Letters To The Editor

GOVERNMENT AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Don’t let them sell off our parks

The Spokesman-Review’s Our View (Sept. 2) by John Webster is about legislation introduced in Congress to sell or give away our national parks, forests, wildlife refuges, etc. He makes a neat point about Republican President Teddy Roosevelt’s appreciation of the land and natural resources and his efforts to preserve those resources for the next generation, “not impaired in value.”

Those who’ve enjoyed these public lands that belong to all of us should write the president and their Congressmen and women, urging them not to pass this legislation. I have so written and I trust that all citizens will, so our legislators will realize what our public lands mean to us.

There are so many other ways to reduce the deficit. Our parks and wild areas are irreplaceable. Once they are disposed of, commercial interests would probably destroy many of the scenic beauties we enjoy visiting, and with them the last remaining recreation and enjoyment apart from the turmoil of cities and pressures of our busy lives.

We must tell Congress the people they represent want to keep their parks and recreational areas intact and keep public lands available to all the people. Mrs. Betty Hughes Spokane

Wilderness necessary for bears, people

Don Samuelson’s guest column (Sept. 10) is extremely disturbing. Because of road closures, he and his colleagues evidently espouse a “shoot, shovel and shut-up” mentality when it comes to grizzly bears.

Samuelson’s statement that “roads and/or people have never caused stress in caribou or grizzlies” shows an incredible level of biological illiteracy and a complete lack of understanding. Comparing Glacier and Denali Park bears and their lack of fear of people and roads, when these bears have lived through generations without being hunted, is irrelevant.

Grizzlies need wilderness to survive, and it’s clearly been shown that high road densities equate to dead bears. It’s imperative to the survival of the grizzly that roads in critical areas on public lands in the northern Selkirks be closed to motor vehicles, and in some cases they should be revegetated.

It’s unfortunate that no constructive suggestions are made in the column as to how we might help the grizzly and other species of concern recover from human-caused extinction. Roads built in wilderness cause erosion, pollution, habitat fragmentation and increased human access. Unfortunately, some of these humans share the “shoot” mentality Mr. Samuelson describes.

I suggest we all take a more active role in management of our public lands. As humans encroach on the remaining wild places, we must be aware of the consequences.

To advocate anthropocentric-based solutions to problems related to maintaining biological diversity is to be naive, selfish or perhaps influenced by avarice and greed. Gregory Hayduke Spokane

Park Service has slovenly ways

The biggest polluter of Lake Roosevelt is the National Park Service. This agency has floating outhouses that aren’t maintained, so raw sewage spills into the water. It is is derelict in emptying its garbage cans, so a good wind spreads garbage for miles. It also doesn’t clean any trash from the county roads that lead to its campgrounds. R. Stuart Kirk Creston, Wash.

BUSINESS

Wood it’s nearly everywhere

Derrick Jensen (“End quackery in our forests,” Letters, Aug. 31) made me aware of how much the timber industry does for me.

I decided to watch myself all day to see if I agree with putting the timber industry out of business. This is what I found.

First, my bed is wood framed and has wood in the box springs. When I got dressed, I noticed I have some Rayon in my closet, which is a byproduct of timber. I then brushed my teeth and hair. The toothpaste, toothbrush and hair brush all have timber byproducts in them.

Walking to the kitchen, I realized that I wouldn’t have a house to call home if it weren’t for timber. Then I started breakfast. As I looked in the cabinet, I saw all kinds of packaging made from wood. Reading some of the ingredients, I realized some of the cereals have this product in them.

This was only 30 minutes of my day. Thank you, Derrick, for making me stop and look at just how much my life is influenced by this industry.

Here are a few other timber products: paper, soap, shampoo, hard plastics (dashboards) rubber, gum, schools, books, pencils, pens, household cleaners, insecticides, cement, ceramic products, cosmetics, artificial vanilla flavoring, gummed tapes, hair spray, deodorants, certain pharmaceuticals, fungicides, fertilizer, grout, tanning agents for leather, static remover, animal feed pellets - the list goes on and on.

Thanks, Boise Cascade, Plum Creek, Vaagen Brothers and all the other timber companies. Jolin Boswell Colville, Wash.

IN THE PAPER

Don’t write off negotiator efforts

D.F. Oliveria’s “Both sides wrong at Ruby Ridge” (Opinion, Sept. 5) is a bit shortsighted.

Your conclusion that “There weren’t any good guys at Ruby Ridge” fails to acknowledge the importance of the negotiators in the eventual emancipation of the Weaver family from the cabin. You apparently didn’t consider all the facts.

The welcomed conclusion of the standoff should be attributed to the skill, patience and resourcefulness of the dedicated individuals who believed that lives should be saved and disputes should be settled without violence. To say, “There weren’t any good guys at Ruby Ridge” is to seriously offend those negotiators who worked tirelessly for many days to safely bring out the Weaver family.

You should re-evaluate your knowledge of the facts and give credit where credit is due. Lynn M. Burke Spokane

Cartoonist way out in left field

Milt Priggee’s flippant comic attempting to degrade one of the genuinely decent people in major league sports, Cal Ripken, highlights a more deep-seated black hole in Priggee himself.

In a business of prima donnas, Priggee decides to make his socialist point at the expense of a person with much more character than Priggee has ethics. The content is a prime example of why more and more readers (and a growing number of ex-readers) are referring to your paper as The Socialist-Review.

I don’t blame Priggee, a talented artist, for wanting to get ahead. However, I do take issue with the way he obviously intends to get there - justified and unjustified character assassinations. The editors should take notice - every day, more readers are shaking their heads and pitying Priggee than are taking him seriously.

By the way, how much is Mr. Priggee paid? How much time does he spend doing his one cartoon? How many work days has he missed? Has he ever pulled a muscle in his writing finger? Can he play shortstop? This reader doesn’t really care. Steve Sharon Spokane

SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION

Delay will only add to costs

We have taken great pride in the Pullman schools all the 40 years we have lived here. We’re still proud of the quality of education they deliver.

The time has come for us to demonstrate our support by providing for physical facilities to match (and enhance) the learning being offered Pullman students.

Let’s provide for the updating of Jefferson and replacement of Franklin to match what we have done at Sunnyside by actively supporting and voting for the bond in the Sept. 19 election.

As retired citizens, we feel that it’s doubly important that we guarantee the same opportunities to today’s students that our children enjoyed. Our responsibility doesn’t diminish with age. Further delay in doing what must be done will only cost us more money as inflation continues to take its toll. Bernette and Stan Berry Pullman, Wash.