Letters To The Editor

SPOKANE MATTERS

City botched bridge deal, big time

“Bridge on hold, bills keep coming” (April 15) made my blood boil! Any proposed expenses involving a project such as the Lincoln Street bridge should have been advertised to potential qualified suppliers or contractors. Bids should have been properly discussed by the City Council and city managers, and the most qualified and reasonable supplier or contractor should have been selected.

Whoever is authorized to approve the expense or contract should have then issued a contract or purchase order to the supplier or contractor, specifying what was to be purchased or accomplished, with total costs specified. The supplier or contractor should then accept and sign the purchase order or contract, and both parties retain copies so there is no dispute over what was to be supplied within the limitations of the contract. We have laws that protect both parties. If original estimates are found to be low due to circumstances beyond control of either party, a revision can be discussed and, if approved, issued to the supplier or contractor, signed by both parties.

These so-called unanticipated costs of $238,112 for the proposed Lincoln Street bridge project would never have to be paid had our City Council and managers properly executed the above procedures.

Think about how many of our bumpy streets this $238,112 would have repaired. Think how many of our parks could have been improved. Think of how many other needed projects could have been accomplished, benefiting everyone. Let’s hope wasteful tactics such as this poor management of the proposed Lincoln Street bridge never happen again. Gordon Van Leuven Spokane

Senior Games coming to Spokane

The Inland Northwest Regional Senior Games are being held in Spokane for the first time. What a wonderful opportunity for persons 50 and above to participate in one or more of these 18 sporting and social events. The games will be held during the months of May, June and July, and will become an annual event. Promoting physical and mental fitness is one of the purposes of the Senior Games.

More than 200,000 seniors 50 and above participated in the national, state and regional games in 1997. Our region area includes Ellensburg, all of Eastern Washington and the Idaho Panhandle. Canadians are also invited.

The Senior Assistance Fund of Eastern Washington (SAFE), with support from community organizations and agencies, the individual sport groups and numerous volutneers are producing these games. Corporate sponsorships and individual contributions fund them.

Registration packets are available at all Walgreen Pharmacies and all senior centers.

Come join the fun in Spokane and be a part of the Senior Games as a participant or a volunteer. Dorothy F. Phillips Spokane

Don’t overlook Junior Livestock show

On May 2, many young people will be packing into Spokane. They most likely won’t be wearing tennis shoes or running shorts; they might be in cowboy boots or ropers, with brightly colored shirts.

Oh, yes, did you forget that Spokane hosts the Spokane Junior Livestock Show? Every year we get more and more forgotten by the media. Last year, I had to look hard to find an article about us, and it took 45 seconds to read it. One news crew did show up on the last day, the day we loaded out. But what they didn’t show was later that day, when after months of hard work, long hours and the kind of love you would give to your new puppy, with tears in their eyes and hearts breaking, the kids say goodbye to the livestock they raised from infancy. There was no coverage of how we stay for four to five days, go to your stores, malls, theaters and restaurants.

I bet Bloomsday is a great boost for Spokane, but many years ago the kids of 4-H and FFA were there . They still are, but they’ve been forgotten. So, Spokesman-Review, could you find a day and real space for the kids?

We will be at the Spokane Fairgrounds May 2-6. Bring the kids out and have them enjoy the wonderful job these fine kids have done. I bet a smile and amazement will cross their faces to see kids in a pen, lying on or with their animals. Angel I. Bafus St. John, Wash.

Traffic lights punish careful drivers

Fine of $77 for running red lights. Perhaps they’re being assessed upon the wrong person.

Where’s the city traffic engineer? That person’s job is to make sure traffic flows steadily by setting the lights to maximize volume. Spokane’s problem with red light runners has more to do with traffic lights being set to frustrate drivers than with drivers being so bad.

I’ve noticed the lights on major streets (e.g., Division) have no set pattern. To make the lights, one is encouraged to speed, because those who go the speed limit are punished by being stopped at, sometimes, every intersection.

Correct the real problem - traffic flow that encourages driving at the speed limit - and the danger will likely be cut in half. Rod Skalitzky Spokane

DAUGHTERS’ VIEWS

Let’s be honest about trash TV

Lately, it seems that many people are very fond of “The Jerry Springer” show. The ratings have sent it soaring into second place among all TV talk shows. “Oprah” still leads the pack, with “Rosie O’Donnell” a close third.

But why is Jerry Springer so popular?

