Letters To The Editor

WASHINGTON MATTERS

Nothing pathetic about saving jobs

So Tim Eyman thinks that the lawsuit against Initiative 695 by the Seattle Transit Union is pathetic. May I ask what is so pathetic about people trying to save their jobs? What is so pathetic about trying to save the transit system that people who cannot afford a car or are physically incapable of driving depend on?

The passage of this initiative does not prove the “will of the people,” but the greed of the people. People who refused to accept the numerical facts and consequences but instead hid behind the excuse that they were just “threats” so they could save a few hundred dollars a year to “put back into the economy.” (Make that buy more stuff.)

How could someone who voted for I-695 not care about the hundreds of people who at this very moment are wondering about the status of their jobs and agonizing over how they will take care of their families when they are laid off?

I can only guess it’s because of their attitude of I’ve got mine, forget about you.

Now that’s pathetic. Margaret B. Kelley Spokane

Politicians need to tighten budgets

Politicians and the liberal media continue in their extortion game by threatening virtually every service that government provides while ignoring the hidden bloat of the bureaucracy. They are whining about a 2 percent cut in revenue while ignoring a surplus in excess of a billion dollars.

Saturday’s issue of the Seattle P.I. featured an article documenting how the state has hired 10,000 new workers in the last two years. This is an increase from 92,000 to 102,000 state employees - almost 11 percent. Fat with increased revenue from a variety of sources the state has been in a spending frenzy.

Unfortunately, government is like many people. They will spend as much or more money than they have and in this case it is our money they are spending with virtually no accountability.

Take a look at the Spokane Transit Center. Do we need fake cougars and fancy waterfalls to dispatch buses? Do we need brand new 50-passenger buses every couple of years when they follow each other around with one or two passengers on them? Minivans would be better suited to the passenger load.

I am not in favor of giving up a portion of our representative form of government with I-695, but our representatives were not doing their job and the system was not working. Taxes are a necessary evil in our society, but wasteful spending is not.

Hopefully, our politicians will see this as a wake-up call and run the state more efficiently on a slightly smaller budget. I doubt it. Mike Scalera Spokane

Riders footing bill ridiculous

I’ve seen some dumb suggestions in the newspaper, but the one from a couple who suggested making STA passengers pay the full cost of running buses was ridiculous. People who ride buses are often low-income already. There is no way they could do this.

Public transportation is provided as a way to wean the public from their increasingly harmful habit of constant driving. This is causing streets to be clogged with angry drivers who cause accidents and air which is unbelievably foul at times and contributes to a lower quality of life for all of us. Even though cars in the city must pass emissions standards, a huge portion of the cars on our streets come from outside the city, where there aren’t any emissions tests required. Plus, if every person who traveled anywhere in the city had to drive a car, traffic on all major streets would move at a rate of 5 miles per hour. Dorothy E. Carter Spokane

OVER THE LINE

Avista request comes at bad time

In the Oct. 29 Spokesman-Review was the headline, “Avista seeks an increase in gas and electricity rates.”

In the paper the next day, “Avista posts strong quarterly earnings.”

It doesn’t seem like a good time to ask for a raise, when lots of businesses, small and big alike, are just hanging on. Also, workers out of a job for different reasons cannot afford to pay any more.

I would hope the Utilities Commission would put this on hold and not let our bills notch up. Ron Sauvola Northport, Wash.

IN THE PAPER

Veterans Day coverage disappointing

As a Vietnam veteran, I must tell you how disappointed I was in your Veterans Day coverage. It is still a tiresome liberal cliche to pick a few individual veterans, especially Vietnam-era, whose lives are in bad shape, and present them as typical.

Nonsense. Of course some veterans were terribly wounded and crippled. They richly deserve our gratitude, affection and full support.

But truth is, the vast majority of Vietnam veterans live normal lives. Statistically, we are doing at least as well, and in many cases better than, our non-veteran contemporaries in the same age and socioeconomic groups. We are actually less likely to be victims of drug abuse, suicide, divorce or alcoholism. There is no statistical difference in death rates, heart attacks or other indicators of physical and mental health.

