Letters To The Editor

IN THE LEGISLATURE

Execute the parents as well

Execute 16-year-olds? How very Republican. And about as effective as attacking skin cancer with sandpaper.

I might be able to get behind HB1406 if its sponsor, Rep. Larry Sheahan of Rosalia, would amend it slightly as follows: when a child is convicted of a capital crime in Washington, execute both biological parents.

Maybe then a great many children would suddenly get all the attention and guidance from their parents that they require during childhood. Such a law might even have a favorable effect on the rates of illegitimacy and divorce as well as juvenile crime.

Jim McDonald Spokane

Lawmakers need to be sober

Re: The Jan. 23, article about alcohol in the state capital.

It’s a well-established fact that alcohol impairs judgment and the ability to think clearly. It’s appalling to hear that many of our legislative leaders in Olympia not only drink on the job, but would prefer to see the “whole issue go quietly.”

I’m a registered nurse. How would these people like an intoxicated nurse or doctor taking care of them medically? I don’t see much difference in a drunken doctor or nurse making a fatal mistake while performing their job, compared to a drunken senator or representative voting in error on an important issue. The real crucial difference is that what the medic does affects one individual while the legislator’s error effects millions.

These people need to wake up and realize that they aren’t elected to go to Olympia to party. They are expected to do their jobs. They can have a drink after work like responsible people do, if that’s their desire. Leslie P. Maynard Davenport, Wash.

AROUND SPOKANE

City needs parking garages

I agree with Andrew J. Waddilove (“Turn parking lots into better things,” Letters, Jan. 26) when he says that we should make better use of some of the existing parking lots in downtown Spokane.

There are several downtown parking lots, such as Diamond lots, that are quite expensive (several dollars a day), and they are very inefficient uses of valuable downtown land. Some of these two-dimensional parking lots could and should be used to make three-dimensional parking garages that fit dozens, if not hundreds, of cars. Then parking downtown would be less of a hassle.

When walking or driving downtown, I always see cars parked at meters, some of them getting tickets, because there is not enough cheap or free parking downtown. A cheap garage, such as the one planned by the city of Spokane (“Council OKs River Park development,” Jan. 28) could change this. Such a garage would be a phenomenally more efficient use of downtown land than the existing plots of paved land. Bryan Woodbury Spokane

Give Mangan some credit

Kaye Morehouse (Letters, Jan. 29) does not realize that the chief of police is on the job 24 hours a day. Also, a CEO of a large company usually has a car as part of the benefit package.

The police department may not be a large company but it is a very important part of our way of life in Spokane. The streets of Spokane are a lot safer because of Terry Mangan and the programs he and his department have established in Spokane.

As for the fender bender, we have all been in a parking space where the view was blocked and as we try to back out a car going way too fast for a parking lot comes along. Richard Morton Spokane

Lewis and Clark decision wise

If you live long enough it’s possible to see anything. That is my reaction to the Jan. 23 headline, “LC High renovation on wish list.” At long last, School District 81 has recognized the real feasibility and value to the community of renovating an existing school building, in this case the much-beloved old Lewis and Clark High School.

I thank District 81 for their in-depth study that examines the advantages and disadvantages of renovating Lewis and Clark vs. constructing a new high school elsewhere. I also congratulate the committee in charge of the study for their wise conclusion and recommendation to retain, renovate and expand Lewis and Clark where it is.

I hope this recommendation is supported by the Spokane community in the forthcoming bond issue. I also hope that this whole issue and the way it has been handled can serve as an example for community decision making in Spokane. Perhaps it is not too late for Spokanites to realize that complex, challenging issues - whether it’s where best to locate a school and what to do with a landmark building, or how to rejuvenate downtown, or where and how growth should take place in Spokane County - requires a willingness to look at the interests the entire Spokane community as well as a willingness to consider creative alternatives and solutions to meet those interests. Stephen J. Franks Spokane

NATURE

Programs can prevent extinctions

In your recent article, “Wolves may return to Olympic Peninsula,” Norm Dicks is quoted as saying “If we have an opportunity to help prevent any species from going extinct, then we owe it to future generations to at least pursue the possibility.” Too bad this is not the view of all people.

