Letters To The Editor
IDAHO VIEWPOINTS
Let Hagadone pay for this upgrade
If Northwest Boulevard is to be upgraded to the dictionary’s definition, as Mayor Steve Judy reads it, perhaps Duane Hagadone could simply pay the $5 million or $6 million for this “driveway” to the Coeur d’Alene Resort.
This feel-good gesture by the mayor cannot be so simply enacted without serious consideration as to why money should be spent on this one arterial when many of the city’s other streets are in such a state of disrepair.
While the Coeur d’Alene Resort and golf course are absolute draws to Coeur d’Alene as a destination point in Kootenai County, it should still be to the advantage of all citizens that money spent is for the benefit of all the citizens, not just the affluent and connected. Ken R. Brown Post Falls
Welcome young people downtown
Re: Nick Richer (Letters, Aug. 25)
Fear not, residents of Coeur d’Alene. Not all downtown business owners share the opinions of the more vocal and narrow-minded shopkeepers in downtown.
I, too, was once young and at only 27, would still be considered so by most. However, I do remember my own days hanging out downtown, skateboarding, swimming and just generally socializing with my friends. We should be proud that our beautiful city center is still a gathering place for our youth and should hope it remains so for future generations. Our future as business owners depends on it.
The concept of playing music downtown to enhance the atmosphere is a great one. As for the music selection, that’s debatable. However, the idea of using classical music as a deterrent for youth is ridiculous.
I am tired of Coeur d’Alene’s youth being blamed for the downtown area’s problems. A bad element can come in any age or gender. Let’s open our eyes and focus on the very few who are causing the problems and not use one group as a scapegoat.
As for youth downtown, our business will always welcome you with open arms, as will many other Downtown Coeur d’Alene businesses. You know who they are. Jason S. Wing, co-owner, Otter River and Mountain Sports
SPOKANE MATTERS
This is a great place for families
Re: John P. Campo’s Aug. 15 letter.
I can honestly say that Spokane is a great place to raise kids and know the true meaning of the statement. I am a recent Los Angeles transplant who gave up the fast-paced city life to have a slower family life in a scenic setting.
Spokane has allowed my family to have a lifestyle that Los Angeles would never allow. My family relocated its manufacturing company to “the second-to-last place in the U.S. to do business.” This has allowed me to stay at home and raise our children.
Because the cost of living is lower here, we own our first home, which is much larger than our Los Angeles apartment. Our house payment is lower than our old rent payment. We can allow our children to play in our front yard without fear of drive-by shootings. One of the greatest perks is that we have time to spend together as a family because we are not in our cars commuting over three hours a day to climb the corporate ladder.
Spokane is not a perfect city but the problems Campo listed can be found anywhere in the country. Ambition is not a result of one’s residence but of one’s character. It is one’s solution to the problem that makes the difference.
Spokane is a small enough city that one person’s energy can make a difference. For a young, ambitious person, Spokane is an ideal place to make that difference. Michele L. Mendez Spokane
The prototypical Spokane project
People in the engineering department of the Spokane street division must have a lot of well-worn erasers in their desks by now. The road upgrade project has been a joke for so long, we who live down Indian Trail are getting used to the news stories about added costs and added delays.
Developers, who seem to have magical powers over our City Council, forced some of these delays. At least we know who is in charge.
Now, our engineering department realizes that the Spokane Fire Department has bigger trucks than they ever heard of. Wasn’t measuring a small part of being a engineer? As this project has changed and dragged on, the cost has skyrocketed. Who pays for all of this? We do - the taxpayers.
Who takes the blame? Who is accountable? This part of the question seems to be done with smoke and mirrors. David Copperfield couldn’t be more proud.
I’ve lived down the trail some 20 years and I’ve finally figured it out. No one really gives a damn about engineering feats such as this.
When will the Spokane powers that be wake up? The answer is not until whoever really did make the mistake is held accountable. Bob Himes Spokane
HIGHER EDUCATION
CCS does make policy clear
Recent criticism of the enrollment process for a Community Colleges of Spokane course in blood drawing, or phlebotomy, (Letter, Aug. 21) merits a response.
