Letters To The Editor

THE JUDICIARY

Clarke should keep name as it is

As per an article in the July 23 Spokesman-Review, Spokane County District Court candidate James Reierson complained that his opponent, Harold D. Clarke, should use the “III” behind Harold’s name. Reierson is worried that voters will confuse Harold with his dad, “Pete” Clarke. Reierson thinks it an unfair advantage that Harold’s dad is well known.

Retired Judge Pete Clarke is one of the most respected and fair-minded judges we have ever had. Spokane County voters are so very fortunate to have his son, Harold D. Clarke, offer us the same class, honesty and fairness as Pete.

Harold has always stood on his own two feet and made his own way in life. He has earned his respect from his peers and he has always had respect from his friends. He should keep his name the way it is.

Nice try, Reierson, but get a clue and stop whining.

Spend your money and campaign like a big boy, and stop embarrassing yourself. Scott J. Griffith Spokane

Candidates, skip the sniveling

Staff writer Tom Sowa’s recent article quotes Harold Clarke’s opponent for District Court judge as saying, “Campaigns today operate on impressions and quick 30-second advertising.” Perhaps Clarke’s opponent hopes to sway voters with this tactic. However, after having practiced law for a good number of years, I have come to the conclusion that a candidate for judicial office should emphasize character, work ethic and a history of service to the community in which he or she lives.

Sniveling about non-issues serves no useful purpose for we voters. As voters, we should be thankful that candidate Harold Clarke possesses those same admirable qualities demonstrated by his father during his service on the bench in Spokane County. Kathleen M. Taft Spokane

LAW AND JUSTICE

Child’s death tantamount to murder

Re: “Driver faces charge of vehicular homicide,” July 7.

I am livid about the 2-year-old dying. Here was a young mother, driving along with her children, obeying the law and protecting them by having them strapped into their car seats. Even if she was hit, everyone should have still been unharmed. She was in town, not out on the highway where speeds are excessive.

If what the police and court are quoted as saying is correct, along came Ryan Quaale, after he’d been drinking. His license had been suspended and he was on a driving rampage. After ramming a car and injuring two women, he ran stop signs and finally slammed into this innocent family, tearing its vehicle almost in two.

It was reported that his car was full of beer cans and that he admitted what happened.

I don’t know what kind of prison time someone gets for vehicular homicide, but it should be considered murder.

These senseless deaths have to stop, and if the laws need to be changed, so be it.

If someone continues to screw up his life when there is help available, then have at it. But no one has the right to screw up anyone else’s life. Ann Thornburg Deer Park

LAW ENFORCEMENT

Troopers have no hidden agenda

Re: “Counties may lose troopers” (July 12).

I’ve been a trooper for 18 years. It’s offensive to me and my fellow troopers who work in Spokane County that anyone would think we have a hidden agenda.

The article makes it sound as if the Washington State Patrol is trying to become a state police agency trying to take away someone’s power. Why the attack on the troopers? When I became a state trooper, I knew that for the next 25 or so years I would be helping the citizens of Washington by patrolling the highways and byways. Spending 25-30 years “confined to an interstate” is the “career choice” we made.

Regarding the comment about the WSP being involved in community oriented policing, there’s no need for sarcasm. The troopers we’re losing to the program are being replaced. Growth is very important in every individual’s lifetime, as well as every agency’s lifetime. The WSP has a very long lifetime in which to grow more knowledgeable in every area of law enforcement, as well as the strength and wisdom to carry out their jobs in every way possible. That covers the areas of “diversity and new challenges,” doesn’t it?

With each agency’s strengths pooled together and working toward the same goal, we can keep citizens safe.

My fellow troopers and I are proud to work in Spokane County. We have no problems at all working with the county sheriff’s department. I see no reason why all law enforcement agencies can’t work well together. Joe Pass executive board officer WSPTA, Spokane

Officers’ training paid off

I’m glad there were no injuries or deaths in Coeur d’Alene when the Aryans held their parade.

I’m glad for the training given to the law enforcement officers. Maybe if they’d had this training and gear prior to the Washington State University riot, it could have been dispersed quicker and safer. Maybe upcoming events can be handled more efficiently and safely. I’d consider it money well spent. And in a sense, you did make lemonade out of lemons. Leta L. Donahoo Spokane

THE ENVIRONMENT

Scorecard can be of help to voters

Re: Spokesman-Review Periscope article, “Keeping Score” (June 22).

