Letters To The Editor

SPOKANE MATTERS

Don’t change Spokane’s name

I strongly object to changing our city’s name to Spokane Falls. For more than 100 years we have been officially Spokane, a name that has served us well.

In addition to the terrific expense and effort involved in a name change, there is another thought to consider. It is already evident what low-comedy additions would surface. In fact, I have already heard and read a few: Spokane Falls Down, Spokane Falls Apart, Spokane Falls Behind, Spokane Falls Back, Spokane Falls Through. Enough?

In the midst of all our current civic turmoil and decision making, do we need this unnecessary worry? Let’s move forward, Spokane! Joanne M. Jones Spokane

‘Romantic icons’ just fine, as is

In an article in the Sept. 19 Spokesman-Review, writer-director Jude Pauline Eberhard found the Riverfront Park area “a filmmaker’s dream” for romantic scenes in the movie, “Love Always,” which will open in Spokane on Oct. 10.

Among her favorite “bountiful romantic icons” were the Monroe Street Bridge, the falls, the public library, the Carousel and the Clock Tower. It was better than she had imagined - as is! Linda L. Lambert Spokane

Face up to consequences

When I read that Harold Grammer had died from the injuries sustained in the hit and run accident a few days ago, I nearly cried. It makes me sick that the person who hit him didn’t bother or was too frightened to stop and take the consequences.

Does this person realize the guilt that will riddle him/ her every day until they confess. In this day and age it’s sad to know how many people refuse to accept responsibility for their actions. Instead of enraging the public over this tragic incident by trying to hide, why don’t they come forward and give their side of the story and relieve their conscious.

Why not? They are only making themselves look like a callous criminal when they are may be just a normal citizen scared to death to admit that they took a human life with a horrible accident.

Face the music. Harold didn’t get away with anything. No one else may know now, but you do and always will. Rachel Williams Spokane

Maybe cyclist not to blame

Why is everyone so quick to blame the cyclist? Yes, Harold Grammer should have been wearing reflective clothing. Yes, he should have been wearing a helmet. But the fact that he wasn’t does not automatically make him to blame.

From the bottom of Sunset Hill to F Street there is absolutely no shoulder for cyclists to ride on. If he was as close to the curb as he could have been he was still in harm’s way.

I know because I rode my bike up Sunset Hill three times this summer, praying each time that I wouldn’t become a casualty. The third time, a car full of teenagers drove by, refusing to get in the left lane to pass me, even though there were no cars behind them. When they were right beside me the driver honked, startling me so bad I almost lost my balance. Then they flipped me off. It was the last time I’ll ever ride my bike up Sunset Hill.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the same scenario played on that tragic Tuesday morning. Defensive drivers constantly keep their eyes on the road, prepared to react in a split second. Ignorant drivers hit cyclists from behind and leave the scene of the crime.

Put the blame where it belongs. Catherine M. Harrison Spokane

STATE LAND LEASES

Value of land in eye of beholder

Ah, yes, “fair market valued” is precisely what the lessees on Priest Lake want, D.F. Oliveria. The question is, the value of what the state of Idaho owns on our leased lots? Of the $250,000 value placed on my steep hillside lot, how much is due to the Eastshore Road, the access road, the water system, the sewerage system, the rock removal and beach building, the telephone, the electricity - all of which the state had nothing to do with? I contend that all of these amenities make up a part of the desire for people to purchase the leases and should be deducted from the $250,000 value.

If my leased lot was private property and a buyer was willing to pay $250,000 for it, would the same buyer be willing to pay $250,000 for an identical piece of unimproved property on Upper Priest, where there never will be a road, conventional electricity and telephone, etc., and all the building materials must be boated and erected manually?

The value is in the eye of the beholder, and I contend that my lot is much more attractive to the average buyer of lakefront property. The true value of “the state’s” ownership is what that average buyer is willing to pay for that hypothetical, totally undeveloped lot on Upper Priest.

You must admit, Oliveria, it is not good conservative value to have to lease what you already own. Harry G. Merrick Chattaroy

More to leases than meets the eye

Our family is one who has had the good fortune of having a Priest Lake state lease for several generations.

