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

Letters To The Editor

SPOKANE MATTERS

Sommers late in showing concern

I read with interest a brochure I received from state Rep. Duane Sommers touting all of his promises for fixing our streets at no additional cost to “we the citizens.” I reflected on his eight years as a legislator and I couldn’t recall any leadership he had exhibited in any areas, much less in providing funding for our street crisis. Now, he wants to continue that same “leadership” as mayor of Spokane.

I just wonder what important community programs Sommers is planning to cut when he finds those additional revenues from a tight city budget. Will it be from libraries or maybe public safety? Will he want to start charging our young people to use the public swimming pools?

I am tired of empty promises from career politicians.

Anne E. Ashley Spokane

Karling capable, perceptive

In the upcoming primary election, there will be a fine person running for a City Council position: Charlotte Karling.

I’ve known Karling for nearly 20 years, both as a friend and as a history-government teacher. She has an insatiable desire to pursue the truth. She studies the issues and problems, and asks probing, thought-provoking questions, seeking to cut to the core of an issue. Her perceptions are amazing. She also is a particularly good listener.

In addition, she is a person of high integrity who will do what is right for all Spokanites.

I will cast my ballot for Karling in the upcoming primary election. I hope that many Spokane voters will do likewise. Evan W. Bell Spokane

Karling will make a difference

As we quickly approach the primary elections for city officials, it is time for all voters to ask: Just what kind of person do I want making decisions that will affect my life, family and future in this great city?

Charlotte Karling is, I believe, one of the best choices we have this election to represent the average citizen and taxpayer. Karling is one of us, not a product of big government or political machines.

I have watched her over the past 25 years as she has consistently demonstrated her love for people and willingness to set aside her personal interests for their longterm good. She has tirelessly worked year after year for the development of hundreds of young people through directing regional summer camps and Northwest Teen Jamboree annual youth conferences. She spearheaded for several years the Logan Neighborhood Block Party that provided assistance, fun and games for thousands in our church neighborhood.

Karling is a woman who knows the hearts and concerns of people. She listens to them. She cares about them. Spokane will be a better place if we have the wisdom to elect Karling, someone who consistently makes a difference wherever she goes. John S. Repsold Spokane

Some limit safety concern to me, mine

Paul Perovich (letters, Sept. 5) writes about traffic doubling in the Rockwood-Garfield neighborhood due to Grand construction. Yes, traffic has doubled on Arthur and increased 400 percent on Hatch (duh!) because the barriers on Garfield divert the traffic to those streets.

Garfield has seen little increase since the barricade installation, which resulted from a committee of seven residents (five of whom live on Garfield) meeting with the city Transportation Department.

Traffic sensors placed on Garfield prior to the closure recorded the following: The Aug. 15 traffic count was 3,164; on Aug. 18 (Grand closed) volume was 4,539 (not even close to double). Then came the barriers. On Aug. 22, traffic was down to 3,327. Hatch’s count of 357 on Aug. 15, after barrier installation, increased to 1,624 on Aug. 19. Arthur’s went from 778 to 1,455. Both are narrow residential streets that our children must cross to reach Garfield and access Hutton Elementary.

Perovich’s statement that there have been no accidents involving children since the barricade placement is correct. This is because of dedicated Hutton parents who volunteer as safety patrols twice a day, helping students cross what have become unsafe streets due to the barriers.

It’s interesting that while citing concern for student safety, those supporting the barriers aren’t volunteering their time crossing neighborhood children. Unlike those who hold the “not on my street” mentality, some truly are concerned with the safety of all Hutton School students.

The “anywhere but in front of my house” RockwoodGarfield Neighborhood Association people are obviously concerned with themselves, not the entire neighborhood. James H. Allers Spokane

Life’s no picnic along Francis either

The reaction of South Hill residents regarding the paving of Grand Boulevard is amazing. It’s interesting that this has generated such attention in the media, while your North Side neighbors have truly had to endure hardships during the road construction on Francis from Division to Seven Mile Road without notice.

In addition to the obvious traffic snarls on the major east-west thoroughfare, the majority of the resurfacing has been done on the graveyard shift.