The purpose of Washington Conservation Voters Scorecard is to inform voters about what our elected officials are doing to protect or not protect the environment. Seventy-one percent of Washington voters think environmental laws need to be tougher and 85 percent think environmental threats are serious. WCV’s Scorecard provides a useful reference of legislators votes on select environmental issues so voters can make informed decisions at the ballot box.

Washington Conservation Voters is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to electing environmentally responsible officials to public office. The WCV process involves:

An interview to gain understanding of the candidate’s knowledge and positions on environmental issues.

Public endorsement of environmentally responsible candidates.

Campaign assistance through volunteer help, financial donations and advice on running a campaign.

Lobbying elected officials on environmental issues as they arise.

Educating the public on who the environmentally responsible candidates are.

Every person needs to realize the importance of a healthy future before it’s too late. We must act and vote accordingly. To view a copy of the WCV Scorecard see our Web site at www.wcvoters.org/wcvoters or call 838-1965 for more information. Jennifer A. Ekstrom Spokane

Why stir up contaminants?

Re: the proposed dredging of the Coeur d’Alene Lake and streams entering it in order to “clean up” this allegedly polluted body of water. My comments are based on my background as an agriculturist (postgraduate agronomist), for which a certain amount of chemistry and biology knowledge is required.

There is more to this than the usual political consideration. A number of pseudoscientists are involved and I hope some real scientists will comment.

At this time, the lake is at rest. Most of the metals from mining practices along with those from natural erosion have precipitated to the bottom and incorporated with the clay/mud. Nature is at all times busy in this atmosphere as well. Chemical and biological changes are at work to neutralize this profile and make it compatible to such degree that life in the liquid above it can thrive. Now, we are being faced with dredging operations which will stir up these “active” bottom profiles. Anyone with a fair education and some logic can see what will happen. The water will become muddy, at which time we should really become concerned about letting our kids swim in these waters. The lake will lose its attractiveness and a number of citizens will incur financial damage.

Last but not least to consider is where to go with the dredged materials and the cost involved to process it.

Of course, remember this is where the politics and the assignment of contracts begins, and where the waters are really muddied. William Vogel Spokane

Land swaps in people’s interest

The July 23 article about the BLM land swap was one-sided. These BLM land trades, which exchange small, scattered parcels in Northeast Washington for ecologically valuable shrubsteppe and wetland habitats in the Columbia Basin, are weighted heavily in favor of public benefit. These exchanges, conducted under national agency authority using strict standards, have the blessing of a number of conservation and environmental organizations - the ones that are informed. The article is very misleading, as the Washington Department of Wildlife did not object to the exchanges in general, but only questioned two or three parcels out of 50 or more. These questions were answered to their satisfaction.

I suggest the reporters interview WDFW Regional Manager Bruce Smith. Also, in spite of what was reported, no Lake Roosevelt shoreline parcels were traded. The National Park Service, not BLM, administers lands at Lake Roosevelt.

The so-called environmental groups that challenged this, and many other exchanges in Oregon and Washington, have lost in court and on appeal a dozen times. BLM staff, in consultation with other federal and state agency biologists, have spent thousands of hours studying the environmental impacts of the trades from many angles. Their conclusion: the environmental values aren’t an issue for those who understand the ecological concepts behind what is happening. Environmental benefits are clear. In court, only agency process was challenged. The discrepancy found was very small and easily revised to meet the court order.

These trades are good for private enterprise and the economy of Northeast Washington. They’re also of high benefit to wildlife, rare plants and recreation. Lou Jurs retired wildlife biologist, Spokane

Idaho shouldn’t be the arbiter

How can the public in Idaho have any idea as to the state of their water? Idaho citizens seem more interested in locking step with their mining industry masters and their representatives in the Legislature and the U.S. Congress than actually having a safe place to live.

At the public meeting in Coeur d’Alene, elected public servants and mining industry representatives spoke more often and for longer periods than others. They weren’t interested in asking the EPA about what that agency was going to do. Rather, they used the public forum to deliver long-winded, paranoid speeches about how evil and corrupt the EPA is. When a question was posed to the EPA official, it was always framed in a “just answer yes or no” fashion. I kept looking around for the TelePrompTer because it all sounded so contrived to cover the industry’s polluting ways.

