Letters To The Editor

IN IDAHO

More substance, less hype

Regarding the campaign for Shoshone County sheriff, I must tell you that I, among others, am very disturbed with the negative light in which you have cast the candidates (Shoshone County sheriff’s candidates get an early start, Oct. 25). All of the candidates are fine people.

Sheriff Dan Schierman did a brave thing in bringing down the curtain on a dark time for Shoshone County. Mr. Larry Irvine has an impressive record from what I understand, and his mere association with Mr. Frank Crnkovitch should not even be brought up. Finally, Mr. Tim Castle was cast as an alcoholic. Mr. Castle did have a problem with drinking when he was a police officer, and lost his position with Wallace Police Department because of it. Tim has been sober for over 17 years. This is an accomplishment, not a thing of shame. Your story must make for sensational reading to your subscribers from outside this valley but ignores the truth of the race.

The truth is: Three highly quaified and motivated individuals are vying for the top law enforcement position in a quickly growing county.

For the record, Mr. Castle promises to be a working sheriff, pulling regular patrol duties and switching shifts as do the deputies.

I hope that in the future, more of the substance of this race will be asserted in your articles and less of the media hype will be played. Robert H. Belcher, chairman, Campaign to elect Tim Castle for sheriff, Kellogg

Hunting lambasted

Congratulations to Deborah Silver (Nov. 15) and a thumbs-down to Robert Bly (Nov. 18) and like thinkers. I’m afraid Mr. Bly misses the whole point of Ms. Silver’s comments. Revenue creation to pay Fish and Game to cull herds isn’t the point. The point is the defective rationalization for hunting.

Our “advanced” culture has produced a population who have been stripped of their sense of personal control, self- empowerment and self esteem. The ugly truth is killing compensates for this lost sense of personal control. Killing becomes a quick jolt, a “feel good” about yourself high. How many of you hunters have experienced an instant high and felt 10 feet tall when you drop a kill, particularly when you know your prowess has been witnessed?

You’ve just taken a life. Do you feel good about it? Are you starving that you need to kill to eat? Then you should have spent the fee from the tags and the fancy hunting gear and invested it in several sides of beef.

What’s profoundly disturbing is that a reversal from the brink of extinction can be undone in one short season, due to the wealth of changing and new virulent diseases that are evolving among wildlife species because of increased planetary exposure to ultraviolet radiation. Mutating virus’ and bacteria are proliferating. Whole species are going extinct and we can’t stop it because we don’t how. How many elk, deer, wolves, bears, cougars, etc., can we kill for “sport” and know the genetic pool will be protected? Clare Barron Coeur d’Alene

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

Numbers add up pretty fast

In relation to the government shutdown, I was wondering about the cost (hypothetical) to the taxpayer, and was astonished when putting figures on paper.

Assuming the average hourly rate is $15 per hour; 800,000 employees times $15 equals $12 million. Take that times 8 hours a day and you get $96 million. When you times that by 5 days a week, you get $480 million for one week. If they work 50 weeks, the cost is $24 billion, not counting vacation, medical, retirement and, of course, sick leave.

Still with me? Now consider the cost of making them comfortable. If we give them a desk and chair set at a minimum of $750 (probably low, per government inflationary spending) we are selling out at $600 million. If they each have a computer at $3,000 … well let’s give them a pencil and a note pad and cut down on government. Howard H. Schwind Spokane

Clinton’s fake humility amazing

Bill Clinton’s arrogance is supreme and boundless, but his ability to feign humility when it suits his purpose is so artful, it deceives the devil himself.

The man is in a class by himself; it’s not easy to flummox the devil. Sylvia James Spokane

GOP looks out only for wealthy

The GOP fondly remembers a “New Deal” cost-sharing pension plan, in which the employee and employers invested to ensure continual growth until it became sufficient to fund worker pensions.

At times, growth vastly exceeded payouts, as in the 1970s when 20 percent inflation and high interest rates created huge assets. The corporations refused to increase retirement checks, but legally couldn’t touch the funds themselves. So corporate executives, with Republican congressional help, convinced Reagan to “let corporations put those funds to good use,” ostensibly to improve plant facilities and production capabilities.

Instead, the corporations bought out competitors and “declared huge dividends” for their own CEOs and executives, milked the funds dry even though substantial portions were employee funds.