On the night of Sept. 2, our household (located a half block off Francis in a residential area west of Indian Trail) was rattled and shaken awake by the third night of this nocturnal nightmare in two weeks. At 1 a.m., heavy trucks with backup signals beeping, paving vehicles pounding, floodlights and blinking orange construction lights pouring through the blinds.

My two children woke up screaming and couldn’t be calmed. This is insane. These kids have school in the morning and couldn’t get back to sleep until the crews moved on about 45 minutes later - to wake more sleeping kids farther down the road.

I realize that the reason for the night paving is that the asphalt sets better when the temperatures are cooler. But hey, I don’t think we’ve been having a heat wave, either.

Aren’t there some noise ordinances that govern work after certain hours? Does this apply to construction by workers contracted by the city? Maybe I should call someone on Grand Boulevard and see how they got such a deal. Tanja C. Skierka Spokane

Drop STA’s No. 12 and I will drive

Re: “Bus route proposal just that” (letters, Aug. 28):

No, the new No. 9 Limited will not be as fast as the No. 12 U-City Limited. The No. 12 takes only 20 minutes to get downtown.

Did the outside consulting agency ever try driving Sprague during rush hour? East Sprague is a very congested street. During winter, the traffic slows to a crawl or even a complete stop much of the time.

The No. 9 route is also a wheelchair-accessible route, which adds time to the route for loading.

I understand the strategy for eliminating trips between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. because of low demand. What I don’t understand is why Spokane Transit Authority doesn’t just keep the No. 12 U-City Limited for the proposed peak hours (7-9 a.m. and 3-6 p.m.). The company completely forgets the riders north of Sprague along University and along Mission to Argonne.

I will not ride the No. 9 because of past experiences on this bus. Most women I ride with are too afraid to ride that route. STA is well aware of the problems created by some riders.

I urge STA to please take a good, long look at its proposals and remember the people they serve. I know that if the No. 12 is eliminated, I will be back in my car on the freeway, as will a lot of others I ride the bus with now. D.L. Rausch Spokane

Supermarkets, keep up the good work

It’s great that our Spokane supermarkets are decent enough to refuse to sell tabloids that publicize Princess Diana tastelessly. What a truly upright decision.

Now we hope that they will progress to the level of civility and refuse to sell any smutty tabloids ever again. Ellen L. Grosselfinger Spokane

GRASS FIELD BURNING

Fitzsimmons is just following the law

On August 23, headlines in your newspaper proclaimed that Tom Fitzsimmons, director of the Department of Ecology in Washington, might reconsider a three-year phaseout of open field burning (“New Ecology chief may lift grass-burn ban.”) Fitzsimmons isn’t reconsidering anything. He’s following the same laws that guided his predecessor, Mary Riveland.

Washington’s Clean Air Act says that “economical and practical” alternatives to open field burning must be available before the practice is banned. The text of the law reads the same now as it did when Riveland enacted a permanent rule designed to phase out open field burning.

Under the permanent rule, growers cut burning by two-thirds in the last two years. The permanent rule states that the number of acres that can be burned will remain at this level until a viable alternative to open field burning has been identified.

Recent newspaper articles have implied that Washington’s permanent rule on open field burning would change next year. In truth, no changes can take place until a viable alternative is found.

Growers are now completing the second year of the three-year burning reductions and no economical or practical alternatives to burning have been identified. Growers will maintain the status quo, a two-thirds reduction in the number of acres burned each year, until an alternative has been found.

Growers are working hard to seek alternatives. This year, over $440,000 will be spent on research designed to identify economically viable and practical alternatives to open field burning. Linda M. Clovis, executive director Intermountain Grass Growers Association, Coeur d’Alene

IN THE REGION

Finally, some fairness in Ferry County

The headline on an Aug. 28 article, “Ferry County has growing pains,” could have just as well read: “Ferry County refuses to protect the property rights of adjacent property owners.”