There is an excellent book, “Stolen Valor,” which details the facts cited above. Further, the author, B.G. Burkett, makes a strong case that the crazy Vietnam veteran image has been crafted over the years by a gullible press with a leftover, left-wing bias. Reporters eagerly buy in to atrocity stories and other nonsense, often from people who were not even Vietnam veterans, much less veterans of actual combat. Your own reporter seems to have been taken in by one fellow’s story of working with Special Forces and Force Recon Marines, reconnoitering beaches before and during amphibious assaults. If this wasn’t ridiculous enough on the surface, the fact is there weren’t any amphibious assaults under fire during the Vietnam War. R.C. Aldridge Calgary, Alberta

Clark’s claims inaccurate

I was discouraged and frustrated to read Doug Clark’s Nov. 21 column regarding the Wilton Apartments. Spokane Housing Ventures (SHV) board and staff were very saddened by the passing of Tony Whitehead. In spite of what Clark reported, tenant concerns over a strong odor were not reported to management until the morning Whitehead was discovered.

Clark’s claim that the Wilton is poorly managed is inaccurate and unfair. What he did not disclose in his column was information provided about the measures undertaken over the past six to 12 months at the Wilton to improve security and management, including work with the Police Department and businesses in the area to reduce the illegal activities on the street and increased security coverage by an outside security company.

Clark was also informed that SHV does employ staff whose job is to connect tenants with local human service agencies to increase tenant access to supportive services.

Providing housing to the homeless and disenfranchised of our community is not an easy or inexpensive task. Can we do better? I expect so. Are we derelict in our housing management? Not hardly!

It’s disheartening to me that Clark chose to present such an unbalanced and unfair perspective. I believe he has done a huge disservice to SHV and the efforts and accomplishments of management staff and the board of directors to provide safe, decent and affordable housing in our community. Jayne M. Auld director, Spokane Housing Ventures

Practice discretion in coverage

I’m writing to voice my concern over what I feel to be incredibly inappropriate coverage of the Valiree Jackson tragedy. While I appreciate the in-depth coverage of this deplorable, inconceivable crime, I am overburdened by the excessive revelations of nauseating, grim facts.

I neither want nor need to be told about the father’s pubic hairs being found in Valiree’s bed, about the blood on Valiree’s pillow nor about the father’s covering up blood from the smothering by covering his daughter’s head with plastic grocery bags and wrapping them with duct tape.

I appreciate good coverage of a story, but please use more discretion in the dissemination of the details of each case! Your coverage can be complete and your readers still well informed without divulging such heart-rending minutiae. A little more decorum would be greatly appreciated. Brent B. Harris Spokane

IN THE NEWS

We have an epidemic of killing

It seems we have a growing epidemic here in Spokane. Spouses killing their spouses and, worse yet, parents and/or relatives killing their children.

I wish I had a cure and a solution. All I can do is pray in silence and shed a tear in private. I guess God needs more angels. Tami N. Sorensen Spokane

Community must not ignore abuse

The death of Valiree Jackson should be a wake up call for the Spokane community. It is time to confront a dirty little secret - the sin of abuse - be that child abuse, spousal abuse, physical, emotional or verbal abuse or workplace violence. While social service agencies can offer counseling, safe shelter or legal intervention, that is meaningless without community involvement.

Abusive behavior of any kind should not be tolerated. However, first we must be willing to talk about abuse. We should talk about it in our schools, churches and places of employment so we can learn the early warning signs. Then, hopefully, this will not happen again. But if we ignore the sin of abuse, stick our collective heads in the sand and hope this tragedy goes away, then we are guilty of a greater sin - the sin of neglect. Angel Manuel Fitzpatrick Jr. Fairfield

Get involved to help children

This time of year, we should set aside some time to reflect. We should be thankful for our families, our children.

