Letters To The Editor

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

Punishing the poor for being poor

The new welfare reform is a joke and a crying shame. The only ones it will benefit are those with incomes of around $30,000 a year, because they don’t have to see the poor in their neighborhood.

They want people to go to work to get off welfare, where most will earn minimum wages at best, will lose food stamps and medical assistance. So, they go to work, pay a baby sitter, their rent, utilities and gas to and from work (if they have a car), automobile insurance and - if they have anything left - they can buy food, the daily necessities of life and pay their own medical bills, too. All this with no outside assistance.

My total income per month is around $810. Right off the top is $153 for a 1986 Dodge van until the year 2000, $38 for the insurance, $40 to $50 for gasoline and $44 for medical insurance. I’m left with $325 for rent, etc. And you can’t rent much of anything today for under $400 per month anywhere I know of, unless you want to live in the dangerous parts of town.

On top of this, I would have nothing for food or other necessities. Live in a decent house in a nice neighborhood? Keep dreaming, because you can’t afford it. And neither can I. Betty Randall Moses Lake

Job training does work

The letter from the Evergreen Freedom Foundation’s analyst criticizing work training programs is filled with reckless right-wing rhetoric. Obviously, no one would disagree that it is good to have job training on the job, but this begs the question - where are all the jobs needed for those trying to get off welfare? In Spokane County alone, we cannot begin to provide the necessary jobs.

In addition, the analyst states, “There is no evidence linking participation in a job training or education program to participants actually getting a job.” This simply is not true. Among others, the U.S. Department of Labor and the American Association of Colleges have provided documentation showing the vital link between the two.

Once again, we have those who would give us simplistic answers to very complex problems. I am curious about how many jobs the Evergreen Freedom Foundation has to offer welfare recipients. Jan Polek Spokane

THE ENVIRONMENT

Make clear what’s needed at Hanford

After citizens finally convinced the Department of Energy it could stop making plutonium because of our ability to blow up the Earth many times over, Hanford was shut down a few years ago.

Besides making something we didn’t need, the last nuclear reactor there was also becoming dangerous to operate because of its advanced age.

Cleanup is now the watchword at Hanford. There is so much nuclear waste there, threateningly close to the Columbia River, that it will take many years and lots of jobs and money just to figure out what to do with it all. One would think the case is closed, that cleanup is the paramount concern at Hanford.

But no, there are rumors that some people want to start up the old reactor again and create more nuclear waste, funneling precious cleanup funds into the cost of restarting production. This would delay cleanup operations which are already behind schedule. Worse, it would create more dangerous nuclear waste that we don’t know how to deal with.

Plans currently call for Hanford to be a dump site for nuclear wastes from other locations as well. Let’s let our elected officials and the Energy Department know that we don’t want any more nuclear waste at Hanford and that cleanup is the only activity that should be going on at Hanford. Linda Greene Spokane

Science shows wood measures up

I would like to add some more objective information to the opinions expressed by Kevin Grimsrud (letters, March 5).

In making his point that other building materials should be substituted for wood in construction as a means of reducing the forest harvest, he implies this will lead to reduced environmental damage. The scientific facts don’t support this conclusion.

Studies, based on objective life cycle analysis comparing buildings constructed of different materials, lead to the conclusion that wood is an environmentally friendly, low-impact construction material.

Life cycle analysis is the technique our European neighbors are turning to as the basis for establishing an objective method of comparing environmental impacts. J.A. Dangerfield, Ph.D., vice president Forintek Canada Corp., Western Division, Vancouver, B.C.

Companies opt for propaganda

I find it appalling that Northwest mining companies are spending huge sums on prime time commercials to try to win public support.

Most people don’t oppose the extraction of metals. People are concerned about the effects of bad mining practices. Their concerns include the increased levels of toxic heavy metals such as lead, zinc, arsenic, cadmium, mercury, etc., and cyanide leaks, where these can do harm. Both types of contamination can destroy entire watersheds and infiltrate aquifers.

These companies, which obviously have money to burn, will not gain public support until these problems have been addressed.

