if you vote and don’t know enough about the person you’re voting for, or worse yet, don’t vote at all. Kari Bailey Spokane

Commissioners doing harm

The recent elimination of key personnel at the county courthouse causes me great concern. I’m sure it affects employee morale and production.

We have two commissioners causing havoc to favor the developers. In addition, I read about their intent to dismantle the health district and take over the transit system.

Hopefully, the employees will organize within their union and stop this senselessness. Gary McKernan Spokane

Make paper thieving legal

I am really upset about the July 22 article on so-called paper thieves.

We hear so much about the “city with a heart” helping people. But heaven forbid they help themselves.

Seems to me it would be better to let people do what they can to help themselves than give them handouts.

I am sure the good residents who turned them in would feel they did their duty if they gave a donation to help the poor, but that is only once in a while.

Selling cans and newspapers can provide a more steady income. I know one man whose only income is that. This man cleans around garbage cans and trash bins when he finds a mess.

Now, Mr. Anderson, tell us who needs the money - this man or the city? The city with a heart, remember.

As for me, I am like the three monkeys: I hear no recycling truck, I see no truck, I don’t use the bin. Rachel Ward Spokane

City hogs recycling action

Your recent story about people stealing newspapers from curbside or alley recycling bins triggers my longtime belief that it is about time that private citizens, rather than the city, should be able to augment their incomes by taking advantage of the high prices now being paid for recycled products - especially newsprint and aluminum cans.

The City Council imposed an unwanted charge for a blue box. Then the council created an agency that knows nothing about recycling. It defines plastic and then won’t take it. It refuses to take cans with labels still on and cans that aren’t crushed. That is stupidity!

There is a young boy in our neighborhood who comes around once a week and asks if we have any aluminum cans. He’s about 12 and is trying to help his family. We give him all of our cans because we would rather see him do something for his family or himself than give them to the city and not have anyone reimbursed for them. We would do the same with our newspapers and magazines if anyone wanted them.

We feel the city should pay us for our valuable recyclables. We are being ripped off. And remember, the city now plans to impose a new charge of $40 or $50 for garbage cans we never wanted. Eileen Delia Klett Spokane

RITALIN

We know Ritalin as a godsend

We found your article on Ritalin very informative. However, a few areas were not covered.

There was no mention of the long-term effects of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Without medication, these children can’t grow up to be responsible adults. Undiagnosed children have a higher tendency toward drug abuse, sexual assault and other criminal activity.

Self-esteem is at an extremely low level. The suicide rate for young adults is extremely high when medication hasn’t been used or is prematurely discontinued.

Like any behavior modification drug, Ritalin can be very effective, but can also be a bad experience. Close monitoring by a physician is essential.

Our son was 1-1/2 years old when we were told he was hyperactive. We refused to accept the diagnosis - until we could no longer deny it.

He was removed from kindergarten three times in two months. At 6 years old he told me, “I want to die.” Our worst nightmare had come true, and he was put on a drug called Cylert.

The problems continued and we were faced with deciding whether or not to put him on Ritalin. It was the toughest decision we’ve ever had to struggle with.

Within three months of putting him on Ritalin, he could read. You could have a conversation with him. It was like finally meeting our son and the person we knew he could be.

The bottom line is this: After reading your article, we turned to our son and asked, “Do you think your medication helps you?”

He responded with a very loud “yes!” Paul and Angela Clarry Spokane

Don’t decide in haste

Attention Deficit Disorder, like manic depression or schizophrenia, is difficult to diagnose but can be successfully treated. Your article could be perceived as biased or developed without current in-depth research for a person who was successfully treated.

In the context of Ready, Aim, Fire, there’s much research and information to support the effective treatment benefits for those with ADD. Like any other medical condition: learning about the condition, understanding the condition, types of treatment, medication side effects and having physician supervision would cover most misdiagnosis and potential abuse situations.

Kids with ADD sometimes have behavior control and defiant conditions. Your article might offer negative reference (ie. Should I take my medication?).

