Letters for May 13, 2022

Restoring salmon on the Snake River 

Thank you, Shawn Vestal, for your May 8 column clearly and cogently presenting the scientific consensus on dam-breaching as it applies to the Snake River dams and the restoration of native salmon runs on the Snake and lower Columbia Rivers. And thank you for, in that way, exposing the “inventions” of Todd Myer and the Washington Policy Center, which claims to bring “balance to the environmental debate.” Unfortunately, in this case, “balance” does not mean truth.

The science is clear. If we care about the continued existence of native salmon in the Snake River, potentially the richest salmon habitat in the country, and the orca which depend on them for food; if we care about the economic benefits for this river’s communities, tourism and outdoor sports businesses; and if we care about the science and economics of replacing any benefits the Snake River dams now provide, we will get behind the efforts to breach those dams.

The outrageous and ineffective cost of continuing on the counterproductive path of the last 30 years is clear. Idaho Sen. Mike Simpson, Oregon Rep. Earl Blumenauer, Washington Sen. Patty Murray, and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee know this and are seeking a better way to both restore salmon and replace any benefits lost by the breaching of the lower Snake River dams. We should all be celebrating and supporting those efforts.

Thomas Soeldner

Valleyford

National Nurses Week

Thank you for the National Nurses Week supplement (May 4). I enjoyed reading the spotlights on nurses from our area. In the future, please remember to include at least one nurse from Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center, a large employer of many fantastic nurses, nurse anesthetists and nurse practioners here in Spokane. With as often as challenges at our VA hospital are reported on the pages of this newspaper these days, it would be nice to see a positive reflection of the nursing staff who provide great care there, despite all of that.

Lisa Lasswell

Spokane

Proposed Glenrose sports complex

Glenrose residents opposed to the proposed sports complex in their neighborhood are not just crying NIMBY to any development there. To me, ideally it would be left “as is,” as a beautiful buffer between a rural/semirural community and more densely populated neighborhoods. I’m sure many people driving through Glenrose appreciate the unique views and respite the wheat field affords them in an ever increasing environment of homes, apartment complexes and increased traffic and noise they bring.

However, what hasn’t been emphasized in the media is that the proposed sports complex will be a private facility not available to the public in general. It would bring with it a unique set of problems which no other private sports facility in any other residential area in the region creates, including: concentrated traffic with hundreds of cars on inadequate roads, reverberating noise at all times day and night and intrusive field lighting for residents and wildlife who enjoy and rely on dark night sky. At least in neighborhoods with school field lighting and parks like Dwight Merkel, residents are allowed to use playgrounds when not used by students or teams.

Good planning for residential areas beyond essential housing needs should involve the community. My guess is the proposed YMCA development on vacant property west of Glenrose would have met with less resistance in Glenrose because it appeals to the broader public and would not bring those problems a private sports complex would bring. If development is inevitable on the Glenrose site, it should enhance the community, not destroy its identity.

Larry Thorson

Spokane

In support of children

The fallacy is that laws stop the need for abortions. No woman wants an abortion, but through decisions based on her own situation she may seek one.

What will happen if the law changes? It will make woman’s reproductive health unsafe, give control of her own body and her own life over to others, deprive her of the right to self-determination, and freedoms that are guaranteed under the constitution of the United States.

The “birthers” law will not house, feed, cloth, nor educate the children!

I am so over the high-minded folks who call themselves RIGHT. I have family members who “fostered” children and then decided it was too much for them. And it was. So let’s focus our attention on those folks who are caring for the children that are here. Supporting the schools and communities where they live. Providing healthy fresh food, providing housing, medical care, clothes and jobs.

Let’s find ways to support the mothers and fathers to become educated, housed and productive in our culture.

Let’s support the living children to thrive and become the best!

Elizabeth Cobbs

Spokane

Abortion

The world is increasingly overpopulated. Any male who is against abortion should get a vasectomy so they don’t make the problem worse!

Candy Frankel

Spokane

Breath of life

The breath of life is a biblical phrase (Genesis 2:7/6:3). Pneuma is the ancient Greek word for “breath” meaning soul or spirit. Since humans are opposite of photosynthesis in plants (breathing in carbon dioxide and out oxygen) then our lungs cause our heart to beat. This is opposite of choking and shutting off oxygen which causes the heart to stop. The heart is a muscle that works as a pump delivering oxygen to the body cells. From a zygote to an embryo to a fetus, no oxygen has been delivered to the body cells by way of the lungs.

Only a baby can deliver the breath of life to the body.

Max Tuggle

Spokane

Monaghan statue

Ensign Monaghan was a Spokane native who sacrificed his own life in an attempt to save another U.S. naval officer and his commander, Lt. Landsdale, during a conflict in Samoa in 1899. He was so respected by the U.S. Navy that they christened the USS Monaghan in his honor, a torpedo/destroyer which was at Pearl Harbor and the Battle of Midway, among others. He should be admired not defamed for his actions!

Should we remove the Vietnam Wall if American Vietnamese citizens find it painful to view? Or what about the Korean Memorial in Washington, D.C.? Should we decimate the World War II memorial? There was and is pain for the soldiers, families and others who feel the wounds these wars/conflicts create. Today those WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan veterans continue to live with the horrors of war daily.

These monuments stand as a testament to the bravery of our men and women in the Armed Forces. They reflect the historical nature of the conflicts – not the current political stance. All wars are painful and cause heartbreak and suffering to those who live through them – or die because of them.

The petitioners object to the bas-relief pediment on the Monaghan statue. However, rather than just requesting a rewording of the plaque to remove the offensive connotation, they want the entire statue destroyed, which negates Ensign Monaghan’s heroic performance. To tear down these monuments effectively deletes history and dishonors the sacrifices made by our military and their families.

Alan Solinsky

Spokane