Letters To The Editor

IN THE SCHOOLS

Closed minds not needed

Re: “Phonics program selection was a farce,” April 6: You didn’t have to read very far into Ms. Wilson’s letter to see why she wasn’t asked to sit on the math committee. Leaders like Hazel Bauman need committee members with a vision and an open mind to all ideas that are brought to the table. Focusing on a past negative history makes it impossible to move forward.

Committees that function are those that share a common conversation and purpose. There is trust among the members, without manipulation or special interests served. Face to face, they address opportunities to reach their goal in a challenging, but not confrontational manner. Committees that do function are capable of great things.

Diane M. Riley Hayden, Idaho

Hot-lunch program just a ruse

Hang onto your wallets, Lakeland School District taxpayers. It appears that the trustees again are trying to cram their hot-lunch program down the people’s throats.

You’ve got to hand it to them; they’re nothing if not persistent.

I’ve tried to justify the need for a hot-lunch program, but frankly I just can’t. I suppose some might claim that our students are poorly fed, but a visit to any of the campuses would refute that. And besides, I’m sure I would have read in The Spokesman-Review something about “Lakeland’s starving children.”

But even if we did have poorly fed children, whose responsibility is it to make sure they’re fed? Only a neglectful parent would fail to provide for his offspring, but handling neglectful parents is not the job of the school district.

No, the real reason for the hot-lunch program - as explained to me by a former trustee - is so the district can be eligible for other federal and state monies. So, let’s see: I already pay outrageous federal and state income taxes, but in order for my school district to get some of that tax money back, I have to pay even more in outrageous real estate taxes. Does anyone else think this is insane?

If the gullible ones who think this $750,000 program is small change, then just wait until next time when the trustees come back for more. Joseph B. Lykins Rathdrum, Idaho

NORTH IDAHO TOPICS

Portrayal not fair

There have been several defamatory articles and a cartoon in your paper recently aimed at the city of Coeur d’Alene and Kootenai County. I have long felt your childish anti-Hagadone campaigns have been in very poor taste, but to attack our town and county is reprehensible.

While we in Coeur d’Alene have worked hard and effectively to defuse the Aryan hate group into an insignificant couple of wackos, your paper has worked to give life to their dying cause.

We, the good people of the “All-American City,” need to know what your motivation is so that we can mend the fences and work together for the good of our entire area. Wally A. Adams Coeur d’Alene Tractor Co.

Funeral story incomplete

Again the news media goes for sensationalism rather than the whole story.

In Susan Drumheller’s article, “Harsh image won’t go away,” the events at the funeral of Eva Vail were so distorted that we hardly recognized the description as the same funeral that we attended.

Drumheller so concerned herself with only the radical right who attended the service that she failed to mention the Jewish gentleman who was there to show his respect for a lady who had opened her home to him for extended periods of time. Also not mentioned was the Amish family who attended. Eva provided Christmas for them because they didn’t have any money. Then there was the lovely Christian lady who sang a moving hymn as a tribute.

Eva was very concerned with education and was one of the founders of a private school in Coeur d’Alene. She was an elder care provider for many of our senior citizens.

It was evident that the staff writer didn’t know Eva Vail. In which case, why were you covering the funeral of this dear lady? Sensationalism does sell papers.

It’s too bad that this intelligent, loving, sweet lady was put up to such ridicule. Be fair. There was another side to the story and it was blatantly ignored.

Eva was our friend and we will miss her. Julie Roth and Ruth Brown Hayden, Idaho

Rankin keeps a steady course

Dave Oliveria’s “Huckleberries” column of April 21 advises that Kootenai County Courthouse employees are miffed that Commissioner Ron Rankin is parking his car in a handicapped parking area. Oliveria says, “They sure change once they get into office.”

