Letters To The Editor

IDAHO VIEWPOINTS

School board thwarting effort

For about two years, Silver Valley citizens have tried to form a community resource center. Such a facility would bring social service agencies together under one roof.

A year ago the abandoned Elk Creek School was identified as a central location. CRC members asked school board trustees to secure a one-year lease necessary to write grants, and asked the public for financial and other support to purchase the old school.

All efforts to gain school officials’ support went unanswered, even though more than 300 residents have signed petitions. Idaho law gives the trustees the power to establish a “community center in any school of the district if they desire.”

Community resource center representatives have never asked for special consideration, other than having one year to lease the building, fix it up, provide practical and fun uses to the people and raise funds to buy the building. Kellogg school trustees put the building up for bid with today as the closing date.

CRC seeks one year to come up with the money to buy the property. Establishment of such a facility would benefit Silver Valley citizens for many years. Barbara Miller, Community Resource Center Kellogg

Resource center absolute necessity

Re: establishment of the Community Resource Center in the old Elk Creek School in Kellogg.

I strongly support this effort in behalf of Silver Valley community organizations that have struggled to represent those most affected by pollution, mine closings, lack of affordable housing and unemployment.

Silver Valley working people - miners, service workers, federal or state employees - not only need a voice, they deserve recognition and support for their generations of work and sacrifice above and below ground.

I have done cultural and historical research with these families since 1987. In all my years of field work, I have never been exposed to communities like those in the Silver Valley, which so systematically ignore the richness of their own cultural history. People of this region deserve more. Like miners in West Virginia, steelworkers in Pennsylvania and loggers in the Pacific Northwest, we need to help these workers prepare for the future by recognizing their past struggles and contributions.

A community resource center such as the one proposed at the Elk Creek School is not a frill or luxury, it is an essential ingredient in building community strength and education. Without it, the people of Kellogg and the rest of the valley have no grass-roots consensus from which to build their community of the future. Robert McCarl, assistant professor Boise State University

Real spoilsports point guns

Staff writer D.F. Oliveria ludicrously claims Earth First!ers are like clinic bombers because the annual Rendezvous is fun and because some activists, on their own, traditionally decide to engage in protest or civil disobedience - the tradition of Rosa Parks, Gandhi, King, the Underground Railroad and the Boston Tea Party.

No environmental activist has ever been convicted of bombing or shooting someone. An activist at Cove/ Mallard was severely beaten. Last year, shots were fired as threats on at least two separate occasions. One person was held with a gun pointed at his head.

Law enforcement officials have yet to do anything about those 1995 incidents.

That vigilante violence is the tradition of Nazi brownshirts and the KKK.

Again, Herr Minister of Propaganda Oliveria has ignored facts and logic. Besides, he’s a stick-in-the-mud who hates fun. Gary Macfarlane Moscow

Non-grandstanders care, too

Re: the letter Feb. 28 letter, “Time to vote Chenoweth and pals out” by Merlyn Nelson of Harrison: I know Rep. Helen Chenoweth, Sens. Larry Craig and Dirk Kempthorne, and have the highest respect for them.

Whether you believe it or not, the idea that environmentalism, animal rights activism and other activism is a religion is right-on.

Being an atheist, Nelson is neither religious nor spiritual in the truest sense. We all care about all life forms and are doing what is necessary to protect them. But we are not going out, hugging trees and making fools of ourselves to get in the papers and on television.

Some of the so-called animals and birds supposedly becoming extinct are becoming a problem in some areas because of overpopulation. I’m sure most of the things Nelson is so concerned about will survive without his help or mine.

I don’t see what is wrong with our legislators believing in the Constitution, property rights, the economic value system and a moral stand on family values. Jim Williams St. Maries

BUSINESS AND LABOR

Small businesses in wage-price bind

I operate a small business. I pay higher than minimum wage but not as high as I’d like. I have wonderful employees and they deserve more.

What prevents me from paying more? Increased costs - a result of high wages and benefits in monopolized industries, utilities and government.

My product is price-competitive, more of a luxury item than a necessity. If my prices go up, fewer people buy the product because it passes the price threshold they are willing to pay, negating expected profit.

