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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Letters To The Editor

SPOKANE MATTERS

Critique a trove of misinformation

Complaining about government is a blessing of our free society. However, it’s incumbent upon us to do so from an informed position. Lee Picard’s letter (“People, you’ve been ripped off,” July 26) reflects a basic ignorance of how his government works.

Let’s review his complaints.

“Management chose to build a library.” Management had little to do with this decision. The Spokane Public Library board and City Council put that issue to a public vote, and the public chose to build the libraries. This is also true of the Spokane Arena, except it was a countywide decision. <,,,

The Spokane Transit Authority is a separate municipal corporation governed by its own regulations. City management and the council were not decision-makers on the STA Plaza.

Wall Street and the trolleys were the idea of, and supported by, businesses along that portion of Wall Street. A local improvement district was formed and it pays a significant portion of the project cost. The remainder was financed through a federal grant designed to foster such projects. Those funds couldn’t have been used for ordinary street paving.

If the parking garage for the Davenport Hotel is built, it will be by a combination of funds, none of which could be used for street paving. Same response to “buy an old parking garage from the Cowles family.”

The Lincoln Street Bridge project has been an accepted public policy for more than 15 years. It’s been examined by more committees, boards and agencies than any other project. It will be funded primarily by federal funds strictly applicable to bridges. Rob Higgins Spokane

Words won’t mask lapse in priorities

Re: Spokane Transit Authority Executive Director Robert Allen Schweim’s Aug. 2 letter in response to Lee Picard’s July 26 letter:

I called Schweim and he explained to me that no city funds were provided for the Plaza. While this may be technically correct, I believe Picard’s point was that funds that were used to build the Plaza could better have served the public in street repair. It is a matter of priorities.

Would the citizens rather take some of the STA public support funds (80 percent) to fix the streets or to build plazas? We need a modest public transportation system in Spokane. We did not need a multimillion-dollar Plaza with multimillion-dollar overruns just to spend what must have been surplus funds.

In other words, let the powers that be go back to the drawing board and figure where they can cut a few percentage points here and there to fix our streets, instead of spending thousands of dollars on signs promoting the street bond issue.

If they cannot do that, let’s vote someone into office who can, instead of voting for the street bond. Robert C. Sprint Spokane

City should use signs to inform us

Why criticize the city for posting signs informing us of what will be accomplished with the street repair bonds? This seems to be somewhat like picking the black specks out of pepper.

I would be critical of the city if it did not use every opportunity to inform voters of what the bond funds will accomplish. I applaud the city and the committee for using every resource to see that this civic improvement is successful. Maury Hickey Spokane

Locate fleet facility on West Plains

Our neighborhoods make Spokane a great place to live. Citizens have fought City Hall and the council on many occasions to protect their neighborhoods from attack on a variety of issues. From bad air quality and traffic congestion to land development issues, these hearty citizens have had to fight the good fight.

The Logan neighborhood is currently in combat with the city regarding the city’s plan to construct a maintenance facility that will centralize fleet operations - cars to garbage trucks - in one location. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to envision what detrimental effects this would have on the quality of life of people who live or work nearby.

The city has not considered alternative locations, such as the West Plains. That area was appropriate for the trash incinerator; why not for a maintenance facility? The facility would have minimal environmental effect there.

The City Council ought to put action behind its words of concern for all neighborhoods. This is another sad example of how neighborhoods are treated when they become involved with the council.

The only salvation for this neighborhood is for the people to vote no when asked in the near future to pass a bond. If you think that bonded indebtedness for the roads is big, wait until the council comes up with the final cost for this maintenance facility - $50 million and growing. Donald H. Skaufel Spokane

GAMBLING

Casino won’t increase crime rate

Those worried about increases in crime as a result of the Kalispel Indian Tribe building a proposed casino in Airway Heights should read pertinent articles in The Spokesman-Review more closely. In a June 27 article by Jim Lynch, Carrie Tellefson, assistant to the director of the Washington state Gambling Commission, was quoted as saying, “We have the strongest regulatory program in the country. I wouldn’t be concerned about the criminal element coming into Spokane.”

In other communities in Washington that have Indian gaming facilities, local law enforcement departments report no increases in crime as a result of gaming facilities. Nationally, communities in which Indian gaming is located report similar crime statistics.

