Letters To The Editor
SPOKANE MATTERS
Give compost fan the whole heap
As a commuter on Elk-Chattaroy Road, I drive by the compost facility. I take offense at Karen Tyner’s Aug. 20 guest column (“What really stinks is how a few spoil it for many”). The woman is delusional.
She has obviously never driven by the facility in 90-degree heat, when the smell could gag a maggot. I don’t recall anyone asking the residents around here if we wanted it. She is more than welcome to have it near her home, for herself and the 300,000 other people. Then we’ll see who complains.
I’m in favor of living in harmony with the earth, but the odor emanating from the site is far from harmonious. It makes you ill. Anyone who says it isn’t must be brain dead.
For your information, Ms. Tyner, as a survivor of Firestorm ‘91, I can tell you Mother Nature took care of any lawn waste. Unfortunately, she also took our shop, camper, boat and, most precious of all, our trees.
It’s time we as human beings try living in balance with nature. If we did so, there might not be a need for waste to energy plants and foul-smelling compost facilities.
Until you walk in our moccasins, Ms. Tyner, I suggest you write about what you do know, not what you perceive is the truth. As someone said in the ‘60s, “If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.” Nancy Barrows Chattaroy
Hold your nose and sing along
Home, home on the range, where the deer and the children play. Where seldom is heard a discouraging word and the compost pile smells away.
Yes, a country home for children to play, for good water, for fresh air. A person can live here for years.
What? A Superfund site, polluted water and now compost air. That’s right, anyone can enjoy the great outdoors.
It’s true, our neighborhood is lucky enough to enjoy the city’s own compost facility. Yes, our neighborhood is lucky enough to enjoy music. We sing “Home, Home on the Range.” How lucky are we. Sue Evans Colbert
Suit not impeding bridge repair
There seems to be a misunderstanding concerning the safety of the Post Street bridge and litigation between Spokane Research & Defense Fund and the City of Spokane regarding the proposed Lincoln Street bridge.
First, the litigation is not preventing the repair or replacement of the Post Street bridge. Indeed, work could begin immediately on the Post Street bridge. Funds are available and permits would be easily and quickly granted. And, the permits would not be resisted.
Second, the structure of the Post Street Bridge is sound in the area of the original trolley.
Last, it is of some interest that stories about Post Street bridge safety are running in The Spokesman-Review at the same time that the owners of the paper want the city of Spokane to subsidize their property development in downtown Spokane and build the Lincoln Street bridge. Stephen K. Eugster Spokane
Support library bond measure
On Sept. 19, Spokane County voters will have an important decision to make. The Spokane County Library District is asking for support for a bond issue to provide funds for capital improvements. These are needed to provide the kind of service that customers demand and deserve.
The improvements include an upgrade in computer system software and capacity, expansion or replacement of several of the libraries in the district, improved shelving and building security systems in all libraries, and the purchase of additional library materials, which will also benefit all district libraries.
The Cost? Via property taxes, about 12 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation for 10 years, or about $1 per month for a $100,000 home.
Your support for your libraries makes more resources available for you and for everyone else. None of us can individually purchase all the resources we need for a successful life in today’s world. That’s why we need to work together - so that we all benefit.
One application of the proposed computer upgrade will allow the district to forge closer connections with junior high, middle school and high school libraries, putting a computer link into each one and making the entire holdings of the district more available to the young people of our community.
For success in the 21st century, access to up-to-date information and technology will be crucial. Your support Sept. 19th will allow Spokane County Library District to continue to offer essential resources to the community. Vick Myers-Canfield Spokane
Kolva right for city council
Jim Kolva truly knows the territory, as a lifelong member of the community and as president of our City Plan Commission.
He is an officer and a gentleman, an artist and a diplomat. As a retired teacher, I wholeheartedly give him an “A” for talent and commitment to the many areas he serves.
To think that he is throwing himself upon the altar of city council is too good to be true. I will vote for him.
