Letters To The Editor

LAW AND JUSTICE

Don’t overlook police mistake

I, too, am outraged that Kevin Boot was released on a “technicality,” considering his past record. But let’s examine this technicality and point the finger of responsibility at the right person.

The police entered the suspect’s home without permission and, more seriously, without a search warrant or an arrest warrant. It was there that they obtained the incriminating evidence.

This was a direct violation of every citizen’s constitutional right to protection against illegal search and seizure. They broke the law.

If they had followed due process, this letter would not have been necessary and Felicia Reese might still be alive. Kevin Kelly Spokane

Supremely reassured by ruling

Regarding the Jan. 7 article about the Boot brothers:

Thank you, Washington State Supreme Court, for your ruling on underage felons. My family and I will surely rest easier knowing that:

1. Kevin and Jerry Boot can commit adult crimes.

2. They can be tried and convicted for adult crimes.

3. They will not be punished as adults for adult crimes.

I’m beginning to feel drowsy already. Steve Chappell Spokane

SPOKANE MATTERS

Desperately need father stand-ins

As a member of Harvest Christian Fellowship and the Spokane community, I want to thank you for your thorough coverage of the murder of Felicia Reese and the testimony of her life.

Even in the face of such a tragic event, it was encouraging to see unbiased reporting that allowed those close to her to voice their feelings and share with the Inland Empire what a unique and committed person Felicia was.

Also, as a teacher at Rogers High School, I was sad to see another crime committed by our youth. In my seven years of teaching, I have seen too many fatherless young men fall into this lifestyle. My call to our community is for the men to step up and begin to father the young men of Spokane. There is no excuse for the actions of these two teens, but I hope that it will awaken our community to respond.

As a teacher and a father, I can see that without men who are willing to step in for absent fathers, changes will not be made. We can no longer avoid this problem but we need to allow God to “turn the hearts of the fathers to the children” (Luke 1:17) to see change.

May the people of Spokane always remember Felicia and her love for Christ, and not the actions of these two boys. Steve Allen Spokane

Atmosphere of fear sick, sickening

A male acquaintance tells of seeing two young girls scratching the paint off the red wagon in Riverfront Park.

He climbs up the stairs to get the girls to quit. But he stops and says nothing. He realizes that if the girls scream he could be in trouble.

At a meeting a couple of weeks ago, the talk was of safety for children on the way home from school. Homeowners around the school were being contacted and asked to simply “be visible” as the kids leave school for home, making it less likely for big kids to pick on smaller kids.

At the mention of one single male homeowner, a female member of the group asks, “How do we know he is not a pedophile?”

The Spokesman-Review gives front page coverage alleging a teenager accuses a prominent local physician of sexual harassment.

I am angry about this kind of climate. I am sad and angry that it’s not OK for me to be friendly to little kids I pass on the street in my neighborhood.

I’m angry that those girls were not able to be stopped from vandalizing the wagon.

I’m angry because someone was suspected of being a pedophile simply because he is a man.

I’m angry that Greg Nail’s good name is up for grabs in the press on the front page.

I’m angry that the spirit of Joe McCarthy is back. Don McCloskey Spokane

Let there be lots and lots of light

The apparent murder of Felicia Reese once again underlines that the surest, most cost-effective deterrent to night-time crime is the maintenance of well-lit areas - a fact that the Spokane County Commissioners seemingly have not yet grasped.

Flood-lit highways also prevent nocturnal auto accidents and crimes against property. Only the blind can not see this.

Let’s shed some light on the new year. Victor E. Buksbazen Spokane

IN IDAHO

Tell company to keep out

Has the full impact of a possible Micron Technology Inc. plant in Kootenai County been understood by those of us who already live in this community?

This would be a major change in our home environment.

Bob Potter is quoted in the Dec. 24 Coeur d’Alene Press, “I’m worried about the community commitment. Commitment is always tough.” And well he should be worried. The same article estimates 10,000 more peripheral jobs, 7,600 more vehicles, 2,700 more children in school and at least 3,800 more houses and apartments.

Just think of the greatly intensified automobile traffic already here as well as crowded boat ramps, lakes and schools. Also, consider the higher taxes we now pay with this growth, to help meet the infrastructure needs for an expanded population.

Next, decide the quality of life desired here for the future. Is urbanization of our area in our best interests? If not, let’s write Micron and let the company know people here do not favor this development for Kootenai County. According to the Coeur d’Alene Press, Kipp Bedard, Micron vice president, serves on the relocation committee. Micron Technology’s address is 2805 E. Columbia Road, Boise, ID 83706.

