D.F. Oliveria

I don't like stoplights - particularly the unsynchronized ones lining U.S. Highway 95 north of Appleway in Coeur d'Alene. Yeah, yeah, I know. They're a necessary evil. But I'll go blocks out of my way to avoid some lights, such as the excruciatingly slow one at Highway 95 and Appleway that probably operates on a sundial. As a decade-long resident of Coeur d'Alene, I've learned every shortcut to work, downtown and the Silver Lake Mall. The shortcuts allow me to pretend that we're not growing as fast as we are. Alas, persistent traffic engineers recently have foiled two of these escape routes by putting stoplights at 15th and Best and at Government Way and Harrison.

Most Americans love Old Glory. You see that love in the tears streaming down a U.S. Olympic champion's face during the playing of our national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner."

A judge's decision on a Cougar Bay subdivision last week should warn Kootenai County commissioners to quit playing fast and loose on planning issues. District Judge Craig Kosonen ruled that former commissioners OK'd the Lake Coeur d'Alene development without proof that proposed water, waste and stormwater disposal systems would work. So, he sent McCormack Properties' proposal back to the drawing board.

As we celebrate a new American hero, we need to examine why Air Force Capt. Scott O'Grady survived six days downed in the heart of the Bosnian war zone. The reasons are personal and communal. O'Grady not only is cool-headed, courageous and well-trained, but also he's fortunate to live in a country that values human life - and occasionally musters the will to act decisively in international affairs.

Rich California businessman Leonard Rosen provides another example why this country desperately needs tort reform. Rosen is bankrolling a $750,000 claim against North Idaho College because his son Matt lost a controversial decision at the regional wrestling tournament in February. The elder Rosen blames Coach John Owen for not protesting a scoring error that cost Matt a point and a chance to wrestle at nationals.

What goes around comes around. About 30 years ago, the Berrigan brothers, the Chicago Seven, Timothy Leary and others were making quite a nuisance of themselves opposing the Vietnam War and promoting drugs. College students were encouraged to burn bras, draft cards and flags. Meanwhile, conservative America had a message for the dissenters: "America - love it or leave it." Today, the right wing is protesting government regulations, taxation and unruly federal agents. Abortion clinics are being picketed instead of ROTC buildings. And ultraconservative leaders such as talk-show host G. Gordon Liddy are advocating lawlessness. Recently, Liddy urged gun owners to purchase the 19 assault weapons outlawed last year by Congress: "They're not going to put 150 million Americans in jail." Ironically, President Clinton, a former draft dodger, wants tougher anti-terrorism laws to crack down on neodissidents. Apparently, freedom-of-speech rules apply only when you agree with the speech in question. The good are dying too young A stunned sportswriter shook her head last week and said, "God's forming quite an all-star team in heaven." The tragic death of Post Falls runner Christina Finney, which prompted the writer's comment, was the latest in a series. Christina was killed in a two-car collision. Her death comes about two months after former Coeur d'Alene High School soccer goalie Jennifer Stokes was fatally injured at the dangerous intersection of Northwest Boulevard and Lincoln Way. Last November, Kellogg High School cheerleader Joni Groth was killed in a one-car rollover, North Idaho College wrestler John Turpen died of alcohol consumption and Post Falls pastor David Hutchison, a softball enthusiast, died in a two-car crash. Let's hope and pray that God has filled all the roster spots on his North Idaho team.

We can't allow graduation prayer, sniffs the American Civil Liberties Union, because some people might be offended. Imagine that - students being shocked on a public school campus. Students of faith regularly are jarred at school as they hear God cursed with impunity, are taught that their uncle was an evolving monkey, participate in values clarification that attacks their family values and take health classes that promote condoms over abstinence.

Coeur d'Alene effectively used a curfew and limits on smoking, loud noise, skateboards, roller skates and bicycles to restore order on main street during the 1980s - particularly after a Spokane teen was thrown through a storefront window. At the time, youngsters packed downtown streets and sidewalks on warm summer nights, chasing tourists and customers from the hard-pressed central business district.

Kootenai County Judge Gary Haman earned a helping of Hot Potatoes recently for a boneheaded decision that allowed a rapist to escape. But he partially redeemed himself late last week with a wise sentencing for a "mercy killing." Haman sentenced Curt Doty to three years in prison for shooting his comatose brother, Daryl, at Kootenai Medical Center. The judge, however, wisely made Curt Doty eligible for parole in 30 days.

Each Memorial Day drives the memory of the Korean War further from us. Most would forget about "The Forgotten War" entirely if it weren't for Hawkeye, Hot Lips and "M*A*S*H" reruns. The apathy frustrates Korean War veteran James Wiecks of Post Falls, who remembers the American sacrifice: 54,245 dead, 103,284 wounded and 8,177 missing. Wiecks wrote to remind us about his war and an overdue Korean War memorial that will be dedicated July 27 in Washington, D.C.