Unlike The Spokesman Review, those of us who endorsed Rankin for public office know that the only change in ol’ Ron will come when in the very near future he has surgery for a complete knee replacement. Until then, we appreciate that he continues to show up for work every day, disabled or not, representing the majority of us who supported his election. John H. Rook Coeur d’Alene

PRIGGEE AND THE IDAHO CHILDREN

If the pointed cap fits …

To all the latest flap (or is it jawing) group of Priggee bashers: Actually, I didn’t see kids from Idaho wearing white-peaked caps. I only saw what could have been Klansmen caps.

But if that’s what you saw, you immediately took umbrage. Well, that’s something like the parents taking umbrage at the arresting cop over the very idea their son or daughter could have done anything wrong.

Considering what I know to be true of your not-so-innocent tykes, their insults and generally crude behavior, especially among the teenagers, I’m not quite prepared to agree with you. If Priggee actually did identify Idaho with bigots, well, Idaho is bigoted, the Task Force on Human Relations notwithstanding. Your image problem is you. Joan E. Harman Coeur d’Alene

Idaho kids are not racists

Is Milt Priggee’s cartoon on April 13 suggesting that all kids in Idaho are racists? Well, I don’t even know a single kid who is! I was very offended by that cartoon. My beliefs about racism are the same as every kid I know in Idaho. I believe that everybody, black or white, should be treated equal.

As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “I have a dream today, that someday little black boys and little black girls will join hands with little white boys and girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.” I’ve followed that dream along with most of the other kids in Idaho. Meadow J. Braden, age 11 Bonners Ferry, Idaho

No respect for Idaho children

I am writing you in regard to the (Milt Priggee) cartoon in the April 13 edition of The Spokesman-Review. I realize that this country has given us the privilege to have freedom of speech, but I feel we take it a little too far. I, along with many others, am deeply offended by the cartoon. I find it in no way funny. It was completely uncalled for. I will admit that a group of racist citizens live in Idaho. They get a lot of publicity and are well-known, but that is no reason to make everyone else sound racist.

Another problem I have is the fact that kids were brought into it. Kids have nothing to do with this and probably have no idea what it means. Racism is not something that comes naturally. It is learned from the people around you. This is just another way of teaching it.

The Spokesman-Review has been a great newspaper. In fact, it is one of the best laid-out papers in North Idaho. I had a great deal of respect for this paper until now. The people of this country are the news. We are as much apart of the news as you are and if you can’t respect us, we have no reason to respect you. Racism will only start when you start it and go until you stop it. I don’t feel the little kids from Idaho are the ones being racist here. It’s the person who drew the picture and The Spokesman-Review. Kristie L. Blessing Post Falls

OTHER TOPICS

Sculpture is a bargain

The controversy over the “Joe Fan” statue for Joe Albi Stadium intrigues me.

The facts are simple. The city of Spokane recently made some much needed improvements to its stadium. State law demands that a portion of the total project must be spent on art. In this case it was approximately $15,000. The SEACAB (Sports, Entertainment, Arts and Convention Advisory Board) Facilities Committee asked for and received proposals from the local art community. Out of eight proposals, the committee narrowed the selection to two, met with the finalists and chose Vince De Felice’s concept. The full SEACAB board then approved the selection.

Of all of the choices, “Joe Fan” was the best value for the city. This will be a life-size bronze sculpture. The cost to the artist of the bronze casting alone is over $11,000. In addition, he has many other material costs which must be included. For example, he must first sculpt the piece out of clay and prepare the mold for the foundry. Upon receiving the statue, he will finish it and set it in place at Albi - a lengthy project.

De Felice will be working on this project from now until September when he hopes to have the statue in place for the first high school football game. Obviously, this is not profitable venture for him, but that was his choice.

The city is receiving a quality piece of art. Where’s Joanne, the kids and the family pets? In another artist’s mind!

Thank you, Vince, for your talent, your enthusiasm and your commitment to a delightful piece of art the citizens will enjoy for many years to come. T.N. Tenold, chairman SEACAB Facilities Committee, Spokane

It’s possible to produce healthful meat

Harvey Fritz is right to be concerned about food quality (Letters, April 14), but he’s wrong in stating that no meat is fit for consumption. What aren’t fit for consumption are the industrially produced meat and eggs available in markets.

