Suggestion Is For A Monument To Mark The Millenial Passage

Tue., Jan. 5, 1999

Doug Floyd Interactive Editor

What better way is there to count down the 1900s than by taking stock of human virtue?

None, according to Gary Rhodes who shares the following “dream” as his idea of an appropriate communitywide resolution for the new year:

“I see the people of Spokane coming together in a spirit of community and volunteerism to build a great monument to be dedicated to all those who have shaped our region over the past millenium.

“All the citizens of the Inland Northwest will have an opportunity to contribute to the design, capital acquisition and construction of the monument.

“I see the monument as being significant enough to lift the spirits of those who see it. It will be a symbol of what is good about us.

“I see the people of Spokane joining together on Dec. 31, 2000, to dedicate the monument and place time capsules in it to be opened at the end of the millenium.”

Indirect benefits

Just because online retailers don’t collect local sales taxes for Spokane and Spokane County when local residents go Internet shopping doesn’t mean those transactions don’t contribute to community needs.

And just because those businesses, whose cyberquarters are in some distant locale, don’t give their time and money to Spokane’s nonprofit arts and charitable causes doesn’t mean they don’t help better the community.

Peter C. Dolina of Veradale explains why:

“Amazon.com contributes to street repair, Spokane Symphony, etc.,” says Dolina in response to a recent S-R editorial. “If it saves somebody’s time so that he/she can select a book in 15 minutes, including all the comparisons and previews, then this person is more efficient and the community is more efficient as well.”

Besides, he says, online booksellers have larger inventories and it takes more time to patronize local book stores.

Dolina also wonders why, if online merchants were to be taken to task, Microsoft itself wasn’t scolded for publishing so much information on the Internet that “they virtually make some books obsolete.”

Is the past prologue?

Is it irony or just fickle fate that the Rockwood Market, an 86-year-old neighborhood grocery store on the South Hill shuts its doors for the last time even as city planners are urging the city to promote mixed-use development?

Local journalism is essential.

Give directly to The Spokesman-Review's Northwest Passages community forums series -- which helps to offset the costs of several reporter and editor positions at the newspaper -- by using the easy options below. Gifts processed in this system are tax deductible.

Meet Our Journalists

Jesse Tinsley

Meet Jesse Tinsley. As a certified drone pilot, this veteran Spokesman-Review photographer often can be seen capturing beautiful aerial photographs of our region. Sometimes though, the job requires getting down with the dogs.
Jim Meehan

Jim Meehan is no stranger to Zag Nation. As the lead writer covering the Gonzaga men’s basketball team, he tells the stories behind the game and gets fans a bit closer to their favorite players.
Molly Quinn

There is no artist in Spokane like Molly Quinn. Her whimsical style is instantly recognizable to readers of The Spokesman-Review. She has painted gorgeous illustrations that instantly elevate the journalism accompanying it. She brings to life the stories that defy photography. She makes our pages better.
Rob Curley

Spokesman-Review editor Rob Curley loves to talk with people and learn about their lives, whether it's a best-selling author or a stranger he meets downtown on his walk to lunch. It's that inquisitive nature combined with a playful sense of storytelling that helps make our newspaper different than most.