Letters To The Editor

SPOKANE MATTERS

Recalcitrance is not a virtue

I’m very grateful for our new mayor, John Talbott. However, we already can see dissension in some City Council members to his every suggestion.

Tenure doesn’t always mean better experience. It often smells of contempt, stubbornness, arrogance, greed and reluctance to change.

As a voter and taxpayer for 52 years, I am strongly in favor of an auditor. Money spent on the psychiatric “help” (from California, no less) seems to have been wasted when it comes to improving congeniality amongst council members. All expenditures should be subject to open discussion, and an auditor would seem a wise investment to restore taxpayers’ trust. How about semiannual reports from each department requiring large expenditures, to be published in the newspaper?

If City Manager Bill Pupo is so afraid of unions, maybe taxpayers will have to unionize. All we hear is a constant need for raises on all our utilities, and tax, tax, tax.

I plan to keep a notebook on the sarcastic, off-the-wall remarks of each council member, as well as their voting records, so as to be fully informed when each member comes up for re-election. I want to feel confident to vote for the wisest person with most complete vision for the future of the city and the best comprehensive plan for all city residents. We need complete, not spotty, improvements.

Why were all the past consultants hired, when it seems past mayors and council members have voted exactly opposite of the suggestions?

Perhaps a change in some council members’ attitudes would be beneficial to us all. Phyllis M. Cranston Spokane

Now, Talbott needs those he targeted

While skimming Mayor John Talbott’s speech to the Spokane Area Chamber of Commerce, I noticed his reference to “listening to city employees. They are the experts on how to best deliver services, from keeping the public safe to filling potholes.”

Aren’t these the same people he would rather skip over to allow privatization? Why now listen to those you wish to bypass? Since privatization must be a more efficient manner in which to deliver services, these so-called city-employed shovel-leaners must be the epitome of inefficiency.

Talbott has potholes to fill and needs to ask those who know how to do it to assist in his work. I wish Talbott luck in finding someone to loan him a shovel. Christopher Vogel Marshall, Wash.

I’ve never seen a bus blockade

Mike Thomson’s Jan. 4 letter, “Downtown is for buses, not shoppers,” did not ring true to me. I believe the situation he described to be at best exaggerated and at worst totally contrived.

My office is one block west of the Spokane Transit Authority Plaza and overlooks Riverside Avenue and Post Street. Since completion of the Plaza, I have yet to observe or experience a situation where buses occupied anyplace but the bus lanes and parking stalls assigned to them. Even during construction, I did not experience anything like a 10-minute delay on Riverside or Sprague avenues.

A peek behind the curtain of Thomson’s outrage will likely reveal an undisclosed agenda. Al Payne Spokane

Go west, Wal-Mart, go west

We live in the Geiger Heights area southwest of Spokane. There have been many letters to the editor recently from persons against the new Wal-Mart proposed for development near Northpointe Plaza.

It would be nice if the developers would look at and consider areas west of Spokane. We have no shopping here to speak of. There are lots of wide open spaces out here and plenty of land. Wal-Mart could draw from many communities such as Airway Heights, Geiger Heights, Cheney, Medical Lake and Davenport, as well as west Spokane. I would think people living in these areas would love to have shopping much closer to home. Jo L. Cameron Spokane

Wal-Mart needed in Airway Heights

I keep reading with interest the letters concerning Wal-Mart being built on the other side of the world, as far as those in Airway Heights are concerned. Why don’t they put the Wal-Mart out in our area? We have plenty of land and plenty of small towns that would then have access to this service as well.

I would love to have a shopping center I could go to which doesn’t take me 45 minutes to get to from the Air Force base. Yes, we have a commissary and base exchange that are wonderful entitlements we get as being part of the Air Force. But we can’t always find the things we need there.

It would be wonderful to have a Wal-Mart, Kmart, Target or Fred Meyer out in this part of the world. Why is Wal-Mart so concerned with being right in the center of the big, bustling metropolis? Sondra A. Woods Fairchild Air Force Base

SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION

Support District 81 levy, bond issues

Several Spokane School site councils urge you to support both the District 81 school levy and the bond issue on Feb. 3.

The school levy renews one expiring Dec. 31, 1998. The 1997 tax rate for the levy is $3.88 per $1,000 of assessed value. Approving the levy will not increase tax rates over the 1997 rate. The estimated tax rate will be $3.88 in 1999 and $3.86 in 2000.