CCS offers only two of these 10-week classes each year, with the goal of producing immediately employable individuals. The fact that clinical sites are used to provide these students with practical experience limits the enrollment in each class to 18. Care also is taken not to saturate the job market for phlebotomists.
The upcoming class had about 55 who participated in an orientation. The selection process involved a written application and an interview, both aimed at selecting the best and most committed candidates for the demanding course. Passing the course requires a minimum score of 70 percent on all quizzes and nearly 100 percent attendance.
As the promotional brochure for the program notes: “Orientation participation does not guarantee placement into the program. The screening process includes completion of a written application and selected interviews.”
Ironically, the letter writer, James D. Bergrovich, was admitted to the program two days before his letter appeared in the newspaper. He had been first on a waiting list for the program and was enrolled after a cancellation.
Community Colleges of Spokane has a long history of commitment to providing the region’s work force with the skills needed in today’s labor market. There always will be limits on the numbers we can serve in particular programs. But within those limits, we will continue to provide the best service possible to students. Jennifer E. Roseman vice chancellor, Community Colleges of Spokane
LAW AND JUSTICE
Judge faulted for adhering to law
As a Muslim, I advocate the law given to Noah, “Whosoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed,” the capital commandment, “Thou shalt not do murder,” and the law of the Qur’an, “Retaliation is prescribed for you in the matter of the murdered,” which also provides for mercy.
However, many of the people of Idaho have rendered their own judgment, deciding death should be the penalty. Judge James Judd spelled out what that law required and what the evidence showed and failed to show.
I do not agree with this law of the people. I agree with the law of God. However, the people have made their own law and Judd is sworn to apply that law, not the law that I, or he, might prefer. He made the decision required by the law he was given to apply. This is his success, not his failure.
What should happen to Yager has little or nothing to do with what is required by the law people have written for themselves and Judd and Yager.
Much unjustified abuse has been heaped on Judd. When the people wish to apply the law that God and their genes give them, then a future judge may sentence a future Yager to death. But not this one. Shaykh Dawud Ahmad al-Amriki Springdale
Chaplain’s position `interesting’
Re: “ISP chaplain condemns judge for sparing Yager,” Aug. 19.
I find it interesting that a chaplain, and I am assuming that the man proclaims to be a Christian, would expound so loudly and publicly for killing another human being. Doesn’t sound like what Jesus the Christ would say. Randolph G. Rime Tonasket, Wash.
Judd’s call embarrassing, deplorable
I am embarrassed that Judge James Judd works in the state of Idaho. Not giving the person who killed Trooper Linda Huff in cold blood the death sentence is deplorable.
Judd said the crime was not heinous and that the murderer did not show utter disregard for human life. These statements are ludicrous and bring shame to our judicial system.
It was established that Huff was shot 17 times and died from a bullet fired point-blank into her head as she lay wounded and bleeding. I call this heinous, and I say the murderer showed obvious disregard for human life.
It bothers me, as a citizen of Idaho, to find out that our judicial system does not plan to back up our police officers.
This is a sad day for Idaho. Ryan D. Kerby New Plymouth, Idaho
Judd’s decision is for the best
Judge James Judd is an intelligent man and surely must have anticipated the strong reaction his decision not to sentence Scott Yager to death would cause among a sensitive public reeling from the unspeakable and repugnant murder of Trooper Linda Huff.
That a life sentence would seem insufficient punishment to many, and would prompt calls for his ouster, certainly occurred to the jurist.
I am guessing that his honor reasoned that after costly and lengthy appeals, a death sentence in this case would have been most likely reversed, either by the Idaho Supreme Court of the U.S. Supreme Court, in part because of the way the Idaho capital crime laws are written.
With each appeal, with each step in the process, Linda Huff’s family would have been forced to relive the ordeal, and again be moved away form emotional closure.
A death sentence is too merciful. It is a much harsher punishment to force a young man to live for decades in a small cell, cut off from the free world we all take for granted.
Judd’s decision was the courageous and correct one. Fred Glienna Coeur d’Alene
Idaho laws OK but judge is not
Re: “ISP chaplain condemns judge for sparing Yager, Aug. 19.”
Idaho State Police Chaplain Dan Lynch has every right to be appalled at Judge James Judd’s decision to spare Scott Yager’s life for murdering Trooper Linda Huff.