Like other popular talk shows, it relies on showing people in ugly or difficult situations, like mothers who have stolen their daughter’s boyfriends.

What’s different about the Springer show is that the guests usually don’t end their problems by discussing it calmly. Instead, one person lashes out at the other and the audience wildly cheers them on.

Some people say it’s like watching professional wrestling without having to pay. The constant fighting is just part of the fun. People also are very into the exciting topics for the shows, such as “Jerry Saves a 1,200-Pound Couple” or “I’m Pregnant, but I Still Strip!”

On the other hand, some people would rather have the show taken right off the air. They think that the violence and types of people on the show are a bad example for children.

Many people believe, including me, that what happens on the show is mostly make believe, a bizarre kind of theater.

Even if some of what takes place is real, isn’t it true that the audience now tunes in for only one reason? It’s because they like to see people act like animals.

If it is a bunch of trash, let’s say so and laugh at it. Don’t make a big deal about how “awful” it is. It’s just TV, and if you don’t like it, then just turn it off. Lillian Sowa/age 12

Daughters’ day at work worthwhile

For the past few years I have participated in Take Our Daughters To Work Day. I’ve gone to work with my mom or her friends. When I read a recent article about this day, it said there should be a stop to this daughters’ day. Critics said it took too much learning time away from school and girls sat around in parents’ workplaces, doing nothing.

I suppose a few girls may just sit around, but most of them learn very important skills such as how to work in certain environments, the difference between school pressure and work pressure, and also, they learn some new working skills.

This day inspires a girl in a career. It is equivalent to a field trip. Learning occurs not only in the classroom, but outside of the class as well.

Many other days take away from our learning, such as teacher professional planning days that no one worries about. School is supposed to prepare us for our future. Take Our Daughters To Work Day doesn’t take away from that, but inspires us in our future careers. Jessica Allard/age 14

If need be, reschedule daughters’ day

Does taking girls out of school for Take Our Daughters to Work Day really help their future? Some people fear that girls will merely sit around their parents’ workplaces. Is that what this day is about?

Many schools around the country are rescheduling the day. Others are eliminating it completely.

One might think, “Oh, it’s only one day,” but a single missed day can make a difference. Students in Washington state were taking the state assessment tests Thursday and that is one day of school you cannot miss.

Perhaps Inland Northwest schools could find a day when students are not in class. A teachers’ planning day would be perfect.

Showing girls what they can do is important, but if they miss school, how will they achieve their goals?

An idea I’ve heard is to change the event to Take Our Parents to School Day, but isn’t that the same as career days? Normally, on those days you get a few parents talking about the stock market, and no offense, but that’s the perfect way to put adolescents to sleep.

Take Our Daughters to Work Day sends the message to girls that they can be successful in life. It has taught me that I have to work hard in school to reach my dreams. Megan Neely/age 13

Testing not an education cure-all

As a student in 10th grade, I would like to state my position on the new testing program being piloted by the Washington State Commission on Student Learning. This testing system will eventually be used in determining whether or not students will be allowed to pass grades 4,7 and 10. Apparently, by 2001 all 10th graders will be required to pass the test to graduate.

I do not think testing students is a fair determination of whether or not they deserve to pass a grade. Instead, I think students should be passed based on their overall comprehension of lessons taught during the school year. Progress is best measured by a teacher, not a standardized test.

Formerly, districts made it a point to pass all students, regardless of their grades and/or demonstration of understanding. The logic was that making students repeat a grade would diminish their self esteem. The result: too many students passing from one grade to the next without necessary knowledge.

But true self-esteem comes when students can fully reason and think for themselves.

School reformers should shift their focus from testing students to teaching students. Darcy Camden/age 16

Women earn and should get equal pay

Women are not being paid as much as men. In fact for every $1 a man gets paid, a woman gets paid 74 cents. This is unfair.

Women work as hard men do, at the same jobs. Yet, they don’t get the same money. I wonder why this is happening. Is it because some people think that women don’t have the same rights as men? Is it because some people think that men should have more power than women? Or is it because some people think men need to provide for their households?

Men dominate positions of power in our society - in the government, in the military and in corporate America. Men are more often featured on the front page of the newspaper than women.

For years women have been told their place is in the home. It was not so long ago when they could not vote, serve their country in the military or hold most jobs. We have come a long way in trying to make the rights for women in the work place equal to that of men. But we can come a little further.

