Letters To The Editor

OVER THE LINE

In Idaho, teach not, want not

I have been following the story of the teachers’ attempt to get decent pay raises. While I sympathize with them and support their cause, they must remember one thing: They knew teaching isn’t a profession that is held in high esteem and the pay isn’t very good.

I have been teaching mathematics in Idaho for 11 years. My children qualify for reduced lunch prices at the school they attend. I think this is considered a fringe benefit by the politicians in this state.

But, hey, not to worry - we just elected the “education governor,” who set aside money for teacher salary increases in the amount of zero percent. He will lead us into the new millennium with the education adviser he has hired for $85,000 a year. (He could have hired four people who work for a living at that price.)

I have some advice for those thinking about teaching as a career: don’t! Bill Knapp Pierce, Idaho

Too far right and you’re over the edge

The letter from Shirley Hethorn extolling the virtues of Idaho as the great conservative mecca made me laugh out loud.

Yes, Idaho is a right-wing nirvana, with its right-to-work wages among the lowest in the country and the lowest rate of childhood vaccinations in the country. Perhaps that explains the long lines of cars streaming into “intellectual elitist Utopia” each and every morning to go to work.

Nothing against the people of Idaho but I don’t understand the braggadocio. Gregory P. Hande Spokane

I-695 would only add to disparity

There have been many letters complaining of the taxes in Washington and advocating the $30 licensing fee as a measure of tax relief. Some of this problem may be due to the distribution of tax responsibility.

The Center for Tax Justice (www.ctj.org) studied state and local taxing methods in all 50 states. These were the results for Washington:

For a yearly income of under $28,000, the tax rate is 17 percent; for $28,000-$43,000, 12.2 percent; $43,000-$56,000, 10.4 percent; $56,000-$76,000, 8.9 percent; $76,000-$125,000, 7.2 percent; $125,000-$310,000, 5.4 percent; over $310,000 (average $717,000), 3.6 percent.

It appears that the current licensing fee is one of the few somewhat progressive taxes in Washington. Who will see the most benefit from the flat fee, a middle-class family driving a four-year-old Chevy or a Kaiser executive driving an $80,000 BMW? It’s pretty obvious who will pay for any tax increase to make up for the decrease in licensing fees.

The center comments about Washington: “The heavy reliance on consumptive taxes and no personal income tax makes for the most regressive tax system in the country.” Their analysis shows that if the rates were reversed, into a progressive system, families with incomes under $76,000 would see an average tax decrease of $1,700 per year. Paul N. Valanoff Moscow, Idaho

Possibly good plan nipped in the bud

In a recent Associated Press article, it was reported that today’s journalists view their own reporting techniques as sloppy, speculative and opinionated, rather than factual. This technique is certainly apparent in staff writer Ken Olsen’s extremely premature series on the Idaho land exchange vision.

What is a vision? An idea, a goal. It is obvious that the land swap was just a vision as Clearwater was in the initial stages of addressing the direct parties involved. The fact that the Bureau of Land Management had not yet been notified is proof of this. Clearwater simply hadn’t had the time to approach them yet, regardless of the age of the idea. Can you imagine how long it takes to research an estimate of two million acres?

After all direct parties have been addressed is when the public should be notified, after a plan has been prepared and is ready for discussion. When an issue such as this is so prematurely reported and pummeled with opinion is when a deal dies.

As an avid user of public lands in both Idaho and Washington, I would loved to had the opportunity to provide input. Any change with benefits to wildlife and public access should have been aired in an open, fair forum.

I hope this vision is laid on the table again. I can’t think of a better way to efficiently and effectively utilize Idaho wilderness and help preserve the critical wildlife for endangered species. What could be more in the public’s and environment’s interest? John Sparano Spokane

What’s fair is already there

The only fair term limit is the ballot box. Charlie and Margaret Sipp Post Falls

SPOKANE MATTERS

Credit goes to St. John’s Lutheran

Thank you for the wonderful article written by Chris Peck, “Merlin project an opportunity to beat grief” (April 25). As nice as it was to read glowing words about our church, I must, in good conscience, give credit where credit is due.