You don't tolerate racism. Rather, you loudly and persistently denounce racism and those who spread the message of hate. Racism flourishes in a vacuum of silence and accommodation.

It's tough for a country of immigrants to say to others yearning for our freedoms, "No more." But tough decisions are necessary as we get serious about balanced budgets at all levels of government. We can't continue to provide even limited welfare for illegal aliens when dwindling revenue is forcing us to tighten benefit restrictions for our own poor. We can't provide health care for illegal aliens when many struggling Americans can't afford basic medical services. We can't school the children of illegal aliens when our schools are jammed and performance is down. Finally, we can't keep our borders unofficially open without being overwhelmed by immigrants from Mexico, Cuba, Haiti and other impoverished nations. We can't absorb the impact financially or culturally.

Let me get this straight. You're mad, and you're not going to take it anymore. Right? You just got your property assessment notice, and it's gone up a bazillion dollars. So, you're going to race down to the county assessor's office and complain. Maybe you'll send 10 bucks to that ol' anti-tax devil Ron Rankin and promise him, "You can count on me next time." Maybe you'll even vote against every future school levy or bond. That'll show 'em. Huh!

George Paul Anton had every reason to run when a 1st District judge let him skip closing arguments in his rape trial Friday. Anton lives in Texas and, at age 68, was facing three rape counts that could land him in the Idaho state prison for the rest of his life. Besides, his trial wasn't going very well - with his accuser, a state investigator, another alleged victim, a counselor and his own son testifying about his insatiable lust for teenage girls. Anton, a former Coeur d'Alene resident, had nothing to lose.

I was pitching to Junior on Sunday during an Oliveria family softball outing when the ungrateful teen hit a shot up the middle. It nailed me flush on the right elbow. Three quick thoughts came to mind: 1. OUCH! 2. My reactions aren't as good as they used to be. OUCH! 3. (after the throbbing had stopped) Thank God the boy wasn't using a titanium bat. That $500 bat is a softball equipment manufacturer's answer to the limited-flight ball. It makes a weird "sproing" sound on impact, adds 20 to 25 feet of distance to a fly ball and increases the chances of serious injury to a pitcher standing only 45 feet away. My 9-year-old daughter probably could hit a homer with one of these rocket launchers.

Tyler Fouche of Post Falls gives new meaning to the term, "accident prone." In the last three months, the 12-year-old has spiced up two family vacations by dislocating his right wrist in Guatemala and getting bitten by a stingray in San Diego. But there are two silver linings here. At least, the family made the 1995 trips. Last year, Bill and Colleen Fouche canceled a ski outing because, you guessed it, Tyler fell and broke his thumb - for the second time. And the second silver lining? Tyler's father is a doctor. Militia top 10: Someone anonymously faxed Kootenai County Prosecutor Bill Douglas a list of 10 reasons a la David Letterman why Coeur d'Alene doesn't have a militia. They include: (10) No one wants to upset the feds because they might cancel our food stamps, (8) Militia activities lack water sports, (4) Uniforms make your butt look fat, and (drum roll, please) (1) Who needs an overnight camp-out just to sleep with some smelly, paranoid guys in a pup tent. True confessions: Churches traditionally give gifts on Mother's Day to the oldest mom, newest mom, mom with the most kids, etc. But Pam Katus took top prize in a unique Post Falls Nazarene Church category: The Mom With The Most Traffic Tickets. ... Sightem by Mike Winderman on a downtown Spokane church: "Thou shalt not lie on thy Bloomsday score. It shall be reported." ... FYI: Kay See Ess Oh deputies apparently don't want any more broken bones or bashed heads, so they've backed out of their annual Pig Bowl football game with the CPD Blue. As a result, Chief Dave Scates' finest have challenged the Spokane Police Department to a June 11 rumble at Lake City High. Stay tuned. ... You know you're still living in a small town when a postcard arrives from Honduras addressed to the S-R's Coeur d'Alene office, "near Paul Bunyan's." "Gringo (Mike) Green" of Wallace writes that he's looking for an English-teaching job in Central America.

The Christian Coalition's Contract with American Families is for every citizen: Who is fed up with hypersensitive liberals policing our public displays of faith, deciding how we raise and educate our families, and constantly demanding more tax dollars. Who is sickened by the decline of this great nation into the greatest debtor nation ever - a world leader in violent crime, divorce, voluntary abortions and illegal drug use.

