Letters To The Editor
Good young folks
We want to compliment you for the wonderful article entitled “Good career moves” (Valley Voice, Nov. 6).
We have worked with young people through the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and other youth organizations for the last 80 years.
The young people of today are no different. The overwhelming majority of them are studying in their school work, participating in various sports, and working part time, etc. Particularly when they go to college or community college. Because of lack of good mass transportation, they have to buy a car, pay for expensive insurance, etc.
So the few bad apples get so much publicity. It is very nice to see an editor and staff writer like Marny Lombard give the public some information about the good that an overwhelming majority of young people are doing today. Lea M. and Maurice B. Cauchon Spokane
$60 million too low
The $60 million figure Sally Jackson cites in her letter (Valley Voice, Nov. 13) as the cost of flood and stormwater control is way too low.
In just the Central Park stormwater area (Park Road to Fancher Road, 7th or 8th to 17th or so), the proposal is to spend $6 million and in the Glenrose area the proposal is to spend from $19 million to $26 million.
These are just two small areas. What about the rest of the county? And what about ongoing maintenance? You can see that this could be the start of a real bureaucracy.
For several years, we have been paying $10 per year, per home, and businesses pay much more. That adds up to about $1.3 million per year and all that money does is grease the skids to give the taxpayers a real ride. The county stormwater committee recommended recently that the $10 per year be raised to $40 or $50 per year.
The county stormwater department keeps them going in the direction of “more and bigger” is better.
In the early 1980s, I was on the Central Park stormwater committee. I know how the “specialists” try to keep these committees heading.
The county building code says, “you can not run more stormwater off of your property that runs onto it.”
If that was enforced, and attention paid to not building in some of the low areas, there would be no need for the stormwater bureaucracy. Edwin O. Weilip Spokane