Letters To The Editor

Thu., Aug. 18, 1994

Keep proposed RV sites out of Bear Lake Park

This letter is in regard to the proposed 175-site RV park at Bear Lake.

When did the concept that public parks need to turn a profit come about?

A public park is supposed to be a natural haven for local people supported by local tax money, not a commercial enterprise needing to make money.

Do Liberty Lake, Manito or Pine River parks turn a profit?

Bear Lake can barely survive its present use. It has been troubled by fecal coliform and swimmer’s itch because of its tiny size, high usage and lack of water flow.

Diarrhea, bacterial infections, giardia and skin rashes are common. Liberty Lake at least is a large lake that could handle an extra 700-plus out-of-staters daily.

Bear Lake is closed many months of the year. Has it been advertised to the Spokane public as a wonderful place to hike in the fall and spring and to cross-country ski in the winter? It has a horse corral and a baseball field. These two features will be torn out to pave the RV sites.

I want to ask the people of Spokane if they want to see one of their tax-supported parks looking like a KOA campground.

Spokanites will not be driving their RVs to Bear Lake. Most likely it will be used by people from Arizona, California and Nevada.

Let’s not give away a precious natural resource. Realistically, your taxes will not be less; you will just get less for them. Lyn Cunningham J. Craig Barrile Chattaroy

COPS NE displays high community spirit

COPS Northeast, a neighborhood police substation, shows how innovative Spokane’s police force and community is.

The volunteers demonstrate that Spokane’s community spirit is high. The work that is being done by dedicated officers such as Percy Watkins is a fine example of this.

This dedication rolls over into offduty time for these officers. Officer Watkins, along with other volunteers, planned many activities this summer.

I attended two activities that Officer Watkins supervised on his volunteer time: a movie at the Garland and a car wash at the Maid O’Clover.

Many of the teens who participated have had brushes with the law. These teens donated the $102 they earned to charity. I say we need to count our blessings for all that is being done by the police force and volunteers at Cops NE. Jerry Carter Spokane

Yard-sale visitors steal 10-year-old’s new game

My 10-year-old son worked very hard at our recent weekend yard sale selling his games, toys and clothes to make enough money to buy a Sega Game Gear with his own money.

On Monday, while my son was on the patio playing with his new Game Gear, two women stopped to look over what was left of the closed yard sale. They distracted him by asking questions and walking in separate directions around the patio, and when they left, he discovered they had stolen his new Game Gear off the table.

I can’t believe that two grown women (both about 30, one was blond and the other had dark hair, driving a beat-up orange car with white top) would stoop so low as to intentionally steal a child’s toy.

He was devastated, and though I know we’ll never see it again, I hope other yard-sale parents will be aware that these types of people are around. And I hope these two women feel proud of themselves. Wendy Green Spokane

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