Letters To The Editor

IDAHO VIEWPOINTS

Spread center cost over nearby towns

Coeur d’Alene voters may have rejected plans for a Community Center on Tuesday but all is not lost.

In reality, there was little argument about its design, despite loud claims that 2,500 square feet of space designated for weight training was going to put all 15 other area gyms out of business in one fell swoop.

Ridiculous.

I don’t want to work out with a gaggle of 14-year-olds. Most adults feel the same way.

The real issue was not the amount of money a center would cost but who would pay for it. That the facility would be self-supporting is open for discussion. Let’s call that a draw.

But why not shift the proposed tax burden from being only Coeur d’Alene residents to including those of surrounding communities as well? As beneficiaries of what a first-class community center has to offer, Hayden, Fernan, Dalton and even Post Falls should be eligible to shoulder the burden as well.

And there are two classes of customers for the community center - those whose families will directly participate by having a membership and the passive investors who benefit by having a community where kids have a safe alternative place to go have fun and even be productive. In the same way that quality schools attract businesses that bring high-paying jobs to broaden our tax base, a community center serves the same purpose. It is seen as another way in which the quality of life in Coeur d’Alene is second to none. Sandy Clark Coeur d’Alene

Learn to enjoy what you have

Counting your blessings, be thankful for what we enjoy - no doubt one of the best and most beautiful places to live and raise kids on Earth.

When I came here to Coeur d’Alene in 1938 at age 10, I fell in love with all the things to do and places to explore in and around Coeur d’Alene. Since then there have been a lot of perks added like the Tubbs Hill nature walk, the boardwalk on the lake, the boat launching ramps, big improvements to McEuen Field, City Park and beach, and the Centennial Trail.

For those who are bored and don’t know what to do all year-round, I refer you to the sports and activities section in the front of the phonebook. Quit whining at the taxpayers to build an expensive indoor community center which only a very small percentage of people would use anyway. Robert W. Anderson Coeur d’Alene

Creek `hammered’? Look again

I cannot let a comment pass that my friend, Mayor David Sawyer, made in last Sunday’s Spokesman-Review. At the end of the article about the Sand Creek bypass, Sawyer was quoted: “There’s nothing that’s going to be destroyed up Sand Creek that hasn’t already been hammered to hell.”

Take a walk over the bridge on Bridge Street and see if this spot looks “hammered.” Yesterday morning, I stopped in the middle of the bridge that connects our town to City Beach and Lake Pend Oreille. Nine Canada geese swam upstream toward the Cedar Street Bridge. Along the east side of Sand Creek the cottonwoods still hung onto half their yellow leaves. A train rumbled by and was gone. In the new quiet, I heard a kingfisher’s “laughing” call. I crossed to the south side and looked down on the floating docks and their reflection in the water. A group of seagulls swooped low and hung in the air over the railing. This is a beautiful part of our town.

If you wander north up the dirt road past the train depot and along Sand Creek, the steep banks are wild with trees, grasses, the small holes of animals and snakes - “messy” with wild things growing, as happens along the sides of a creek.

Take 10 minutes at lunch, after school or on a Sunday morning to walk over this bridge and see what Sand Creek looks like in 1999. Karen Seashore Sandpoint

Gouged consumers have an alternative

So, the wholesalers have dropped their prices 11 cents per gallon since September and Chevron, which happens to own the supply pipeline, has its retail manager justify no change in the pump price to the Idaho attorney general’s office - this done with subtle new-speak and “The art of pricing,” (Oct. 27).

Now, would that be art nouveau or artifice? Artful policy managers, practicing similar principles, had their chance to build a new Jerusalem and ended up with New York. It’s certainly not my lot in life, and I’d like to think I had a choice. But, if these corporate artisans are all walking like ducks and quacking like ducks, well, then I commend the AGO’s task force for investigating these practices.

I’ve witnessed how their actions change corporate behavior, temporarily. Only one method circumvents these marketing principles and compels enterprise to change its long-term behavior and that is by example. One I’ve seen bring the most beneficial changes into the consumer’s life is a community-owned and operated cooperative. People must want it, work for it and embrace it, however. Timothy A. Butler Sandpoint

FUEL DEPOT

Project good but location all wrong

Burlington Northern Santa Fe must be complimented for creating the new state of the art for refueling operations and for a sophisticated, polished presentation to the public. The only flaw in the proposal is the location.

Moving it a few miles to the east gets it off of the drinking water. This move avoids many problems for the railroad now and in the future, improves its image, satisfies the Friends of the Aquifer, and we will all drink better.

This is important, for when I was born there were only about two billion people on the world but now the world carries six billion folks and is growing. In my lifetime the world population has tripled, and I plan to get older.