The ADD dilemma is currently a high research area. It’s getting a lot of press. People are looking for solutions, so don’t jump to conclusions. Take your time, study the information, get a second opinion, tap into the networks of knowledge. A great source is the ADD Forum on CompuServe. This forum allows you to access a tremendous amount of information and communicate with other people experiencing similar circumstances.

As parents, we must advocate for our children. Our doctors and teachers may not know much about these conditions. Having ADD has the same stigma as the ones associated with alcoholism. Don’t give up, there’s help.

My son and I take medication and benefit tremendously. Neither he nor I twitch, tremble or slobber. The young girl in the story who used (misused?) Ritalin was taking an excessive dose. WOW … R.J. Rubio Spokane

Ritalin issue a time bomb

From the excellent article on Ritalin and attention deficit disorder (ADD) by Susan Drumheller, I gathered these facts.

ADD is diagnosed by a description of behavior only - no biological tests can identify the difference between an ADD child and any other.

Ritalin is as powerful as methamphetamine, cocaine or heroin. No overall academic improvement is noted in children dosed with Ritalin. Long-term effects haven’t been carefully studied, but can include addiction and physical and psychological problems. Almost seven out of eight local students, referred to as ADD, get Ritalin. Idaho is the leading consumer in the nation.

Given these facts, ADD diagnosis sounds like a dangerous and easy way to get problem children a “sit still” pill. Other kids realize an easy way to legally get drugs is misbehave!

The long-term impact on the child and on society (the kids will grow up) is so potentially explosive, you’d think our local school board would have a carefully conceived and long debated policy. In fact, when I raised this question, Trustee Ed Adamchak warned me I’d be seen as a crackpot if I kept asking about this subject!

They deny the problem and claim they have no authority to even ask the administration how many kids are on Ritalin.

The one question not answered is why so few private and home school students take Ritalin. Have public schools allowed discipline to break down so badly that we need drugs to keep students quiet? Don Morgan Post Falls, Idaho

AGRICULTURE

Erosion not caused by ‘bad luck’

In his July 30 editorial in support of farm subsidies, Opinion editor John Webster appears oblivious to the more serious problem of environmental subsidies in the form of externalized costs and long-term resource degradation.

He complains farmers are overregulated and live in fear that an “arbitrary government enforcer” will strike lightening as a result of “bad luck with erosion.” Mr. Webster and farmers who share his complaint don’t know how lucky they are.

The breadbasket of The Spokesman-Review’s readership area is the Palouse, which has the distinction of having one of the highest soil erosion rates in the country. A few years ago it was reported a bushel of topsoil is eroded from the hills of the Palouse for every bushel of wheat produced. That soil ends up in road ditches, public waterways, and backed up behind the Snake River dams. This is a deliberate strategy of mining the soil for short-term gain, not a case of “bad luck.” The cost is borne by all of us.

Palouse farmers have made positive strides in reducing soil erosion, but it’s largely been because of government involvement. In effect, the government has begun to make subsidies contingent upon development of a conservation plan. This isn’t a case of arbitrary regulation, but rather a common-sense incentive system to make sure future generations of farmers and consumers continue to enjoy the bountiful fruits of the land. Steve Thompson Kalispell, Mont.

Give Jones a new assignment

I hope you will seriously consider replacing Grayden Jones with an individual eager to cover agriculture with fair and balanced reporting. The Spokesman owes the public quality coverage of an industry which represents 20 percent of Washington’s economy.

The July 23 articles were just the latest rebuff from Mr. Jones. Farmers and landowners (who may not be farm operators) were demeaned by the tone and innuendo. Sidebars on gender, deceased farmers, pioneers families, and “selected recipients” all implied government ag payments are handouts rather than contracts.

Admittedly, government payments may not be the best solution to a tangled problem, but where was the balance of information in these articles? Americans enjoy the safest, most abundant, cheapest supply of food in the world, due to efforts of the U.S. farmer. Everyone can enjoy pursuing various careers because we have farmers who grow food, so we don’t have to cultivate, gather, or hunt to meet the needs of our own families.