Lynch is absolutely correct in stating that Judd should not have sat on the bench for this capital case. It has become obvious from the twisted thinking that led to his decision that he was unwilling to consider the death penalty for Yager’s heinous act.
It is not the laws of Idaho that need to be changed but the judge! John Kruse Wenatchee, Wash.
I can tell where this is heading
Judge James Judd’s rationale for his astonishing sentencing explanation for killer Scott Yager was absolutely irresponsible and unbelievable.
That Yager took the voluntary, intentional act to locate and kill a policeperson; to shoot 17 times then take time to reload and kill Officer Huff at point-blank range and this is not considered a cruel, atrocious or heinous act by Judd defies credibility.
How in the world do we get such thoughtless, warped, skewed individuals in our judicial system? Now, of course, the taxpayers will have to cough up the hundreds of thousands of dollars to support killer Yager’s confinement — for however long it is. Probably, of course, he’ll get out following a series of appeals based on his “poor’ upbringing and his inevitable transformation as a born-again Christian. Good grief. William C. Thomas Clarkston, Wash.
Decision grounds for recall
I was appalled as I sat in a courtroom and listened to Judge James Judd rationalize the assassination of Trooper Linda Huff.
I heard a man we elected to protect us state that when a man hid out and lay in wait for any police officer to appear so he could shoot that officer, the crime was not heinous. This same judge stated that when the suspect shot the officer 17 times, which required him to reload, and then held the gun to the fallen officer’s head to shoot her with a contact shot, that this crime was not heinous. The very act of cruelty was perpetuated when this fine officer was taken from her family and friends by this cowardly act. The cowardice that was shown by the defendant, Scott Yager, was only surpassed by the cowardice of the judge to give the citizens of Idaho justice.
I only pray that the judge in question will come up for re-election soon. If not, a recall should be started right now. It is too bad when the citizens of Idaho have to be protected from the very judge that is supposed to give a just sentence. I know Yager will face the supreme justice of God almighty and I pray that Judd will also. Rev. Daniel P. Lynch chaplain, Idaho State Police, Post Falls Police
Message is, it’s open season on officers
Why should us hard-working, honest citizens have to support a cop slayer? The answer is Judge James Judd. The message Judd sends the public is, “It’s OK to kill law enforcement in Kootenai County.” Giving Scott Yager life in prison instead of the death penalty is a mockery of justice. Charity N. Field Coeur d’Alene
OTHER TOPICS
Air controllers doing their best
I have been an air traffic controller for nearly 12 years. There is another side to the recent criticism by airlines about who is to blame for the decline of on-time arrivals. Air traffic control should not always be the scapegoat.
When a passenger plane mistakenly attempts to land at Fairchild Air Force Base instead of Spokane International and air traffic control remedies the situation, we should not be faulted for the extra flying time involved for correction.
When an aircraft is told to follow another and, at the pilot’s choice, decides to follow too closely, air traffic should not be blamed when the aircraft has to go around and try again.
When inclement weather forces slowdowns into Seattle or San Francisco, the delay is out of our hands. We are dedicated to get you flying as quickly and safely as possible so that we may move on to our next task.
Pilot organizations recently did away with a valuable, but strictly controlled rule in which air traffic was able to arrive and depart on intersecting runways at the same time. We now have more aircraft than ever and fewer runways to use.
There may be times when you have to wait, but be assured, air traffic controllers are doing their best with the resources available, despite where several air carriers choose to lay blame. Timothy P. Harman Liberty Lake
Notices to the deceased inevitable
Unless we are not being given the whole story, Carol J. Hooper (Letters, Aug. 25) is being a bit unreasonable in her complaint about people in the medical field reminding her mother of her annual physical when her mother had already passed away.
How would the clinic know her mother had passed away? Unless this is a private doctor who was personally involved in the death, there is no way anyone would be aware of that. They could not possibly check with the vital statistics office for every reminder they send out.
I’m sorry you are having such a hard time getting over your mother’s death. We all deal with these things in different ways. I probably would have read the notice, smiled at the memory of how mom hated those annual checkups, and called the clinic to inform them of her passing.
Don’t be too hard on the health professionals. They are just doing their job as best they can. Phil Bergin Spokane