The room referred to in the article that was remodeled for Max was not remodeled by First Covenant Church. It was done by our good neighbors next door, St. John’s Lutheran Church. Indeed, St. John’s Lutheran has thrown down the gauntlet for us at First Covenant and for every other church in town by getting their room done first. I attended the housewarming party they had for Max in his new room and was deeply moved by their many expressions of love toward him.

As we at First Covenant put the finishing touches on our Merlin room, we are inspired by the initiative, generosity and joy shown by St. John’s Lutheran Church as they completed their project.

Through the New Merlin Project, St. John’s Lutheran has declared that love is indeed a verb and First Covenant Church, for one, hopes to rise to that challenge. Lawrence C. Hudson pastor of First Covenant Church, Spokane

Deputy should be compensated

Re: “Gunshot could set off worker’s comp fight,”News, April 20. While our county leaders are deciding how to spend my tax dollars, can I have a vote? I don’t mind paying toward public assistance or other state programs but some of it darn well better go to the folks who protect us if they need it.

I don’t care if records were not kept at the firing range of how many and what type of weapons Deputy Tom Edelbrock qualified with. After someone has taken your child hostage, are you going to worry about where the officer last cleaned his weapon or will you just be grateful it was done? If we don’t help the people who protect us, why would they want to continue doing so? Susan L. Hendren Spokane

Refreshments cost too much at Arena

Recently, I attended an event in the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. I was shocked at the very expensive prices for the food and drink.

My grandson had to have a soda, so I paid $1.75 for a small pop! I was told the city controls the food concession stands. If so, the city should try to work with the public, rather than try to rob us, legal as it is. Robert R. Smith Spokane

WASHINGTON STATE

Top-scale teacher pay the rare exception

Re: your editorial, “Too much allotted for teacher raises” (April 21).

Opinion editor John Webster once again used deceptive tactics regarding teacher pay. You like to reference the pay at the top end of the pay scale, yet few teachers ever reach the top, since that requires a Ph.D. or equivalent. To achieve that level requires more than 6 years of full-time college education and 15 years of experience. If you are going to compare a teacher’s salary at the top end of the pay scale with others’ pay, compare it to the pay of those who have a Ph.D. and 15 years of experience!

I found your two editorials regarding teachers to be very belligerent. Douglas D. Deabler Veradale

Benson will hear from me at the polls

Regarding Brendon K. Hill’s letter, in which Hill writes, “Hurray for Rep. Brad Benson, for speaking for what every nonunion worker …” is thinking.

Sorry I was not available to respond when you conducted your survey, Hill. I am a nonunion worker (this is neither good nor bad). I do not agree with your statements. There is another difference also. I am a registered voter in the 6th District. I have supported Benson at the polls the last two years. I will be able to correct this at the next election. Robert B. Conway Spokane

What teachers want is out of line

The letters by Susan Bishop and Linda Becker (April 23) say it all. No elaboration is really needed.

I know of no working class people who ever got pay increases that even came close to the 15 percent demanded by teachers. Never in my 50-year working career did I or my peers ever receive more then 5 or 6 percent, if and when we were lucky enough to get any raise at all. How about you?

As these two stated in their letters, let teachers show they deserve raises by doing the jobs they were hired to do - teach! Let their abilities be reflected in the quality of students they turn out. Bennie J. Benson Elk

VIOLENCE

All we need is full-time mothering

Many speculate on how to stop school massacres. If all mothers would quit working and stay home and love their children, all would be well.

I know many say we can’t afford it. Can you afford to lose your children to mayhem? C.F. Brenton Spokane

Gothic chic is evil and it’s here

The horrible tragedy at Columbine High School has led television reporters to repeatedly ask if there were “any warning signs” in regard to the killers. I first heard it asked the evening of the 20th and was astounded.

At that time, it was known that the killers routinely dressed entirely in black, often wore swastikas, were fans of Marilyn Manson and considered themselves “Gothic.” If respectable society doesn’t realize these are warning signs, more tragedies are inevitable.

The so-called Gothic movement has many teenage adherents right here in Spokane. Its influence is nationwide, thanks to the pervasiveness of modern media, particularly the Internet. I am intimately familiar with it as my own son has been caught up in it.

