Letters To The Editor

SPOKANE MATTERS

Sweetser and crew doing bad job

W. Michael McGinty (“Sweetser, deputies, doing a good job,” Sept. 2) needs a reality check.

The head of the major crimes unit who had such a horrible dismissal rate under the previous prosecutor was Jim Sweetser.

The attempted robbery case against Keith Dafler was not dismissed for lack of evidence. The order Deputy Prosecutor Kathryn Lee signed clearly states the case was dismissed for violation of Criminal Rule 3.3 - the speedy trial rule.

Has McGinty seen the videotape? If so, how and where? The tape was never shown in open court. How did McGinty get hold of evidence from a criminal case? If the evidence against Dafler was so bad, why was he required to sit in jail for 73 days?

As for “bang for the buck,” Sweetser’s plan is that team leaders, presumably experienced attorneys, will not carry a case load. How the public gets more for its money when attorneys are paid not to handle cases is beyond me. Instead, these attorneys will spend their days - and our money - in meeting after senseless meeting.

McGinty sounds like a friend of Sweetser’s, trying to make the rest of us ignore the fact that the emperor has no clothes. Craig N. Erickson Spokane

For kids, especially, ‘Drive friendly’

I am a rookie adult school crossing guard supervisor and am amazed at the number of speeding and inattentive motorists I’ve encountered my first week on the job.

Already, at my school, we’ve issued two serious warnings. Others certainly could have been written. Is it worth the seconds saved speeding through a school crossing when the risk is maiming or killing a child?

Accelerated growth has brought big-city problems to Spokane. Not too long ago, we were shocked and appalled by our city’s first drive-by shooting. Unfathomable. Our first school crossing fatality will be no less unfathomable. Although the intent to harm is not the same, lack of concern for others will have the same result: tragedy for all.

Please, at the very least, reduce speeds to the posted 20 mph in school zones and be attentive to the signals of the crossing guards. We’re not professionals but we try our best to ensure all of Spokane’s children arrive at and leave school safely.

And please, be more attentive driving wherever children are present. Their safety is our most important collective responsibility.

Courtesy and respect are really the keys to safe driving. Some years ago, when visiting Texas, I was impressed with the most eloquent of highway message signs that entreated motorists to “drive friendly.” A revolutionary thought! What does it mean to drive friendly? It means that while you’re behind the wheel, you treat every individual you encounter - child or adult, pedestrian or motorist - with the same courtesy and respect you treat close personal friends. Tom Bellinger Spokane

Decision unquestionably proper

Opinion editor John Webster (“Porn: Questionable priority,” Our View, Aug. 29) and certain radio hosts have questioned the city-county hiring of a special prosecutor to focus on crimes associated with sexually oriented businesses. Our elected officials have a responsibility to protect public health, safety and welfare. They have the support of thousands of people who encouraged this decision.

The City Council has passed well-written, constitutionally sound ordinances based on local and national evidence of the harmful secondary effects of businesses that pander to lust. This evidence indicates that prostitution, drugs, child pornography, spreading AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases, money laundering, tax evasion, gang involvement, corruption of minors, decline in property values and the deterioration of surrounding businesses and neighborhoods is not uncommon.

Owners hire Seattle lawyers full time to keep businessas-usual with injunctions and appeals for years. Our attorneys have had only a few hours a month and little time to research this specialized and expanding area of law. Even still, Patti Walker has been successful in federal and superior courts to defend our right to set community standards and hold these businesses accountable for their actions.

Seattle, Tacoma, Bellevue and even little Newport are taking a more aggressive posture to protect their cities against the rapidly increasing threat of this industry as well as child pornography on the Internet, unsolicited hard-core obscenity on cable, illegal massage parlors, etc. The cost of this new position is a bargain compared to the cost of fighting crimes and dealing with social problems resulting from the presence and influence of these businesses. Penny Lancaster, Coalition for Better Community Standards Spokane

Oxygenated fuel just adds to rip-off

The sticker on the gas pump reads that between Sept. 1 and spring you will be using oxygenated gasoline to reduce pollution.