The levy provides more than 18 percent of the district’s operating budget. (The state provides 71 percent, the federal government 7 percent and other resources 4 percent.) Ninety-six percent of this levy goes to the classroom, 3 percent goes to services like transportation and food, and 1 percent goes for express child care and community use. The community payback for preserving a strong school district is enormous!

The bond issue affects all Spokane public school children. It results from 18 months of research and community input. Projects funded at each school include electrical, safety and technology upgrades; renovations; additions; and in one case (Browne) replacement. The money is being spent across the entire district.

Many schools have developed technology plans that incorporate bond issue funding, monies raised by their PTG and possible grants. They will not rely exclusively on the bond issue, but use it within a structured plan. The bond issue cost is less than $4 per month.

We ask all Spokane to work together to assure a good education for our children. Contact Citizens for Spokane Schools, 624-8791, for more information. Robin E. Braun, member Mullan Road Site Council

Competition, vouchers best reforms

Re: John W. Axtell’s Jan. 8 letter, “Vouchers can be like college aid.”

One thing’s clear in the history of our country: Competition improves the quality of the product. Competition also improves efficiency and lowers cost.

We have pumped billions of dollars into the public schools. They have a very formidable structure and easily intimidate the public. The teachers’ union, the Washington Education Association, lobbies for laws protecting the status quo. Our best teachers are not rewarded for superior performance. Instead, rewards are based on credit hours and seniority. The cure: vouchers to parents, so they can reward superior results. We should not be afraid of private schools. John W. Bauer Spokane

HIGHER EDUCATION

Cartoon lends insight to merger idea

The Jan. 5 “Doonesbury” cartoon featuring colleges run like businesses, professors for sale, increasing academic mediocrity and a cynical administrator making decisions for a naive president without consulting faculty or students seems to sum up much of the controversy over the proposed merger of Eastern Washington University with Washington State University.

I cannot fathom how deep the cynicism and mediocrity must be among those willing to destroy an institution that has performed its mission well, if not gloriously, for more than a century.

We know that increases in the size of an institution and its bureaucracy result in depersonalization and, frequently, inefficiencies. We see it especially in mergers of giant corporations - where employees exhibit no loyalty or involvement in their work. Is this what we want in our institutions of higher learning?

This proposed merger reflects, in principle, the major political and organization problems currently making our society unstable, viz: centralization at the expense of a perceived “lesser entity”; transferring the locus of decision making from local people to a place removed; sending money generated in one locality to be spent by officials elsewhere who have different priorities; the tendency to break down personal relationships within institutions and to abandon places that have served communities with distinction.

It’s highly ironic that a senator who styles himself a conservative supports a merger that will destroy every principle his party says it believes in.

“Doonesbury” should have included another figure: a demagogue with finger raised, testing to see which way the wind blows. Daniel J. Sisson Spokane

HEALTH AND SAFETY

Spokane area drivers are bad news

Spokane has become a dangerous place to drive, not only for the aggression drivers show toward each other but for the stupidity and lack of driving skills displayed by a large and growing number of drivers.

This high level of stupidity is not limited to those screaming through red lights. How about the driver who turns left or right from the center lane of an intersection? I see this move at least once a day.

How about the floaters at intersections where two lanes can turn left or right. They’re the ones who start in the inside lane, but float over into the outside lane, nearly sideswiping you. They’re the same people who give you that vague, “What did I do?” look when you honk at them.

I could go on to include people talking on the phone or eating, but hopefully, you get my point. Many Spokane drivers are unskilled, inconsiderate, careless and downright dangerous. The prevalent attitude is, “I’m the only one on the road.”

Admittedly, I’ve made errors while driving. But I try to adhere to the law and be a courteous and conscientious driver.

If you are saying to yourself, “I’ve never seen people doing those things,” you’re probably one of the people I’m talking about. Kerry L. Wagner Spokane

Lead-foot drivers tend to be women

Is it just my imagination, coincidence or what? Every time I see a car exceeding the speed limit on 35 mph streets by anywhere from 5 to 10 mph, eight times out of 10, the driver is a girl or young woman. Can anyone, maybe the traffic department, shed some light on this and tell me I’m exaggerating? Robert N. Lee Spokane

People must help end deaths

In Spokane right now, someone is taking the life of someone’s mother, sister, best friend and daughter. No one seems too concerned because they happen to be addicts and hookers. If there had been a recent rash of killings of young, married professional women, or even worse, children, we would be outraged.

