Letters To The Editor

Tue., March 24, 1998

WASHINGTON STATE

West deep-sixed school funding relief

Sen. Jim West, chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, sat on a bill that would provide funding for Spokane-area schools. Since most Spokane area school districts do not collect any impact fees, allowing districts to get a portion of the real estate excise tax would be a tremendous boon to our schools. The bill Sen. West sat on would allow school districts to construct new schools, remodel old schools and pay off those levies and bonds with tax money already collected from Spokane residents and hoarded by the state.

Although West’s outbursts were totally outrageous and uncalled for, the controversy hides the real issue. As evidenced by recent voting results, Spokane residents want to provide newer, safer and better schools for their children. West single-handedly stopped a bill that would do just that. He seems to have lost touch with those who elected him, the citizens of Spokane. Lori Gray Valleyford, Wash.

Employer reference bill should be law

Thank you for your recent editorial in favor of SB6699, employer reference checks. This is an important issue to the business community. Passage of this legislation will make our workplaces safer and better.

Under current law, an employer would be foolish to give a reference check good or bad on an employee. There’s just too much risk that the employee will sue them. As a result, good employees don’t get the reference to help them secure a better job and bad employees get jobs when they should not.

This common-sense bill is the solution. Thank you for your positive editorial. We hope Gov. Gary Locke will take it to heart and sign the bill. Bobb Watt, president and CEO Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce

LAW ENFORCEMENT

WSP is a full-service police force

In a March 7, Spokesman-Review article concerning the Washington State Patrol’s involvement in the Spokane serial killers task force, some comments were made that did a disservice to the troopers and detectives of the WSP.

While it’s well known the WSP’s primary mission is traffic law enforcement, troopers and detectives are in fact highly trained police officers. Their training is equal to and in some cases greater than police officers in other agencies throughout the state. WSP detectives have investigated crimes ranging from murder to theft and in addition, have investigated numerous vehicular homicide cases. Troopers make felony arrests on a daily basis as they enforce traffic laws.

In the life of politics there are those who worry about the WSP becoming a state police agency and believe troopers should do nothing more than enforce traffic laws. Obviously, traffic law enforcement is extremely important. Just look at the number of people killed and injured every year in traffic collisions. There appears to be plenty of crime for all police agencies to handle and in some cases, a team effort is the best way to combat crime for everyone.

The public needs to know that the WSP is a police agency above all else and it plays a vital role in all aspects of criminal apprehensions and investigations in this state. I believe a cop is a cop is a cop. Chris S. Powell Spokane

HEALTH AND SAFETY

Safety of water being jeopardized

I have been involved over the past year and a half in the effort to stop expansion of the Graham Road recycling facility. Placement of PCBs in this facility is not a surprise as we have known of this dumping since I began my affiliation with the West Plans Neighborhood Association in September 1996.

It has been frustrating to know of this documented violation and yet the officials entities which are there to protect county citizens’ health and environment can’t seem to put two and two together in less than 18 months. What will it take?

We know this facility is illegally sited. But rather than halt it, we propose to expand it? The lined cells are immersed in the recharge aquifer. Granted, the design is wonderful but it is not foolproof, nor was it ever intended to be used in such an environmentally sensitive area.

Would the people of Spokane approve of such an operation in the Valley? If you were told there was no possibility of leaking, would you jeopardize your only water source? How many times has advanced science and technology given us superfund sites with their technological wonders-turned-disasters?

Samples taken recently at the Graham Road facility show industrial solvents. Are we supposed to believe that neighboring agriculture is to blame for this?

How long will it take the Environmental Protection Agency and Spokane County Health District to act on this knowledge?

Will my many questions be answered before or after my only source of water is permanently tainted? Joni Hensley Medical Lake

DRUG ABUSE POLICY

Treatment not get-out-of-jail-free card

Re: Opinion editor John Webster’s March 20 editorial, “Reject half measures; Hard time stops abuse.”

While taking a cheap shot at the medical community (“… the taxpayers … buy every doc in the nation another country club membership and a new golf cart”), Webster managed to completely miss the point regarding the issue of treating substance abusers rather than putting them in jail. No one, not even us non-golf-playing doctors, is against holding people accountable for antisocial behavior, such as when they “…rob convenience stores, burglarize homes, mug little old ladies..” etc., regardless of whether or not they use drugs.

However, to incarcerate people simply because they use illegal substances is: a) a waste of taxpayers’ money; b) ineffective as a deterrent or treatment of the problem; and c) a misuse of the legal system to enforce narrow moral ideals rather than to protect the citizenry.

Unfortunately, Webster’s viewpoint is shared by many of the elected officials who decide our legislative fate. Until such opinions are corrected, we will continue to lose the so-called war on drugs and to spend millions of taxpayer dollars keeping non-criminals from being productive members of our society. Daniel J. Schaffer, M.D. Spokane

Misguided policy ever more costly

In Wednesday’s paper, we read the headline, “Physicians criticize U.S. drug policy.” Saturday, we read that Gov. Gary Locke signed three bills designed to crack down on people who operate methamphetamine labs.