The people pushing this plan aren’t going to enlighten Micron officials of a lack of community support for a great urbanization of our county. It’s up to us to make our views known and to do so today, before a decision is made among the 13 prospective sites. Rod Schobert Hayden Lake

Engineering school idea unsound

Misleading statements in the media and constant repetition by Micron Technology Inc. and its Boise State University allies are creating the illusion that an autonomous college of engineering at Boise State University is essential to the state’s well-being. This simply isn’t true.

For reasons of fiscal accountability to Idaho taxpayers, duplication of costly engineering programs in a state with just 1 million people will result in the wasteful use of scarce resources.

Micron’s $6 million incentive is only a drop in the bucket of what it would realistically take to implement and support another engineering school. Over the long term, program support demands would continue to increase and become an unnecessary tax burden.

The contention that there is a shortage of available engineers is misleading. Bulletin 129 by the American Association of Engineering Societies frankly states that “Employer recruiting was depressed at most engineering schools in 1992-93, as it has been since the fall of 1990. Placement directors see little sign of improvement this academic year.”

Further, the sense of arrogance that Micron is exhibiting by throwing out a $6 million bribe creates tension and exacerbates the situation. For BSU to throw its support behind this back door maneuver is equally divisive.

Yes, high-tech jobs are important, and the microelectronics industry is quickly becoming an important part of Idaho’s economy. Focusing complementary engineering training services of the University of Idaho, Idaho State University and BSU into a single, collaborative effort makes sense not only financially, but organizationally and functionally as well.

As taxpayers, we expect prudence and accountability. Harvey and Cheryl Hughett Moscow

IN THE PAPER

Reporter treated Butte unfairly

I’d like to know what has happened to a journalist’s role in publishing articles that are as factual as possible. I’m referring specifically to the Jan. 1 article, “Micron plant bidding war heats up.”

This story lists the pros and cons of each area still being considered by Micron Technology Inc. for building a new production facility. As a con for Butte, Mont., it states, “Butte is Butte, no matter how you dress it up.”

How can a journalist make this kind of subjective statement? What exactly does this mean? Valid reasons were given for the possible rejection of all the other potential sites for a new Micron plant. Why wasn’t the same done in Butte’s case?

Spokesman-Review writers should follow the same basic rule most students are taught at an early age. Make a statement and then back it up with your reasons - and even better, with facts. This should help improve the professionalism lacking in this article.

The fact that Butte is one of 13 communities out of nearly 300 that is still being considered by Micron must mean it has something positive to offer.

Thankfully, Micron Technology must be more objective in determining which of these areas best fits its needs. Mike Hogan Spokane

Page 1 photo source of pain

Apparently, you feel no responsibility for what you print on the front page of The Spokesman-Review, nor do you seem to have any sensitivity for the relatives and friends of those who are victims of crimes in Spokane.

It was bad enough seeing the smiling face of Kevin Boot on TV on the Tuesday news but to have it enlarged on the front page of the newspaper is too much. It not only makes the pain of Felicia Reese’s death worse for her fiancee, family and friends, but now this boy is a big celebrity.

I wonder, if Felicia were the sister, fiancee or daughter of any of you, would that face have been on the front page? Helen Biggers Spokane

Motive is lack of state income tax

One of the last things Rick Bonino mentions in his By the Numbers column of Jan. 7 is that the state that has the most requests for information to the Chamber of Commerce in Spokane was Texas. He was wondering why, if it’s people trying to escape San Antonio.

I’ll tell you why. I’ve been to Texas; I was a military member down there. A lot of the soldiers down there would change their residency to Texas because Texas doesn’t have a state income tax. Well, Washington doesn’t either.

Every time a soldier comes up for reenlistment, he gets to choose which state he wants to be his residency. Washington is probably one of the ones they are considering, since it has no income tax.

If you are living in Texas and you want to move, why wouldn’t you choose another state that has no income tax? There’s your answer. Victoria Anderson Spokane

Inbound restaurants overhyped

Having lived in Spokane for only a little over a year, perhaps I have not become calloused enough to not let Assistant Editor Frank Bartel bother me.

Having experienced his redundant romancing of the coming of Salty’s, his excitement about the arrival of Cucina! Cucina! and now his eager anticipation of a Red Lobster restaurant, I wonder what is wrong with him.

Having eaten in a Red Lobster several times, I have found it to be a fairly good eatery. But to spend columns talking about its pending arrival - has Mr. Bartel got nothing else credible to write about?

What about doing a column on how fortunate Spokane is to have so many good restaurants for a city of this size?

