Archives Need To Be Accessible

Secretary of State Ralph Munro has an ally.

Munro wants a new building at Spokane’s Riverpoint Higher Education Park to house Eastern Washington historical archives. So does Shirley Dodson of Colville.

Dodson volunteers with the Stevens County Historical Society that receives “many requests per month” for historical and genealogical information about the county that once stretched from Canada to Oregon and from Idaho almost to the Cascades.

“Our volunteers spend hours searching old records in the museum and courthouse to find the needed answers. We check all kinds of sources, such as voter, tax and school lists and many times our local records do not go back far enough.

“By law, old courthouse records must go to the Eastern Washington branch of the archives and since that is currently in Cheney, they are almost useless to us. If they were stored in Spokane, it should be easier for most of us in other counties to access.”

For years the archive has been in the basement of a gymnasium in Cheney - an increasingly cluttered basement.

“Our state’s history is precious and irreplaceable and, as we all know, a musty basement is not the place for valuable documents,” Dodson wrote. “Richard Hobbs (Eastern Washington archivist) is doing a wonderful job in this department, but they are so cramped for space that they need a new facility.

“Something needs to be done soon, and when the records are moved, they should be moved to someplace more centrally located, preferably Spokane.”

Whoever foots the bill has a right to kick

Should there be another vote on incorporation in the Spokane Valley - or various incorporations - even though formation of a new city has been rejected each time it’s been proposed?

“Who pays for all of these elections?” Charles E. McCollim of Spokane wants to know.

“Maybe if the sponsor had to foot the bill, the folks in the Valley would find serenity. We here in the city already have our leaders - such as they are. If I am helping to pay for these multiple elections, I would like to opt out.”

, DataTimes MEMO: “Bagpipes” appears Tuesdays and Thursdays. To respond, call Cityline at 458-8800, category 9881, from a Touch-Tone phone; or send a fax to 459-5098 or e-mail to dougf@spokesman.com. You also can leave Doug Floyd a message at 459-5577, extension 5466.

Note: “Bagpipes” also appeared in the The Handle section of the Idaho edition, with this memo at the end: D.F. Oliveria’s “Hot Potatoes” column, which normally runs in the Idaho edition, will return next week. “Bagpipes” appears in the Washington edition.