Letters To The Editor
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
Our stinginess hurts children
After reading the Feb. 19 story concerning recently released data showing increasing poverty rates among inner-city children, I must comment on the increasingly dangerous path our nation is proceeding on.
Your article reported that 16 percent of children live in large cities but that one in four of them lives in poverty.
The United States has one of the highest infant mortality rates among industrialized nations. This is a sad irony when one considers the apparent prosperity of our nation.
Uneducated, disadvantaged people are less able to obtain necessary resources. Resulting problems may range from inadequate nutrition to feelings of cynicism and hopelessness about the future. The ultimate tragedy lies in the fact that children who did not choose their situation and who have no power to positively affect it are left to suffer the consequences.
Our social policies and investment in children in general appear inadequate. Other examples would include inadequate resources for (Washington state) Child Protective Services and related agencies, deteriorating educational standards and limited maternal leave and assistance.
Where are our nation’s priorities?
We should reconsider where our resources are being expended. Addressing these problems may mean shifting and/or increasing necessary resources. Yes, this may involve tax dollars. But when one considers the potential cost of neglecting our children as represented in increased poverty, crime and illiteracy, the investment appears to be a bargain.
We are talking about young human lives. Look at your own children or perhaps the next child you see. How much are these children worth? Mark McEnderfer Spokane
Money, politics keep tobacco legal
Having spent more than 15 years as a nicotine addict who smoked, chewed and snorted tobacco, I’ve paid for the right to have an attitude about politicians who still take money from companies whose legal products cause the deaths and physical destruction that tobacco does.
Let’s assume that all in Congress know the numbers of Americans who die each year from illness associated with nicotine addiction. Why don’t we take the lowest accepted number to the nearest 100,000 of Americans who die from nicotine addiction-related illnesses and multiply that times 15 years? Many Congress members have been there more than 15 years and have been taking tobacco company money for each election during those years.
We must wonder whether our elected officials aren’t perhaps most inclined to perform for those who can pay, with the only question being the price.
Is your government capable of doing anything about illegal drugs when it’s so uncaring about hundreds of thousands of deaths each year from legal drugs? It can be said that the nicotine addicts of today are the ones who are providing the $3.2 million that is used to pay the politicians who provide the atmosphere so that 3,000 new addicts can be enticed each day.
Most of us will lose someone close to us, perhaps many years before they should be leaving us, only because they liked to smoke. It’s time that all our elected officials reach for some higher moral ground and start earning our trust instead of trying to propagandize us into giving it. Biff Bowen Spangle
HIGHER EDUCATION
Coziness a format for disservice
I see that the faculty union - Community Colleges of Spokane version - and the administration are collaborating again (letters, Feb. 11).
The last time this happened, there was the same mutual admiration, but evidence suggests students haven’t benefited quite in the manner the letter suggests.
In an ideal world where all parties can be trusted to set their self-interest aside and work for the better of the whole, such an alliance would be fine. But CCS doesn’t exist in that ideal world. For example, faculty salaries dropped from 63 percent of the total salary budget in 1975 to 45 percent in 1993.
When the faculty salaries at a college drop under 50 percent of the salary budget, a weighty implication exists that bureaucracy, rather than teaching, has become the dominant focus at the college.
Neither the administration nor the union has bothered to address these figures. A faculty group that is trying to dump the union uncovered these depressing statistics.
These same faculty members hoped to have a vote to decertify the union.
Such a vote, by law, can happen only within six months of new contract negotiations. This vote was sidestepped when the union and administration agreed to extend the current contract.
Is it possible Richard Cox and the Association for Higher Education he is president of cut this deal to save the union from its demise?
Meanwhile, the budgetary emphasis on teaching shrinks. How this helps students is a mystery the administration and union ought to address. Mark Doerr, Spokane Falls Community College faculty member Spokane
PEOPLE AND ANIMALS
Human failure is pets’ calamity
Stories of disgraceful conditions at a puppy mill in the Newport (Wash.) area skirt a greater issue.
Of animals left at the Spokane Humane Society, most are not strays but owner turn-ins.
They are terrified pets that stare from lonely cages, bewildered, waiting for their loved ones to return. Instead, they find death.
During a short visit recently, I saw the following dumped at the Spokane Humane Society: a lovely, quiet 18-month-old German shepherd, severely scarred on its nose, listed as having no veterinarian, no obedience training and “back yard only”; three small Rottweiler-type puppies soaked in vomit, at least one of which was then let to fall by its owner four feet onto concrete; and a tiny poodle, its hair hacked by scissors, brought in because that owner did not wish to pay to fix its teeth. Three stories out of thousands.
Dogs are thinking, feeling beings with the intelligence of a 2- to 4-year-old child. They are a major commitment. A healthy medium- to large-size dog can live as long as 15 years and cost $50 to $100 per month in food and vet bills.
They are social animals that need human companionship and training.
If left to the isolation of a back yard, they will dig, chew, bark or escape to fill time. They are not toys to be bought and discarded on impulse or to be given to children to tire of.
Beware of throwing stones at others’ cruelty while you live in glass houses of your own. Irene B. Anrode Spokane
Keep your pet cat indoors
Owners of domestic cats should keep their furry pets indoors. Not only is it safer for the pets, but it also is safer for drivers as well.
There are many hazards in the great outdoors that cause a lot of unneeded stress for both pet owners and pets. Hundreds of pets are killed each year by motorists.
Before a cat crosses a street, it sees a car far away.
However, it can’t judge movement of an object going so fast. It thinks the car is going at a speed the cat would travel. Also, fatal accidents are caused by one car swerving into another lane to avoid crushing a small animal.
Great horned owls venture nightly to our suburban neighborhoods in search of food. Even the largest of tomcats has fallen prey to these giant predators.
