Letters To The Editor

Tue., Feb. 4, 1997

SPOKANE MATTERS

Courses, pros in the rough

Reading “County golf income not up to par” (Region, Jan. 29) was most disconcerting. If the county is losing money on the golf courses, the responsible action would be to raise greens fees.

It may be difficult for those on fixed incomes but raising the fees by 50 cents or $1 would not be a great hardship for most golfers. We have some of the best public golf courses in the country and pay greens fees far lower than in most other areas. Greens fees should be raised to a level that provides adequate funds to maintain and consistently improve our county courses, maybe even build another.

Golf pro income, on average, is embarrassingly low. Two of the pros made $31,000 and $34,000 in 1995, and the county now wants them to pay for expenses that have been the county’s responsibility. In 1997 they will end up earning about $20,000 a year and have to pay their own health insurance out of that.

Pros work long hours, are required to take many PGA classes to get their certification and only get these supposedly high-paying jobs after serving as assistant pros for several years. The article states the reported income does not include money made from teaching golf lessons. I don’t believe that is an accurate statement. Ed Sonderman Spokane

Keep offices elective

Why would anyone want the assessor and auditor positions in county government to be appointed by the county commissioners?

Do we really want a narrow decision-making body like three commissioners to have that much additional power? Remember, this is a system of government where two county commissioners can’t even talk to one another because they constitute a quorum of the body and must then conform to the open meeting law.

Shouldn’t citizens have a right to vote to elect the person in government who decides how much their home is worth for property tax purposes? Talk about a hot seat position. and it’s subject to all the remedies we have for poor performance in an elective office. I don’t think the county commissioners could choose more wisely or create more heat for iandequate accomplishment if they had appointment authority.

The office of auditor is probably the least controversial in county government. Make sure that the people pursuing that position get out and explain what the responsibilities are by keeping it an elective office. The auditor keeps the books for the county and should therefore be very independent.

Let’s give the people every opportunity we can to become engaged in their county government. Voting for offices isn’t a problem. The Legislature is the problem. Bart Haggin Spokane

City, pick up restaurant’s tab

I don’t believe what has happened to our Clinkerdagger restaurant. How can the city, all of a sudden, say they need the Salty’s location if the Lincoln Street Bridge proposal was completed a long time ago? The city can now come up with money for that property after the fact, yet has no money for street repairs. Outrageous!

Clinkerdagger should not have to pay for that Sunday full-page ad, the city should. Linda Lythgoe Colbert

SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION

Equity approach laudable

On behalf of the Instructional Equity Citizen’s Advisory Committee, thank you District 81 Board of Directors and administration for recognizing and acting on the need for equity education.

Clearly, in reading recent letters to the editor, bigotry is here in Spokane. Recognizing that most bigotry is bred from ignorance, we must applaud District 81 for taking a courageous stand on equity with staff and students. Equity is simply teaching humanity; it is fundamental and basic.

The IECAC is a volunteer group of parents, guardians and community members. Yearly, we write a report card on the district’s equity progress. We make recommendations based on statistical data regarding gender and racial breakdowns of dropout rates, test scores, disciplinary action, absenteeism, Tessera, honors programs and special education, plus other areas. In reviewing the facts, it is obvious students are not being taught equitably.

Suggestions we offered were taken seriously. The school board and administration listened and bravely took action. Their stance is consistent with the district’s mission statement, strategic plan goals and definition of instructional equity.

Equity program benefits directly affect about 32,000 students and approximately 3,000 staff members. Simple math shows that the $202,000 budget works out to just under $6 per year per person - a mighty small price to pay for success and physical and emotional safety.

Keep up the good work, District 81. You are making a positive difference in our future. Judy Shier, chairwoman-elect Instructional Equity Citizen’s Advisory Committee, Spokane

HIGHER EDUCATION

Going out of reach of the nonwealthy

Re: “Shortfall indicates students need aid,” (Region, Jan. 1), here are the reasons for the shortfall:

Tuition and living costs went up, federal aid went down.

Out-of-state tuition went way up.

