Letters To The Editor

Wed., April 17, 1996

SPOKANE MATTERS

Lilac Association blew it

It is a sad day when a Lilac princess is arrested for drunk driving and allowed to keep her crown and title (“Lilac princess arrested for drunken driving,”Region, April 12).

Sharma Shields is a representative of the City of Spokane and a role model to all young girls. In their eyes, Sharma is viewed as a true princess.

I am thoroughly disappointed in the Lilac Association’s decision to allow Sharma to remain a Lilac Princess. I appears to me that the Lilac Association apparently condones drinking and driving.

What message is this sending to our community and the younger generation? It is that if you drink and drive but are of “good academic standing and have served your community,” it is acceptable to drink and drive.

I can no longer support an association that condones and accepts drinking and driving. Cris Moore Spokane

DWI does not a princess make

In reference to Sharma Shields: Was the action taken by the Lilac Association strict enough to send the message that this warrants? We feel Sharma should be removed from the Lilac Royalty Court for any and all Lilac functions, including riding the float in any festivals in which the court participates. Also, Sharma should not be allowed to regain her $1,500 scholarship by any means.

Our community has set standards by which these girls qualify for this privilege and we feel Sharma has forfeited her rights to these by her own chosen actions. While Sharma has worked hard to achieve her goals, she also made a choice to drink and drive, and that choice carries consequences she must face.

Drinking and driving is a crime. It is only by the grace of God that Sharma did not leave families with broken dreams and shattered lives. Ferris High School lost two students last year to drinking and driving, and it is a shame Sharma didn’t spend some time remembering them before she made her choices.

Drinking and driving is a deadly mix. Being a good student and/or community leader does not make the act any less serious. Some deep thought ought to be given to what has happened.

Sharma should be forever thankful that she was arrested before she killed or maimed someone. Lisa Rusaw, Ross Davenport, Bonnie West Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Spokane chapter

Excuse making a disservice

Editor Chris Peck, you are so wrong (“Even the best students make mistakes,” Perspective, April 14).

As the mother of 13- and 14-year-old girls, I struggle to explain to them (and understand myself) why the “popular” girls are the ones drinking, smoking and doing drugs. If you aren’t willing to experiment, you’re labeled a nerd.

The very type of outstanding teenager you mention - the captains, presidents and queens - are the same ones smoking and drinking and treating those who aren’t like pond scum.

Has it occurred to you that at 17 she was drinking illegally or that she could have killed someone?

My kids showed the first article to me as an example of how “everybody” drinks and how accepted it is by youths and adults. What do I tell them?

Now you write a column about Sharma Shields, star teenager. Shame on you, Peck. She should be stripped of her princess title and suffer the consequences. The thought that anyone would imagine her as a role model is beyond me.

All kids have pressures and responsibilities. That’s no reason to excuse Shields’ behavior. I’m not naive enough to think my children will never try drinking, but when they do, I hope they’ll be allowed to suffer the consequences without any adult trying to soften the blow.

Kids need to take responsibility for their actions, and we adults should not be giving Shields her 15 minutes of fame for unacceptable behavior.

The wrong message is being sent to those who do have enough strength and fortitude to “just say no.” Sheila Coleman Spokane

Finger-pointer reveals dirty hand

I must take issue with (Board of Contributors writer) Jim Shamp’s April 7 Street level column, “In time, cost-effectively, the market meets all needs.”

Shamp, it is evident that you are also part of the inefficiencies of government that you so boldly spoke of. To say that people “scam the system” to get housing assistance and then you charge those people more than you normally charge - it looks like you are the one who is “scamming” the bureaucracy! If you would charge your “normal” rental rates, maybe these programs would be less expensive and operate more efficiently.

You also told us how you helped “rip-off” the city for an extra $9,000 while remodeling an older home for low-income residents. Instead of remodeling one home maybe you could have done two. You, sir, are perpetuating the problems that you speak of.

Maybe if you weren’t scamming the disabled, low-income and the government, things would be better for everyone. However, you are correct; the answers to the questions you brought forth cannot be solved by government alone. But a majority of them can be answered by you! Joseph Whaley, board president Coalition of Responsible Disabled

PUBLIC SAFETY

The quick and the dead, Spokane style

I work in one of the businesses at the intersection of Browne and Sprague. It’s rare for a week to go by without us seeing an automobile accident. Just this last weekend we witnessed a three-car collision.

The sad part is that this accident could have easily been prevented. Like most the accidents we see here, this one was caused by someone running a red light.

This isn’t just a problem on this street; recent statistics indicated that the number of people running red lights lately is triple the usual number.

Is it too much to ask the drivers of Spokane to show a little consideration and common sense, and actually stop at a red light instead of just plowing right through it?

I know that hot date, business appointment or whatever you’re racing to seems like the most important thing in the world to you. Believe me, getting there 30 seconds earlier isn’t worth risking your life or anyone else’s.

Raise your head from the paper for a moment and take a look at the people around you. Would shaving half a minute off your travel time be a fair trade for the chance to attend their funeral?

That might sound like an exaggeration to some of you. I assure you it’s not. One of my co-workers has seen three people die in this intersection in the past six years. All of us here would be grateful not to have to see anyone else get loaded into an ambulance, especially with a sheet drawn over their face. Roy Cowan Medical Lake

Many were blind to potential threat

Why, I wonder, do people look in all the wrong directions to discover the reasons for the actions of Barry Loukaitis?

