Letters To The Editor

SPOKANE MATTERS

Dirty air interests in driver’s seat

We may never know if Cherie Rodgers was removed from the Spokane County Air Pollution Control Authority board because her support for public health and clean air interests angered grass field burners or because of some other political agenda. Maybe it was both. What we do know is that the cost to the public for these petty politics will be very high.

Outside special interests and private agendas deciding who will represent 195,000 citizens is an affront to the principles of democracy. Even worse, the job of protecting our air quality is now firmly in the hands of a board stacked by industry and special interests.

Spokane-area residents had better get used to breathing polluted air. With clean air advocate Rodgers gone and grass burning supporter Mike Brewer in, a clear majority of three members on the five-member SCAPCA board supports the grass industry. What this means is that, in the eighth-most polluted city in the nation, air quality will be guarded by a board which still defends an industry regarded as a health hazard by the medical community. If they believe that filling our lungs with grass smoke is acceptable, it’s unlikely they will address wood smoke, diesel exhaust, outdoor burning and our many other sources of pollution.

Those who conspired to silence Rodgers have accomplished more than denying Spokane a health advocate on the Clean Air Board. They have also robbed us all of a future THAT might have included cleaner air and better health. Patricia Hoffman, D.V.M., president Save Our Summers, Spokane

Put-up job endangers my daughter

Unbelievable! Councilwoman Cherie Rodgers has been ousted from her Spokane County Air Pollution Control Authority seat. She’s the one person selected to represent Spokane not only under former mayor Jack Geraghty’s regime but also by Mayor John Talbott and the City Council. Obviously, these two mayors knew how valuable Rodgers’ input to this group was for the citizens’ health and safety.

I moved to Spokane one and a half years ago from an agricultural community in New Jersey where field burning just doesn’t happen. They don’t call New Jersey the Garden State for nothing. My welcome to Spokane came with a call from my daughter’s school, and the dreaded words, “Your child has been taken to the hospital in respiratory distress.”

This has happened twice, at exactly the same time of year: burning season. She is not asthmatic and has never had breathing problems before this.

New York and New Jersey have been known for some unscrupulous political dealings, but removal of Rodgers and the way it was handled beats them hands down!

Mike Brewer’s reputation precedes him, and it isn’t good. I don’t know how many palms might have been greased to get him onto this committee. However, I strongly suggest he use some of that grease to slide out of it and put Rodgers back where she belongs - looking out for people’s welfare.

Or maybe Brewer and his friends can meet me at the hospital during the next burning season and explain to my daughter why it’s OK to put her health in jeopardy. Victoria Z. Ferro Spokane

Things are looking up downtown

I seldom travel to Spokane and go downtown even less often. From reading The Spokesman-Review and talking to friends, I have formed a moderately negative opinion of the downtown area relative to congestion, parking and especially parking enforcement.

Recently, I had business in the SeaFirst Financial Center. I gave myself an extra 15 minutes, which I didn’t need. The traffic lights were generally green, there was an easy-access parking space with time on the meter half a block from my destination. So far, so good.

However, I had 45 minutes of parking meter time and a one-hour meeting.

As I returned to my pickup, the meter officer had already placed a ticket on the windshield but saw me coming. To my surprise and delight, I was told that if I plugged the meter, there would be no citation. I quickly deposited the required coin, profusely thanked the officer and left the downtown area with a big smile.

Spokane, I think there is hope. John E. Galley Elk

Tax change came as welcome news

Thank you for the interesting article in the March 2 Spokesman-Review regarding the reduction of taxes on pulltabs with nonprofit organizations. The Disabled American Veterans, Chapter 45, did not know of this reduction until we read your article. As a nonprofit organization, we feel we should have been informed. We then made a phone call and the problem was corrected. David Williams, club manager Disabled American Veterans, Chapter 45, Spokane

BUSINESS AND LABOR

Support staff getting beat up unfairly

As a nursing assistant at Sacred Heart Medical Center, I fully understand the issues the registered nurses are up against.

My only complaint regards how the registered nurses and public have been treating the support staff at Sacred Heart. As a nursing assistant, I can no more take a nurse’s job than a plumber can become a cardiologist. But I can help with getting people to the toilet, bathing, turning patients, giving back rubs and other such duties. My job is to free the nurses so they can do paper work and distribute medications.