Conversely, companies that sell necessities like electricity, postage, freight, gasoline, paper, automobiles, insurance, taxes, etc., have few price restraints. These industries are usually unionized and are forced to pay higher wages because of strikes or threats. Additionally, top executives in these monopolies receive obscene wage gains.

Without productivity gains, these industries simply raise prices, and government raises taxes, to pay higher wages. The rest of us have just have to pay. They are not subject to competition and we need what they sell to coninue in business.

Where does a small business get the money to pay these higher prices? From profits - the profits we could have used to pay our employees more. A company whose product has a definite price threshold must have increased sales and productivity just to keep up with the latest round of unrestrained price increases and taxes. This is why small businesses pay minimum wage.

Put the minimum wage blame where it belongs, not on small business operators. Gary D. Challender, president Books in Motion, Spokane

Mount Spokane does need work

Regarding the Feb. 28 article, “Mt. Spokane Corp. sues state, group”:

Mount Spokane is one of the area’s best natural family amenities. My husband, two sons and myself are avid skiers and have purchased season passes each year since moving here in 1988. During this time period the two lodges have slowly but surely become very sad, depressing buildings. Grooming has always been limited and quite poorly done.

Frankly, Mount Spokane has a bad reputation with local avid skiers, and it shouldn’t. The employees, food service and especially the lift attendants are very friendly. The Ski Patrol has a right to be proud also; its building is very attractive and the members are always concerned about safety. I know this because I really do ski a lot.

Has Gregg Sowder and/or this 2000 Study Group ever skied Mount Spokane and various other areas to know that management and operations really need some attention? I’m sure there are many people who really hope something positive comes from this. Patti Schneider Spokane

SAFETY

Overstating the obvious, expensively

Recently, while driving on the freeway, I noticed the electronic bulletin boards telling drivers of the road conditions.

I can see how something like that might help drivers when driving toward a pass or something of that nature, but to have those on I-90 in Spokane is a total waste of money. If people haven’t figured out that the roads are slick and dangerous by the time they see one of those signs, then they obviously do not belong behind the steering wheel of a car.

I just hope those signs were privately funded, because I would hate to think city, state or federal governments couldn’t find anything more useful to spend thousands of dollars on. Robert Gray Spokane

Store guns and bullets safely

Letter writers have argued about the validity of statistics on gun-related violence. Statistics should not be the issue, but rather what should be done about gun violence, especially among children.

As parents we know children are naturally curious and explore. Even the best behaved children get into things they shouldn’t, and some children are attracted to firearms. Furthermore, adolescence is a time of turmoil.

Now, consider that there are no childproof guns and that many inexpensive handguns will discharge when dropped. Many families keep loaded guns in their homes.

Consequently, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends locking up guns and ammunition. It suggests inquiring about guns at places where your children visit, such as neighbors’ or relatives’ homes.

Because of the emotional intensities surrounding this issue, the academy suggest ways to discuss it in a nonconfrontational manner. For example, a parent might say to a neighbor, “Have you seen the argument about guns in the letters to the editor? I’m concerned about gun safety. What do you think?”

Medical literature reveals an epidemic of gun-related violence in our society. The pattern is clear in studies published in The New England Journal of Medicine, Centers for Disease Control Morbidity and Mortality Report, National Pediatric Trauma Registry, The Journal of the American Medical Association and many other journals.

The American Academy of Pediatrics says that having a gun for protection in your home does not make you or your family more safe.

To protect your family, guns and ammunition should be locked up. David Moershel, M.D., president Physicians for Social Responsibility, Spokane

SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION

Self-esteem is a vital necessity

Debate over the value of self-esteem, especially as promoted in schools, is increasing. Self-esteem alone isn’t a magic cure-all for individual or group problems but it can mean the difference between success and failure.

Some believe that self-esteem is predicated upon accomplishments of ancestors. Taken to the extreme, this prevents people from striving for individual accomplishments and responsibility. Pride in ancestry isn’t bad, but it’s not a substitute for rigorous personal accomplishments.

On the other hand, some degree of self-esteem is necessary for individual accomplishment and responsibility. Paralysis can result from a lack of confidence, in people of all ages.