Keeping kitty indoors has health benefits. The average life span of indoor cats is 17 to 20 years. The average life span for outdoor cats is only three to five years. Cats get injured in neighborhood brawls. They acquire all sorts of diseases from other cats outdoors when they come into contact with one another’s feces.
Cats kept inside since birth never have cravings to get out. They are content in their little world because that is what they know.
If we humans would have the insight to shelter our beloved pets in the comfort of our homes, we would save our pets and other people a lot of misery and vet bills. Tawni Nephew Spokane
Don’t prettify the truth
People assume that if they take their pets to a shelter, “animal lovers” will be sure to find them a great home.
Wrong - most of the time.
Sometimes, the pet gets lucky and is adopted. Other times, the pet gets sick at the shelter, there isn’t enough room or someone at the shelter doesn’t like the pet’s breed or disposition and it is killed. In her article (“Shelter faces tough choice,” Feb. 24), staff writer Winda Benedetti called it right. “Put to sleep,” “euthanasia,” etc., sound better. But let’s face reality: Killed is exactly what happens.
Owners, be responsible and take a pet as a lifelong commitment. Vaccinate pets, spay and neuter them as soon as recommended by a veterinarian and do as much obedience training as necessary for each animal. It’s much easier to find a new home for a trained animal than for one with lots of problems. We owe our pets at least this much for all they give us.
Please check the adoptable animals at the shelters.
Many are wonderful pets that need another chance to live. I have very special ex-shelter dogs that are the best anyone could ask for. Sandy Rogers Hayden, Idaho
BUSINESS AND LABOR
Great Harvest great all around
Thanks for the article about retailers in downtown Spokane.
Jacque Sanchez, owner of Great Harvest Bread Co., is setting a great example for all business owners in Spokane. Sanchez’s optimism about downtown characterizes her approach to everything she does. She has been tireless as PTG President at Sacajawea Middle School. Her business has been a big contributor to our future outdoor education site.
Great Harvest on the South Hill allows our students in the Quest Program to job-shadow and learn business skills firsthand.
As consumers, it is important for us to know about and support local businesses that are good for Spokane. Great Harvest Bread Co. is one such business. Greg Perkins Spokane
Story a dose of day labor reality
As I was reading an article in the Business section, “Labor Ready founder sets big goals,” which had an accompanying photo of workers lined up outside of a Labor Ready office at 5 a.m. waiting for work, I asked myself: What’s wrong with this picture? Then it hit me.
Business owner strikes it rich - that’s the myth of the American dream. Men and women line up at 5 a.m. at Labor Ready’s Spokane office for a job that pays a substandard or minimum wage with no benefits.
That’s the reality of the American dream. Randy Siemers Spokane
Make Shadle Center a Wal-Mart
It’s so sad and has been for several years to see Shadle Center in the state it’s in. Promises from speculators just never pan out. Now, with Ernst gone, it’s even more gruesome.
As a lifetime North Sider, I feel it’s time for a major change in the mall format at Shadle. Level the whole thing and let Wal-Mart build there. Don McCracken Spokane
OTHER TOPICS
We must care for ailing veterans
Regarding the controversy over whether Desert Storm veterans actually are suffering from illnesses because of their being in the war:
The departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs would do well to remember one thing: Virtually every soldier, Marine, sailor and pilot involved in Desert Storm was there after volunteering for military duty. We do not have a military draft to fill the ranks of our armed forces, so it behooves us all to ensure that these volunteers are treated with respect and dignity, including the respect to thoroughly follow through with their complaints of various illnesses.
If we fail to treat our military volunteers humanely, who do you think will volunteer in the future?
I don’t think any right-minded, healthy young person would want to join any organization that asks him or her to put his or her life on the line without being reasonably sure that service-related medical complaints will be accorded the same attention and fervor as are devoted to the recruiting that entices young people to join the military in the first place.
I am a two-tour Vietnam veteran who has spent many years convincing the Department of Veterans Affairs that my disabling difficulties are the result of service to my country. It has taken 17 years of medical examinations, going before medical boards and otherwise jumping through bureaucratic hoops to get my current level of satisfaction.
I thought things would get better for those who followed me. Apparently, I thought wrong. Edward B. Hanson Airway Heights
Preservationists would mismanage
There are many reasons why preservation groups should not be allowed to bid on U.S. Forest Service timber sales. I will list some of the more obvious.
First, there is the fire danger. Trees allowed to grow too close together become unhealthy from lack of sunlight, lack of nutrients in the soil and lack of adequate water.
The trees become hosts for insect infestation and/or disease.
Are preservation groups willing to accept the responsibility of fighting fires, including the loss of homes and the injuries or deaths that will occur as a result of the unnaturally intense fires we will have?
There also is the resource consumers need that preservationists are so willing to let go to waste. Where do we think building products will come from if we have to cater to these groups? Canada will fill the void, along with Mexico, South America and Russia. How does it help this country to send even more jobs to foreign lands?
The Forest Service mandates that our forests be managed for many things, including local economic health, forest health and the providing of resources we all need. The high bidder is not allowed to change the contract terms.
The Forest Service is not being unreasonable on this issue. It is being realistic. If the Forest Service allows this, we will see a complete stoppage of forest management on public lands - federal lands first, then state lands. This will damage our economy and cause great damage to our environment. Gary M. Garrison Kettle Falls, Wash.
Good to see Pate’s back
For a while there, I was afraid you’d forgotten how to spell “art.” I am delighted at your wisdom in persuading Suzanne Pate to return to the art beat. Whatever you are paying her, double it. Better yet, hire her full time. Those of us who live rough-cut lives enjoy her writing and insights. She bevels the edges. Fred B. Lenhart Newport, Wash.