Since when is it a good idea to have an entity such as Idaho do research and determine for itself the extent of pollution in its waters, when it has a vested interest in a positive test result? There is absolutely no way to trust Idaho to look at Lake Coeur d’Alene objectively, as long as the mining industry holds the purse strings and sets the agenda.

I in no way see the EPA as some kind of panacea to this mess. But at least the agency may give a good faith effort to get the facts straight. Kenneth Knapp Spokane

EPA has lied before

The most telling comments at the Environmental Protection Agency public information meeting in Coeur d’Alene came from Mayor Steve Judy. He addressed the dishonesty of the EPA. His point is that the agency has lied before and we have no proof that it will stop lying now.

I witnessed that kind of lying in the exaggeration of the second Silver Valley blood-lead survey back in the mid-1970’s. Judy is right. The EPA could end all this distrust simply by turning over a new leaf and explaining the way it takes its samples and makes its tests. John H. Wiegman Osburn

IN THE PAPER

Good news could do so much good

Re: “Good Samaritan just 12 years old,” (The Handle, July 12).

Tucked away on the very last page was an inspiring story of a 12-year-old good Samaritan who came to the aid of a man who suffered a cerebral hemorrhage. Not only did the young man assist the man when 20 adults passed by him without notice, he stayed with him, cared for him, and looked after the man’s 4-year-old daughter.

My question is: Why wasn’t that story front page news? Do you suppose the media could influence the direction society takes? What if each Sunday’s front page articles in every paper across the country focused on good news and acts of kindness? Why not? The Sunday paper is possibly the only one of the week that is read thoroughly because the pace for many people on Sunday slows down at least a little.

Would it hurt to print the bad news in other sections on Sunday? Our basic instinct to seek out negative, violent, and scandalous stories will beg us to scrutinize each page. Newspapers could capitalize upon this strategy and sell advertisement space next to those articles.

More importantly, good news might create a peace within readers. It may last only a few minutes, hours or it could last an entire day. Inner peace is a sense that all is right within one’s heart and soul. The euphoria it creates can cause people to think and do some wonderful things. Our society needs a little good news. Nancy J. Nelson Sagle, Idaho

Why shortchange the visual arts?

This is getting to be ridiculous! I am consistently amazed about your complete lack of attention to Spokane’s visual arts. We have many fantastic artists and art events in our city yet Spokane’s primary voice to the people ignores us.

Did you know there was an Art Walk for the Downtown Galleries last Friday, July 10? There was not one mention in your publication about any visual arts event. Over 15 galleries promoted our local artists with live music, refreshments, and original visual art. Half of these galleries sent out press releases with follow-ups, including the city of Spokane’s Art Department, regarding the Art Walk, only to receive no attention from you. There was not even a general gallery listing in the Weekend Section.

How is anybody supposed to know these events exist if you continuously ignore the visual arts community? For some reason, the performing arts and any band playing at a bar receives attention but the visual arts don’t.

One more point: It’s ironic that your own editor, Chris Peck, was seen in The A.R.T. Gallery at Auntie’s. He obviously didn’t read The Spokesman-Review to find out there was an art event, though he felt it worthwhile to come see the art. What does this mean?

Until The Spokesman-Review decides the visual arts are worth promoting, interested art patrons may call any of the local art galleries for art events news. We will be glad to help. Brandon Rudd The A.R.T. Gallery at Auntie’s, Spokane

Appreciate series, parade coverage

I applaud The Spokesman-Review’s writers and editors for their series on race and racism, and their response to the Aryan Nations’ march. Race is a topic that I’ve found many people in this area either reluctant to speak about or convinced that there is no problem. Your articles provided ample food for thought and discussion.

I was particularly gratified to see your strong response to the Aryan Nations’ march, including the “Too great to hate” posters you inserted into your papers. These days, the media are increasingly criticized for being sensation-seeking and irresponsible. Your efforts here showed a real sense of responsibility and commitment to the betterment of our community. Instead of simply reporting the news, you have taken a stand and attempted to educate people. This is news reporting as it should be. Marie Whalen Spokane