Letters To The Editor

WHERE THERE’S SMOKE, THERE’S IRE

A triumph of law enforcement - not

We read or hear about on a daily basis that crimes such as embezzlement, burglary, shoplifting and mail theft often go completely unpunished these days, due simply to the lack of officers and court time to deal with them. These supposedly simple crimes cause heartache and cost time and money to real people who pay taxes.

There are also substantial costs to those who are not direct victims, as insurance and the price of goods increase to reflect the costs of the thefts that businesses suffer. As the perpetrators realize they have a free pass, they become bolder and commit even more and greater crimes.

Then on Dec. 15, I read that Washington state has instituted a substantial sting operation to catch people who travel to Idaho to buy cigarettes so they can save about 82 cents per pack. I’m so happy that there is enough manpower available to allocate a dozen or more officers to catch these heinous criminals who have the audacity to steal 82 cents from the state of Washington. I’m no longer concerned about the thousands of crimes that go unpunished and cost real taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars each year in Washington state.

Hal R. Dixon Spokane

Yes, save us from those evil smugglers

Our state police are now staking out the dangerous cigarette “smugglers.” Is this one of the major crime problems in our state now? Does it fall in line with, murder, robbery, rape, child molestation, wife beating?

What about the gang problem, drug problem and drunk drivers? Have you ever heard of anyone getting in a car and driving erratically and possibly killing someone because they were smoking a cigarette?

It really bothers me to think we are paying a police officer to sit in his or her car just waiting for a Washington car to pull up to a smoke shop, or whatever, to see if he or she is buying cigarettes, to radio another police officer who is just sitting in his or her car on the Washington side to nail a cigarette smuggler.

Maybe Washington state should revamp its taxes to come more in line with the surrounding states. Then, people would not be tempted to beat the system. Phyllis A. Snyder Spokane

Now, about all you nonsmokers

Re: “Small-timers smoked out,” (Dec. 15) The Liquor Control Board’s logic that buying cigarettes out of state “costs the state a lot of money” is an interesting way to look at it. The board has forgotten that all those nonsmokers are costing the state even more money.

Billions in tax revenues are lost every year because of people choosing not to smoke or drink. What a big tax evasion loophole! So I guess the next thing we’ll see is smoking being made compulsory. If you get stopped and you don’t have any cigarettes with you, you’ll be cited for tax evasion. Is it illegal yet to give up smoking? Better hurry… Jan E. Schiefer Spokane

What about interstate commerce?

Re: “Small-timers smoked out,” (Dec. 15).

The last time I checked, the Constitution of the United States prohibited states from impeding interstate commerce. Isn’t the Washington state law illegal in that regard?

I am an avid nonsmoker, but cannot abide it when municipalities trample the Constitution. I am also quite certain there are better uses of our law enforcement officials, perhaps performing stings on shops illegally selling tobacco to minors. Amber Gravett Spokane

HEALTH AND SAFETY

Lights on, so you can be seen

This is to the person who nearly ran into me on a recent morning: Turn on your headlights!

Headlights are not just so you can see, but so you can be seen.

It was that dangerous time of the day, with the sun just poking through the clouds. As in the early evening, there was not enough light to discern colors; everything was a shade of gray.

I stopped and looked, waiting to make my left turn onto the busy, four-lane road, until there were no vehicles approaching from either direction. Your brown car was invisible. I could not see you coming until you were on my rear bumper, furious at my inconsiderate presence. Had I been able to see you, I would have waited until you were past before pulling out.

Switch on those headlights. Just because you can see us does not mean we can see you. Karen Buck Spokane

Popular rigs pose problems

We need a solution to the problem of big four-wheel-drive vehicles, pickups and so forth, being allowed to have their lights set high on their vehicles. This arrangement can blind a car driver ahead of them. When those blinding lights aren’t adjusted properly, it’s even worse and probably a reason for some of the wrecks we have in this area.

There are more of these vehicles today it seems than cars. When they are parked beside you in a lot, you take your life in your hands when backing out to leave because you can’t see any oncoming vehicles.

Cars were here first, but so were the Indians. Look what happened to them Lillian P. Fleming Spokane

Allergies not district’s problem

Re: the request to ban peanuts in a school.

The onus should not be on the school district to take precautions for one individual with an eating allergy. The person with the disability must take some responsibility to ensure his own safety.

One wouldn’t expect peanuts in spaghetti sauce but cookies and candy have a pretty good chance of having that ingredient, so the allergic student would want to avoid those.

To expect the district to even consider action to accommodate such a disability is a waste of our education resources.

People should be expected to exercise a degree of common sense in conducting their lives. To expect society to bend to every whim of peoples’ uniqueness is ridiculous. Mark A. Williams Spokane