D.F. Oliveria (Sept.13) states that current rates unquestionably violate the requirement that public land be managed for maximum return. Oliveria agrees with the state land board that rates should therefore go to 2.5 percent of assessed valuations. Does Oliveria believe that a private party could even get close to a 2.5 percent return on his unimproved Priest Lake property? No one would argue that the escalating values of Priest Lake property has made investment opportunities look very lucrative, but not until the property is sold.

Oliveria goes on to say the lease holders can sell their cabins if they can’t pay for their higher leased rates. This sounds easy, but it is not as easy as it sounds. The current tax rate of deeded Priest Lake property averages about .9 percent of assessed value. The lease fee on a state lease valued at $200 thousand would be $3,200 more than taxes would be. In addition, lease holders pay taxes on their improvements at .9 percent just like everyone else.

Leased lots also have many restrictions and encumbrances that private property owners do not have to contend with. State lease fees are currently set at a rate of about 10 times higher than they were 20 years ago. In some cases they are 20-30 times higher. Richard McInerney Spokane

ANIMALS

County does has an animal problem

Channel 4 News quoted Sheriff Craig Thayer as saying there is no animal problem in Stevens County. Does he really still live here? We do have a problem here.

Last year, 43 cats were abandoned on our property. Dog Patch helped us place all of them into homes.

I talked with my neighbors, and the total since spring of this year is 104 cats and kittens, 32 dogs, one horse, two cows and one rabbit that have appeared at our homes. In just this last month alone, five dogs and at least 12 cats have been left in an area that includes five residences.

Maybe this isn’t a problem for the sheriff, but it sure is for the people who live here.

We’ve called the sheriff’s office about the problem, but have always been told to solve the situation by shooting the animals. I don’t feel this is the right solution. So, I don’t call the sheriff anymore. Maybe this is why he doesn’t see the problem; no one bothers to call anymore because no one gets help.

We’ve been lucky so far in finding homes for these critters. But I’m really worried about the future. Without Dog Patch’s help, we’ll be overwhelmed. More and more animals keep coming faster and faster. We do need a Humane Society shelter. We experience this problem more often than I care to think about. Carole M. Thomas Colville, Wash.

Be a responsible pet owner

Tonight for the second time in three months I have rescued a cat from the assault of my two dogs. My dogs are not vicious, but like most dogs they don’t like cats. A neighbor’s cat sustained some cuts requiring stitches, I understand, while the other was chased up a light pole where it lost its balance and fell 10 feet onto a pile of lumber and rocks to my dogs below, where it appeared to have sustained some injuries. These cats were running loose and had gotten into my fenced yard.

Please, if you own a domestic cat, especially if it is a child’s beloved pet, be a responsible owner and keep your pet in at all times. Domestic cats are not meant to run wild, and they become the prey of automobiles, dogs, coyotes, people with poison and other cats. If you cannot keep your cat indoors, find someone who can, and give it a new home where it will be safe.

I love all animals, and I have lost pets to reckless drivers, poisoners and old age. I have cried for every animal I have seen dead on the side of the road, especially the cats and dogs of irresponsible pet owners. Please don’t put me in the position of having to surrender a dead cat to Animal Control next time because it got into my yard and I couldn’t reach it in time. Devon J. Alcott Spokane

PRIGGEE’S CARTOONS

Cartoon made point, good sense

Re: The Sept. 16 letters in response to Milt Priggee’s Sept. 9 cartoon.

How long is it going to take before people think about something they see or read instead of simply reacting to it? Priggee’s cartoon had a definite point, although it appears it was lost on the letter writers who must have been too busy getting offended to see it. Contrary to the impression they must have gotten, Priggee had no interest in speculating on how Princess Diana wanted to die, or in making light of the press, paparazzi or land mines.

I personally felt he meant the debate over the press and privacy issues caused by Diana’s death would, in the end, accomplish nothing. In other words, he is saying Diana died in vain. However, if she had been killed by a land mine people would have been outraged, more so than they are at the paparazzi. There would have been a good chance that land mines would be banned, meaning her death would have counted for something.

If you look at the cartoon that way there is no reason to be offended; it has a good point and makes sense. Priggee should be congratulated on a job well done. Edmond J. Stowe Coeur d’Alene

Priggee-bashing tiresome

Milt Priggee has a job to do, which he apparently does quite well. His job is to use comic satire to express his point of view.

Many readers are so angered with him that they feel compelled to write letters and let off steam - all for something his employer hired him to do.