Again, the GOP has discovered excesses in those accounts and Rep. Bill Archer (R-Texas, chairman of the house Ways and Means Committee) has authorized a similar plan, allowing corporations to use over 40 billion dollars of those funds “to open new opportunities and expand the economy.”

If the plan becomes law, Labor Secretary Robert Reich says “The raids on those pension assets will make the great train robberies of Jesse James pale in comparison.” Yes, the only thing new is the history we’ve forgotten - for the GOP never overlooks ways to enrich big business at the expense of the working class. Andy Kelly Spokane

IN THE PAPER

A more mature perspective

Paul Turner (“Good old days,” Nov 14) didn’t see the same things I saw when he attended the 60th birthday party of the B.O.F. Club.

I didn’t see anyone sighing and bemoaning their lost youth. There was a big crowd both Friday and Saturday night. They were eating an excellent dinner, dancing to fine music, visiting with good friends and watching a great floor show. In other words, they were having fun.

He saw old folks. I saw many young new members who have discovered ballroom dancing to the big band sound. We are proud of our Expo ‘74 band, and we are proud of history.

Don’t feel sorry for us, Mr. Turner. We “old” folks and a lot of young ones are enjoying ourselves at the B.O.F., which is open every Friday and Saturday night for grateful members and their guests. E.D. McLellan Spokane

Guest columnist just plain wrong

Jeanette Faulkner’s guest column of Nov. 19 contained some misinformation.

The Commission on Student Learning was established to implement House Bill 1209. With the input of the many parents who bothered to attend open forums sponsored by the CSL, the Essential Academic Learning Requirements went through many changes.

What hasn’t been established yet are the assessment tools that will measure how well the learnings have been mastered. To claim, as Ms. Faulkner does, that parents will be excluded from the process of establishing these assessments is flatly wrong.

In reading, teachers are directed to teach phonics as well as other strategies. That is verbatim from the already adopted Learning Requirements. Ms. Faulkner implies otherwise, but she’s wrong.

In math, the students will have to “know how to add, subtract, multiply and divide” without the aid of a calculator. That is again from the adopted Learning Requirements. Again, Ms. Faulkner is wrong.

When you look honestly at the work of the commission, you see that it requires the basics, which some educators have neglected, as well as expanding further to include additional reading strategies and a deeper understanding of what the contents of the math exercises mean. The bottom line is that kids will have to exhibit measurable competence before being sent on to the next level. That’s accountability.

If Ms. Faulkner and other critics would put more energy into participating in the restructuring process and less into misinforming the public, all kids would benefit. Andy James, president Onion Creek School Board, Colville, Wash.

OTHER TOPICS

Self-esteem is basic to education

Martin E.P. Seligman has really missed the boat! He must never get off the University of Pennsylvania’s campus to see what life is like in the elementary classrooms of America.

In this article “Is Self-Esteem Robbing Our Children Of Their Self-Reliance?” (Nov. 12) Mr. Seligman shows a real ignorance of what is being taught in our schools, as well as a lack of experience with the emotional needs of our youth.

I’ve taught in the primary grades of our public school system for nearly fifteen years.

I’ve seen the emotional insecurities, the fear of trying something new, and the lack of happiness in some of our children.

Some kids come to school not even being able to play successfully with their peers.

Feeling good about oneself and having the confidence to attempt a challenging situation are the emotional basics needed to go along with the academic three R’s.

I invite Mr. Seligman to take a step outside his university classroom and see what challenges our youth are facing. Self-esteem, self-confidence and self-reliance are all foundations to success, no matter what a student chooses to do with his life. Stephanie Wilson Colville, Wash.

We’ll always have a political zoo

As a newcomer to this community, I don’t understand all of the concern over losing the Walk in the Wild zoo to Idaho.

Spokane residents can always go down to the local county courthouse and see a couple of monkeys at play. Don Reichmuth Spokane

Teens contributing to community

On Nov. 19, I popped into Rosauers on Trent to buy a paper and was accosted at the front door by two teenage girls. Prepared to coldly brush off their pleas to buy chocolate or magazines for their school or their trip to Disneyland, I was amazed to read the card they handed me. “Could I please buy a jar or two of baby food for contribution to local food banks for the holidays?”

Three jars of baby food cost me an extra 75 cents. I felt so good that this little contribution would be part of West Valley High’s 18,000-jar goal. My opinion of today’s teenagers took a sharp rise. Hats off to teens who are giving up their weekends to contribute to their community. Judith R Nakken Spokane