Letters To The Editor

Sat., Sept. 25, 1999

HEALTH AND SAFETY

Periodically retest all drivers

Re: “Driving tests must be given to elderly” (Our View, Sept. 20).

Fred King is correct, driving is a privilege, not a right. And with most privileges comes responsibility. In the case of driving, to know, obey and operate a vehicle safely.

But where I differ from King is that I believe all drivers need to have mandatory periodic written and driving tests. We seem to think that since we passed that driving test 10, 20, 30 or more years ago, we know all we need to know about driving, period.

I’ve been driving for more than 27 years and consider myself a very safe driver. Yet I’m sure a review of the current driver education manual would be insightful. But until we are being retested with consequences of not receiving a license renewal, is there any incentive to go back and review?

We don’t need to single out teenagers or senior citizens. We all share the roads. Let’s all be held accountable and responsible to the same degree. Bob Fisher Spokane

Don’t just single out older people

Re: “Driving tests must be given to the elderly” (Opinion, Sept. 20).

This editorial by Fred King has some very good points. However, it also opens a can of worms.

The point was made that only teens have worse driving records. Because teens and the elderly are the worst drivers, let’s treat them equitably. Let’s assume both are legal drivers, with valid licenses and liability insurance.

If either a teen or an elderly driver has an accident, apply the law equally. If the teen was not at fault and doesn’t have to take extra driver’s education, neither should the elderly driver if he is not at fault.

If a teen or senior have a series of moving violations, also apply the law equally. However, as pointed out in the editorial, a teen will probably become a better driver while it is doubtful the senior will. This should be taken into consideration and perhaps the senior should be made to take additional tests.

I do not believe elderly drivers should be arbitrarily singled out for additional tests without just cause. Robert C. Sprint Spokane

Driver’s ability is what counts

Fred King’s editorial of Sept. 20, commenting of seniors losing driving privileges, raises some questions in the entire area of highway safety.

Inept older drivers should not be behind the wheel, any more than the businessman who’s just closed a deal with a three-martini lunch or the guy who’s just snorted three lines of cocaine. The same goes for the trucker who’s driven for the past 24 hours straight and whose eyes are open only because of the uppers he’s taken the past 12 hours or the harried mother with three kids fighting in the back seat. The list goes on.

What other drivers mistake for slow reflexes in the elderly might just be the wisdom of knowing that he who arrives at the next red light first wins only the greater possibility of running over a pedestrian at an intervening crosswalk or broadsiding some hotshot who just ran a red light.

Good ol’ dad needs to be tested, certainly, but not lose driving privileges because of some arrogant family member who, in most cases, doesn’t have a clue as to what good old dad needs. Ernie A. Atkinson Ione, Wash.

Hot line could prevent crimes

Let Washington take the lead in the country by offering an 800 number for residents to get help before they lose control and commit sensational crimes.

If an individual could get quick, major, confidential help when he feels he’s about to lose control - financial help or advice, food, psychiatric help, counseling or a support system individually styled to the particular needs of this distraught person - we could not only save his life but the lives of innocent people and prevent the spread of sensational crimes. Wayne G. Johnsen Spokane

WILDLIFE

Why encourage young to kill animals?

There exists uninformed humans who are too important and do not wish to concern themselves with the plight of God’s creatures in the wild or domestic. They are without compassion or knowledge and only care for their own selfish habitat, forgetting the animals have little habitat left.

One case in point: In Yakima, it seems, a black bear was treed, “making it an easier kill.” A grandfather went to West Valley High School, taking his grandson from school to the site of the treed bear. He wanted this kid to experience the thrill of a kill. It took two shots. The carcass was then taken to a meat packer for processing.

Schools are so full of guns and killing seems to be the current trend. It’s better to teach our children compassion for wild creatures and to share the planet. Mary E. Cosentini Spokane

SPOKANE MATTERS

It’s the smoking, not the smokers

I was visiting Spokane over the Labor Day weekend and happened to read the editorials regarding the Spokane Interstate Fair and its no-smoking policy. I only wish I’d been able to attend.

A number of writers stated that smokers weren’t welcome. Perhaps that should have read smoking wasn’t welcome - and the writers should have understood the difference.

One referenced special treatment for the handicapped and how it was unfair there couldn’t be a few smoking tents. Is she saying that smoking is a handicap?

Another mentioned that she has lung problems and is an ex-smoker, yet says smokers should be allowed. I wonder about her sense of smell. Cigarette smoke clings to everything it touches and lasts for hours. At least perfume and after shave won’t kill you.

