Letters To The Editor

BUSINESS AND LABOR

Wal-Mart picked wrong location

On behalf of myself and my neighbors in Camelot and College Homes, I would like to offer some insight into our opposition to the proposed Wal-Mart development on Newport Highway. Simply put, it is a lousy location.

The attempt by Wal-Mart to shoehorn 40 acres of commercial development in between three residential neighborhoods on land that is predominantly zoned residential is irresponsible. Surely, there are numerous other sites within Spokane County that are equally suited to their retail needs.

Unlike Jane Floyd (“Wal-Mart, right this way,” Letters, July 19), we do not accept this type of unwarranted intrusion into our neighborhoods as inevitable.

It is our right and responsibility to preserve the livability of our neighborhoods and to insist that new developments be compatible with that which surrounds them. Karen Barniol Spokane

Track owners let young riders down

In answer to Lee Tobias and others who question the homeowners on Garry Road for their opposition to the BMX track, this dispute is not about the kids or their need for activities. It is about respect for the zoning laws and following proper procedures.

The young bicyclists’ hopes and expectations have not been ruined by the homeowners who inquired about possible violations but by those who installed the track without applying for the proper permits.

When the Spokane County Building and Planning Department ruled that the track was not in compliance with the semi-rural, residential-5 zoning code, the Bliesners had 20 days, by law, to file an appeal and thereby have their day in court. They did not file during the allotted time.

Again, by failing to follow the proper procedure all those involved lost their chance to participate in the democratic process.

Now, one hopes, the track promoters will look for land in a proper location, and having learned from this experience will be able to show the kids what happens when one works within the system. After all, crime is prevented first by teaching respect for people and the laws that govern those people. Joann Ritchie Otis Orchards

Burger King betrayed workers’ trust

In response to the July 24 letters from the Burger King owners and manager, who claim no fault of the restaurant in the murders of two employees. The loss of Dawnya Calbreath and Tod Folsom would not have happened if not for the pure negligence of Burger King.

First, remember that Calbreath’s fingerprints were all over an alarm button that wasn’t working because Burger King wasn’t paying for the service. Other details will also remind us that Burger King’s greed came before safety.

These employees were never even told this alarm system no longer worked. The betrayal of trust for those loyal employees is as devastating as a parent who betrays their own children in that the moral duty is just expected.

Calbreath and Folsom trusted Burger King - a decision that cost them their lives. Patsy Dunn Spokane

Spokane matters

Scales tip against privacy, freedom

A July 17 article regarding the new high-tech photo radar system under consideration for Spokane prompted me to attend the City Council meeting that night.

The police department’s presentation was made by a well-prepared Lt. Glenn Winkey. He said this expensive system will not cost taxpayers anything. Instead, the manufacturer will receive an undisclosed percentage of all fines collected.

We are now franchising crime enforcement through private companies, but refusing to let the public have full disclosure of the percentage share of the collected fines or the length of this contract.

Winkey also made an unsolicited statement that this certainly wasn’t a revenue enhancement issue. Is the public really expected to believe this?

When Councilwoman Roberta Greene asked Winkey how he would respond to critics who call the system a Big Brother-like invasion of privacy, his frightening response was, “It just makes Big Brother more efficient.”

What other areas of our lives might the police attempt to control with future high-tech advances? Certainly, something needs to be done about speeding drivers, etc. But this way, the cure is worse than the problem.

Yes, Winkey is correct; it does make Big Brother more efficient. Doesn’t that frighten anyone? This invasion of our privacy will increase if we just sit here reading the newspaper, drinking our morning coffee, while a well-meaning Winkey does his job, per orders from his superiors. George A. Maness Liberty Lake

People, you’ve been ripped-off

All the publicity and political positioning is over, and the bond issue is being proposed to fix our streets. What’s next? You guessed it - we get to vote for it.

Has anyone asked how our streets ended up the way they are?

Folks, if you look behind the scenes, this didn’t happen by accident. It was a matter of planning and choice.