Most of these problems are easily controlled with the proper techniques. It is relatively simple to control the mobility of most of the heavy metals (zinc is an exception) by controlling pH, oxygen fugacity and the amount of complexing ions present. Companies should also try to divert streams that might encounter tailings and use updated cyanide leach pads.

These measures do cost substantial amounts of money. But it is much easier to prevent the buildup of heavy metals and toxic leaching agents than to remediate an existing problem.

It seems these companies that have long exploited the Northwest would rather pay for commercial advertising than for dealing with the real problems. If companies will not take responsibility for their existing problems (countless examples exist), how can the public have confidence in their future prospects? Julie Pickrell Moscow, Idaho

SEX AND THE YOUNG

Event, as described, disappoints

I just read the article on teens getting straight talk on sex. I noted many references to having protected sex and the problems of teenage pregnancy. This is good.

To be giving away flavored condoms, pop-up condoms on keychains and teaching 100 high school students about a woman’s most sensitive body part is totally irresponsible and only encourages sexual activity. How much information did they receive on how to say no, why it’s best to say no, and that there is another way: abstinence.

I hope this is just a matter of poor reporting on this conference. If it wasn’t, we have surely shortchanged our teenage kids in helping them to understand that there is another world, one where they can live a childhood without having to jump into the back seat of a car and have sex using their colored condoms.

I hope this group will do a better job next time or that it was just poor reporting this time. Jeanette G. Staben Spokane

The right answer: no premarital sex

The headline of your article, “Teens get straight talk on sex,” was quite misleading.

I read the article, only to again be dismayed to find our younger generation being misled by a group of adults who should know better. The message being sent was use condoms, be safe, know your partner or try abstinence.

A handy graph accompanied the article that should have helped all to see that our safe-sex approach is not having much effect. Instead, why don’t we adults be honest with our young people. Let’s begin by telling them that sex outside of marriage shouldn’t be.

I know this sounds crazy and as if it must be coming from some right-wing, Christian fundamentalist wacko, but do yourself a favor. When you tire from beating up on the Christian right, ask yourself which of their beliefs leads to unwanted pregnancy, fatherless children, abortion or the rampant spread of AIDS. Steve Bland Elk

Media did number on valiant effort

The Spokesman-Review’s portrayal of the teen pregnancy prevention conference as Condom Fest ‘97 was irresponsible and counterproductive to Spokane’s ongoing teen pregnancy prevention efforts. As if those slanted views weren’t destructive enough, KXLY Radio’s Mike Fitzsimmons chose to condemn an event he didn’t fully research.

What neither news medium reported was that contraception wasn’t the only, nor the most timeintensive, focus of the conference. Participants were offered many topics. Workshops on suicide awareness, dating violence, cultural awareness, stress management, relationships and a host of other adolescent health topics were included. And contrary to the reports, abstinence was discussed in numerous workshops.

The conference goal was to help teens make informed decisions about the many issues that impact their health and quality of life. While it would be wonderful to assume that abstinence education is the ultimate in teen pregnancy prevention education, this approach doesn’t reach all youths. Our concerted efforts to keep kids abstinent is a worthy goal but it will never be the sole solution to a very complex problem.

We, as a community, need to avoid petty accusations and sensational depictions of strong prevention efforts and focus more energy on our commitment to providing youths the information and skills they need to make healthy decisions.

We can either spend our time and resources arguing about how this education can be done or accept the wellresearched fact that different prevention approaches work for different populations, then settle to the task of helping kids thrive. Deanna R. Cooper Spokane

Abstinence under-covered

Staff writer Virginia de Leon seems quite enthralled with condoms (“Teens get straight talk on sex,” March 27). While the conference, It’s Your Choice, apparently was billed to include abstinence as a sexual choice, de Leon opted to virtually ignore this alternative - the only 100 percent safe option available.

In fairness to searching teens, would it be possible to present a more balanced treatment of this subject in the future? Paul and Bonny Peterson Spokane

Editor’s note: Virginia de Leon contends her story accurately reflects both the content and emphasis of what was presented at the conference.