It’s apparent Mr. Jones doesn’t enjoy his assignment. He seems contemptuous of farmers and farm reporting. Please, let him move on to something which will bring him personal fulfillment, and let your readers have a breath of fresh air. Employ a reporter who’s enthusiastic about bringing the positive nature of agriculture to readers. Ag is important, none of us can live without it! Robyn Meenach Valleyford, Wash.

OTHER TOPICS

Stuttering is no laughing matter

Stuttering is a disease. No one really knows its cause, but the theory that’s most accepted is that it is neurological. Eighty-five percent of all stutterers are males.

Stuttering has affected my life, with people making fun of me. I couldn’t do all the things I wanted to do, such as answering questions in school. I am now at Eastern Washington University and trying to overcome my fears of stuttering and learn to manage it.

People should try to accept stutterers and not make fun of us because we can’t help it. Matt Davis Cheney

Theosophy notion has merit

Edwin G. Davis (Letters, July 20) says environmentalists are not conservationists. Wrong.

However, he may be correct when he says environmentalism is a theosophy - a philosophical or religious system based on intuitive knowledge of the divine.

To environmentalists, “divine” often means God or some form of higher being, such as the universal system tjat has created everything around us, including us. To some non-environmentalists, divine refers only to the capitalistic system they hold in sanctity above all else; that is their theosophy, since they feel God gave humans carte blanche here on Earth.

God would never have created pure rivers for us to pollute, clean air for us to poison, bountiful forests for us to ravage, unique species for us to eradicate.

The term “conservation” does apply to environmentalists. It also applies to many who make a living from extracting natural resources. It is wise management and the act of keeping free from depletion. However, the definition of conservation includes “keeping free from decay.” Growing old is part of living; forests do it, too. Let them.

Environmentalists believe that conservation is a practice that applies to more than bank accounts.

What many environmentalists fight for is adoption of a management plan under which all natural systems are allowed to continue, not only the ones endorsed by man; the conservation of abundant places where we keep our hands to ourselves and surrender control; a world free from pollution; and human population control. Patrick M. Murphy Mead

Extreme example makes a point

A July 25 letter, “Abortion technique speaks volumes,” described a broadcast about an abortionist grabbing a baby’s leg with forceps, delivering the entire baby except for the head, jamming scissors into the baby’s skull, spreading the scissors wide to insert a suction catheter, and suctioning the baby’s brain before delivering the dead child.

I heard the broadcast. The source describing the abortion was a nurse who assisted, who worked in an abortion clinic. This procedure is used when the baby is large enough to deliver alive, but the mother desires an abortion. It is used to circumvent the illegality of killing a delivered newborn. It is what Congress calls “partial birth abortion.”

The broadcast described the abortionist throwing the baby and bloodied instruments into a pan for disposal. The mother of the dead child asked to see it, so they wrapped it in a blanket and let her hold it. She held it, whispering through her tears, “I’m sorry.”

Every mother committing an abortion knows inside her heart that it is her own child she is killing. She knows it’s murder for convenience. Some mothers harden their hearts and rationalize it or, more often, bury it deep inside. Others grieve for the wrong they have done to their dead child.

These are the issues we must face: When is it right for one person to kill another simply because the one being killed is inconvenient? And when is the baby inside, heart beating, sucking a tiny thumb, not a person? Diane Loewen Moses Lake, Wash.

He’s all wet, but I still like Priggee

Once again, Staff cartoonist Milt Priggee’s on the hot seat. In my humble opinion, he’s on the wrong side of virtually every issue on which he takes a stand.

I find him to be naive, infuriating, typically idealistically liberal, with no concept of reality. His foolish opinions and barely passable artistic ability have become trademarks. He takes unwarranted pot shots at many issues and personalities, and unfortunately causes your paper to get labeled, probably accurately, as a mouthpiece for the left.

I personally look forward to him every morning, and I’ll fight to the death for his right to be wrong and your right to publish him. Those who don’t like what he says shouldn’t read it. But do allow those of us who don’t take him seriously to enjoy our morning guffaw. Chris Warren Spokane