Smoking is nothing to be proud of. It’s plainly and simply a drug addiction. Smokers who adamantly assert their right to smoke wherever they please are just addicts who cannot get by without their fix. Smoking isn’t like drinking or any other drug addiction; everyone in the general vicinity is subjected to the smoke and stench from the burning matter. Smokers poison not only themselves but everyone around them. If someone wants to poison themselves, that’s their prerogative. I just don’t want to have to share their addiction. Jonathan McRobert Portland

Parking hassles kept people away

I read the ept. 20 article regarding the decline in the Spokane Interstate Fair attendance compared to previous years. It was suggested in that article that the smoking ban contributed to the decline.

My wife and I attended the fair on Saturday. All of the entrance gates were closed and the traffic controllers were waving people on, saying the lots were full. While we were fighting the traffic to drive past the gates for another go around, we could not help but notice many empty parking slots in the parking area.

We have attended the fair in past years and do not recall ever being told the lots were full. There is constant flow of people in and out of the fairgrounds and establishing the fact that the lot is full would seem very transient, at best.

In addition, the traffic controllers were notably hostile to many drivers who were trying to enter the lots and apparently not accepting the statement the lots were full.

I suggest the primary reason for the decline in fair attendance was the difficulty in locating a parking spot. I understand the necessity of traffic control but encourage the planners to keep the lots open and let the attendees take their own chances in locating a parking spot. Dennis Anderson Spokane

Solitary shopping is not for me

I read with interest Jack Jennings’ letter about his trip to see the new River Park Square. Obviously, he was not impressed and feels that ours is too poor a town to afford the stores there.

Our median salary is not the same as the poverty level that he quotes, although I agree it is lower than in most places. What I question is his statement that it has been predicted that all of us will shop on the Internet and there will be no need for stores. That is, if the poor of this town can afford a computer and the monthly cost of the Internet.

He also states that we will not have to go to movies, since they will also arrive by the Internet. What a boring society that would be, where we never leave the house to actually see people face to face. Part of shopping is getting out of the house, especially in the winter, i.e., the Edmonton Mall and Mall Of America, where people go to be entertained and shop.

I work out of my house and spend a good deal of time on the computer. I look forward to seeing people in person, as opposed to on the phone. We have enough self-centered people in this world who keep to themselves and could care less about society. The kind of world he describes is not for me.

What’s next, phony cheer tapes at football games to replace the real fans? John Beaton Spokane

FIREARMS

Goal is denying religion and guns

One if by land, two if by sea, three if by tyranny. Is it about time for Paul Revere to take another ride?

President Clinton is releasing known terrorists yet continues, along with the media, to attack and demonize anyone who thinks the Second Amendment is for anything but duck hunting.

Consider, if the recent shooting in Fort Worth had been in a gay bar instead of a church full of Christians, the cries of anguish from the administration and left wing media would be to pass yet another hate crime anti-terrorism bill. Not so, of course, with Christians. And it will not be, since this unrighteous government saw fit to remove God and the Ten Commandments from the public schools. Rather, we shall go after the guns again.

Understand a large share of this terrorist problem can be laid at the feet of President Carter. He released several FALN terrorists during his reign and also granted amnesty for the Vietnam draft dodgers without whom William Jefferson Clinton could never have become president.

Roy Jones said recently that without Waco, Oklahoma would never have been. That statement has deep roots in the left wing philosophy - that no one is responsible for their own actions, which must be blamed on someone or something else.

Please take notice of the common denominator of government terrorism at Waco and Ruby Ridge: religion and guns! Gary Tucker Oldtown, Idaho

PEOPLE IN SOCIETY

Writer’s selfishness made clear

Congratulations to Jenny Seib for sending her 1- and 4-year-olds off to day care so she can “keep a part of her soul in reserve” by working full time (Roundtable, Sept. 19). Best wishes to her children, whose daily routine, attachment and bonding experiences with her have been replaced by that tidy second income she doesn’t really need.

What was the final vote tally at your family meeting when you, your husband and toddlers decided you deserved to pursue other pleasurable aspects of your life? My guess is that your children weren’t given a vote. I’ve never read such a self-centered essay in my life. Everything about it was “me,” not “we.”

Parenting small children, with the opportunity to stay home full time, is a gift. Parenting small children and having to work because of financial necessity is entirely a different matter. You tried to justify your desire to work, not a need to work, and I don’t buy it. Any paycheck you bring home for the sake of materialism saddens me as I think of your young children who need you, not money and the things it can buy them.

My heart goes out to families that need two incomes. But I get “fist-clenching, teeth-gritting furious” when women who are gifted with the opportunity to stay home put their pleasures above the needs of their children. With your need to “go for the dreams and goals you’ve set for yourself,” why don’t you ask your new day care provider if your kids can stay on the weekends, too? Loreen McFaul Spokane

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