How a parent can hurt a child is unthinkable. These precious gifts from God should be cherished. Sure there are times that they are wild. Maybe they can break our hearts.

They learn by trial and error. We, as parents, have a responsibility to guide them. Don’t dump that responsibility on teachers, grandparents or friends. It is our responsibility to be there for them. They need love and patience. They will make mistakes, like we all do.

The recent murders of Spokane children is sickening. We need to take action. If you see something that isn’t right, don’t just sit there and do nothing, report it. Don’t assume that someone else will. Make it your responsibility. The abused children of Spokane need our help now. They can’t get help by themselves. They are frightened children that can’t possibly make such life-altering decisions that can ultimately end the abuse.

By getting involved, we might even prevent another Chris, Jessica or Valiree tragedy. I ask the citizens of this city, to stand up for that child they know is being abused. You will be their hero.

Our children are the future. Don’t they deserve a chance in life to be safe?

As we gather for Thanksgiving, say a prayer for the children. Then follow-up on that by being a hero for some child. Amy Warren Spokane

OTHER TOPICS

Tragedy involves waste of trees

I will never again recycle my newspapers. Not when Texas A&M University can take 75 truckloads of logs and pile them up to burn. For a bonfire? One cord of wood makes a huge bonfire! Why do they need hundreds of tons of logs stacked over 40 feet high?

It is a tragedy that students had to die, but they may not have died in vain. This may have opened the nation’s eyes to this blatant waste of logs and lumber and air pollution. That pile of logs contained enough lumber to build several homes, or to make millions of newspapers, etc. What they were planning was a complete forest fire. It was just to be burned in one place instead of in the forest. What were they thinking?

Do they know how long it took to grow those trees? Do they not know how much oxygen those trees supplied to the world?

The whole world is in an uproar over the burning of the rain forests of South America. How does this differ from that?

Such a complete waste of trees, students lives, time, energy, lumber, habitat for wildlife -the list just goes on and on. Harvey Martin Sagle, Idaho

Only God, Earth know the answer

What year is it?

A person should not be too concerned about the year 2000 except for the things that we have established through marketing and commerce and social conditioning.

There will be no mystical phenomena, religious upheavals or world catastrophes, other than those made by man. Several religious and spiritual leaders of some faiths will use this as a point to gain following and more money coming in.

God or the Earth are the only ones who know the age of this period; three or four thousand years ago, Babylonians said the new year began on March 25.

Christians use this year 2000 A.D. in relation to Jesus. But it has been shown that this could be as much as eight years off, as well as the birth date could be different from what we use (Dec. 25), Russian Orthodox (Jan. 6) and others in the past (April 21 or May 1).

Now what we say will be the year 2000, the Chinese say is the year 4698, the Jewish say is the year 5760 and Muslims say 1419.

Remember, only for the things we have made or do will there be any affect - such as, will we get the newspaper on time? Jim Meyer Spokane

Spay, neuter for pet’s sake

Thanks to you in the house across the street who left us to do your dirty work. You forgot your beautiful long-haired female kitty that we ultimately named Nellie.

It has taken us one year to get Nellie to trust us all the while avoiding our traps and delivering three litters of kittens. Our triumph came when she trusted us enough to crawl into our cat crate so we could take her to the spay and neuter clinic.

Our friend Nellie was euthanized humanely that day. We had every intention to bring her home to share our space again. However, she tested positive for leukemia, compromising her system as well as potentially spreading the disease around to other neighborhood cats - other cats that we may not know about until it’s too late. I felt like we betrayed her. We got her to trust us only to meet a certain death. Luckily this death was painless.

On a deeper level though I know it was the irresponsible owners who have betrayed her. In her own innocent way, Nellie left her mark in one year by adding to the cat overpopulation by at least 10 and spreading her infectious disease.

She also left a mark on this family’s heart.

Be a responsible pet owner. Spay, neuter, license and vaccinate. Monica Wafstet-Solin Spokane