We have to open our eyes and accept the fact that our community is growing. We want it to grow. We want it to provide us all with a good life. For that to happen, we need to broaden our ideas about the kinds of businesses that can bring good-paying jobs, create the necessary infrastructure and provide legal entertainment for people here. Anne Ashley Spokane

Casino benefits would spread

There is a fear that the Kalispel Indian Tribe’s proposed casino would greatly impact the business of tavern owners and cafe proprietors in Airway Heights. The public should know that the tribe made it clear at the recent public meeting that food and beverages sold within the new casino would be priced competitively with that available in the community.

The Kalispel casino will be an asset to the growing community of Airway Heights and to Spokane County. It will provide a wonderful reason for people to visit that town, to stop on their way through from the east to Seattle. These people will need gasoline, places to stay and goods to buy.

Competition sharpens the free enterprise system. It makes business owners work harder to give the customer the best product possible. Everyone wins when the best is all we have to offer. Linda M. Davis Spokane

PUBLIC SAFETY

We’d do well to emulate Atlantans

I was fortunate enough to spend last week in Atlanta, and I was amazed at the way people drove down there.

Drivers would use their turn signals to indicate turns and lane changes. They stopped for red lights. When they weren’t passing someone, people would move out of the left lane of the interstate. No one drove two or three cars abreast, blocking the entire highway for everyone else.

Most startling was how drivers would stay aware of the traffic around them and help other drivers out. As a result, traffic moved quickly, smoothly and safely.

Drivers of Spokane, will you join me in a bold experiment? Do you think we could try these techniques for the next month? If Labor Day arrives and we don’t like the results, we can just go back to the way we’ve done it all along. Mike Johnson Spokane

Bad driving habit overlooked

Yes, Don Keplinger (“Hey, do you recognize me?” Letters, July 26), I recognize you. But there is one thing you forgot to mention.

If the motorist ahead of you by chance does signal he would like to change lanes, don’t slack off a bit like they do in Los Angeles and many other cities. Be sure to speed up to keep him from changing lanes. In some cases, you might even have to blow your horn. R.M. Kirkpatrick Elk

PEOPLE IN SOCIETY

Family’s kindness means a lot

We were inspired by a map in The Spokesman-Review. It was a 16-mile bike trail starting at Lookout Pass.

Starting at 11 a.m., we rode from Lookout Pass to Mullan, Idaho, on the old railroad bed. From a point just east of Mullan to Mullan Pass, the trail is the old gravel highway. We could tell it would be a long afternoon as we started up the grade.

Later on, a young couple from north of Spokane caught up to us. They had boys 7 and 8 years old. Our age began to show (75 years). Riding, walking, resting and visiting with this couple for about two hours, we reached Mullan Pass. From there, a new trail is cut into the steep hillside through the forest to Lookout Pass, three and a quarter miles away. It’s a mountain bike and hiking trail meant for young bodies and legs.

It was getting to be late afternoon and we were the last ones on the trail. After a mile or so, while resting, we joked that our new friends were probably halfway to Spokane by now. Nearing the end, the trail emerges from the trees, crosses some rock slides and offers a view of the ski area and parking lot. That small white object way down there was our car, alone in the lot.

But no, another vehicle was there. I’m sure they were very tired, hungry and anxious to get home, 100-plus miles away. They must have waited there nearly an hour to be sure we got back safely.

We thank you, Mary and Paul. Your act of kindness will never be forgotten. The world needs more caring and compassionate people like you. Thomas G. Reul Hayden Lake, Idaho

Reality is that kids must be taught

In response to Renee Smith’s “reality check” (Letters, July 31) about noisy children at an outdoor concert, I submit my own reality check.

At an outdoor event, planes and traffic sounds are unavoidable. Poorly behaved children aren’t. Even young children can be taught to behave appropriately in varying situations. Running and shouting 2- and 4-year-olds are not “absorbing a cultural experience” but are using the audience area as a playground, thus learning that they are more important than everyone else there.

The “laughter and energy of children” should be free in some situations but need to be tempered in others. Whether in a store, restaurant, library or theater, many parents ignore the responsibilities they chose to accept when they became parents. To them, the world is one big Chuck E. Cheese’s in which they can do their own thing while giving their kids minimal supervision, allowing them to run, yell and play without limits. But a restaurant is not a park, and a concert is not a playground.

