Letters To The Editor

FROM LETTERS TO THE EDITOR (Saturday, September 18, 1999): Correction: Jack Jennings’ letter of Sept. 16 contained a typographical error. The affected sentence should have read: It’s a glitzy bauble designed by the rich for the rich.

SPOKANE MATTERS

We need to control billboards

I recently returned from a trip to the East Coast during which I had the opportunity to visit a number of cities of various sizes, many of which I had never seen. It quickly became evident that first impressions are memorable and that cities which present a poor initial impression do not invite further exploration.

A common factor among those presenting poorly was the presence of large billboards, often clustered together and frequently obscuring street, business, and attraction signs. It was really a breath of fresh air to drive into an area with an obvious plan for presenting itself well, in which the attractions of the area and signs which present necessary information predominate. This really hit home as I drove into Spokane, with its ever-increasing number of huge, screaming billboards.

What impression must this give to visitors? Does this invite people to explore further?

After this eye-opening experience, I’ll really think hard about patronizing businesses and supporting politicians who advertise on these contributors to this blight on our landscape.

County commissioners will be considering billboard control at the end of September. I hope local citizens bring this important issue to their attention. Dan C. Brown Spokane

Upscale wares not appropriate here

Last weekend, my wife and I got downtown to the new River Park Square to see what all the shouting is about. This was a real eye-opener for me and has helped put some things into perspective.

What is River Park Square? It’s a glizty bauble designed by the right for the rich. Oh, the peasants can go to the movies there for a few bucks. But that would be about it for most of the people I know. And this is the opening act in a newly rejuvenated downtown Spokane? I don’t think so.

Spokane is a low-wage town, for the most part. We have many working poor who can barely scrape through. The median salary in Spokane is about the same as the federal poverty level for a family of four. And from this largesse we’re expected to buy thousand-dollar suits? Pardon me but I’m sticking with garage sales. That’s where the true bargains are.

Of course, all of this is academic anyway. Experts tell us that in a few short years almost all shopping in this country will be done on the Internet. And most first-run movies will arrive on our home video screens via the Internet as well. When that time comes, and no one need go to River Park Square for anything, what will become then of this fancy ghost town with all the lovely escalators? Razed for another parking lot, perhaps, if there’s anything worthwhile downtown to drive to. Jack A. Jennings Spokane

Only the smoking was banned

The point that Scott and Lynn Messmer (Letters, Sept. 13) and others keep missing, is that exposure to the people they list, and what they are doing, will not affect anyone else’s health.

People were not, as individuals, being banned from the fair, just the act of smoking because that is hazardous to other people’s health. Irene Berg Hayden

SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION

We need equal funding of all schools

As a high school student in the old North Central building, I was aware of the difference between our school and more modern ones but attributed it to the fact that other neighborhoods had more money, so they had better schools. Today, as a teacher, I am uncertain why this still happens. My pay is the same as any other teacher in the state with the same experience and education - why isn’t funding the same?

Due to the population needs not fully funded by state or federal money, i.e. special education, chapter, LAP or 504, a school uses money that could go to equipment to hire more instructional assistants and/or teachers to address the basic educational needs of students. In other words, the state will fund up to a certain percentage of a school’s population with special education funding. If that school has a higher percentage of special education needs than funded by the state, the school and/or district must use its own money to meet those needs, leaving less money for the school site to use other ways.

I have seen this inequality issue come up in many districts in Washington state. I know the frustration I feel for my students who see, at a very young age, the inequalities of life in a very harsh, hurtful manner. I join my colleagues as we try to create that equal playing field by using other resources, such as experience, intelligence, creativity and wit! Gail Sutton Spokane

WILDLIFE

Undo harm done by hunting initiative

Will a child have to die? This is a very serious and thought-provoking question, and I am asking the voters to please answer, for you are the ones who voted to ban hound hunting for cougars in 1996.

You have the right to vote as you choose to. I have the right to challenge your decision-making ability and ask you some questions.

Do you have children who are afraid to play in their back yard?

Have you had to teach your children how to react if confronted with a cougar attack?

Did you do any research on this initiative before you voted or did you let the well-financed animal rights groups influence you with dramatized television ads?

Is a human life worth less than that of an animal?

Are you able to admit that a mistake was made?

West Side voters, please do not dictate to those of us who choose not to live in the big cities that we must live in fear in the country.

Before another child is injured or eventually killed, contact your congressman, senator and governor. I have written dozen of letters and made as many telephone calls, trying to get this error in judgment overturned. Michael Grace Newport

Restore hound hunting for cougars

The near-fatal cougar attack at Barstow, Calif., is appalling but predictable. The immediate reaction by a Washington state Department of Fish and Wildlife spokesperson to publicly suggest that children playing in the woods can mimic deer fawn or elk calf behavior, thus prompting an attack, is highly irresponsible.

The concept of human encroachment into cougar habitat is equally naive. Neither the Barstow attack nor last summer’s near-fatal mauling at a Metalline Falls campground, can be attributed to anything but an overpopulation of cougar in Washington.

It is apparent in southeast Washington, by the ongoing decimation of the Blue Mountain elk herd and now equally apparent by the escalation of our children being preyed upon in northeast Washington, that the cougar is being mismanaged. The mere fact it took hounds to capture the cougars puts the argument to rest.

Bring back hound hunting and manage the resource. To do anything less is turning a cold shoulder to a very real problem: too many cougars and no way to manage them.

How many more maulings, deaths of our children or depletion of our deer and elk herds must occur before the politicians concede? I know we have seen enough. Politicians and mismanagement continue to jeopardize or public safety and interest. Wake up, people! Thomas L. Hedequist Colbert

OTHER TOPICS

Alzheimer’s: Don’t rush to judgment

The Alzheimer’s Association wishes to express our deepest sympathies for the family and friends of Nancy Rockwell.

People want to understand why such a tragedy could happen, including the writer of a Sept. 8 letter. In the day-to-day reality of living with an Alzheimer’s patient, decisions such as driving are rarely so cut and dried. Alzheimer’s disease can progress very slowly. People with Alzheimer’s may continue mostly normal lives for years.

Everyone, especially families, want their loved one to be able to maintain the dignity of a normal lifestyle for as long as possible. People with Alzheimer’s often do not realize the extent to which they have lost their abilities and may see safety measures as meddling. In familiar surroundings of a family home and neighborhood, an Alzheimer’s patient can appear to be functioning at a deceptively high level. Anxiety or something unfamiliar can suddenly make the effects of Alzheimer’s much worse.

The Alzheimer’s Association is prepared to assist those struggling through such tough decisions and daily challenges. We offer information and support groups for family and care givers of people with Alzheimer’s or related disorders. If yours is one of the 36,000 estimated families dealing with Alzheimer’s in Eastern Washington or North Idaho or if you simply have a question, call us at (509) 483-8456 or (800) 256-6659. Joel Loiacono Executive director, Alzheimer’s Association Inland Northwest Chapter

Schlessinger too discriminating

I would like to ask Jean Stabben (Letters, Sep. 13) what she would think of a doctor who refuses to treat smokers or people who drink alcohol? Or a doctor who refuses to treat the obese, the elderly or the poor? What about a doctor whose willingness to accept a patient is based on race?

I read about Dr. Laura Schlessinger in Psychology Today, where she makes it a point of pride to literally turn away any prospective patient who doesn’t agree with her political position. Reminds me of the doctor described above - very selective about the people he treats.

Maybe Schlessinger has political views that speak for many. That doesn’t mean she is an exceptional person where her first priority, being a psychologist, is concerned. Joan E. Harman Coeur d’Alene