Spokane Citizens Speak Up For Coroner’s Right To Morgue
Coroner Dexter Amend may not have a key to the Spokane County morgue but he has some supporters in his battle to get one.
Says Jerry Leming of Spokane: “I assume because the public voted him in, he would have the use (of the morgue). I don’t care if it’s an ego problem or not. He has the right.”
Amend has been in a showdown with Holy Family Hospital, which houses the morgue under a contract with Spokane County. State law puts the coroner in charge of the morgue but hospital officials won’t let Amend have a key to it.
Ted Brandt, Spokane, agrees with Leming. “That’s where the buck stops. If you’re ultimately responsible, that gives you an assumed right of access.”
Speed up, slow down or get off the road
If your only experience driving through Colfax is limited to Saturdays when the WSU Cougars are playing a home game in Pullman, you may not think of the town as a speed trap. You couldn’t speed through Colfax on game day if you tried.
But the rest of the year, the Whitman County seat does have that reputation - undeserved, say town defenders.
But if it were true that motorists get tickets for going two miles an hour over the posted limit, would that be unfair?
Yes, says Liz Harley of Spokane. “I think you should get a ticket for five over. But just for two or three - it’s nothing.”
Carole VanderWilde of Spokane, however, would appreciate rigid enforcement of speed restrictions - on her own street.
“Living on Rockwood Boulevard, I can tell you firsthand that posted speed limits have no effect. Rockwood’s speed limit is 25 mph, but drivers treat it like a raceway with average speeds probably in the 40-45 mph range.
“If the city and residents do not set appropriate speed limits and then respect those limits, it’s going to take more than a new Nordstrom’s downtown to preserve the city.”
If driving automobiles is a problem in Spokane, so is parking them, according to Percy Rinker.
“The city of Spokane is getting the cart before the horse,” he said. “It’s built a new library and a new arena. They’re talking about a science center. They’ve put millions of dollars into downtown beautification. The only thing downtown really needs is free parking, lots and lots of it. If that were done, everything else would take care of itself.”
, DataTimes MEMO: “Bagpipes” appears Tuesdays and Thursdays. To respond to issues raised on Tuesdays: Call 458-8800, category 9881, from a Touch-Tone phone; or send a fax to 459-5098 or e-mail to celh27b@prodigy.com. Representative replies appear Thursdays. You also can leave Doug Floyd a message at 459-5577, extension 5466.