Graduation requirements went up. Many majors at Eastern Washington University now require five years to complete.

Changes in subject requirements mean some students who had already taken previously required classes have to take the newly required classes as well.

EWU no longer has a child care center or co-op available for young parent students and Cheney has no alternatives.

Funds for classes such as women’s dance team, have been so severely cut that funding is practically nonexistent. EWU Dance Team had been a top competitor.

Parents are less able to contribute financially to their child’s education.

Absent-parent support for a student over 18 is very difficult to get and students are questioning the escalating costs of a high-debt education. This problem will grow, as more college-age students will be from absent-parent families.

EWU school year 1995-96 produced an inexcusably high number of on-campus rapes and threatening phone calls. This shocked and frightened the students and, due to the athletic involvement, tore the sports teams apart.

For many students, the higher education dream is too rough, too long and too expensive. College boards and legislators ought to revisit the real world these young people live in. We’re pricing a college education out of reach of many working families. Mary L. Keeney Ephrata, Wash.

HEALTH AND SAFETY

Roof collapse can be avoided

Mother Nature hasn’t been kind this winter. Heavy snow loads resulted in a rash of roof collapses. Unfortunately, man’s nature is to pillory someone for the losses.

Collapses generally result from one or a combination of the following reasons: building official negligence, structural design error, contractor negligence, defective materials, owner/tenant negligence, Mother Nature’s proclivity for the unanticipated event.

Everyone feels they’ve done a conscientious job. But oversights occur - sometimes with disastrous results. These can be minimized with a little more effort and expense.

Failure of a structural element or connection always precedes a collapse, so more care is needed to ensure proper design and construction. The structural engineer’s computations and drawings could be reviewed by an experienced examiner and full-time, on-site inspection of all materials could be made before, during and after installation.

Buildings could be inspected periodically for signs of deterioration and to check for overloaded framing members. Too often, the owner/tenant will subject structural framing to excessive loads.

Review of structural design and more diligent inspections do involve additional project costs. Yet those costs are much less than the cost of replacing a collapsed roof. C.W. Hinzman, retired structural engineer Spokane

Anesthesia not deadly for fetus

Spokesman-Review editorial writer Anne Windishar mistakenly states in her Jan. 24 column (“Hysteria belittles a hard decision”) that the anesthesia given to the mother during a late-term abortion “has already ended the life of the fetus before it is delivered.”

Her statement, which is false, may cause pregnant women who read her column to delay necessary and perhaps lifesaving medical treatment unrelated to the delivery of the baby. An example would be a pregnant woman with symptoms of appendicitis who postpones seeing her physician because she fears that she might require surgery and an anesthetic which, Windishar implies, would cause the death of her fetus.

When a mother receives a general anesthetic, a small portion of the anesthetic is transferred to the fetus but not enough to cause unconsciousness in the fetus, certainly not death. Regional anesthetics (spinal, epidural blocks) provide even less anesthesia to the fetus.

Dozens of pregnant women are anesthetized in Spokane monthly for conditions unrelated to pregnancy (fractures, kidney stones, diseases of the gall bladder, etc.) and their babies do fine. We know this because we can listen to the fetal heartbeat during the surgery. Windishar is entitled to her opinion on any subject. However, I suggest the next time she considers issuing a medical opinion that she first contact a physician. Eric S. Johnson, M.D., past president Washington State Society of Anesthesiologists, Spokane

Helmets protect heads, taxpayer dollars

In his Jan. 28 letter, Don Kirby said, “We are adults, capable of making our own decisions, including who we vote for.”

Kirby is an adult and can make his own decisions, including whether to wear a helmet. If he elects not to, he should live with the consequences of his decision. If he is seriously injured in a motorcycle accident, will his insurance and/or savings and family cover the cost of his care as a vegetable for maybe 40 years? If he doesn’t, the state and county would have to step in.

I support government by paying taxes. When people like Kirby step on my toes, yes, I do have a say about things like wearing a helmet or obeying speed limits. Larry D. Hall Bonners Ferry, Idaho

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