Perhaps these parents underestimate the ability of children to learn basic manners.

Raising children takes lots of time, effort and a large measure of sacrifice. If parents allow the energy of their children to impinge on the rights of others, they cannot realistically expect no complaints from those around them. M. Elizabeth Wilde Spokane

OTHER TOPICS

Rawls put on a terrific show

Thank you so much to The Spokesman-Review and Festival at Sandpoint for bringing Lou Rawls to Sandpoint on Friday night.

Rawls still has the magic! His melodious voice has the strength, depth and power that we’ve always known. His concert was one of the best I’ve seen.

By the end of the concert, Rawls received two well-deserved standing ovations and had the crowd rockin’, singing, dancing and begging for more. This is one entertainer you definitely should not miss seeing if you get the chance.

Thanks, Rawls, for the wonderful evening of magic! Maureen Smith Post Falls

Restore good sense to gun debate

The gun debate has degenerated to the point that the two sides talk at, rather than to, each other. Might I offer a plan that could return a bit of civility to the process?

I find it a dogma among gun advocates that the other side secretly wants all guns confiscated.

I find the other side fearful of armed people who cannot control their emotions, of hunters who go out with a loaded gun in one hand and an open can of beer in the other and of people who leave loaded guns around the house where they easily can be stolen or taken by children.

Any gun, not in legitimate use, should be locked up, apart from its ammunition. Let’s change the focus, forget “law-abiding” and agree to support fully the rights of all responsible gun owners. Then let’s all cooperate in finding ways to keep guns out of the hands of the irresponsible.

Could any but the irresponsible object? Edward B. Keeley Spokane

Moral imperative escapes Wilson

Gov. Pete Wilson (Opinion, Aug. 3) argues that there are more important items on the Republican Party’s agenda than abortion. What really worries him are “all the children born to parents who are either unwilling or unable to accept the responsibility of being parents.”

Wilson’s solution? Fathers who “lack the basic decency to send love to their children must at least send money.” He claims, “For those who choose to have sex but reject the burden of parenthood, we must make contraception the available choice and the moral obligation to prevent unwanted pregnancies.”

Many political “leaders” have begun to see the connection between the moral imbalance of citizens and the fiscal imbalance at all levels of government. But it’s not only that children having children creates fiscal pressures on Sacramento and Washington; the fecklessness of “leaders” like Wilson will only accelerate the slide toward self-gratification at the expense of society.

Trying to appear balanced, Wilson expresses “shock” at the 1.6 million children being aborted every year. But what really alarms him is the cost to society of raising all those other unwanted children.

How does he plan to teach young men to send money - if they can’t send love, of course - to their children, when he’s apparently willing to stand by and watch tens of thousands of tiny Californians be killed every year? What sort of message about responsibility is he sending?

Real leaders tell the truth: Abortion kills children. Sex out of wedlock is wrong and irresponsible. Any policy that ignores these truths is doomed to failure. David K. DeWolf Spokane

Cancer patient’s story well-told

Re: Doug Clark’s moving column (July 30) on Matt Vahlstrom, a cancer patient who is facing his disease with courage, faith and hope:

As executive director of the Ronald McDonald House, I daily see young children and families dealing with cancer, heart disease, birth defects, medical trauma and premature births. I feel honored and blessed to be a part of these families’ healing process. Their stories help me recognize that each day is a gift.

The Ronald McDonald House mission is to provide temporary housing for families traveling to Spokane seeking medical care for their sick children. Last year alone, more than 575 families found a home at our house.

Thank you, Doug Clark and Matt Vahlstrom, for reminding each of us to face life with faith, courage and hope. Like Matt, the children and families of the Ronald McDonald House are real-life heroes. I appreciate The Spokesman-Review’s willingness to print such positive and moving stories. Julie Moyer-Nesbitt, executive director Ronald McDonald House, Spokane

Crossbows: How’s that again?

Would Helen Boland (“Bagpipes,” Aug. 1) be so kind as to tell us which states consider crossbows to be assault weapons? Crossbows lost out to the long bow because long bows, even though less powerful and more difficult to shoot accurately, can be reloaded and fired more quickly than crossbows. Francis E. Kent Four Lakes