Myself, having lived in and traveled to all of the major metropolitan areas in the Western United States, I know this to be true. Local restaurants such as Rock City Cucina Italiano, Milford’s, Luigi’s, Luna, The Onion, Cyrus O’Leary’s and others would be popular in any other city. But they started here in Spokane.

Or what about the number of significant Spokane restaurateurs who possess a great reputation for contributing to their industry, as well as to the Spokane community they live in - as opposed to General Mills and the entrepreneurs who call the West Side home?

Please quit the romancing. It is tiresome and you should appreciate and not take for granted those closest to home who have helped make Spokane the great city it is. John McDaniel Spokane

Peck, Chung out of the loop

(Managing editor) Chris Peck’s editorial of Jan. 6 would have been more accurate if he had merely substituted “traditional media” for talk radio.

He was right about one thing: We Americans want to make up our own minds, thank you. We are sick of slanted news reporting and the spiking of the news.

Like Connie Chung, he still doesn’t get it. Joe Johnson Spokane

OTHER TOPICS

Mountain lions not cuddly kitties

I read Kathy Richmond’s Jan. 4 letter with utter amazement.

The clods who trespassed onto private property were obviously in the wrong. I’m confident that Kathy, like the rest of us, will sleep better knowing that local law enforcement people are hot on the footprints of these trespassers.

Never mind that they removed a carnivorous predator from the backyard where Kathy’s family might have had a chance to see the cute little kitty.

Does anyone remember the numerous reports of attacks on humans by mountain lions? Within the past year, humans have fallen prey to mountain lions in Colorado and California.

In April 1994, Barbara Schoener, a 40-year-old mother of two, went jogging along a popular trail in the Auburn State Recreation Area and was killed and eaten by a mountain lion.

The blame for Shoener’s death falls fully upon California voters. In 1990, Californians fell prey to a masterfully conducted public relations campaign waged by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and other animal rights groups that buffaloed Californians with deceit, convincing them to vote for a ban on hunting mountain lions. Officials in California now admit that such a ban is counterproductive to sensible, effective wildlife management.

It’s unnatural for mountain lions to lose fear of man and that is what happens when hunting bans of any sort are imposed. The price for this ignorance is the loss of innocent human life.

I’m sorry Kathy and her family had their saddest Christmas ever. At least they can be thankful they had a happier holiday than the Schoener children. Robert J. Hogan Spokane

What about Grand Coulee?

If a drawdown of dams would restore the Snake River salmon runs to Idaho, would a drawdown of Grand Coulee Dam restore the Columbia River’s runs to British Columbia? Paul Flinn Bonners Ferry, Idaho

Barry election sets sorry example

I am one of the many law-abiding and morally conscious citizens who shares our great country. Hopefully, I’m not the only one to feel shock and horror at Marion Barry’s re-election to be the mayor of Washington, D.C.

In this time of heightened awareness concerning crime, most obviously drugs, it seems hypocritical and disgustingly ironic that a convicted criminal is privileged with holding public office.

Had this crime been committed by anyone else, it would be another statistic. Now, though, it serves as a springboard for renewed political campaigns and claims of “self-discovery and recovery.” This man was on videotape smoking crack cocaine with a prostitute.

I’m ashamed to know such people can hold government power. I know it probably isn’t the first or last time this kind of miscarriage of justice will happen, but if we, as voters, try to make a difference, we will see a stronger United States. John Solomon Spokane

Church OK if you’re square with God

Donald D. Guenther (Letters, Jan. 6) aims at a worthy target but misses the mark. Christians most certainly do have the answer to all of society’s problems.

That this may not be apparent is not because of incorrect teachings. That faith accepts the forgiveness available to us in the death and resurrection of Christ is not incorrect. That in baptism we are united with Christ in his death and resurrection is not incorrect. That we received the gift of the holy spirit to enable obedience is not incorrect. That we are to love God and our neighbor as ourselves is not incorrect.

The Bible tells that God judged the Israelites and threw them out of the Promise Land not because they had an incorrect law but because they did not obey the law. God had intended to bless them through their obedience and that blessing would be a witness to all the world to the glory of God. The Christian church has the same problem. The teachings are true; the obedience is not.

If we obey God, we are blessed and the church is attractive. If we disobey God, we are judged and the church is repulsive.

The problems of society are solved when the individuals in it are united with God and live in harmony with him. He wants us to seek justice, encourage the oppressed, defend the cause of the fatherless and plead the case of the widow. When you find a Christian doing these things, ask him about his God. Paul Buckley Opportunity