What else can I say? Oh yes, his wife is beautiful. Betty Hennessey Spokane
BURNING ISSUE
Foul, dangerous export not wanted
Your readers may be surprised to learn that a very large number of British Columbia residents have required medical treatment during the past week because of the actions of a small number of Washington residents.
The smoke coming north from stubble burning - a practice that’s not permitted here - filled our valleys with some of the worst air pollution we’ve ever experienced.
Most of us suffered only stinging eyes, but many of our seniors required hospitalization because the respiratory distress caused by the smoke was severe enough to be life-threatening.
I don’t know why Washington farmers think it’s necessary to burn their fields each year, but in the interest of everyone’s health, on both sides of the boarder, I hope they will soon find a way to abandon the practice.
Air is for breathing, not for polluting. Dr. Thomas Anderson Summerland, B.C.
Growers could break grass habit
Now that the commercial grass growers have destroyed the quality of our air with only one day of grass burning, are the rest of us to rejoice that you’re earning a living?
Perhaps, but when you seriously affect the quality of life of many thousands of people, it seems to me you could grow other crops, thus becoming friends with the community. Think about it. Jack Johnson Spokane
Summer pleasures go up in smoke
Here it is August and for those of us who live in the discrimination corridor, pleasant summer weekdays are over.
Silverwood is blanketed with smoke. We can no longer walk, bike or jog because of clogged sinuses, stinging eyes and breathing difficulty.
The thought comes to us that if we were intruding on the person or property of others, we would be held responsible.
And, since misery loves company, I am hoping they goof a few days and blanket Coeur d’Alene and Post Falls. Believe me, living in smoke-filled days is no fun! Mostly, we stay indoors with the doors closed. What a way to spend the last few warms days of summer. Ethel Hurst Athol, Idaho
LAW AND JUSTICE
To end violence, take weapons away
Re: Robert M. Ball’s Aug. 24 letter, “NRA, guns not the culprits.”
Think about it, Mr. Ball. Without the tools, the shooting couldn’t have possibly happened. If you lock up a couple of punks, there are still more.
There’s no way to stop people like this from springing up in society. All guns are designed to kill. It usually doesn’t matter what the target is, be it deer, bird, cows or people.
If you take away the weapons, things like this just won’t happen. Winston Lewis Spokane
Marijuana ban a costly waste
Marijuana prohibition has failed. The 58-year-old federal marijuana prohibition experiment not only has failed to eliminate marijuana consumption, but it’s also failed to stop a multifold increase in consumption rates.
While violent criminals run rampant, the police are forced to fight a war against marijuana consumers. Hunting down and arresting marijuana consumers means less time, effort and energy can be devoted to protecting society from violent crime.
The total annual criminal justice system expenditure of nearly $21 billion isn’t broken down by specific drugs; marijuana is lumped in with all illegal drugs. However, because marijuana crimes account for one-third of all drug arrests, (Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reports), the war against marijuana consumers costs taxpayers an estimated $7 billion annually.
The effects of the laws - arrests, fines and court costs, criminal records, property forfeiture, prison and probation - are far more damaging to most marijuana consumers than the use of the substance itself.
No person is an island. The harmful effects of marijuana prohibition on the health and well-being of marijuana consumers indirectly hurt everyone, especially the consumers’ families and children. The solution is clear. It’s time to put an end to marijuana prohibition. Jack Rydell Tacoma
IN THE PAPER
Savagery deserves no sympathy
I hope I’m not the only person in Spokane who is outraged by William Miller’s article in the Aug. 27 paper about confessed, coldblooded killer Kenneth Comeslast.
Mr. Miller goes out of his way to portray “Junior” as a mixed up kid and a product of his environment, and emphasizes the fact that the killer has Native American roots.
So what? How many people with Native American blood go out and shoot young women in the back of the head with assault rifles at 2 a.m.? Is this something to be proud of? Sitting Bull wouldn’t be proud of this cowardly act.
This is not a mixed up young kid on the “bubble,” this is a monster. He wasn’t forced to do this by his past, his heritage or his environment. He chose to pull the trigger. He aimed low as he blasted away and he killed two teenage girls and wounded a third. He deserves to be executed.