Politicians, executives and managers should take steps to ensure women receive equal pay for equal work. Women in the job force, particularly those receiving less money than their male co-workers, need to stick up for themselves and for each other.

I hope the women of my generation will no longer be talking about this problem when I am grown. If they still are, you can bet I will work to solve it. Christine Weidert/age 10

OTHER TOPICS

Today is for child care professionals

Today is Child Care Professionals Day.

As supervisors for the Office of Child Care Policy, we work with child care professionals daily. We have come to know them as dedicated and hard-working individuals who are truly on the front lines with children. On a daily basis, they are making a difference in the lives of children and families, often with very little compensation or recognition.

Of course, any parent who has or has had their child in child care understands the vital link child care plays in a family’s life. A care giver who is professional, nurturing and caring is crucial to a child’s development. This not only benefits the child and the parent but also the employer who has a happier and more productive employee.

Please join us in supporting and thanking all child care providers for their dedication and service to our children, families and communities and perhaps take time to drop your current or past child care provider a note of appreciation. Tim N. Nelson and Lee M. Williams Office of Child Care Policy, Spokane

U.S. should have a WWII memorial

As I read William Manchester’s column on Sunday’s Opinion page, I found myself scratching my head, pondering, was there not a memorial to the veterans of World War II? He mentioned the Arizona in Pearl Harbor; we’ve all seen the flag-raising at Iwo Jima statue, but not a memorial for all of the events, and men and women for the time.

As a baby boomer born in 1946 - my father a veteran, my mother worked in a factory making radiators for various aircraft of the day, and myself a veteran of the Vietnam War - I couldn’t agree more, that somewhere in our nation’s capital, maybe between the Holocaust exhibit and the Vietnam Memorial, there should be an exhibit for those of World War II.

But the reason for the memorial is bigger than just the war. As I look back in history, the generation that became the men and women in our armed services, and those who served in other capacities on the home front, was the greatest generation of the century.

They were molded in character by the Great Depression; they understood hardships, ways to get by on less - a generation of people who had a work ethic probably not seen in my generation. It was a generation that gave us leaders with character and dedication to service: Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Jimmy Carter and George Bush come to mind easily. By contrast, my generation has given us Bill Clinton. Now there’s character.

It is time for a memorial for those of WWII, but for many more reasons than the war! Danny Foxx Bayview, Idaho

Fly the flag correctly

While I am a retired service man, I am still proud of my country and the flag that represents it. My years in the color guard taught me all about how to place and display our nation’s flag. Now, I see people who have no idea how to do so. When they fly it the wrong way, they show no respect. When people show this kind of disrespect I feel very disturbed.

I stopped at the new Valley Mall at Sullivan and I-90 right after it opened. I very politely asked the people at the mall office if they would fly our flag and Canada’s flag in the right order. I was told that the display they have is by company policy.

This is incorrect! This and other malls/businesses should be made aware of how to display two or more flags at once. The American flag is to fly to the other flag’s right and the facing viewers’ far left, and then others to the viewers’ right.

I would like to see people show just a little respect for our flag and display it properly. Information on how to fly our flag correctly is available at the Naval office in Spokane. Dale H. Windsor Spokane

Regulators keep mines from polluting

I don’t know where Michael D. Waldrup (Letters, April 15) gets his misinformation, although I suspect that it’s a result of scare tactics emanating from environmental zealots who attempt to frighten people with horror stories.

Informed people know that under laws now in effect, which are strictly enforced, it is not possible for any proposed mine to have a detrimental effect on Lake Pend Oreille or other of our nation’s rivers and streams. As to his assertions that Lake Coeur d’ Alene has been ruined by past mining operations upstream on the Coeur d’ Alene River, the lake’s fish population is not only edible and safe, but delicious to eat, as evidenced by the fact that I and other fisherman and their families have been eating them for years.

Despite the fact that for decades the mines located on the south fork of the Coeur d’ Alene River discharged untreated tailings into the river, the lake’s water quality surpasses all standards of various regulations designed to protect the population and prevent environmental damage. Thanks to natural sedimentation processes, these tailings pose no threat to either humans or fish.

Prior to accusing others, such as our informed state politicians, of ignoring imagined dangers, Waldrup (and others who would have us return to the stone age), should familiarize themselves with the almost infinite number of laws and regulations which prevent any entity from damaging the environment through installation of a new mining operation. Gene K. Ealy Coeur d’ Alene