Letters To The Editor

Spokane matters

`Spokane’s finest’ are just that

My husband and I have had the good fortune of attending the Spokane Police Academy this fall. We have learned much about the Spokane Police Department and how our officers are trained.

As a culminating experience, we were allowed the privilege of riding with officers while they performed their assigned rounds. As a result of this ride-along, we saw them in action. Spokane is fortunate to have such fine officers. They are well trained and take their responsibility to us, the citizens they protect, very seriously. It is apparent that they truly believe and live their value statement, “Service, Pride, Dedication.”

They are among the unsung heroes we often take for granted. We rebuke them when they do not do exactly what we want of them. Daily, these officers put their lives on the line for us. They often receive abuse, not appreciation, for those efforts.

They need our support and deserve our thanks. At this time of year we remember all the gifts God has bestowed on us. It is appropriate that Spokane’s finest be added to our Thanksgiving lists. It is also appropriate that we take the time to let them know we appreciate their efforts on our behalf. Thanks, Spokane police, you are the best! Joanne McCann Spokane

Election results `exciting’

On Nov. 2, we had the most profound and exciting election results Spokane has seen in decades. A change in our form of government is on its way, one that will give the voters a direct link to the City Council.

Again, we announced to the world that discrimination is not acceptable in Spokane. We told our elected city officials that we demand to be included on issues that affect our beautiful river, and we have new faces on our City Council that belong to progressive, independent, innovative and dedicated citizens.

It’s almost too exciting for words.

This city is a diamond in the rough. If we can face our failures and weaknesses with the strength and commitment to make the necessary changes, we can look forward to a city that may someday realize its full potential. We no longer need listen to those who minimize every problem we have, hide the truth from us or produce lame excuses for why we can’t change and be more successful, but instead we need to actively involve ourselves in the work needed to make this city a gemstone for the generations to come. The most valuable resource Spokane has is the people who live and work here. We have no limits.

In a self-governing nation, we are all part of our government. I pray we’ll all work together, to make government work for us and to build a city we can all be proud of. David Bray Spokane

Newspaper politically incorrect

With new faces in power, the city of Spokane has the potential to become a great city to live and work in again. There is only one major roadblock: The Spokesman-Review and in particular, Doug Clark. His opinion in the Nov. 4 paper makes this a second-rate newspaper at best. Loth A. Wallner Deer Park

The environment

Greed behind unsafe dump practices

This concerns documents showing transformer oil containing PCBs regulated by the Toxic Substances Control Act being discovered in Department of Ecology files by West Plains Neighborhood Association investigators. The investigators were trying to find out what was being put into the Graham Road landfill.

DOE’s own site inspector had annotated the documents to indicate this material was hazardous waste.

Further study of the TSCA revealed that any level of known transformer oil containing PCBs is federally regulated and must go to a hazardous waste landfill.

If a layman has no trouble understanding these regulations, why does a giant corporation? And how about the other illegal materials being buried at Graham Road? The dump’s own records show that acetone and butanone, both dangerous liquids, are showing up in their leachate collection system.

The Spokane County Health Department has full regulatory authority over the dump and as yet has issued no citations for any of this illegal dumping.

Meanwhile, the dump sits on top of the aquifer recharge that is the only source of drinking water for more than 700 families. Any leak at all has the potential for poisoning thousands of people. All this so builders and remodelers in this county can put a few more dollars in their pockets by having a cheaper place to dump their construction debris.

Will anyone believe it’s a coincidence that the largest political campaign donations to the Spokane County commissioners come from these very same builders?

Greed ain’t it great? Dan Kenreck Medical Lake

Support Murray’s sensible bill

In his guest column, Benton County’s Adam Fyall falsely accuses Sen. Patty Murray’s Hanford Reach Wild and Scenic bill of offering no local involvement in managing the Hanford Reach.

Murray’s bill, S715, specifically calls for the management plan to be written by a commission of stakeholders including local citizens, economic and recreation interests, local and tribal governments, as well as state and federal wildlife managers.

On the other hand, the counties’ and Rep. Doc Hastings’ plan for the Reach is overly weighted toward county control, minimizing input from local stakeholders, especially the tribes and federal wildlife experts.

The Hanford Reach deserves the best possible protection. It contains the last productive wild salmon habitat in the Columbia River system. Protection will not come from financially strapped county governments that have ulterior motives of exploitation and development in mind.

True protection of the last free-flowing section of the once-mighty Columbia River will only come with Wild and Scenic designation and day-to-day management by wildlife agencies that have the funding and experience to protect this incredible national legacy.

With the recent announcement by President Clinton to protect adjacent public lands as a national wildlife refuge, isn’t it about time county governments set aside their local control ideology and begin constructive and meaningful discussion about protecting the Hanford Reach - the jewel of the Columbia?

Please write and call your senators and your representative. Ask them to support the Hanford Reach Wild and Scenic bills (S715, HR1314). Guadalupe C. Flores Kennewick

Other topics

Ensure standards for X-ray operators

Nov. 8-12, Radiologic Technologists all over the United States celebrated National Radiologic Technology Week.

I am a registered radiologic technologist who works for a local hospital. My co-workers and I strive for quality in the exams we perform, so a physician can interpret them correctly. Unfortunately, there are many people in our profession who are neither licensed nor certified to perform medical imaging examinations and radiation therapy procedures.

Inadequately educated personnel working in an imaging field pose a health risk for patients. An improperly performed examination can lead to misdiagnosis and delay in treatment. American patients need legislation that requires radiologic professionals to meet basic educational and certification standards.

In 1981, Congress passed the Consumer-Patient Radiation Health and Safety Act to establish minimum standards for state licensure of personnel who perform diagnostic imaging and radiation therapy procedures. However, compliance with the act is voluntary and only 33 states have adopted those standards, so licensure laws vary from state to state. To protect American patients, we need uniform standards in every state.

I urge all readers to contact their senators and representatives and insist they strengthen the 1981 act. Only qualified personnel should be permitted to perform radiologic procedures. For more information, contact the American Society of Radiologic Technologists, 15000 Central Ave. SE, Albuquerque, NM 87123-3917. Molly Arnzen, R.T., R.D.M.S. Coeur d’Alene

Our thanks to Kjellstrand, Nappi

Photographer Torsten Kjellstrand and interactive editor Rebecca Nappi, on behalf of the Vietnamese Buddhist Community, I express our deep appreciation both for your interest in our Vietnam War experiences and for your thoughtful portrayal of one such experience. It is easier to move into the future when when we can all share the past and we believe your article has done much to help us, as well as the other Vietnam veterans you covered. Thank you, again, for your kind contribution to our collective cause. Toi T. Mulligan, vice-president Vietnamese Buddhist Community, Spokane