Letters To The Editor

WASHINGTON STATE

Pricey study deservedly dropped

Reading it for the first time, I was certain it was a misprint.

The story read that Spokane was asking for $750,000 to study whether the Spokane Convention Center should be enlarged. Couldn’t be. They must mean $750,000 to actually enlarge the Center.

Then, in the Feb. 21 Spokesman-Review, came the story that the Legislature had axed the proposal to “give” Spokane $750,000 to study, etc.

Who says the Legislature doesn’t have any sense? It sure picked up on this one. Let’s give legislators some credit. But, still, isn’t three-quarters of a million dollars an unbelievable amount for just a study? Charles F. Dayley Cheney

Liquor board off on a toot

An article in the Feb. 12 Spokesman-Review stated how the Class H liquor license holders have been targeted for overserving. However, not mentioned was how the Washington State Liquor Control Board is in the business of wholesaling Class H licenses.

It is taking away from a struggling business to set up shooter bars, happy hours and tooties to help regain some of the business we have lost.

The WSLCB should look at the population of a given town before issuing any new licenses. For example, Ferry County has not doubled in population since 1969, at which time it had two Class H liquor license holders. Now, it has eight, plus the Fraternal Order of Eagles, which has a liquor license.

Something there adds up to not just overserving but to overselling by the WSLCB. William D. Burnett Republic, Wash.

SPOKANE MATTERS

Workmanship raises questions

I frequently have occasion to view the County Public Works Building on Broadway. It comes to me how unfinished this structure has been left. If our inspecting engineers have signed off on this project, I have some questions.

Is the moisture transfer through the parapet wall an acceptable condition?

Are you satisfied with the finish of the foundation walls?

The darkened areas that a person sees at the second-floor wall suggest to me that the area exposed to the weather was not properly sealed. Which, of course, lends itself to freeze-thaw problems.

A proper finish for a proper building foundation would involve “sacking” the wall, leaving a stucco or slick appearance as desired, then sealing the concrete for curing purposes. Holes left by the form ties would then magically disappear.

The state of this work is suspect.

I won’t even mention the state of our roads and other county structures. Oops, I already said it. I will mention the enduring image the Courthouse has conveyed over the years. I hope we still build for the future benefit.

Inasmuch as I have a vested interest in this county’s infrastructure, I would like to see my investment managed well. I have questions. Mike Armstrong Spokane

Roskelley wrong about examiner job

Spokane County Commissioner John Roskelley’s 150-year vision for the future isn’t quite as ambitious as Adolf Hitler’s was for his 1,000-year Reich, but Roskelley wants to use the same methods to get there.

His proposal to hire a fuhrer as a hearing examiner for the Planning Department indicates his contempt for democracy, except possibly to anoint elitists like himself to decide how to meet the needs of the masses.

Roskelley proposed that a hearing examiner be appointed who could not be removed by elected officials, thereby eliminating any way to ensure that the examiner would be either accountable or responsive to the citizens. Thankfully, the other commissioners rejected this harebrained scheme.

There’s also Roskelley’s part in the curious case of the altered Critical Areas Ordinance. According to Michael Schrader, a County Planning Commission member, this document arrived at the county commissioners’ desks substantially altered from the plan the Citizen’s Advisory Group took 3-1/2 years to draft, and Roskelley recommend that it be adopted as received. Fortunately, the other commissioners voted to have a public hearing first. But what did Roskelley know about the ordinance being changed and when did he know it?

Roskelley claims he wants to keep politics out of such matters, but what he calls politics a lot of us call democracy. Ed Davis Spokane

Why water streets between freezes?

It looks to me like there is some avoidable waste going on in the street maintenance department in the form of road watering.

It rained on Feb. 20. More rain was forecast for the next day, yet a city water truck was out watering down Maple Street Bridge that night.

The week before the big freeze and snow there was a truck out watering down Francis late at night, with temperatures in the low 30s. It came as no surprise to me that the water turned to ice before the night was over.

Since there was no major dust problem prior to the watering, it seems a wasteful and dangerous practice.

I assume the city could be sued if it created icy conditions that contributed to an accident. Someone in the department needs to take control and exercise a little better judgment. Jim Hundrup Spokane

Inept director should quit

As a member and long-term volunteer at the Spokane Humane Society, I want to share some observations.

I never felt a need to step forward and defend the shelter staff and animals until about six months ago. Under the current executive director I observed declining staff morale, established health routines were being ignored and needed repairs were not being done.

I attended the October board meeting and expressed my concerns. The executive director and board were aware that since hiring him additional problems had developed.

Hindered by staff reductions, the shelter workers are trying to do their best for the animals. Staff can only let the executive director and board know about needed repairs and purchases. All major expenditures must be approved by the executive director and/or board.

Responsibility for the current situation rests with the executive director and board, not the shelter’s staff.

Hopefully, the board is courageous enough to admit hiring this person was an error. Board members are human and humans err. I want them to correct this hiring error and move on. The executive director should resign, as he offered to do. There seems to be a misconception that he needs the board’s approval to resign. He does not.

I am disappointed with how KREM-2 handled this. It quickly became part of the problem (i.e. sensationalism), not of the solution. Gayle Snoen Spokane

IN THE PAPER

Cartoon poor sight for kids’ eyes

Regardless of my personal opinion of President Clinton as a human being, I was sickened by Steve Benson’s disgusting caricature of our nation’s leader on Feb. 21.

It brought two thoughts to my mind. First, how can we expect anything good or decent from our children when supposedly responsible adults send these kinds of messages? Second, whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty?

As long as we continue to exercise our rights this way, simply because we are lucky enough to have constitutional rights, this country will continue to go to hell. Wilma Moore Colville, Wash.

Why sabotage Dwyer’s efforts?