I disagree with him also, but I let it end as soon as I have scanned his offerings.

This isn’t to say people aren’t entitled to their opinions. It’s the unnecessary bashing he gets that I’m tired of.

Which is better looking in print: A club-swinging, radical viewpoint in retaliation, in anger, or a gentle, graceful means of wording, the impact of which anyone can understand? I.H. Smith Spokane

SCHOOL MATTERS

Shorter tests better for kids

Re: Fourth-grade tests.

A few years ago one elementary school spread out its tests to encompass two weeks, instead of one. The test scores went up.

The fact is, children at that age simply aren’t developmentally ready to sit for hours doing something they do not want to. Maybe they’re ready to sit for 30 minutes, but they’re not doing that. What they are doing is sitting for upwards of two hours at a time. Not good; bad. Will D. McGinty Spokane

Family’s reaction understandable

In his Sept. 21 column, Doug Clark chose his facts rather selectively in order to trash Tiffany Cook’s family.

Clark stated that the Cooks enrolled late, on Aug. 20, and therefore the “last in first out” rule kicked in. What Clark did not say is that newcomers are routinely told, as our family was also, that we could not enroll before Aug. 20 even when we tried to in June. Neither were we told that the order of enrollment at that point could put our child at risk of being transferred or bused to another school. The school informed us of this policy at the time of enrollment, when it was already too late to do anything about the order of enrollment.

Clark also neglects to mention that the Cooks selected their home in large part because of the Woodridge school and its reputation. There are laws that protect consumers from bait-and-switch tactics in the retail industry.

The Cook family’s reaction is entirely understandable - unless you have a heart of stone, or perhaps a skull full of mush. Janice L. Keith Spokane

School transfer wrong answer

The emotionally tragic story of Tiffany Cook is just another story of the shortage of funds our school districts face every year. Unfortunately, Tiffany became caught up in this very political upheaval.

As homeowners and prospective purchasers, we assume the tax dollars we pay through our sales and property taxes will cover the cost of police, fire and, of course, school needs of our children. This is a assumption many make, for this is how tax money is spent in other states.

The fact the district is short of funds for the number of children going to school has lead me to ask, why? The words “fiscal responsibility and accountability” come to light here.

Tiffany is an 11-year-old child, born to a military family. In my 14 years of marriage to an active-duty military man, and as a wife and mother I can tell you our children did not adapt any better than any other child. Military children are continuously ripped away from their friends, schools, churches and neighbors whom they trust and rely on, all due to a mandatory move. The busing arrangement has sent Tiffany away from her sibling, further isolating her from her family, which is the most important support system for any child. This is simply the wrong answer for this individual.

Come on Spokane, where is your compassion? We must find another answer! Maren Imhof Spokane

OTHER TOPICS

Education about autism needed

In response to Whitney A. Porter’s letter of Sept. 4, “Don’t generalize about people.”

My wife and I are raising a 7-year-old autistic son. Whenever I tell people I have an autistic son they get a blank look or say something like, “You mean like the movie ‘Rainman’?”

Most people can’t relate to autism. After all, the condition is only now beginning to get the attention it deserves. I also had a hard time understanding at first.

We discovered Rickey had autism when he was 3. The last thing I wanted was to have a label put on my son. Now that I’ve been educated about it I understand my son so much more. I can love him and his autism because this is who he is and will always be.

The law says he has a right to be mainstreamed into the public school system. Because of this fact the public needs to be educated about autism so that no child will ever be discriminated against. Because of people’s ignorance and intolerance toward people who are different, my son’s life will be harder than what the public calls “normal.”

People who care about our school system will be willing to ensure every special needs child will get the education that every “normal” child gets.

Rickey can read at an adult level, he has a photographic memory and plays sports better than most. To know him is to love him. Thanks to Kellogg School District 391 and Idaho Head Start for taking the extra steps to help Rickey get over the hurdles. Rick L. Zent Kellogg, Idaho

Maybe a dictionary could help

In The Spokesman Review (Letters, Sept. 21), Wayne S. Rawley mentioned the laws of the land. Whose land is it?

It’s people like him who keep me up at night wishing that they had some inkling of wisdom. Perhaps he should look up the word “ignorance.” Not in an encyclopedia, but in a dictionary, where most words are defined. Bob P. Paffile Coeur d’Alene