He terrorized an entire neighborhood that night. Only luck kept the death toll down. He fired an additional 11 shots at random as he strolled back to the getaway car. He didn’t fire into the air; he fired at buildings and at people who were sleeping. Stop trying to portray this freak as a hero. He isn’t. He’s a teenage psychopath. I, for one, am glad he’s behind bars. Jeff Manza Spokane
Bad move, tube steaks
You weinies! You caved in and moved Mallard Fillmore. I can’t believe it. Glenn Kitselman Coeur d’Alene
Priggee end of 43-year habit Milt Priggee has gone too far. He has pushed over the edge of the limits of decency. His Aug. 20 depiction of Randy Weaver and his constant attacks of the National Rifle Association, GOP, etc., move me to cancel my subscription, which has been delivered into my home every day for the last 43 years. Ken Noggels Coulee City, Wash.
PEOPLE IN SOCIETY
Prewar U.S. not so ill-equipped
Undoubtedly, most veterans of WWII and their families were pleased with your extensive coverage of that upheaval. However, because the accounts were written by members of a later generation, certain discrepancies crept in.
Specifically, one assertion (in “Home from war and ready to shop,” Aug. 12) was, to those of us who were there, both humorous and outrageous. It said, “The GI Bill gave them a chance to … own homes with plumbing and electricity - goals only the wealthiest Americans had achieved before.”
It’s difficult to select a one-word description of that statement. The best choices are poppycock, balderdash and tommyrot. “Ridiculous” falls short.
My early years - the 1920s - were spent in Mitchell, S.D. We were not among the wealthiest, but we enjoyed both electricity and flush toilets, as did many relatives and friends. In 1929, we moved to Southern California where, living a bit peripatetically, we found the above luxuries to be the rule in San Gabriel, San Marino, Pasadena and Alhambra. Relatives in South Pasadena and Hollywood were equally blessed. When I entered UCLA in 1934, I had no fear Westwood would be without these amenities.
During the war, I found civilization well entrenched in Junction City, Kans., Long Branch, N.J., Lexington, Va., Princeton, N.J., and Monterey, Calif. Okinawa, no.
The fact that farms and rural areas had not yet received electricity doesn’t warrant the assertion “only the wealthiest” were so privileged. In several respects the picture of the period before 1945 was a distortion of the true situation. Bernard E. Bobb Pullman
Pregnancy policy: Bad to worse
The Naval Academy’s latest ruling on the pregnancy/ fatherhood of midshipmen is a travesty. It does nothing to foster responsibility.
In fact, by setting up a special class, that of studentsoldier, it negates the general public policy of accepting responsibility for our offspring. The possible benefits of this doctrine do not outweigh the detrimental effects.
It’s a poorly considered ruling which sends the wrong message, and sends it loud and clear: If raising a family conflicts with serving the nation, the family must be sacrificed. What was meant to rectify a previous error - the sanctioning of abortions - becomes an outrageous error itself. Victor E. Buksbazen, USNR Ret. Spokane
Theory could cut both ways
Here’s a question for letter writer Tod Berwyn, who wonders if homosexuals should be allowed access to artificial insemination.
Wouldn’t your “natural deselection” argument apply as well to heterosexuals who, for whatever reason, can’t conceive? Please, let’s not forget that theories are developed to enhance human understanding, not to limit the creative capacities of body, mind and spirit. Cathy Willis Spokane
Intolerance breeds war, death
The issue regarding Spokane County Coroner Dexter Amend should focus on the hope of every civilization - an end to war. A society or group of people that feels superior enough to hate another group of people is the oxygen to the flame of war.
Tolerance and acceptance of differences defuses the explosive devices of fear and hate that begin and perpetuate war. The more tolerance there is for people’s differences, the fewer reasons there are to kill each other.
Hasn’t every civilization dreamed there could be years, decades, maybe even centuries of peace? Vivian Ryan Spokane