U.S. physicians urge our country’s citizens to realize that drug addiction can be treated as effectively as any chronic disease. Our legislators ignore scientific studies and raise the risk that will raise the price of an addictive drug. When the price goes up, so do the profits, and meth labs will operate in greater numbers than ever before. So will prisons.

The public has little understanding of drug issues because legislators fan the flames of hysteria about drug use and abuse. Appearing tough on crime wins votes - but isn’t it time we get smart?

Addiction is a medical problem and it’s far past time to let the medical establishment take the reigns from legislators and law enforcement.

We have also read that in Montana, the growing demand for prison cells is taking their entire budget for schools this year. Will our new laws do the same in our state? We are fast heading in that direction. Our own Department of Corrections budget is expected to triple in the next two years! The money will be siphoned from education, just as it has in every state across America.

So, what is it going to be? A medical problem or a criminal one? Are we going to build schools or prisons for our children? Nora Callahan, director The November Coalition, Colville, Wash.

SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION

Mead teachers, staff grateful

Mead School District teachers and staff members express their heartfelt thanks to district voters for their strong support in the recent Mead school election.

That both the operating levy and facility bond passed with large majorities was tremendously significant. Equally significant was the large voter turnout. More than 7,000 people went to the polls, a Mead record for a school election. It all goes to prove the high value placed by district citizens on a quality learning experience. Working closely with our school board and volunteer advisers, we will continue to ensure the community’s voice is heard in school matters. We also pledge to continue to work as hard as we can to live up to the confidence shown in us by the schools’ owners, the taxpayers.. William A. Mester, superintendent Mead School District No. 354

Alternative school is important

Regarding “Alternative school needs more time,” Our View, March 19: Yes! It’s about time we have something for the young native people.

I dropped out of school because of names such as “blubber chewer” and “seal killer.” Anger formed within me for other people.

I see a good future for the native project because it will help create strong native kids. To learn about yourself and your people, or even the truth about Columbus, is a good change that can and will help the native communities. If our young people learn more about our people, we will see more hope and love come from them.

As the young people work on being one with the Earth and spirit, they can plan a strong way of life for the children to come. For all of this, I thank native leaders. Brodie A. Dowd Spokane

THE ENVIRONMENT

Young are taught baseless propaganda

American high school students underperform those of 21 other industrial nations in science (“Low test scores ‘a wake up call,”’ March 1) at least partially because of misinformation introduced by environmental activists and taught in schools, as well as being distributed by the news media.

Dr. Michael Sanera, director of the Center for Environmental Education Research at the Claremont Institute, examined our most widely used textbooks and found them chockablock full of untruths or distortions far gloomier than warranted about everything from acid rain and biodiversity to global warming, ozone and especially natural resources. Many texts skip over what is to arrive at what ought to be - a Utopian vision of nature and theoretical ways to reach this hypothetical state. But science is about reality and how to determine it.

Those who spread environmental myths are often genuinely misinformed. They simply believe those in whose good intentions they trust. Others may know better but believe their good intentions justify ignoring inconvenient objective evidence. Some, of course, deliberately lie or exaggerate to scare people, just to get money or votes because of greed, a lust for power or to reach some political ideal.

All (including some so-called scientists) ignore the skepticism and discipline of the scientific method, demanding irrefutable objective proof before accepting something as fact. Our scientifically ignorant high school students and their teachers are symptoms of this and some of its victims. Edwin G. Davis Spokane

Extremists seek more and more control

The moratorium on road building on Forest Service land is another land-grab by the Clinton administration, influenced by environmentalists hell-bent on closing public lands to the public.

If we truly were running out of forests, that would be one thing. In fact, 70 percent of the forested land here when Columbus arrived remains forested. The other 30 percent has been deforested by people needing places to live and grow crops. For every tree cut in America, six are planted. Net growth of America’s forests exceeds harvesting by about 40 percent per year. There are more than 730 million acres of forested land in our country; 133 million acres of it is national forest.

Timber harvesting is permitted on only 30 percent of that land. The rest is set aside for wilderness areas, parks, game habitat and riparian areas. Only two-tenths of 1 percent of national forest land is managed for timber harvest each year.

Environmental activist groups like the Sierra Club and the Inland Empire Public Lands Council are out to to stop public lands management. The fires of 1994 and 1996 are examples of their “don’t salvage, let it burn” philosophy. Those fires killed many trees, animals, birds and fish, and polluted our air.

Let’s admit to the many responsible forest practices undertaken by the industries and the Forest Service, and move ahead with managing our public lands in a way that is good for our public lands, our economy and our country. Kristeen and Dave Martin Kettle Falls, Wash.

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