I used to have a warm, fuzzy feeling about using that gasoline. I was taking an active part in keeping our environment clean and safe. This fuel is supposed to have a clean burn and help reduce pollution.

A few months ago this newspaper reported that Spokane was third in the United States for carbon monoxide pollution and eighth for air particulates. I say this gas thing is not working.

Both of my cars have onboard computers. I can see my gas mileage go down 20 percent once we start using that gas.

That means that besides these oil companies already profiting on an overpriced product, I also get to buy 20 percent more to go just as far. I call that a rip-off.

How long does the public have to be made sheep for these lions of the oil companies who control the politicians (it’s called lobbying)?

You and I are merely making oil companies and their interests more wealthy. Let’s do away with this special gas law and let consumers choose for themselves if they would like to use that type of gas. Tim Carson Spokane

Don’t uproot elderly residents

Heather Teigen-Freeman, in her letter regarding the Aug. 30 article on Valleycrest Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, compares it to a day care facility found inadequate so that the children are placed in other day care centers.

Valleycrest is not a day care and these are not children. They are adults. They have had to leave their own homes. They have lost their independence and must depend on others for their care. Would it not be better to fix whatever problems Valleycrest has, rather than displace these people again?

I work at Valleycrest. My experience is also personal. Employees do care very much for these residents. Some of these people have lived at Valleycrest for years. They not only consider this their home but also consider us their family.

Why not do everything we can to keep them in their home, rather than find other “adequate environments” for them? Wallis Walton Spokane

BUSINESS AND LABOR

Credit card outfits value thrift - not

We all used to think that a credit card deadbeat was someone who charged to the absolute limit of their cards and then took forever to pay the balance. Well, GE Capital Corp. has changed that fact.

GE is telling holders of its GE Rewards Master Card that they will have to pay a $25 annual fee if they insist on paying off their balances every month and avoiding any interest charges.

That’s right, folks. If you pay off the complete balance every month you are a deadbeat. That’s what those in the credit card industry think, according to a story in the Sept. 11 Spokesman-Review.

Thrift and personal responsibility must be very bad for the credit card business. Ernest J. Chamberlain Spokane

Lower wages? After you

Re: Steve Foster’s Sept. 10 letter on artificially high wages:

We can all be grateful to Foster for pointing out the insidious practice of paying high wages. Its presence threatens the very stability of Spokane.

In response, Foster could initiate a campaign to lower wages. He could start his own organization with the slogan: “Save Spokane, work for less.”

In fact, he could begin by publicly announcing how much less his wages or salary will be, thereby setting an example for us all to follow. Ron Large Spokane

Sometimes, smaller is better

I have had the pleasure of being serviced by a small diaper service, Diaper-Tyme, during the first year of my daughter’s life. Cloth diapers are very easy to use, especially while using the Velcro-closing diaper wraps.

We initially chose our diaper service over the competition because of the lower price, but found the service to be very friendly and dependable. I always knew there would be a fresh bag of clean diapers delivered every Wednesday morning.

My husband and I try to choose smaller companies in our day-to-day dealings, as we are also self-employed. K.D. Masiello Spokane

SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION

Businesses warn governors

Forty-nine CEOs, led by IBM’s Louis Gerstner, met with 40 governors. The message: Fix your schools or lose your jobs.

High time. The system spends a quarter of a trillion dollars per year (47 percent local, 46 percent state and 7 percent federal) to teach our children skills and consistently finds them ranking 13th or 14th in 15-country comparisons.

Gerstner stated that in an increasingly global economy, he did not like our chances. We are witnessing the collapse of our system of education and we are all paying the price - business, state and family.

Countries that have better education systems have stronger economies and are tougher competitors in the world marketplace. America is becoming a country of the educated and the uneducated.