The city management team made fixing our streets a low priority. The streets were a real problem five years ago. Management chose to build a library, an arena, an Spokane Transit Authority Plaza, lay bricks on Wall Street, add fake trolleys to downtown, commit to building a parking garage for the Davenport Hotel, buy an old parking garage from the Cowles family, give your tax dollars to a downtown business association and build a new Lincoln Street Bridge. Your streets are the way they are because city management and the City Council put self-interest above their job responsibilities.

They have failed you. In corporate America they would be fired for this kind of performance. In Spokane they are rewarded.

Wake up, Spokane, you’re getting taken to the cleaners. Lee E. Picard Spokane

PEOPLE IN SOCIETY

Look past situation, to the man

When my father died 10 years ago, I received a moving letter from my friend and colleague, Professor James Wallace. He wrote, in part:

“When one of those men like your father dies it is like the fall of an oak. I recall when my father went, 30 years ago, and the ground still has scars. They seemed more than ordinarily mortal. Too competent for us to contend with; too full of life to leave it.

The funny thing is, we don’t remember them as great, just as competent. What stands out in them more than anything else is their being at grips with life. No detachment; alienation virtually a foreign word. Old family men. Taking it for granted, the irritations as well as the pleasures. Fixers of faucets. Always on duty …”

Jim certainly described my dad. Interestingly, he pegged himself as well. His students will testify that from Professor Wallace they learned about the importance both of ideas and fixing faucets. He taught them Plato and then went out and built himself a house, nail by nail. He showed them that competency presumes both the developed mind and the callused hands. Through example, he left them with important lessons about the dignity of work, and about coming to grips. He taught them to be individualists but to resist the temptations of individualism and, by drawing this distinction, taught them about the importance of duty.

That such a man now finds himself struggling through a very strange situation serves to remind us that circumstances, considered alone, can sometimes mask character. Robert Herold vice provost and professor of government Eastern Washington University

PUBLIC SAFETY

Hey, do you recognize me?

I am a bad driver because I change lanes without signaling or looking; because I speed up at the yellow caution light; because I drive after drinking, even one beer; because I fill that void between you and the car ahead of me; because I tailgate the car in front of me.

I am a bad driver because I sometimes drive faster than I should; because I am inconsiderate of other drivers; because I drive slower than other traffic in the passing lane; and because I am slow to yield to other traffic.

But my worst fault is that I drive just like you do.

Writing this letter may make me better. Reading this letter may make you better. Don Keplinger Spokane

Printing rafting picture a mistake

I can’t believe that The Spokesman-Review would be so irresponsible as to publish the picture on July 23 of the four boys rafting in the Spokane River. Four young boys, none of them with life jackets on.

How many people have to die in this river in this time of year before parents and other people understand that this is a dangerous river? The Spokesman-Review needs to print a list of how many times in how many summers people have drowned here. This is just crazy. You people need to be a little more responsible about what you publish. Jon Homer Spokane

CARE FOR YOUNG AND OLD

Agency findings not what I saw

Washington state bureaucracy has again raised its ugly head - this time in the form of the state Office of Child Care Policy.

In its stated quest to “look at the intent of providing safe, healthy and developmentally appropriate facilities for children,” this agency has uprooted some 45 children from the Kinder College at the corner of Nevada and North and sent their parents scrambling for alternative accommodations. In addition to the trauma visited upon the families who depend on Kinder College, the center’s staff now faces the prospect of unemployment.

I don’t know Judith and Gary Roberts, the owners of Spokane’s Kinder College centers. Nor have I visited any center other than the one at Nevada and North. I have, however, had the good fortune of being acquainted with Renae Nilles and some of the staff at that facility.

From April 1994 until he started kindergarten last September, my grandson attended the Kinder College at Nevada and North regularly. Never did I witness anything close to the allegations put forth by the Office of Child Care Policy concerning this center. I found the facility to be clean, safe and staffed by individuals who obviously like their work and took very good care of the children in their charge. There’s no doubt in my mind that the time my grandson spent at Kinder College was an integral part of his preparation for kindergarten.

The unfortunate fact about government intervention is that too often it winds up making victims out of the very people it was designed to protect. Scott Leyland Spokane

Good day care is available

There are good day care choices in Spokane. Unfortunately, only the bad ones make news. I am also disappointed at the recent letters to the editor that only “good” moms stay at home.

