Letters To The Editor

GETTING WORK

More bad news for job seekers

National corporations no longer send recommendations on former employees to inquiring personnel officers describing length of employment, duties and skills and reliability, even though this is still required for employment. They could even use a checklist form to save time.

Their given reason is fear of lawsuits by the new employer. One regional corporation does provide dates on employment and states whether they would rehire the person if a position were available.

Government and private businesses hire several part-time workers to avoid paying benefits.

These rules make insurmountable handicaps for qualified and eager job seekers, and force them to get food stamps and medical aid for their families. Elizabeth Hill Spokane

Too heavy a cross to bear

After receiving an AA degree from college, I figured I would be able to find employment. After all, I had experience, and with a degree, employers could see I’d be a good candidate for their position.

There’s only one thing wrong: my disability. I face what so many other people with disabilities face in Spokane.

Even with a law to protect the disabled, discrimination is alive and well. We have to tell the employer we’re disabled, which opens the door for discrimination by employers without us knowing.

Some employers acknowledge the fact they won’t hire a disabled person. It’s a shameful example of how a law that is supposed to get the disabled into the work force has put so many disabled at the mercy of employers who figure these people are unemployable when they see the word “disabled,” just as social security does.

How about a law for the disabled that says, “Don’t ask, don’t tell?” T.S. Daubert Spokane

SPOKANE MATTERS

People made a difference

On July 21 and 22, over 300 employees from 20 area companies spent many hours doing community service projects for nonprofit agencies here in Spokane County.

United Way’s second annual Day of Caring projects included painting buildings, landscaping and outside cleanup, providing a fun-filled day at the park or at camp for developmentally disabled adults, barbecuing and playing games with deaf children and cancer patients and their families, building a safe play area at a shelter for homeless children, sorting food for emergency baskets and collecting and cleaning clothing and toys for those in need. This unselfish giving made a significant difference for the agencies involved.

Congratulations to the businesses and individuals who gave to our community. Spokane is indeed blessed with unselfish people who volunteer their time for their community.

We have again demonstrated how by donating our time we can make a difference in the lives of others right here in Spokane. Tyrus N. Tenold, chairman United Way Volunteer Center Advisory Board, Spokane

What’s wrong with this picture?

Re: the July 28 article, “Police raid suspected meth lab, find nothing.”

It stated the house was used to produce methamphetamine, but the equipment was often removed during the week and stored. The police search on Thursday produced nothing.

If they knew the meth was made only on the weekends, why didn’t they raid on the weekend? Donald L. Waddell Spokane

Tell about ‘legitimate candidates’

We all laughed when we heard Jimmy Marks is running for the school board, but the joke’s over.

I trust all future stories on the election for Spokane School District 81, position 2, will focus on legitimate candidates and the serious issues that must be addressed to provide our children with quality education.

I decided to seek the position because I have a strong commitment to education and our community. I have extensive experience in education issues, as an attorney and as a school volunteer.

Serving our community as a school board director is a serious responsibility. Please don’t cheapen it by playing Mr. Marks’ well-known game of drawing attention to himself. Rocky Treppiedi Spokane

Duncan Gardens disappoint

What’s happened to Duncan Gardens? It was one of the places you would show off and take friends from out of town. Not this year. It’s a shame. The gardens have been going downhill since they took out the large, beautiful pyramid trees. Now, we’ve reached the bottom. Virginia Carter Spokane

HEALTH AND MEDICAL CARE

Doctors deserve compassion

So many times, we only hear of a doctor’s alleged mistakes. What about all the times they save lives?

While it’s a tragedy Pastor Larry Browning’s wife died (“Pastor sues doctor over wife’s death,” July 27), I believe we should also show compassion and understanding to the physician. I had the same operation. My doctor was very thorough in explaining the procedure and all the risks involved. She has always been very thorough in her practice, as far as I’m concerned. She has always had a sterling reputation in the medical community, which is why I and many other women have been referred to her.

Doctors have been held up to the standard of being perfect and above making mistakes. We should remember they’re human beings. Many times they give up holidays, nights and weekends to take care of their patients. They also give up a good number of years going to school.

Doctors have a tremendous amount of dedication and I think we should start hearing about all the good they do, instead of just when they get sued. Terri Jones Spokane

Diet change can work wonders

I was saddened to learn of the extensive use of Ritalin in Idaho children.

