Letters To The Editor

SPOKANE MATTERS

Put in a word for billboards: `No’

I oppose allowing one small segment of business to turn the views from our county roads into yet another form of junk advertising. If we continue to allow these monster ads billboards to be erected, we will soon have them on all our rural roads, as well as all over the city.

Here’s how it works. Over time, as traffic increases on our country roads, they are reclassified from minor to major collectors the inevitable price of growth. Land use and zoning changes follow. Knowing this, billboard companies just wait for reclassification, lease a sliver of land and they’re set.

If not for the current moratorium, the many, many roads that already qualify for billboards include Bigelow Gulch, Bruce Road-North Argonne in the farm country, Day Mt. Spokane, Country Homes Boulevard, Waikiki, Mill Road, Cheney-Spokane Highway along Hangman Creek, Starr Road to Newman Lake, Appleway and Harvard by Liberty Lake, and Charles on Long Lake.

Do you really want your drive in the country turned into a drive through the Yellow Pages?

County commissioners need to hear from you, not just from the companies that own the billboards. Take a stand for our area’s beautiful scenery. (Remember Post Falls before the billboards went up?) Write to the county commissioners/planners: Public Works Building, 1026 West Broadway, 99260; or e-mail sbjordahl@spokanecounty.org. Tell them you don’t want any new billboards! Lynne L. Lewis Spokane

Nearby parks a Spokane treasure

Having grown up in Spokane, with all its parks, it was a giant adjustment to move to Western Washington some 26 years ago and discover that my children did not have access to a local park. The closest park was a 10-minute drive away and was not to be walked to.

Five years ago, when we moved back to Spokane, we were thrilled to rediscover all of the wonderful neighborhood parks and facilities available for inexpensive and accessible recreation. The number and quality of parks in Spokane is a feature that cannot be understood until you have lived elsewhere. Upon our return to Spokane, our daughter worked at Riverfront Park, where she met friends and discovered a myriad of parks citywide and was enchanted with all of them.

We were thrilled to be able to give money to the new park in our neighborhood, Ben Burr Park. All of you who are potential neighbors need to know how lucky you are to be in on the planning and development stage of this park. You have the power to decide how to equip this facility to meet your family needs. All you have to do is express your concerns, send in your donations and give your time to make this park available. The address is Ben Burr Park Committee, c/o Kas Hoiness, 4430 S. Myrtle, Spokane, 99223.

It is hard to believe that you can make such a difference in the lives of children, our future. Lorna M. Taylor Spokane

Yes, STA routes do need work

It was good to read that the Spokane Transit Authority is going to review the bus routes. I have three buses passing directly in front of my home and the fourth is only six blocks away. I would gladly share, because we had good service with one bus every half hour. Ethel Matheny Spokane

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

Let’s see example of word-keeping

Recently, constituents of the 5th Congressional District have raised questions as to whether Rep. George Nethercutt will seek a fourth term. Nethercutt finds himself under attack for refusing to quiet the rumors of this possibility.

In his most recent dilemma as an elected official, Nethercutt must decide if he will abandon one of his many campaign promises and seek an additional term. Nethercutt should self-impose a term limit on his tenure in office.

In 1994, Nethercutt unseated former speaker of the House and decorated statesman, Thomas Foley, in the 5th District congressional race. Nethercutt’s impressive victory, largely attributed to his term limits pledge to Spokane-area voters, surprised many citizens around the nation. Nethercutt signed a pledge that stated he would not seek a fourth term.

During the 1994 election, many candidates gained seats in the House by running a campaign of Congressional housecleaning. During this tilling of the soil, voters told Foley he had overstayed his welcome. Nethercutt faces a decision of integrity. He must choose whether to keep his word or disregard the pledge he made just five short years ago.

Nethercutt, offer an example of integrity to your constituents and keep your vow. In a country often described as a moral vacuum, a single act of integrity means more to the future than that which you can only hope accomplish in Washington, D.C. Stacy L. Withrow Spokane

Pledges are to be kept

The week ending May 9, local television delivered a sound bite involving students at Gary Middle School signing pledges not to use drugs. The newspaper delivered, “The First Lady backs gun-safety pledge,” and “Grad keeps environmental vow, students in program pledge to be ethical in careers.”

Just within the last year, The Spokesman-Review has covered such features as Lewis and Clark High School students signing pledges to refrain from using tobacco and alcohol as a condition for participation in school sports and cheerleading activities. Washington state education reform promotes parents and their children signing pledges with teachers to become more involved in the children’s education. Local and national organizations obtain pledges from teenagers to refrain from having sex to curtail unwanted teenage pregnancy and stop the spread of sexually transmitted disease.

Children obtain pledges from adults in support of walk-a-thons and similar charitable fund-raising efforts.

How about KSPS? If contributors did not follow through with their pledge in support of their operation, where would public television be?

Now, liken the above examples of the pledges we make to our representative in Congress, George Nethercutt. He made a pledge in 1994 that helped him win his seat. A role model for our children? Leadership by example? we will see.

Keep your word, Nethercutt. Michael Fagan, co-chairman Eastern Washington Term Limits Action Committee, Spokane

VIOLENCE

Provide alternatives to violence

Youth violence is the second leading cause of death of Americans between the ages of 15 and 24. It knows no class, color or boundaries, and an unfortunate incident such as the shooting in Colorado could happen to anyone, anywhere.

I read an article in a recent issue of The Christian Science Monitor, “Programs to prevent violence before it starts,” which I think would be profitable to all, if such programs were installed in local schools.

The programs were created to teach children of all ages social behavior skills not already taught to them by their parents. Some of the major behavior skills introduced in these programs are impulse control, problem solving, anger management and negotiation tactics. They learn to write down their problems, as opposed to physical aggression. Negotiation, instead of violence, is encouraged to help a person put a handle on their need for control and self-responsibility.

Once children, especially teens, learn school safety is not only accomplished through their teachers and principals but through their personal responsibilities, a greater prevention of violence may be achieved. Jerlie R. Small, age 15 Spokane

Quit blaming troubles on music

I am sick to death of people blaming music, especially Marilyn Manson’s, for all the horrible things happening in today’s society. By even saying Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold’s primary influence and cause of the massacre had anything to do with the music they listened to is ignorant.

Many of the intelligent, well-rounded young people I know happen to be fans of Manson, not because of his image but because of his music. Parents of today’s schoolage children need to stop looking toward music and videogames to find what is going wrong with their kids. Instead, they need to look in the mirror. Jennifer A. Rinehart Spokane