Letters To The Editor

Opinion belongs on opinion page

Rich Landers’ column on Earth Day (“Earth Day needs a breath of fresh air”, April 22) is not what I would call a “sports” article and I feel that it is inappropriate for the sports section.

Sports are about winning and losing, who goes to what team, game descriptions, etc. Sports is not about your opinion about how we act toward our environment. Now, I’m all for taking care of the earth but for you to pontificate about your pet ideas, that belongs on the editorial page. I quit reading Landers’ articles a couple of years ago because of his liberal slant on his favorite subjects, and I see things have not changed. Mallard Fillmore comics were put on the editorial page and so should any other article that has political undertones.

Ray Schoessler Spokane

Logging roads need a break

I am wondering how many miles Rich Landers drove over muddy roads before he got stuck in the snow (“Earth Day needs a breath of fresh air”, April 22). A major problem we have on our logging roads is people getting spring fever and exploring on our roads when they are soft, thus damaging our water bars and making ruts that cause erosion. After reporting being stuck in the snow, he comments on the eroding forest roads he observed - I wonder if he ever looked back to see what he was doing to the road.

It is unfortunate that he had to share Mt. Spokane with a dozen snowmobilers, but I would hope he would realize that maybe they appreciate the great outdoors as much as he does, and 12 of them might take precedence over one of him.

His concern about reduced old-growth acreage seems to imply that old growth stays the same forever. Whether it is logged or not, it will eventually have to be renewed. Why not make use of some of it and not let it go to waste. After all, man is part of God’s creation, too, and I don’t think God is too surprised that things change because of man’s use.

I wholeheartedly agree with his suggestion that folks pick up litter, as that is another one of the problems that our many forest land visitors leave. Sonny Poirier Blanchard, Idah

Women still have a ways to go

Spring marks the end of the season for a winter sport such as gymnastics (“Not just for girls anymore”, April 9). Gymnastics is a non-team sport; like track, where individuals are rated on their solo performances. In fact, gymnastics and track share much history. In their fledgling days, both were performed by all contestants and the individual with the best combined score would be hailed as champion. Recently, both sports welcomed women in “separate-but-equal” events. Track events for the different sexes are similar. In gymnastics, different skills are performed by each gender; this makes the sport gender-designed and quite unique.

Men’s gymnastics has a background rich in tradition. Many modern fitness exercises are rooted in this athletic conditioning. By comparison, women’s gymnastics is a young sport. Its evolution during the past few decades has brought a breath of fresh interest to gymnastics; along with athleticism, women have added enough dance interpretation and choreography to have created rhythmic gymnastics as an off-shoot.

Nevertheless, neither gymnastics nor dance is as available to young girls as track. Public education can legally provide equal opportunities for girls by merely offering them male sports. Gymnastics clubs are largely supported by girls who seek training not publicly available.

There are always elite male gymnasts ready to take their places on the podium. Male athletic opportunities abound and many have financial rewards. Boys don’t line up for expensive gym classes because they can get similar training elsewhere. Girls, on the other hand, have nowhere else to go. Women’s athletics has come a long way and the marathon is not over yet. Frances Crabtree Spokane