It reminds me of my experience in 1975, when my preschooler was tested for hyperactivity and Ritalin was recommended. As a longtime high school teacher, I had students taking Ritalin and didn’t want this for my son. I found both my hyperactive students and my son craved sugar foods. Since the B vitamins metabolize sugar, I reasoned my son should have a supplement of B complex vitamins and not eat sugared foods. He went from being the “bad” kid who was failing, to the good kid on the honor roll.

Now, 20 years later, he is a healthy honor graduate in biology going after a master’s degree.

I believe many children could be helped by eliminating sugared foods. Some sensitive children may be helped by eliminating foods with artificial color and food preservatives. (Dr. Feingold’s work).

Since I , too, am sensitive to sugar, I understand the problem very well and have read extensively on the subject. I personally know how sugar can affect the mind, behavior and lower the body’s immunity. My son and I were frequently sick until we gave up sugar and caffeine. Now we’re rarely ever sick. Simple solution, it might work for others. Couldn’t hurt. Annette Orton Hope, Idaho

IN THE PAPER

Wilbur not awash in sewage

In response to the Aug. 1 article by Susan Ashworth, “EPA cuts could diminish state air, water quality laws”:

I appreciate the fact Ms. Ashworth is attempting to delineate the Environmental Protection Agency budget uses and clarify the paring down of the federal budget. However, there are some items I feel need to be pointed out.

As mayor of Wilbur, I object to the vivid verbiage used concerning the “frequent overflows” of sewage and “exposure to raw sewage” as listed in the article. She made is sound as if we have raw sewage running down the streets, when in fact, we have a few septic systems on a rocky hillside that don’t function properly. These do present untreated effluent above ground, but it’s in a place citizens can’t get to.

Treated wastewater sometimes flows into Goose Creek when we have high water, but as for raw sewage, no. I can’t guess how Ms. Ashworth got the idea our groundwater is being threatened.

The other fact I’d like to point out is our funding for correcting our sewer system was budgeted in 1994, and I’ve been assured it’s not scheduled to be cut.

I’m proud of our community and the hard work the council and engineers have done in solving the issue before us. Some mandates are not lightly solved.

I invite all readers to come to Wilbur for a drive and see for themselves what a nice community we have. Bonnie Jensen, mayor Wilbur, Wash.

THE ENVIRONMENT

Plenty of berries for the bears

This letter is in response to people who complain huckleberry pickers take food from the bears.

I’ve picked huckleberries and hunted bears for the past 42 years, just returning from a huckleberry trip at the 4,500-foot level, north of Spokane.

I picked four gallons, with two to three times that many berries left on the bushes in different stages of development. They were all colors, from white to pink, red and purple. Naturally, you pick only the purple ones. There will be plenty of huckleberries into August and even September.

I climbed to the 5,000-foot level, finding all the bushes still blooming. These bushes will not produce any huckleberries until late September or October. Many times while deer or elk hunting in late October or November, we find huckleberries in a foot of snow or more. You won’t find any bears, as they’re hibernating at this time, with the berries rotting on the branches.

Most berry pickers go less than a mile from the road or trail, leaving thousands of acres of huckleberries untouched.

The bear population in Washington is at an all time high, thanks to our state game department, so we don’t need to worry about bears or huckleberries.

If you haven’t eaten huckleberry jam, pie or just plain huckleberries and ice cream or yogurt, you haven’t really lived. Bear meat with the fat trimmed off is low in cholesterol and especially sweet after the bear has lived on huckleberries for months.

Hopefully, this will dispel and wild tales regarding huckleberry picking. Paul W. “Bill” Town Spokane

Situation confusing, unsettling

After reading about the appearance of “elves for habitat” and their claims of tree spiking in the Cove-Mallard timber sale area, I’m struck by what I don’t know.

I don’t know who or what elves for habitat is. I don’t know if the Rhett, Noble and Jack sales really are spiked. I don’t know if we’re dealing with a hoax by a merry prankster, a criminal act by a misguided environmentalist or an act of provocation on the part of industry or government employees determined to discredit the nonviolent Cove-Mallard Coalition and its supporters.

I do know this: Residents of Cove-Mallard base camp outside Dixie, Idaho, offered a joint security arrangement to the law enforcement department of the U.S. Forest Service because we, too, are aware of the diversity of attitudes and techniques among many individuals and groups concerned with the Cove-Mallard situation. I do know we never received the courtesy of a response to our offer.

I know we’re concerned for the health and safety of all involved. I know insinuations are dangerous and allegations are fertile soil for the promulgation of hatred and stereotypes which lead to violence.