In most cases, species become extinct because there are not enough programs to prevent the problem or prevention tactics are not put into action soon enough. If this proposal is put into action now, we can begin to focus our attention on other species. With such programs available, there is no reason any species needs to become extinct.

If more people shared the Dicks’ views on endangered species, they would not be such a large problem. Sara Palmer Cheney

Bad decision for Guatemala

An article in the business section regarding Weyerhaeuser purchasing timber outside of the United States troubles me.

Weyerhaeuser made a deal with the Guatemalan government a few years back and logged thousands of acres of hardwood. Weyerhaeuser replanted the areas with lodgepole pine. The lodgepole grows as thick as hair on a dog’s back and is bug-infested. It is not indigenous to Central America. It is a soft wood which deteriorates rapidly in jungle climates and will rot quickly where hard wood does not.

The people and the government of Guatemala are not happy with the trade. I have been there and seen the miles of lodgepole planted alongside a beautiful hardwood forest. We then wonder why foreign countries don’t trust nor like Americans. This is another case of exploiting a poor country. Shame on Weyerhaeuser. Roberta May Osburn, Idaho

OTHER TOPICS

Euthanasia not acceptable

I’m grateful for Anne Koepsell’s Jan. 23 letter about Hospice. Yes, there are more than two choices for the dying. Unmitigated suffering and assisted suicide are unacceptable.

In the battle for life, as at it beginning so at its end, we must educate each other about the dangers of euthanasia. If a person desires to die because he or she feels like a burden, we can give assurance that he/she is loved and cherished as a human being.

We practice compassion, which comes from the Latin “cum passio” - to suffer with - by being there and managing the physical pain. We replace anxiety, fear and hopelessness with a high level of happiness. An understanding friend, a visitor with a warm hand to hold, can bring good thoughts into a heart that is hurting.

Today no one needs to die in severe uncontrollable pain. The patient, when treated well, is forgiving, often heals old sores and broken relationships. What follows is a peaceful death which undoubtedly enriches the lives of generous caregivers. Eileen Wilson Spokane

Selective reading

Jack DeBaun (Letters, Jan. 23) quotes 1 Corinthians 6:9-10: “Do not be deceived … homosexuals .. shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” I would like to point out that St. Paul’s letters said many other things which should be considered:

“Every woman who has her head uncovered while praying or prophesying disgraces her head.” (1 Cor. 11:5)

“Wives be subject to your husbands” (Eph. 5:22)

“Slaves, be obedient to your masters” (Eph. 6:5)

“Slaves … obey your masters on earth” (Colossians 3:22)

“I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet.” (1 Timothy 2:12)

“Urge bondslaves to be subject to their masters” (Titus 2:9)

Why do we pick and choose so freely which verses we’ll accept and live by, and those we will not, since literalists would argue that every verse carries equal weight as the “word of God.”

Clearly, Paul is prejudicial toward women; advocating their silence in public, and submissiveness to men. Paul also has clear biases in support of slavery. St. Paul’s messages require the reader to sift carefully to determine the spirit and intent of God, minus Paul’s personal and biased views. In regard to 1 Cor. 6:9-10, perhaps Paul was only expressing one of his many biases and not the word of God at all.

Many theologians today suggest that the homosexuality to which Paul refers was what he had known of in Roman and other pagan rituals, from which he sought to keep the new church separate. He was not witness to the loving, nurturing, committed relationships which most homosexuals experience today. Christopher Lawrence Spokane

Anglicans don’t ordain women

Your Saturday story on the official Roman Catholic position regarding the ordination of women (“Vatican says Jesus didn’t want women priests”) stated that the Anglican Church ordains women. This is only partly true. The Anglican Church of England, its offshoot, the Episcopal Church in the United States, and some others, do ordain priestesses. Traditional Anglican churches, which probably represent the majority of Anglicans worldwide, do not.

In this country the Anglican Church does not, has never and probably never will ordain women. This is one of several theological principles which distinguish Anglicans from Episcopalians and was probably the trigger cause of the separation between the two groups which occurred in 1976.

The congregation of the Anglican Church of the Resurrection respectfully requests that you correct your error. Curtis L. Messex, senior warden Spokane