Nursing assistants have been in the job force for many years and deserve some respect. No, we are not total idiots, as we’ve been portrayed in the many letters written. I don’t want to be a nurse because nurses don’t have time for patient care and I enjoy taking care of people. But I do have a bachelor’s degree.

Stand at the nurses’ desk within Sacred Heart and see who is running around, working their butts off; I’ll bet it’s not an RN.

I have met licensed practical nurses and nursing assistants I would gladly let take care of my family members, because I have seen their concern for patients and the knowledge they have acquired. On the other hand, I know many RNs and doctors I wouldn’t trust to take care of my dog.

Moral of story: Don’t judge me until you know me. Brenda D. Cunningham Elk

Quality care issues motivate nurses

As a long-time massage therapist in Spokane, I have been honored to serve many nurses among my clientele. Over the past few years, as the nurse-to-patients ratio has continually increased, I have observed a correlative increase in stress in the nurses I treat.

Without exception, these hospital nurses entered their profession as sincere care givers. Their ability to give quality medical care is not a personal economic issue; it is at the core of their professional identity and integrity.

Nurses would not strike for money. Not one has even mentioned to subject to me. The only issue powerful enough to bring nurses to the brink of a strike is the threat to their ability to adequately care for their patients. That’s exactly the quality of nurse I would want caring for me or a loved one under the duress of hospitalization. Nurses are the canaries in the coal mine of managed care, and they’re struggling for air. As they take this courageous stand for all of us, I applaud and support their efforts. Linda C. Wolcott, L.M.T. Spokane

Telemarketers aren’t all scam artists

This concerns recent negative publicity regarding the telemarketing industry.

The media seem to only want to concentrate on those people and organizations that are operating illegally. They fail to acknowledge the fact that there are legitimate telemarketing firms that do provide valuable products and services to the community, as well as employment opportunities.

I am a telemarketing service representative, and I consider myself to be a professional in my field. The programs that I have called on are all on behalf of Fortune 500 companies, all legitimate companies, and I will bet they are all household names that almost anyone would recognize.

I agree that people should be warned about scams. But they should be equally informed that there are legitimate companies that provide honest and accurate information, valuable services and quality products to you, the customer. Not all telemarketing services are out to rip you off.

So, the next time you receive a call from a telemarketer, before you hang up, take a moment to consider that it actually may be one of us just trying to do our job and earn a living, the same as you. Donna Butterfield Spokane

U.S. AND THE WORLD

Give Saddam more than fresh ink

In the 1930s, Adolf Hitler began his move of aggression against European countries by invading Czechoslovakia. In 1938, Britain’s Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain met with Hitler in Germany. This brought about the signing of the Munich agreement in 1938.

To appease Hitler, this agreement gave him a portion of Czechoslovakia in exchange for peace. However, Hitler wasn’t stopped for long. In March 1939, he took the rest of Czechoslovakia and set his sights on Poland.

It appears to me that history is about to repeat itself. United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan went to Baghdad late last month and allegedly signed an agreement with Saddam Hussein that would open up all areas of Iraq to U.N. inspection. If Chamberlain’s meek effort to appease Hitler in 1938 didn’t work, what makes anyone think Annan’s agreement with Saddam will?

History has proven there is only one way to stop a power-hungry tyrant. Appeasing with signatures isn’t it.

I’m for tightening the screws on Iraq so tight that the people themselves will finally get rid of Saddam. Frank B. Herron Spokane

No good reason to fight with Iraq

I couldn’t disagree more with Opinion editor John Webster’s Feb. 19 editorial. What is the United States doing in the Persian Gulf besides protecting the financial interests of some of our large corporations?

Our No. 1 priority certainly isn’t protecting the people who live there, it’s protecting profit. The sad part is that our government is willing to spill the blood of this nation’s young men and women for the almighty dollar.

Why don’t we invest the money we spend “protecting” the world from Saddam Hussein on developing alternative energy sources, so we can be independent of the Persian Gulf? When will this country’s leadership admit that the only reason we’re in the Persian Gulf is for financial reasons, not humanitarian purposes?

What gives the U.S. government the right to threaten Iraq with war? If things are so bad in the region, why haven’t Saddam’s neighbors faced their problems, or at least asked the U.S. for help? In fact, just the opposite has happened. Even Saudi Arabia, our staunch Persian Gulf ally, doesn’t want us involved. Let the people of the Persian Gulf solve their own problems. We have enough of our own. All we’ve done is lease out our military might to corporate America.

