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

Drivers, not roads, key to safety

letters

Drivers, not roads, key to safety

You have an article in the Dec. 20 Spokesman-Review about recent fatalities on highways 195 and 26. We all should feel deep sympathy for the parents of those students. I can’t think of anything harder to cope with than the death of a son or daughter. I do hope that they have faith in a God in heaven who has a plan that gives us hope for an afterlife.

Some quoted in the article make the claim that the reason for these accidents is unsafe roads. The purpose of this letter is to claim that is not true. Maybe some comfort can be gained by thinking that the fault is the roads. That may be true, and my purpose is not to dispute it. I do think though that the article should have stressed the fact that driving a car is a serious business. Life or death is in your hands. An unsafe pass to save a few minutes is not a good choice. The point should be stressed to all drivers during Christmas, or any other time, they should allow more time than they feel they need and not get impatient on the road. Drive safe, and the roads are safe if the drivers use good judgment. You can do it. All please keep that in mind.

Jack Ensley

Colfax

Season for hope, not fear

The story goes like this: On the evening of one of the most consequential events in human history, a messenger arrived with these words: “Do not be afraid.”

At this particular moment in human history, no words could be more appropriate.

We are relentlessly bombarded by the incendiary rhetoric of the politicians and would-be presidents, assailed by the violence of the deranged, and warned again and again by the pundits and the media that this is, in fact, the time to be fearful, to be afraid, and to make decisions based upon that fear.

That same story also says that only love can defeat fear, but that’s a more complicated discussion. Right now, I’m choosing to remember those first words, offered at the moment everything changed, and never more relevant than they are today: Do not be afraid. I offer them in the hope that others will remember them too.

John Owen

Spokane

Headline invites attack

The Spokesman-Review has done it again. Do you ever think about the impact your headlines can have on the nut cases out there? If you are a budding mass killer and are thinking of making a school your target, then you have identified the safest target. Not Coeur d’ Alene; they have eight armed officers. Not Mead; they at least have one armed officer. No, you want to choose Spokane, which thanks to the inaction of the City Council and Spokane School District leave the children and teachers at the mercy of home-grown or foreign terrorists.

Bob Westmoreland

Spokane

Commissioners dilute land use codes

I have been reading with concern the stories of firings and demotions in the Bonner County, Idaho, Planning Department, changes to the planning and zoning appeals process, and the growing loopholes for building location permits.

Coming on the heels of a conversation with Commissioner Todd Sudick regarding his disdain for the current codes, I am concerned that we are witnessing the unraveling of well-thought-out land use policies that protect property rights and our quality of life. I participated on a county task force a few years ago that crafted the current land use codes. Our broad-based citizens committee worked hard to strike a balance between private development, impact on neighbors and the public good.

As someone who loves Bonner County, I appreciate methodical and thoughtful planning. I hope any additional changes in the land use and building codes will occur only after ample public notice and involvement.

Carol Jenkins

Sagle, ID