Justin F. Dwyer may have just had his life ruined by The Spokesman-Review (“Neo-Nazi moonlights as ranger,” Feb. 17). The Dwyer I knew at Spokane Community College conscientiously attended classes, respected teachers and students, received good grades and worked hard to make a better life for himself.

I applaud staff writer Bill Morlin as a writer but fail to see the justification for publishing his censuring article.

Dwyer has no criminal record, is no proven threat to anyone and has said he’s trying to put his past behind him. Doesn’t that make Dwyer innocent until proven guilty? If he’s never been prosecuted, why is he being persecuted? Doesn’t Dwyer have the same right as anyone else to make a questionable choice then try to pull himself away from it and strive to make a better life for himself?

Dwyer did attempt to better himself, and in a most acceptable manner. He went to college to gain an education and degree in parks and recreation from the Natural Resources Department, and ultimately a respectable job in which he could work to prove his ability and integrity.

Gerry Tays said, “If we’d known then what we know now about him, the National Park Service would never have hired this guy.” My guess is that the agency hired the right man for the position, and that Dwyer did an excellent job. I certainly hope he is allowed to return and continue being a park ranger if his work record merits it. Alexandria Texmo Mead

SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION

MathCounts winners are good news

Last Saturday I had the privilege of attending the regional competition of MathCounts, held at Rogers High School. This contest matched teams from 13 area middle schools, testing their skills in algebra and geometry.

These young people, along with their coaches and sponsors, should be applauded for their hard work and accomplishments. Too often, the news is filled with negative and detrimental representation of our youth and the public schools that they attend.

I thought that your readers would be encouraged to know that, even with all of the problems currently facing our public education system, good things continue to happen.

Congratulations to all the 1996 MathCounts teams, and best of luck to the first-place group from Sacajawea Middle School as it advances to state competition in Wenatchee on March 16. John Cross Spokane

Board made a wrong choice

The school board’s homogeneous decision to choose yet another representative for high-achieving top students is a blow for children already struggling to achieve in public education.

High-achieving students are held up by a strong foundation of parent involvement and support, resources, opportunities, pension and validation. It would not seem that they are most in need of representation by the school board.

Children who are low achievers, because of disabilities, lack of parental involvement, lack of representation, poverty, and low expectations by adults, are destined to be society’s lifetime responsibility if they aren’t encouraged to reach their full potential and prepare to function independently as adults.

Jennifer Roseman is a voice and a conscience for equitable education and opportunities for all students, which the school board sorely lacks. Appointing another representative “for kids who do well” to the school board was a disappointing and frustrating decision for students who truly need to be our top priority now. Susan Hammond SAFE (Schools are for Everyone), Spokane

OTHER TOPICS

Chewelah case handled properly

I have lived in Chewelah for 20 years and take offense at Harriett Jacobson’s accusation (“Insult heaped upon alleged injury,” Letters, Feb. 20) that the people of Chewelah believe women are objects to be used and abused.

Yes, two young men from our community were recently accused of raping a teacher. One is in jail awaiting trail. What would you have us do, rush out and hang them from the highest tree?

These “good old boys,” as she calls them, are two young men who have simply been accused of a crime - nothing more until a court determines guilt or innocence.

Chewelah people who have made accusations against the teacher have a right to do so, just as the teacher had the right to accuse these two young men of a crime.

You are now trying to tell us those who reported misconduct of the teacher are only friends of the accused men, so we should dismiss the accusations so her reputation isn’t soiled? Do you really believe our school board would take such actions against one of our teachers if this were only a few friends trying to cause trouble? I think not!

The teacher was suspended, with pay, while these accusations are checked out, just as one of those men sits in jail until the charges against him are tried in court. That’s how things are done: innocent until proven guilty. Judy Malecha Chewelah, Wash.

What’s good for families helps all

Thank you for your recent article, “Working solution” (Feb. 19), that highlighted the benefits of family-friendly places. As a community, we make a strong commitment to fostering healthy youth and families when we support these practices. When we embrace concepts like these, everyone wins. Deanna Cooper Spokane

Old Testament types in decline

Nearly two millennia after the coming of Christ, the era of the New Testament is dawning at last.

We are blessed to be present at this prophetic juncture of history. The opposition to the right of lesbian women and gay men to enter into holy matrimony constitutes nothing less than the last, dying gasps of the Old Testament zealots.

They spread not the gospels (literally, “Good News”) of joy, love and peace. Instead, they preach doom, bigotry and “cultural war.” Their message is an abomination, a perversion of the teachings of our Lord. They are the people against whom Christ warned us. They are the collective voice of the anti-Christ.

Let us all pray for the salvation of their immortal souls. George D. “Martin” Maloney Spokane

Agency tackling a big job

The Northwest Power Planning Council will soon hold a meeting in Idaho. As I’ve been reading a lot about the council for a research paper, I’d like to make some observations.

The council’s strategy for salmon gave me a lot of insight into the enormous tasks the council has before it. Not only is it tasked with developing an electrical power plan that will guarantee adequate energy at the lowest cost to the region, it must also develop a program to protect and rebuild fish and wildlife populations affected by the hydroelectric dams.

This seems almost impossible, since these two plans appear to completely contradict each other.

A further complication is that major Columbia River Basin rivers drain over 260,000 square miles in seven states and British Columbia. The many stakeholders involved include watershed management councils, 11 state and federal agencies, 13 Indian tribes, eight utilities and numerous fish, forest and environmental interest groups - each with its own plans and agenda.

No matter what you might think of its past performance, the Northwest Power Planning Council is working hard to provide us with the restoration of our salmon and to retain the luxury we have by maintaining the nation’s lowest electricity rates. We should give the council our support. Carla S. Scott Chewelah, Wash.