Shawn McClenahan was our friend, our confidante, a mother, a lover, a human being. We don’t know if she suffered or how long she knew she was going to die, but nobody should have to endure that horrific moment of impending doom. Our friend, who was always there if we needed help, needed our help, anybody’s help and we weren’t there for her. No one was.

McClenahan was driven by an addiction. She wasn’t making choices; addictions made choices for her. Addictions make the alcoholic decide he can drive, make the gambler embezzle, make the junkie get into a car with a stranger. When McClenahan was killed, we lost our friend and her son lost his mother.

Seven lives have been taken since August and all of these women were probably much like McClenahan. Many friends lost. Many lives wasted. When are we going to start caring? When will we tolerate no more? When it happens to someone you love? We have to start to care now. Stop these tragedies now. McClenahan will be missed. Susan M. Wolfley Spokane

OTHER TOPICS

Preconceived notions are critic’s

Re: “Preconceived notions won the day” (Letters, Jan. 10).

I’m disappointed that Michael G. Wiman missed the point of the article about using radar to count marbled murrelets. The article states that an accurate census of the marbled murrelet population is taken on the open ocean.

The birds use old growth coastal forests for nesting, and the problem has always been finding those nest sites to protect them from logging activities. The radar method of counting has not revealed more birds, it has only improved our ability to find where they are nesting.

Wiman’s misreading has caused him to label the University of Washington biologist, Brian Cooper, a “so-called scientist” and to accuse him of dishonesty. He further concludes that the Endangered Species Act should be reformed severely.

Using Wiman’s own words, “When you begin a project with a predetermined result, honesty and common sense go right out the window.” Mike J. Irving Valley, Wash.

Military pay raise too small

As expected, our politicians already are fighting about how to spend our “possible” federal budget surplus.

Many propose that we use the money to pay down the national debt. While this is a good idea, I would suggest that we first honor our debt to the young military families who now voluntarily serve our nation throughout the world, and need the help of food stamps to simply exist on their low pay.

President Clinton just authorized a 2.8 percent military pay raise and 2.3 percent increase for selected federal employees. Vice president Al Gore’s annual pay was raised to $175,400, while military recruits got only $25.23 more a month! Have we any shame? Pat D. Kilpatrick Post Falls

Let drivers with cell phones pay

Re: Cell phones (news, Jan. 8). Having seen some remarkable antics accomplished by more and more motorists who use cellular phones while driving has made me an even more cautious driver. There is not one of these obstructions in my vehicle.

I drive a sport utility vehicle for which insurance rates are rising. OK, but how about motorists who have cellular phones in their vehicles? They should have to pay a higher rate also. Call it hazard insurance.

SUVs have to dodge a lot of small cars because their drivers are engrossed in using their cell phones, not paying attention to driving.

Granted, there are some rude dudes out there in their SUVs who also have cell phones, not paying attention to their driving, and small cars have to dodge them.

If you’re going to play, you should have to pay - insurance - if a cellular phone is in your vehicle. Shirley L. Lemieux Osburn, Idaho

Islam article helpful, informative

Re: Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

The Jan. 2 article, “A waxing crescent: Increasingly, Muslims find a place among mainstream U.S. religions,” was most informative.

Those of the Muslim community in the region must extend appreciation to The Spokesman-Review for publishing this balanced, well-written piece - an excellent example of informative journalism that tries to promote tolerance and understanding of an otherwise acutely misunderstood and misrepresented religion.

Several years ago, I asked The Spokesman-Review to be willing to extend felicitations (similar to Christmas and Hanukkah) to its Muslim readers on the occasion of Eid-al-Fitr (Jan. 29-30, 1998), the festive day of prayers and celebration that follows the end of the month of Ramadan. Perhaps now is the time that such a gesture be extended to thousands of Muslims in the region; it will be a gracious deed, indeed, that will promote tolerance and help mitigate hostility toward Islam that is still so prominent. After all, as the article tells us, as an increasingly mainstream religion, “Islam is the second largest in the United States.” S.M. Ghazanfar Moscow, Idaho