Richard Notebaert, CEO of Ameritech, says they spend $100 million a year on training but that a knowledge of algebra as well as reading skills and communication are required. Given that, they can teach employees computer skills and how to splice fiber optics. (Financial World, Aug. 12)

Why is that if we are so rich and powerful, we can’t at least have an average education system for our children? If jobs are important, industry is the marketplace for our education. Should we not listen to industry leaders? Bill Bender Spokane

Bad teachers? None I’ve met

We have been hearing about the “bad” in public education lately. We seem to have focused on negative rather than the positive aspects. We have put teachers on a pedestal where they are no longer entitled to mistakes. If a mistake is made, it becomes public knowledge and their reputations are ruined.

This is a profession where there are no second chances, where the littlest thing can cost you your job. Yet, they still want to teach. Why?

They love children.

Teachers are compassionate, understanding and caring. They comfort our children when they are sad. They come early and stay late to help children with their school work or just to listen to a problem.

I am sure there are some who should not teach, but I have yet to meet one. I am proud of the job they do every day and I want to say thank you for an excellent job. Vicki Nicodemus Spokane

Highlight parents’ role also

So often, articles are written for negative reasons (“Teacher Challenge” by Marny Lombard, Sept. 8-10), i.e. bad kids or bad teachers. How about allowing your readers to read articles relating to what the good teachers and young people are doing? Have you ever thought of doing a series of articles titled “Wanted: parents as positive role models?”

Parents should provide a solid, workable parenting plan for their children, i.e. being there for their kids, using hands-on, positive involvement, teaching values, responsible behavior, accountability and consequences. Let’s not forget empathy for one another.

Parents need to set the best example for their children. Young people learn good or bad habits from their parents and this is how these kids present themselves in a learning environment. Teachers need parents’ support and good, caring parent involvement that will benefit their children. Tony J. Antonucci Spokane

Faith is faith, science is science

The Sept. 1 article, “Schools can teach religion without preaching,” states that “many experts” think creationism and evolution should be taught in biology class “with an unbiased approach.” As any expert should know, bias in this case is unavoidable.

In science class, students learn the scientific method. They learn that scientific theories are empirical and based on analysis of material evidence; that they are tentative; that they reject supernatural explanations; and that the forces at work are natural, constant and universally applicable. They learn that scientists make discoveries and let the chips falls where they may - even if it means modifying or abandoning existing theories.

Creationism is based on religious dogma. Adherents consider its core teachings to be infallible and absolute. It frequently invokes the suspension of natural laws by supernatural means to explain various phenomena. And its so-called experts warn that to embrace any other concept of origins is to risk eternal damnation.

Scientists and creationists play the game by totally different sets of rules. Biases inherent in these rules are intentional and inescapable. The purpose of science education is to teach the rules defined by the scientific method. Representing faith-based ideologies as valid alternatives in science class defeats that purpose.

Creationism does not belong in science class, any more than evolutionism belongs at a fundamentalist revival meeting.

If “experts” insist on teaching creationism in public schools, let it be done in a comparative religion class, where everyone plays by the same rules. Jack DeBaun Sandpoint

GRASS FIELD BURNING

Tell DOE to prevent smoke harm

Do you or a family member suffer respiratory problems during field burning season?

Do you wonder why agricultural interests still use this method to manage their fields, even though in the case of stubble burning authorities deem this an unwise farming practice?

Grass field burners don’t want to use alternatives to burning. They claim they’re too expensive.

The many people with asthma and other respiratory and cardiovascular diseases who are hospitalized, their lives threatened by the particulates in the smoke, must question the economics of this practice, too. Doesn’t their well-being count?

If field burning is a concern of yours, attend the public hearing that the Department of Ecology is holding Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Public Services Auditorium, N310 Main in Colfax. This is an opportunity for you to tell DOE it’s amendment to the Agriculture Burning Regulation (WAC 173-430) is the right thing to do. The amendment would reduce the number of Washington grass seed field acres burned by a third in 1996 and by another third in 1997.

Unfortunately, Sen. Eugene Prince supports the grass burners and is trying to nullify DOE’s efforts.

Try to attend or watch the Pullman City Council meeting on TV today. Patricia Hoffman, president of “Save Our Summers,” will give a presentation concerning field burning. Tomorrow, go to Colfax and tell them you don’t want your air ruined by smoke. Roberta Moore Pullman