Spokane County Commissioners Steve Hasson and Phil Harris mistakenly are putting protocol ahead of public health. Hasson and Harris have ordered the Spokane County Water Quality Advisory Board to butt out of a controversy involving the Kootenai County commissioners - who are upstream from Spokane, as the aquifer flows. They'd rather mollify their North Idaho counterparts than address a potential threat to Spokane's drinking water.

Three cheers for the teachers who objected to the Washington Education Association's liberal social and political agenda and threatened to sue. The WEA agreed to reimburse the unhappy teachers about $200 to $300 this year and to cut their dues in half next year - rather than take its chances in court. Said Steve Cowdrey, a Clarkston, Wash., social studies teacher: "I'm disappointed that the NEA (National Education Association) masquerades as a friend of education, but it primarily promotes liberal social and political agendas that have nothing to do with education." Teachers unions have every right to fight for higher pay, better working conditions and smaller classroom sizes. But they go far afield with many of their causes. Generally, unions are viewed as a liberal arm of the Democratic Party. Maybe this wake-up call from the membership will force the WEA and other teachers unions to concentrate again on their original mission: quality education.

In a desperate attempt to save convicted murderer Donald Manuel Paradis, two New Yorkers shamelessly have appealed to the court of public opinion. Attorney Edwin Matthews and his wife, Patricia, can't win in any other court. The Matthewses have tried to enlist movie stars in their cause celebre, asking actor Dustin Hoffman to use his influence with former Idaho Attorney General Larry EchoHawk to arrange a clemency deal, and have repeated their revisionist tale of Paradis' "innocence" to all who would listen.

The Justice Department and FBI still don't get it. First, federal agents blundered into a 1992 firefight over a minor weapons violation that left three dead on Ruby Ridge, including a 14-year-old boy and his unarmed mother. Then, the Justice Department stonewalled the release of a highly critical report about the confrontation that questioned the actions of high-ranking officials and the use of deadly force.

Shed no tears for Duncan McKenzie. The ruthless killer finally got his reward for a 1974 torture murder - a lethal injection. He was selfish until the end Wednesday morning, refusing to admit guilt in the Montana slaying or to discuss an unsolved Coeur d'Alene murder. He was a suspect in the strangulation of Lake City teen Debra Prety 22 years ago. A confession would have allowed Debra's family finally to have laid their loved one to rest. But people like McKenzie don't land on death row for humanitarian reasons. He died without any final words. Good riddance. Batt's breaking up that ol' GOP gang Idaho Republican Gov. Phil Batt has done more for his state's decimated Democrats than anyone else. By tapping state Rep. Michael T. Johnson as his first director of the Department of Juvenile Corrections, Batt now has appointed seven GOP legislators to his new administration. Others are Sens. Roger Madsen, Rod Beck, Dennis Hansen and Mary Hartung and Reps. Pam Ahrens and Jesse Berain. Democrats will have an easier time defeating appointees than multiterm legislators. As the first Republican governor in 20 years, Batt has made wholesale changes in key posts, and the Legislature offered a good talent pool. But there also is bad news for Idaho's minority Democrats. Johnson should be Batt's last lawmaker pick.

U.S. Sen. Larry Craig wants federal agents to paint bull's eyes on their chests before they venture into the backcountry to enforce natural-resource laws. That's what they will be doing if Congress ever heeds the Idaho Republican's call to disarm agents of federal land and resource agencies. Such a policy would endanger the lives of federal officers who patrol national forests and wildlife refuges in these increasingly hostile anti-government times. Does the name Claude Dallas ring a bell?

What a difference a year makes. The 1993-94 Coeur d'Alene High School yearbook went on and on about the pending split of the school. And it waxed poetic about how CHS and the new Lake City High School would share a common theme of blue - always. The two schools still were suffering the pangs of separation last fall when they made plans to combine their senior balls. That, of course, was before the schools began beating each other's brains out in sports and other extracurricular activities. Now, ex-teammates hardly speak when they run into each other on the street. Still, prom night at Templin's served an important role: It brought closure to the traumatic split. Now, kids realize that the other school across town is as alien to them as Post Falls, Lakeland and Sandpoint highs. Another white knight with feet of clay? Was that me rolling out the red carpet for the return of Dennis Erickson? Was I one of the Northwest faithful who was willing to sacrifice his first-born for a competitive Seattle Seahawks football team? Yep. Now, I feel silly. Erickson's conduct on and off the field this off-season is overshadowing his National Football League coaching debut. First, he was arrested for driving while intoxicated. Now, he is accused of having withheld results of positive drug tests so multiple offenders such as star Warren Sapp could play for him at the University of Miami. If those accusations are true, Erickson deserves razzberries, not huzzahs.