The world’s hydrological cycles do not grow with the population increase. We have the same amount of drinking water with the six billion people as we had with two, but more frightening is the wasteful way we now use water. Water use per capita continues to increase. Water, a finite resource, remains man’s second-most precious resource, just behind clean air. If you do not agree, try living without either one! We must work harder and smarter to protect all of our life-sustaining resources, starting with air and water.

With all of that said, we must now compliment the Friends of the Aquifer, for their tenacious dedication helped stimulate Burlington Northern to achieve this new state of the art, now destined for the wrong location. Larry M. Belmont Coeur d’Alene

SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION

Help mark American Education Week

Nov. 14-20 marks the 78th annual observance of American Education Week - a time for saluting our public schools and the people who work in them.

This year’s celebration is part of a long tradition that began in 1921. Distressed that 25 percent of draftees in World War I were illiterate and that schooling for most youngsters ended at eighth grade, the National Education Association and the American Legion created American Education Week to rally support for quality public education.

The theme of this year’s celebration - Students Today, Leaders Tomorrow - reflects the fact that today’s schools do more than teach the basic skills. They nurture and inspire children. They help shape young minds and equip children with a range of skills for leadership in the 21st century.

Visit your nearest public school during American Education Week and see today’s education employees in action.

But remember that public education is a public enterprise. Parents, businesses, churches, civic groups, retirees - everyone can lend a hand. It doesn’t matter whether you have children of your own in school. Your time and talents are needed!

The week is also a perfect time to say thank you to the special teachers you remember from your own school days. Write a note, make a phone call or visit them and let them know they made a difference in your life. Lynn Jones, president Spokane Education Association

Veterans Day program exceptional

Some magic happened at Sandpoint High School on Veterans Day, thanks to the vision, coordination and quiet leadership of our assistant principal, Pat Valliant. Following a meticulous plan, he brought together a cadre of talented students and produced the most awesome program I’ve ever seen at our school in three decades of teaching.

When it was over, our veterans were proud, the participants were proud, our staff was proud and our student body was justifiably proud. Many a tear was shed in that room last Thursday morning as young and old sat together, remembering and learning about American ideals, respect and great sacrifice.

In addition to expressing my appreciation to our veterans, I’d like to publicly thank Pat Valliant for his efforts in providing such a wonderful program. I’m sure I join hundreds of other students and staff who will never forget Veterans Day 1999. Marianne Love Sandpoint

Thanks for special experiences

On Oct. 28, two F-15 pilots, Capt. Pete Fesler and Capt. Brett Blake, currently stationed at Mountain Home, Idaho, departed from their normal routine to fly into Fairchild Air Force Base to meet with 126 children from Holmes Elementary School.

The fifth-graders had been studying flight, so the pilots spoke with our students about the aerodynamics and the mechanics of flight. They spoke of the importance of teamwork by addressing the necessity of a well-maintained jet and the part air controllers and other ground crew play. All the while, they emphasized the role of education in the pursuit of this adventure.

The event would not have happened without the hard work of key people at Fairchild Air Force Base. Our entire day was planned and organized by Senior Airman Stacey Coville from Public Affairs. We were welcomed and assisted by the servicemen at the visitors center and escorted by public affairs personnel.

Kristen Kromer represented The Spokesman-Review for the entire experience. In a conversation before the field trip, Kromer spoke of her commitment to reporting positive things happening in our community. She fulfilled her commitment on that day.

We may never fully know the impact this day had on the students but we do know that each one of the children had an opportunity to observe hard-working and dedicated people performing very important duties.

We, at Holmes Elementary, publicly thank Fairchild AFB, Mountain Home AFB, The Spokesman-Review and all those involved in this exciting day. Lydia-Laquatra Fesler early childhood facilitator, Holmes Elementary School

WAR ON DRUGS

This war’s a problem, not a solution

As Gary Johnson, the Republican governor of New Mexico, has understood, our political leaders must realize that drugs and drug use are, for better or worse, a part of human culture.

Back in 1900, the government’s own reports show that drug use affected one in ever 200 Americans. Now, after nearly a century of nefarious and venal policies to control human behavior by means of a war, all that has been wrought is the waste of hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars, the destruction of millions of individuals and their families, and the creation of the largest socialistic prison industrial complex in the world. And now, the government, through all its bluster and spin, actually reports that drug use is affecting three out of every 200 Americans - a 300 percent increase.

Clearly, the drug war is itself a pandemic, lifethreatening problem. The political cures are causing far more harm than America’s consensual drug use could or would ever cause. Glenn H. Early Colville, Wash.