HEALTH AND SAFETY

Postal Service people appreciate help

We are starting to see the first signs of spring. After the long winter we have had, I’m sure I can speak for a many in saying it’s about time.

For our letter carriers and clerks, last winter was especially tough. The ice storm in November had them working in the dark with everything from lanterns to miner’s helmets with attached lights. Working that way, with no heat, made the job a little more difficult. Then came a few heavy snow storms to cover the ice and the challenges grew for the next few months.

With all of this going on, our carriers continued to deliver the excellent service our customers have come to know and expect. But they didn’t do it alone. On behalf of our letter carriers, I thank all of our customers who went to the extra effort of making the job a little easier.

You may have been the elderly customer who applied salt to your slippery steps or the energetic young person who made sure to clear the sidewalk after every new snowfall. Maybe you were the one who came home from work dog tired but still went out to reroute the snow left by the plow that cleared your street, or cleared a path through your yard to the neighbors’.

Each of you helped to keep the mail moving in some very trying conditions.

Thank you for making a tough job a little bit easier and a lot safer. Kenneth S. Symbol Jr. postmaster, Spokane

Don’t downplay tobacco danger

The author of the March 31 letter, “Let individual decide to use or abstain,” is seriously mistaken in the comment that “cars also kill more people than does tobacco.” This statement is terribly misleading.

The fact is that tobacco kills more people than alcohol, cocaine, crack, heroin, homicides, suicide, car accidents, fires and AIDS combined. Yes, combined! That translates to 434,000 people every year who die from tobacco-related diseases. Let’s make sure we have our facts straight.

In regard to the rest of the letter, government is simply trying to protect the youths of today, to fight the tobacco industry’s sick manipulation on our children. Ninety percent of people start smoking before age 18, so if we can protect our young people from ever starting, chances are they will be tobacco-free for life. Sharlynn Rima Spokane

OTHER TOPICS

Piece showed distorted perspective

Louis Rukavina’s negative commentary about our culture (“Perspective,” March 30) only proved his lack of awareness.

Like many people, I am a little tired of hearing how our country is going down the drain. I would not trade the ‘90s for the ‘50s for all of the money in the world. Today’s children are much more aware and educated than their parents ever hoped to be.

Unfortunately, this newfound awareness comes in a package that is beyond the scope of many parents. They simply are incapable of understanding. There is a lot more to education than what is offered in schools. Our universities are more geared toward narrowing the human experience than expanding it.

Rukavina did not say anything about creativity, abstraction or nurturing the qualities of our hearts. He only talks about money, status, ceremony and a grim future. Most kids today are aware enough to know that there are forces way beyond the academic realm.

As a professional in the entertainment business, I have had an opportunity to work with many famous people whom Rukavina seems to dislike so much. Contrary to what he expressed, many of these people work at a creative level that is simply amazing and well beyond the intellectual. The masses have selected them as role models. They couldn’t have done a better job. Mark Scarboro Spokane

‘Easy’ headline ‘mean-spirited’

Sunday’s page 1 headline, “Spokane County tries to find Easy money” offers convincing evidence of a meanspirited disrespect for the subject, at least on the part of the headline writer and the editors who approved it.

Do you not appreciate that you are disputing a man’s integrity here? The charge of mishandling funds is far too serious and Easy’s record of service to Spokane is far too long to justify such a cheap and not particularly clever shot.

Furthermore, the sophomoric headline leads a reader to question whether the facts themselves were presented in an equally unprofessional manner. Your readers would be better served by a higher standard of journalism. Ted Ketcham Spokane

Young writer’s sentiment reassures

I applaud and thank the young lady who wrote that teens can handle the truth (letters, March 26).

She made a very plausible and accurate statement and point. I know that we do not give our teens in America enough credit to handle many of the issues of today. They have to handle so many disturbing issues on a daily basis - why hide any of them?

I am reassured that the writer and many other teens have a good head on their shoulders and a true grip on life. Theresa Osterhaus Spokane