It has been Concerned Friends of Ferry County’s contention all along that the county planning office has ignored neighbors’ rights (directed, in the past, by property rights advocate Dave Keeley, now a consultant to the county on Growth Management Act and executive director of an anti-environmental lobby, the Ferry County Action League). A tape of a past planning commission meeting included a discussion of encumbrances and Keeley assured the commissioners that the plan had none.

Friends has been ignored from the outset and to this day, we can’t think of one instance that a comment of ours (amounting to hundreds of pages) has been included.

We weren’t about to let the county completely ignore the issues at hand and adopt a plan that did not protect the resource lands vital to the local economy. For example, the agriculture, forests and the critical areas necessary for protection of adequate and safe water for humans and wildlife.

We’re happy that the hearings board has finally taken action by asking the governor for sanctions in the matter. Maybe Ferry County will now follow the intent of the law, to restrict growth that has proved to be so harmful and destructive in other areas around the rest of the state and nation. Dave L. Robinson Curlew, Wash.

Murray bill right for Hanford Reach

The recent listing of upper Columbia River steelhead as endangered species settles any question whether the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River should be federally protected or turned over to local county commissioners.

Only Sen. Patty Murray’s bill to designate Hanford Reach as America’s next recreational wild and scenic river passes muster under the Endangered Species Act in protecting the reach’s steelhead habitat. This listing also drives a stake through the heart of Rep. “Doc” Hastings’ bill to turn the reach over to local county commissioners.

Under Murray’s bill, the reach’s steelhead habitat would be managed by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s fisheries experts within the regulatory framework of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. This prioritizes protection of the reach’s invaluable habitat. The steelhead listing obligates the reach as a funding priority for the Department of Interior, once its designated a wild and scenic river.

Hastings’ bill throws the reach on the mercy of weak and easily changed local ordinances, provides squabbling county commissioners instead of fisheries experts, provides no funding sources and fails to prioritize fisheries habitat protection. His real goal is development of our nearby public lands called the Wahluke Slope, not protection of the river. Robert W. Wilson Richland

OTHER TOPICS

Nethercutt office tries hard to help

Two points must be made in response to Sandra Haats’ letter, “Nethercutt’s help not much help” (Aug. 28).

When Haats entered the military, she made a choice to serve her country, a service that with all probability would take her away from home. Many service men and women are going through the same thing, but they’re not complaining about it publicly. They salute their commanding officer and carry out their duty.

Second, as one who has worked with Don Gillespie, the congressional aide Haats referred to, I must point out that Gillespie does not brush people off like Haats described. Gillespie is a professional who will do everything in his power to solve individual cases.

What the constituent needs to understand is that there are certain rules and procedures that must be followed, that because they did not receive what they hoped to receive doesn’t mean the aide or case worker did not try to help. Gillespie works long hours and does all he can to solve each case. I am proud to call him my friend. Before readers pass judgment on Rep. George Nethercutt and his staff, they should know how cases are solved and that there are usually two sides to every story. Justin B. Childers Spokane

Navy member’s action improper

Chief Petty Officer Sandra Haats (letters, Aug. 28) was way off base when she went over the heads of her commanding officers and contacted Rep. George Nethercutt’s office in an effort to have him intervene and have the Navy rescind her permanent change of station orders.

Haats’ problem is a matter between her and the U.S. Navy, not a member of Congress. Her oath of enlistment states, in part, that she must obey the orders of officers placed over her. With more than 17 years in the Navy, she has probably taken the oath at least four times and should know this. Rep. George Nethercutt and Don Gillespie were right not to intervene in a lawful order.

I serve on Nethercutt’s veterans advisory board. He and Gillespie have helped more than 1,000 veterans who needed assistance. Haats should’ve taken her problem to a chaplain or should seek a humanitarian discharge. Thomas V. Jamison Spokane

‘Mainstream press’ sickens me

I was truly horrified last Saturday evening to learn of Princess Diana’s death and its possibly being caused by the hounding of the paparazzi. Since that time I have become even more sickened by the actions of the pack of hypocrites called the mainstream press and their merciless efforts to destroy her children’s father.

People, stop and think. Don’t just feel. S.P. Calhoun Ione, Wash.