Subscribe now

Casino gambles with Fairchild

The Spokane Tribe has just over 4,000 members and 155,000 reservation acres. They can build on reservation land. Washington has millions of citizens that this precedent-setting decision impacts. With the Bureau of Indian Affairs sending the Spokane Tribe’s proposed casino on to Gov. Jay Inslee, the decision jeopardizes all Washington citizens. Speak up or risk the long-term presence of Fairchild Air Force Base, and have gaming on every street in Washington.

The base is our leading employer and economic force, with an impact of over $400 million a year. Developing a gambling complex so close to the base is a bad idea. The Air Force would not want a multistory building with thousands of people directly under its flight crash path. This move excludes Fairchild from being considered for future missions, putting the base at risk for closure.

What is stopping any tribe from building a casino on nontribal land? Overbuilding casinos hurts all Native American tribes. We cannot afford risking our region’s largest employer while setting a negative precedent with a casino on every Seattle, Tacoma and Spokane street corner. Inslee should not gamble with Fairchild’s and Washington’s future.

Bret Wheeler

Spokane

Letters policy

The Spokesman-Review invites original letters on local topics of public interest. Your letter must adhere to the following rules:

  • No more than 250 words
  • We reserve the right to reject letters that are not factually correct, racist or are written with malice.
  • We cannot accept more than one letter a month from the same writer.
  • With each letter, include your daytime phone number and street address.
  • The Spokesman-Review retains the nonexclusive right to archive and re-publish any material submitted for publication.

Unfortunately, we don’t have space to publish all letters received, nor are we able to acknowledge their receipt. (Learn more.)

Submit letters using any of the following:

Our online form
Submit your letter here
Mail
Letters to the Editor
The Spokesman-Review
999 W. Riverside Ave.
Spokane, WA 99201
Email
editor@spokesman.com
Fax
(509) 459-3815
Phone
(509) 459-5430

Read more about how we crafted our Letters to the Editor policy