Letters To The Editor

IN THE PUBLIC EYE

Coroner’s actions intolerable

This time our county coroner has gone way too far.

Jeffrey Himes died in a very tragic and preventable fire. He was only 11 years old. Jeffrey’s brother was asked by our county coroner if Jeffrey had had any sexual relations or had been masturbating. Jeffrey’s brother is a minor!

Jeffrey died in a fire and this line of questioning has no relevance. It is unacceptable, regardless of who is being asked. It’s especially inappropriate to so question a child.

If Dr. Dexter Amend wasn’t the county coroner asking sexually explicit questions of a minor, I imagine Child Protective Services or other law enforcement agencies would be questioning him. We shouldn’t have to tolerate such behavior from any elected official.

Amend should leave office and apologize to all the families he has hurt with his bizarre questioning and accusations.

I called the county commissioners, the attorney general’s office, Gov. Mike Lowry’s office and the American Medical Association. The commissioners can’t do anything about his behavior; the attorney general’s office can’t help; and the AMA can do nothing because it concerns a political office. Gov. Lowry’s office will bring my complaint to the governor’s attention.

In 13 years in the medical field, never have I seen a doctor behave so irrationally.

When dealing with death, one must treat all people with understanding, compassion and respect. Amend does none of these things.

There must be some sort of checks and balances here. There must be someone Amend must report to, someone who can put a stop to this kind of behavior. Rosey Deal Spokane

Rein-in out-of-control coroner

I’ve been concerned about Spokane County Coroner Dexter Amend for some time, but my concern was accelerated by his latest aberration.

For him to be even discussing a family death with a 13-year-old brother, much less on the subject of deviation, sounds to me like he has lost touch with reality. The fact that he is confronting people at the worst possible time - following the death of a loved one - is unforgivable.

The escalation of his attitude is alarming. He calls to mind the activists who become so involved in their cause that they kill doctors.

I understand that his closest supervision should come from the county commissioners. And yet, the current complaint against him has been referred to Superior Court for a hearing sometime in March. I don’t feel the community can afford to wait that long.

I strongly recommend that Amend undergo a mental health evaluation immediately.

I fully appreciate all the news coverage that has been provided. We should be acting on these warning signs. Will our next headline read County coroner goes berserk? Marilyn Walters Spokane

SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION

No thanks for uniformly bad idea

The thought of a nation of children forced to wear school uniforms sickens this free American. In your pro-uniform editorial (Jan. 30) you suggest we take a lesson from Catholics on uniforms and behavior.

I grew up near a Catholic school. Over the years the uniformed students were responsible for setting fire to our garage, mutilating our cat and attacking my elderly dad as he tried to stop a group from stealing from a local merchant.

There is also a tendency to go along with others wearing the same uniform, and to vilify anyone who’s different.

I find it more than unusual that the most restrictive school dress code bill brought before the state Legislature this session was written by Rep. Mark Sterk, who was elected by promising less big government control over the American family. Now he wants state government to dictate what my children wear.

Sterk, being an ex-police officer, knows quite well that misdeeds can be done by neatly uniformed people. Historically, some of the most horrifying and cowardly acts of mankind were done by anonymous people in crisp, clean uniforms.

There have always been gangs in America. The difference between the juvenile thugs of today and yesterday is the availability of weapons.

If Sterk is really concerned about my children’s safety, he should write tougher bills on gun control, not baggy pants control. Uniforms have only one purpose: to reduce individualism and promote group identity and conformity to the group’s thoughts and actions.

One American family value we all must protect is freedom of choice. Mike Wolther Spokane

Fully positive approach works best

Your Feb. 4 article on “processing” missed the issue of importance. The question is not whether the method of discipline chosen for this school is “gentle,” but whether the school’s focus is correct.

I suggest that adequate coverage of this issue could best be done by covering some of the marvelous approaches taken by some of our local schools.

We have a child at Windsor Elementary in the Cheney School District. The school has a wonderful, positive approach to behavior. Its program includes issuing Good Citizen Awards to children caught in acts of kindness, obeying school rules, being respectful or being cooperative. The citation is given to the child to take home and his or her name is entered in the school drawing for gifts.

Special recesses are awarded to those good citizens. Obviously, they could be called detention recesses for everyone except the good citizens, but that puts the attention again on the bad behavior and not the best behavior.

At this school the teachers were sold on the positive reinforcement approach that the administration initiated.

Remember, these young children still need and want the approval and love of adults.

Programs like this deserve attention. I’m sure it is a great deal of work to focus on positive behavior and to discipline without making the misbehaving child the center of attention. We need to recognize these efforts.

Just as the Windsor teachers try to put the good behavior at center stage, I would prefer you give us an article on these type of schools. The school in your article certainly doesn’t deserve the attention. Vern Brock Spokane

Discipline: Schools play catch up

The article in Sunday’s Review describing the new “discipline” process developed by Ron Nelson was very exciting and certainly one of the most innovative and caring methods of teaching the students to identify unacceptable behaviors at school (or anywhere else, for that matter) and to help them realize how important it is to be responsible and accountable for their actions.

My friend teaches first grade. Her summer was spent working on new and exciting ways to bring information to her class, and to make learning fun and rewarding. Just weeks into this school year she was so distraught over the behavior and rudeness of some of these young children that she was thinking of making a career change at the end of the school year.

More time was spent with behavior issues and less time with the job she was there to do: teach children. Parents were not cooperative in acknowledging and helping to change their children’s behavior problems. Perhaps these same parents are petitioning to have this new discipline process removed from the school.

Learning to be responsible and accountable for behavior begins early. Learning to identify these unacceptable behaviors and be accountable for making a change is basic to healthy development.

Perhaps if this same “process” had been used by the parents it would not have been necessary for Ron Nelson to develop this program for the schools. Kathy Blanch Spokane

SAFETY

Parents mustn’t fly on autopilot

The recent death of the young boy in the Valley fire made me reflect on parents’ responsibility to protect their children.

If the family had previously lived across the street, the family members must have been aware of the boy’s sleeping arrangement. You might say he was on his own - complete with TV, heater and no supervision. No doubt the latter was a great attraction.

The Rockstrom girl was shot at a party given by a friend whose parents were out of town. Again, no supervision.

When will parents be alert to what is going on?

Your kids will say you’re checking up on them. Your reply: “You bet. Your safety is important to us because we care.” Helen Reed Spokane