Letters To The Editor

SPOKANE MATTERS

Egg hunt no place for adults

I am really mad about the Easter egg hunt in Riverfront Park. I have never in my life seen one like it.

There were children who didn’t even get one egg. They couldn’t get through the adults. All the adults were out on the field, pushing the children, knocking them down and even trying to take eggs out of the children’s baskets. It was horrible.

I hope something is done about this next year. Parents should not be allowed in there; it should be for the children. Barbara O’Brien Spokane

Unhappy attorney should move on

Re: “Prosecutors underpaid, overloaded” by Jared Garth (Roundtable, April 9).

City employees are obsessed with greed more than doing the job. When a prosecutor states, “It is my understanding that we at the city prosecutor’s office have not received a cost of living increase in at least three years,” it tells us something about an individual who does not personally gets the facts before making a statement. This questions caliber.

To state, “The county prosecutor’s office has a larger staff that can adequately investigate cases, contact witnesses, prepare for trial and respond to motions and appeals,” is to talk about resources, not salary.

I attended a lecture at Gonzaga University conducted by attorney Stephen Bright from the South Center Human Rights and Yale Law School wherein he stated with philanthropic pride that his salary was in the $20,000 range while assisting death row inmates for more than 14 years.

Here in Spokane, we have a whining, undeveloped attorney looking for more than a living wage before he can perform the job. Maybe it’s time for some individuals to seek employment from another cash cow. Edward Thomas Jr. Spokane

Good luck to care home operator

About 20 years ago, my mother had a stroke and spent 11 years in a nursing home. She got adequate care, but not the homey, loving atmosphere an adult family home could have provided. I only wish I could have had a place like LeAnn Riley provides. Even at a ratio of 6 to 1, adult family home clients get more personal care than at any nursing home. I wish Riley good luck. Ruth McKee Spokane

DRIVING AND AGE

Motorist’s complaint ominous

It sounds like the author of “Many older drivers are incompetent” (Letters, April 8) may be the founder of the next hate group to discriminate against the older people who are still able to go about their daily life unassisted.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I have always been led to believe that this great nation was founded on the principles that any law-abiding citizen was entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and as long as he remained so, he was not to be discriminated against, regardless of race, color, sex or age.

This nation used to be a model for others to conform to. Now it seems that it is rapidly being taken over by extremists of all types.

Beware, you old people. The gas ovens may very well be on their next agenda. B.I. Overlie Spokane

Critic should start with himself

In his April 8 letter, Steve Stoddard says that older drivers are incompetent. He said he has lived in Spokane for 20 years and seen too many elderly drivers.

It is obvious that he has not been around too long. I drove professionally for 40 years, accident-free. I have not seen this problem, and I am 70 years old.

I’ll bet I can judge distance by looking at how fast someone is going better than he can.

As far as people driving 20 mph and wandering down the street, why is he in such a hurry? I see people whipping in and out of traffic all the time, and they have the nerve to talk about old people. I have nothing against young people, but they are always in such a hurry. Then they do not have sense enough to slow down when it is necessary.

If he has had six near accidents in three months, he had better step back and take a look at his own habits. He is the culprit, not the other person. Orrin Tyler Spokane

Keep your own coattails clean

I find Steve Stoddard’s April 8 letter (“Many older drivers are incompetent”) most discriminating.

Anyone with a record of six near accidents in three months has a problem, and it is not elderly drivers. Oftentimes we look for someone to blame for our own shortcomings.

You should have checked the statistics regarding accidents and age groups before lashing out at a single group of drivers. There are good drivers and poor drivers of all ages. Let’s stop intimidating and blaming mature adults for our problems.

Have you considered participating in a driver education program? You need to do something about your driving habits. I do not want to be on the same road with you or your friends. Betty Jean Blackman Spokane

Older drivers not the problem

Steve Stoddard’s April 8 letter condemning elderly drivers is typical of the razzle-dazzle drivers such as himself. His “almost” accident because of elderly drivers is most likely his fault.

Spokane’s streets are not meant to be speedways. If young drivers such as Stoddard want to speed around town, let them use the racetrack. These young drivers are a pain in the neck. On left turns, they invariably go through the red lights. To save a few seconds, they deliberately drive through red lights.

I am an 81-year-old who has driven since the age of 18. I have 20/20 vision; my reaction time is on a par with that of a much younger driver. I’ll wager that I can pass any state patrol test that he can pass.

Stoddard ought to check the jails, traffic courts and morgues to see just how many elderly drivers are involved. Very few, I would wager.

Driving tests for young drivers for alcohol- and drug-related problems, and those young punks without any insurance - all of these people should be driven from the streets. Some young drivers just can’t stand to see someone ahead of them, so they pass everyone - sometimes with only a few feet to spare to the next stop.

Stoddard and his kind are responsible for the bad name given to Eastern Washington drivers - the worst in the state. A.K. Stirling Spokane

Watch out for others and give way

I’m a 70-year-old driver who takes offense at what Steve Stoddard says about older drivers (Letters, April 8). Yes, I have seen a few who can’t see over the hood and drive slowly, but most are law-abiding citizens who drive according to the rules of the road.

I drive at posted speed limits. I note that a goodly percentage of drivers in this area believe the speed limit is what they want it to be. I keep a keen eye out for those who would or could make a mistake in driving conditions. I don’t run red lights or stop signs, as I see many others do - young and old.

By the way, I have never had an accident in all my years of driving. Driving defensively is the way to go. Give the other guy a break in sticky situations.

We all have to drive on the roads together. Let’s watch out for one another. Dick Pullen Spokane

PEOPLE IN SOCIETY

Children shouldn’t repress grief

We read with dismay John Rosemond’s April 8 column, “Young minds can be overly curious.” He advised parents to enforce a two-questions-a-day rule to “cure” a child of asking questions about death and dying.

The child’s puppy was taken back due to congenital defects. The repeated questions, according to Rosemond, were exhibiting a tendency toward “anxious ruminating” and the parents needed to “put on the brakes.”

The child may have been grieving and confused about separation and death. She may be anxious about what may happen if she is not perfect. Would her parents return her?

Children grieve as intensely as adults and need to express it. Often they will ask questions rather than verbalize their feelings of loss. The underlying, unexpressed feelings, not just the questions, need to be addressed. Because parents tire of the questions does not mean the child’s fears and anxieties are resolved.

For Rosemond to tell the parents to respond to this child’s grief by treating it like a behavioral problem is, to us, abusive. We tell people who deny or repress their grief that it may result in unresolved and complicated grieving later. This goes for children as well.

We hope the parents of that 5-year-old will contact a Hospice or other professional agency that can advise them on healthy ways to deal with their child’s questions. Tanya Charlton and Eileen Lyons, bereavement counselors Hospice of Spokane