True self-esteem is a feeling of worthiness, confidence and assurance basic to our very existence. It is not dependent upon rank, position, degrees, wealth, gender or race. Everyone is born totally worthy of a good education, good relationships, good job, good family, etc. But through our own negative self-talk and by accepting the negative affirmations of others we often suggest degrees of lesser worthiness for ourselves.

People tend to draw to them what they feel worthy of receiving. People with high self-esteem take risks, try new things and are eager to learn. They expect good things will happen.

People with low self-esteem constantly seek assurance from others, maintain the status quo and blame others for their own failures. Successful parents and teachers recognize the inherent value of each child, will treat each child with dignity and respect, and assist the child toward accomplishments.

Self-esteem and accomplishment reinforce each other. They do not stand alone. Robert B. Wilson Pullman

OTHER TOPICS

Tribes exemplary managers

In “De-fund Indian arrangements” (Letters, Feb. 19), Thomas and Sandra Shook correctly stated that there are approximately 6,000 enrolled members of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes of the Flathead Nation. Unfortunately, their claim that the tribes have a history of mismanagement isn’t true.

The Flathead tribes’ corporate charter was ratified in 1936. Flathead Lake is managed by the tribe and is rated as the cleanest lakes in the Pacific Northwest. If the Confederated tribes manage the National Bison Range, they will be, at the very least, as efficient as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

I remind the Shooks that Native Americans were removed to the reservations so that the rest of the land could be stolen and exploited by settlers.

Federal funds allotted to more than 400 reservations are the result of treaties that were written in the foggy past. The pittance that the various tribes receive is compensation for theft and destruction of land, culture and life.

The religion of these peoples was one of communion with the Earth and reverence for the land. Native Americans are not as prosperous as some people make them out to be. This is a result of circumstances, not choice.

I am a member of the Salish and Kootenai tribes. I’m proud of my heritage and deeply involved in the study and history of my people. When I hear people make negative comments about the tribes, I feel sorry for them. They obviously haven’t investigated who and what they are talking about. Tim Collins Spokane

Help poor with wood being wasted

A few weeks ago The Spokesman-Review printed a picture and story of a family struggling to keep warm this winter. The people of Spokane rallied to the cause, and all types of help poured forth. Some people even asked about others who were in similar circumstances so they could help.

Pat yourselves on the back, people of the Spokane area.

Before moving to Spokane I lived in seven Western states and 40 different cities. I have never seen anything even close to this outpouring of concern for the suffering.

It’s a shame that anyone has to run out of heat in this area. The woods around here are full of burnable dead wood. Coeur d’Alene has a couple of burning pits that burn away huge trees and wood all year. What a shame!

Gathering up this wood and sharing it with the poor seems like an excellent project for some charitable organization. Bob Smith Spokane

Judge too hard on killer of two

I’m not concerned with the fact that Ken Arrasmith is a convicted murderer and should receive some form of punishment. What concerns me is the “life without parole” sentence of Judge Ida Leggett really means “death behind bars” sooner or later for the sentenced.

Judge Leggett says that Idaho is not the wild, wild West. Oh yeah? It appears she took notes from Judge Roy Bean, the hanging judge of wild West fame.

Jason Kukrall robs and murders 21-year-old Linda Guillen in Spokane and gets a 17-year sentence. O.J. Simpson - well, we all know about O.J. - he sells videos and plays golf. Ken Arrasmith takes care of two molesters and rapists of his daughter and others, and he gets life without parole.

Three Bronx cheers for Idaho’s Judge Ida Leggett, the 1990s style of hanging judge. Edward Schneider Coeur d’Alene

Correction:

Jeanne Billman’s March 6 letter, “Positive youth event deserves story,” included reference to a Future Business Leaders of America competition involving 290 area high schools. Entrants were in fact from 20 schools. Also, the top five competitors in each event get to compete at a state event in April at the SeaTac Red Lion. Winners there advance to the national competition in June.

Thursday’s Your View Roundtable reader cartoon was the work of Martin E. Miller of Spokane. A credit line bearing his name was inadvertently omitted.