I do know violence is not what anyone in the Cove-Mallard Coalition desires. Sarah Seeds Dixie, Idaho

Salmon issue shortchanged

Your article on July 26 about a salmon cap proposal for the Bonneville Power Administration doesn’t go into much detail. If one would search out all the contributing factors, it would likely end by pointing out government agencies have taken a cop-out and put the salmon recovery costs on the backs of all BPA ratepayers.

They might find the sockeye’s demise coincides with Idaho’s treatment of Redfish Lake, which they admit but disavow the timing. Can it be established if there were ever serious numbers of sockeye running the Snake River and if so, when it changed? Little of the hysterical clamoring of many environmentalists is accompanied by factual, unbiased information.

There is a similar outcry about the continuing reduction in numbers of other salmon piled on the Snake River Dams and the barging and trucking of smolts. Do they factor in the 50 percent of returning runs Native Americans harvest or the take the Canadians intercept? Is there any mention of the mile-long Asian nets in the Pacific or that some fall to the cannery boats in the Gulf of Alaska?

It’s easier to take the costs from ratepayers, along with the price of lost hunting opportunities, which were mostly on private land. Arnol Gentry St. John, Wash.

OTHER TOPICS

No sense playing ‘blame game’

It’s time to end the finger pointing and hand wringing about what happened 50 or more years ago.

Japan could apologize for the way it started World War II in Asia and the Pacific, and the Untied States could apologize for the way it ended the war.

Japan could say it’s sorry for the brutal atrocities committed against millions of other Asians, for the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and for the Bataan death march. The U.S. could say it’s sorry for the wartime internment of Japanese-Americans and for the use of nuclear weapons against Hiroshima and Nagasaki, with such deadly results.

It’s time for the people of both countries to stop trying to put each other on a guilt trip by using some completely absurd recent interpretations of decisions made 50 years ago.

I served with the U.S. Navy in the Philippines during the war and I think it’s time to end the blame game and move on. Bill First Spokane

It’s representative who’s misread

In regard to Sandra Meicher’s August 3 guest column concerning elimination of Title X funding, Rep. George Nethercutt is not “misreading” his constituency. I voted for him and I support his decision to remove Title X funding.

I’m not disappointed in the least with his voting record. What I’m alarmed over are the weak-spined Republicans who caved in to outside pressure, like puppets on a string, and supported the amendment which put Title X funding back into this bill!

George Nethercutt didn’t vote to remove Title X funding from this bill because he wanted to see health services denied to those in need. Any attempt by Ms. Meicher to imply so is unfounded and unjustified.

Planned Parenthood would still be able to offer the services she mentioned in her article should it lose Title X funding. However, it would have to divert the money from its abortion services to take up the slack from the “free” money it lost.

Title X funding probably wouldn’t be in jeopardy had not a pro-abortion organization like Planned Parenthood been a beneficiary.

I’ll continue to support abolishing Title X funding as well as refusing to support federally funded Medicaid abortions. I have faith George Nethercutt will do the same. Kim Utke Spokane

Promise Keepers: What’s so bad?

Writing against Promise Keepers and the values and morals of the Bible, Jack DeBaun (“Careful, Bible is a mixed bag,” Letters, July 31) has stated so many misinterpreted ideas, it’s obvious he doesn’t have a Bible with footnotes. Nor is he interested in learning the meanings of these quotes.

It would take an entire page of this newspaper to correct his erroneous statements. Therefore, I won’t attempt to.

I have a question for Mr. DeBaun and other critics of Promise Keepers: Why are you so bothered by a group of men of all races coming together, with the approval of their wives and families? They are not cruising the red light district, drinking, gambling and being a public nuisance, as some conventioneers do. They’re worshiping God and learning to take an active role in raising their children and providing for their families. Do you prefer a society of deadbeat dads over one in which fathers take their responsibilities seriously?

They’re simply seeking God’s help and guidance. Why are you so scared? This isn’t a threat of any kind to our society.

Since you’re so eager to throw out Bible verses, read Romans 1:18-32 (NIV) and see how well a book written nearly 2,000 years ago describes American society. If Promise Keepers can help men raise their families in the ways of the Lord, maybe the road to self-destruction our society is on can be averted. Is that so bad? Diane Martinson St. Maries, Idaho

WSU primate center is humane

Concerning the recent abuse allegations of monkeys at Washington State University’s primate center, I feel the need to answer the critics.

I used to be the exterminator who took care of this center. Bugs are found everywhere, so I went throughout the center. I never saw any of the monkeys abused. In fact, I saw just the opposite. I saw well-kept cages, food and water available at all times, etc. This primate center is considered one of the best in the nation. We can be proud of this center. Robert Mauzy Spokane