Isn’t it about time blame was laid at the feet of the ones who ignored the signs of impending trouble? The teachers and counselors who didn’t question the reason for his falling grades (he had been a straight-A student) or his withdrawal into himself. Who never offered him a chance to talk about what was bothering him?

There are his parents, who were so wrapped up in their own problems they couldn’t see that he had more than he could cope with on his mind.

And there are the victims of his violence, who most likely had a hand in the events leading up to his breaking point.

Instead, the blame is being placed on a Stephen King book, “Rage,’ for prompting Loukaitis’ actions.

Come on! I have read plenty of Stephen King books, and I know quite a few other people who read them. None of us have ever used his stories as a blueprint for committing any criminal actions.

Loukaitis needed help and no one offered any, and then it was too late for him and the ones he killed. Betty Randall Moses Lake

LAW ENFORCEMENT

We’re fortunate to have Mangan

I don’t believe Police Chief Terry Mangan’s actions during his confrontation with the “CBer Good Ol’ Boys” was his finest hour. But I do believe he is a caring man who has served this community well over the years.

For example, I read about the incident when Mangan, as a former Roman Catholic priest and as a compassionate cop arriving at the scene of an accident, administered last rites to a dying man. This was one of his finest hours.

I am convinced that Mangan acted totally out of fear that night. I believe that adrenaline-driven fear clouded his customary professional demeanor. He saw strangers sitting in a pickup truck outside his home in the dark, recalled recent threats against his life and knew his wife was due home any moment, so he acted instinctively to protect his family and to disarm a potentially threatening situation. I do not believe for a moment that Mangan acted out of anger or considered himself above the law.

I have admired Mangan for his articulate voice of reason and for the contributions he has made to our community as an authority on community-oriented policing programs and for the national recognition (grant money) he has generated for Spokane as a result.

We are fortunate to have a man of his caliber and character as a role model and as our chief of police. Jere’ A. Mansfield Spokane

LAW AND JUSTICE

Court puts nonsense on steroids

George Maloney’s rebuttal (“Zero tolerance and less good sense,” Letters, April 14) to Terri Anderson’s letter shows he is the one who is “clueless.”

The argument that various search and seizure actions are not against against property owners, but against the property itself, which in fact was recently upheld by the Supreme Court, is the worst kind of legal sophistry. The Constitution clearly states that the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated.

That these actions are unconstitutional is so obvious on the face of it that only a modern, activist, Supreme Court could find otherwise. The Supreme Court does not decide what is constitutional; the Supreme Court only decides what the government will pretend is constitutional today. Anyone who doubts that need only look at the numerous times throughout history that the Supreme Court has overturned the position of a prior Supreme Court. Jonathan H. Lundquist Spokane

Judge at right altitude

In regard to F.T. Westmeyer’s letter of April 10, “Judge should follow a higher law,” I respectfully remind your readership that there are many religious codes of conduct, not just the biblical. Judge Stephen Reinhardt’s decision was based on the only law our government is supposed to concern itself with, the law of the United States.

Our forefathers were Masons and Rosicrucians. Our great seal and national motto are mystical, not religious. The founders knew that when someone said “In God we trust,” they were allowed the freedom to worship whatever expressed their highest idea of divinity.

Separation of church and state isn’t just a legal concept. Without such boundaries we might be faced with the same kind of government that plagued our ancestors, when the power of the church and of certain charismatic figures dominated, and when heavenly justice was something you could buy from a priest.

Which “higher law” should we follow? The Christian faith is 600 years younger than the Buddhist, and thousands of years younger than the Hindu. Many of the pagan faiths are 5,000 years old.

Westmeyer writes a good letter, but doesn’t allow for the fact that the judge was just doing his job, and that he made the decision based on the law of our country, which is the law he swore to uphold in public. Abigayle Murray Spokane

Second opinion could be yours

F.T. Westmeyer (“Judge should follow a higher law,” Letters, 10 April) should take a closer look at a divine law before making an opinion on it or on physician-assisted suicide. He just might be surprised at what he finds. Joan E. Harman Coeur d’Alene

DRUG WAR

Policies rife with inconsistency

About drug testing for work:

I’ve read that people can explain heroin trace substances by saying they ate poppy seeds. If true, then can’t heroin addicts still be employed?

I’ve read that crank users can explain trace substances as asthma and allergy medication. If so, then can’t crank addicts still be employed?

I’ve read that smoking one joint will still produce trace THC in drug testing three months later, although the effects have long since worn off. Also, I understand that marijuana smoking is still a misdemeanor. Isn’t it true, then, that someone committing a misdemeanor action three months ago may be kept from getting a job today?

In the medical community drug addiction is considered a medical problem. In light of that, will you also refuse work to anyone with other established medical problems? If not, you are guilty of discrimination.

Also, I thought the only criminal actions that were allowed to be considered for employment reasons were felonies, and then only if the job is bonded. Does it make sense to keep anyone who indulges in any kind of drug from working, even if they are fully capable, have a good job history and are willing to work?

What will happen to our community if all the drug addicts are kept from working? Even ones with no felony convictions who haven’t committed crimes against other human beings? Doing drugs is a victimless crime.

We are getting rid of the help programs. Won’t crime and violence go up considerably when we prevent drug users from supporting themselves and their families? Debra Sullivan Spokane

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