So, do I believe we should stand behind our military? Definitely - at the right time and in the right place. Yes, for protecting our country from foreign aggression. But this is not the right time, place or cause. Robert Oster Nine Mile Falls

THE ENVIRONMENT

EPA gets serious late in the game

Are we doing the right thing here? The March 1 article on toxic dirt buried speaks of a problem that apparently our government agencies knew about, but did not force, or even ask, anyone to do anything about for two years.

The land lessor, frustrated by the impasse and worried the contamination would reach ground water, launched a voluntary cleanup. Everything in this article seems to be accusatory towards this man, yet is it not our government agencies that are responsible?

The Environmental Protection Agency held no one accountable. It sat back while the lawyers wrangled for months, apparently years, and now that someone has actually moved it away, here we are crucifying him. With all due respect to John Bottjer, this is a witch hunt.

I hold the EPA responsible for this mess. The agency should stop pointing its guns at citizens and start doing its job right in the first place. EPA knew about it but did nothing. EPA messed up.

Now, EPA, roll up your sleeves and go to work. Stop badgering the citizens who try to do the work for you. We pay taxes to see you work, not torment the public. Nima Motahari Spokane

IN THE PUBLIC EYE

If it’s good enough for Clinton …

Since polls indicate that females overwhelmingly believe that having sex of any sort, even in the Oval Office, is OK for the president, I suggest that men who feel shackled by any such moral constraints be heartened by these polls. It appears the president is leading a new sexual revolution into the 21st century, so perhaps it might be wise for them to join their wives on this issue and throw off these puritanical shackles and seek out that pretty young thing they may have noticed at the office. Even better, for those fortunate enough to have a pretty young intern under their wing who may have given them that inviting Lewinsky smile.

There are pitfalls in this approach, however. They need to be sure their personal economy is good, that they care about children, the elderly, endangered species, global warming and safe vegetables, and that they make this affair as public as possible. Those who have an office in their home might think of that as an interesting option for such sexual activities, and be sure that their preference for such activity is interesting and titillating.

Most importantly, they must get on board this sexual revolution train and, if polled, give the same answers their wife has given. I’ll miss that train, thank you! Finally, I understand there is a “Bubba is right” petition being circulated. Be sure to sign it. Ken Van Buskirk Spokane

Kwan distinguished herself as a person

Discussing whether Michelle Kwan or Tara Lipinski is the better skater, and why, has become a popular controversy. The answer is obvious. Kwan, with her grace and elegance, can compare to Tara only as a superior skater, not a person. One commentator put it well when he said, “Tara’s in it for a little more show.”

Although Kwan expected a gold medal, she showed not only that she is a champion but also a mature teenager. She received a lower medal than she deserved with dignity, even when faced with Lipinsky, who rudely showed little restraint in winning the gold. To be a skater with Lupinsky’s ability is one thing. To have personal qualities and class like Kwan is truly impressive. Hailey C. Howell Spokane

THE MEDIA

People should compel better movies

In Tammy Scholz’s March 2 Our Generation article we read an articulate youth’s point of view on the movie rating system. But she missed some important steps in her argument.

Scholz asks how many times we have thought, “Jeez, this is kind of inappropriate for me.” She answers, “Probably not very many.” Her logic (or lack of experience) is wrong-sided right from the start. I’ve had that thought countless times but stayed and watched anyway.

She does approach a solution: “The problem lies not only in the system but within the movies themselves. The plot of any good movie shouldn’t depend on sex, violence and profanity to get an audience.” That being true, let’s let Hollywood know by staying away from those R-rated movies. And let’s help Hollywood out by having young, articulate writers (Tammy?) write some movie plots without that needless content! Many PG-13 films, not to mention PG and G, are very worthwhile.

Let’s all do a little growing up and help solve the problem. Then, teenagers can enjoy the provocative plots and popcorn along with the rest of society. Mark Wheeler Spokane

Are conscientious citizens snitches?

In regard to the article, “School snitches help solve crime,” we are really having a difficult time with your use of the word “snitches.”

The definition of snitch, according to Webster, is a turned informer. Do we refer to adults who call Secret Witness snitches? Buck and Cora George Deer Park