For over 12 years my three children have been receiving safe and loving supervision at the Mullan Road KinderCare Center. I also know of many other Spokane women who are very happy with their own child care situations. There are lots of good options for working women but it requires prioritizing your requirements and spending many hours visiting different day care centers.

I feel good about my decision to work and my kids have benefited from day care. Children who have stable, loving families do just fine at day care.

I realize not all women have ideal situations and finding affordable care is a challenge. I encourage all Spokane women to be supportive of each other and work together to make quality day care an option to all families. Janet Hasson Spokane

Help see to quality of elder care

The July 21 story about adult family homes called attention to an issue our community must address. The care of our elderly loved ones must be protected.

As our seniors are moved from nursing homes into adult family homes it becomes increasingly difficult to monitor the quality of care they receive. The volunteer Ombudsman Program is designed to protect residents’ rights and mediate the concerns of residents, families and staff of all long-term care facilities. Ombudsmen visit the facilities, talk to residents and are impartial mediators in any concerns that might arise. Unfortunately, the program is underfunded, understaffed, overworked and in need of many volunteers to keep pace with the increase in adult family homes. If you have a special place in your heart to help ensure that our elderly are well cared for, call the Ombudsman Program, 456-7133 to learn how you can volunteer. Linda Miel, Eastern Wash. regional ombudsman Spokane

OTHER TOPICS

Perdue case handled properly, legally

There has been extensive publicity recently about an Eastern Washington University professor and the circumstances surrounding his departure from the university.

I have been quoted in those stories as being critical of Eastern’s actions concerning the handling of William D. Perdue, who was accused of rape and attempted rape by two students.

While it’s true that I and many others at the university would have preferred that this professor stand before his peers to explain the actions for which he stood accused, I must point out that the EWU administration responded quickly and appropriately.

First, please note that the Spokane County prosecutor declined to bring criminal charges. The faculty contract at Eastern requires that disputing parties seek to reach a mutual agreement prior to any formal dismissal charges being brought. (Had an agreement not been reached, the matter would have gone before a peer review. Final authority to dismiss rests with the university president.)

The settlement reached was that Perdue would go on an unpaid leave of absence and remain away from campus. Then, when he reached age 55, he would retire from Eastern. Even if he had gone through the review process and been dismissed, he would still have been eligible for his retirement package at age 55.

He was not given early retirement, nor did the Easter administration “intervene.” It took the lead in addressing this matter, following due process, the laws and contracts to which it is obligated. Robert E. Morgenstern, president Eastern Washington University Faculty Organization, Cheney

Dogma can’t do the work of facts

Robert Spaulding’s “sensible response (“We ignore God at great cost,” Letters, July 20) to Joan Harmon’s defense of evolution” again amply demonstrates how ignorant religious fundamentalists are of scientific principles. His empty-headed response is a typical example of what I see as the true danger to our society.

In contrast to a collection of interpreted Bible stories, evolution is a viable, scientific fact which is amply demonstrated in the fossil record. Unlike religious dogma, the fundamental principles of evolution can be reproduced in any decently equipped scientific lab anywhere in the world.

When a scientist talks about the theory of evolution he is not saying that evolution itself is a theory; he is discussing the forces, the mechanics that drive evolution.

New pieces of the evolutionary jigsaw puzzle are being filled in on almost a monthly basis. For instance, we now have solid evidence demonstrating the transition of a terrestrial mammal moving into an aquatic environment and a mere 50 million years later becoming today’s whales. That is a notable change,

Spaulding, and to change is the definition of evolution. Even your illustrious church has evolved, unless your congregation is still burning witches at the stake.

Spaulding, evolution is not the core of all our miseries, as you suggest. If the problems of the human race can be defined so simplistically, and I doubt they can, I submit to you that ignorance is the true adversary. Wayne E. Barnhart Spokane

Murray fails to see waste

Sen. Patty Murray, savior of the common person, has just made a great leap into posterity. She is going to see that 1,500 computers the Senate disposes of yearly are parceled out to the country’s approximately 50,000 schools and 500,000 classrooms. However, she misses the point. Why does the Senate need so many expensive computers that it disposes of 1,500 a year? Ken Bryant Spokane