While not shy about using adjectives such as “farm fresh,” their production models resemble a factory, not a farm. Animals are pumped full of antibiotics and other drugs as well as hormones.

But healthful beef, pork, and chicken are indeed possible to produce.

I raise pastured chickens. They are fed no antibiotics or hormones and are moved onto fresh pasture daily.

This method has been proved to produce chickens with less saturated and more unsaturated fat. Hens handled similarly lay eggs which reduce levels of harmful cholesterol when eaten.

With beef, it isn’t just the hormones and antibiotics that make it unhealthful. The large amounts of grain they are fed increase the saturated content of their fat.

“Baby beef” steers, raised on their mother’s milk, pasture and limited grain, have less total fat with higher unsaturated content. Although they are just what the consumer is looking for, they are penalized at the sale barn.

Pork, when properly raised, is full of essential fatty acids that improve health. This means with plenty of fresh green forage, a green crop making up the bulk of their feed, and grains limited to no more than 10 percent.

Meat production is essential to rebuilding local economies in short cropping season areas such as Spokane. Animals (and their manure) are necessary for a farm to truly be sustainable. Walter Kloefkorn Springdale, Wash.

Good reasons against vaccinations

Here we go again with the media hype about vaccinations. Heaven forbid if someone is a free-thinker and chooses not to participate in the vaccination game. The risks of vaccinations are well-documented. Dozens of books have been published dispelling the myth, i.e. that of injecting your body with a vaccine virus is going to someday prevent you from coming down with the disease.

My mother’s book,”Immunization: The Reality Behind the Myth,” is a scholarly book, heavily footnoted, explaining the cyclical nature of diseases, the real reason behind the decline of infectious diseases and how to create natural immunity. The most shocking book, Harris L. Coulters’ “Vaccination, Social Violence, and Criminality: The Medical Assault on the American Brain,” correlates between childhood shots and autism, hyperactivity, etc.

Compulsory vaccinations are a violation of human rights and the constitution which guarantees these rights. What right could be more fundamental than the right to body-mind integrity. In this case, the right to determine what we shall put into our bodies, particularly a substance that has the potential for long-term damage?

Educated people are choosing not to vaccinate their children and for very good reasons. Tanya L. Turner Coeur d’Alene

Photo was horrifying

I was horrified to see that The Spokesman-Review had used a photograph of a dying child and his grief-stricken family to tell the story of “Ruben’s Gift” (April 20). What on earth were you thinking?

Ruben Pena’s family was obviously in a state of emotional pain. Couldn’t you have used another photo? I find it disturbing that your newspaper allowed this happen. Bill M. Hogan Spokane

Think of what the police are facing

It seems that every time a law enforcement officer is involved in a shooting incident, there are those who jump on the bandwagon to criticize, saying the police used excessive force.

However, when these same citizens call 911 for an assault or domestic violence complaint, they want that policeman to be there yesterday. They don’t even think about what may happen to the officer. Everyone seems to think that when the uniformed cop arrives, all the violence will be over. Wrong. Domestic violence calls are the most dangerous for anyone to get in the middle of, including are dedicated policemen.

My heartfelt sympathy goes out to the Lawson family for the loss of a father, husband, friend and relative, but my support must still be with Patrick Dobrow, who didn’t ask to be placed in the situation forced upon him on April 14.

Everyone, it’s time to get real. With drinking and drugs as rampant as they are, no one is safe. I would bet that if you or I were in Dobrow’s shoes that day and we told the person to drop his weapon several times and he started toward us, we would have reacted the same way. If it’s your life or the other person’s, survival instinct will always kick in.

None of our police are compensated enough for the violence they face every day. They too have families they want to return home, just as you and I do. God bless our nation’s law enforcement officers. Billy G. Simon Spokane