In today’s society, where tolerance is often promoted as the highest ideal, there is a reluctance to condemn anything that masquerades as a belief system. However, it is a simple matter of fact that the Gothic movement is evil.

This problem is in our midst. In fact, both of our area’s major malls, despite the family friendly image their commercials project, lease space to a store that caters to this particular ilk of evil. Go to any local area high school and you will find kids dressed in black, possibly wearing trenchcoats, shrouds or capes. If asked, they will tell you they are Gothics. Their fascinations will include Marilyn Manson, the vampire books of Anne Rice and Satanism. A few even hold to the absurd belief they are literal vampires. Are there any warning signs? Jonathan H. Lundquist Spokane

Lack of tolerance at root of tragedy

In a strange way, I feel that I can identify with the kids who committed this grotesque crime. I’m 17 and I have firsthand experience at being outcasted by other kids at school. I have many friends who belong to the so-called Gothic subculture. I’m not sure if anyone realizes the underlying problem in this situation.

They did not commit this crime because they like to wear black trenchcoats and camouflage pants or because they liked role-playing games and wearing sunglasses indoors. They did it because they felt outcast by their peers who rejected and shunned them because they were different.

No one teaches tolerance and understanding. Kids and parents alike are taught that different is wrong. My Gothic friends are some of the most intelligent and open-minded people I know, but they are constantly harassed by administrators and students who are afraid of the way they look.

This is perhaps the most dangerous aspect of the Colorado shooting: Nobody took into account the fact that fear is power. These kids knew people were afraid and took advantage of it.

I’m not trying to justify what these kids did. I do believe, however, that these kids had a problem. Be it mental or otherwise, if people had tried to understand rather than shun and tease them, it might have been discovered before this event occurred. Teaching tolerance is the key to preventing things like this from happening in the future. Dawna R. Cloutier Coeur d’Alene

`Cruelty by peers’ is risky business

Why? We ask the question again and again. Too many guns, not enough guns, lack of parental supervision, poor schools, the Internet, etc. The Spokesman-Review plans to examine possible solutions, including increased security and more school counselors.

How about some counseling for students who feel it is their inalienable right and duty to humiliate other students? Surely, rejection is no excuse for violence but these boys were subjected to constant ridicule, taunts and threats. Intense and overt daily rejection from their peers combined with easy access to weapons is a recipe for disaster.

And where were the teachers and counselors when this rejection was going on? According to one Colorado student, the response was “boys will be boys” and the sports “teams are so good that if you’re an athlete, you’re not going to get suspended unless you do something really bad.” One look at school sports budgets is all it takes to see which students are important and which are not.

No single answer will ever explain atrocities of this nature. However, to continue to endorse cruelty by inaction is the height of folly. And this cruelty by peers is a common thread in all the school shootings of the last several years. Don’t ignore it!

Lastly, to you students guilty of cruelty, if you can’t find it within your own ethics to keep your mouth shut, then question (to yourself) the sanity of the next person you humiliate. They may not just crawl away in shame. Janet M. Hamilton Cheney

We’re failing at basic, human things

I totally agree with the superintendent of the school district in Littleton, Colo. We need to rise up and take a moral stand on the travesties that continue to plague our schools and society.

One cannot simply place total blame on these children who act out in violence. We as a society also share that responsibility by allowing the violence in television, videogames, satanic board games and others that clearly are sending the wrong and all-too-destructive message to an already troubled and lost child who is vulnerable enough to be sucked in.

If you choose to have children, take the full responsibility that goes with that duty and raise them. Don’t leave it to a day care, to TV, teachers, etc. Today’s children are growing up fully aware that they’re disposable. We’ve proven that through allowing a woman to simply murder her unborn baby.

If we want to begin to curb this violence by our youths, we adults have to take the responsibility in doing it by showing these lost kids how to learn to love themselves and that they have nothing to prove to anybody. We’re all God’s children. Nobody is better than anybody else, although in today’s society we seem to live for that notoriety. And that is a waste and a shame.

Until we begin changing the way we think about the true meaning of life, one can only hope, pray and try to protect ourselves against what is yet to come. Jeanie Defrancesco Spokane