Letters To The Editor
IN THE PAPER
Letter writer made huge assumption
In response to “Get beyond lifestyle shallowness” (Letters, March 28) I would like to say Jennifer Caesar Greenland made a huge assumption about something she knows very little about.
Hap and Cheryl Gotzian are the most wonderful, loving, caring people I know. This has been proven to me over the last 10 years, as I am Hap’s older sister who lived with them. I have muscular dystrophy and could not live alone so they built a house with room for me.
No one is saying Jackson is not a great dog. I just thank God that the Gotzians were wise enough too notice Jackson was not happy. They spent many months finding the perfect home for him. As you read, they chose wisely after much praying, and conversation with Marsha Morris. Think of all the people who dump their animals or take them to the pound. This was not even an option for them. Get off your high horse and read the whole article, not just the words you want to see. Jill R. Gotzian Spokane
Building’s past should say something
Unsafe or creepy?
I believe columnist Doug Clark should be a little more careful with his choice of words. March 21 “Is building unsafe or just creepy?”
Did he know that when bats were found in Gov. Gary Locke’s house, he was moved out and relocated into decent living quarters, yet 15 to 20 other human beings are supposed to work in this environment and just be happy, happy, happy?
The point is not what occupied the building in the past, but why is no one supposed to occupy it now. Is it because of the past? There is no occupancy permit for this building. What does this tell you? Trina Oestman Reardan
Hermione on one book cover
I noticed a slight mistake in Connie Dufner’s article about the Harry Potter books (IN Life, March 27). Dufner says that girls needed “equal times” and wonders “what Mattel would do with a Hermione doll.” She says that Hermione isn’t on any of the book covers.
I’m a personal fan of the Harry Potter books myself, and have read all three of them. The mistake I’d like to point out is that on the cover of “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkabon,” you can clearly see Hermione riding with Harry on a birdlike creature called a hippogriff. Vinh Tran, age 12 Spokane
OTHER TOPICS
Mayor brings growth to Chewelah
Thank you for the article on Chewelah and our mayor, Ron McCoy. He was elected because our residents wanted change. The citizens had become tired of the same small group of people controlling the local politics, newspaper and Chamber of Commerce. They knew our town was on the demise and were eagerly ready to move in a positive, new direction.
Mayor McCoy is doing an outstanding job. He encourages local citizens and business owners to meet with him, which I have done. He is an excellent communicator and strives to improve our town. Unfortunately, he is in a constant struggle with this unrepresentative “small group of people.” I commend and respect him for his strength and fortitude, and for following through on his commitment to this town - all for a whopping $6,700 salary.
If council members are unable to work with him, then I propose they step down, as they are interfering yet again with positive growth and change in this community. Chewelah is a very unique and beautiful small town. The vast majority of its residents are hard-working, honest, friendly, helpful and intelligent. Perhaps that is why they voted in McCoy as mayor. Michael H. Thain Chewelah, Wash.
Drawing on a lack of knowledge
Re: Milt Priggee’s March 19 cartoon. After having proudly graduated from the Insitute of Christian Service at Bob Jones University in 1977, I have firsthand knowledge as to who and what Bob Jones III is.
Priggee, on the other hand, displays such disregard for truth that I can only say that he has an opinion about people he’s never met and places he’s never been. Larry Locke Coeur d’Alene
Plenty of class from local talent
Re: “`Phantom’ adds touch of class” (Letters, March 31).
No class? Nancy Banister makes the comment that up until the “Phantom” production, the Inland Northwest hadn’t had any “classy, sophisticated” entertainment. She obviously has never been to a concert by the Spokane Symphony, Allegro, Zephyr or the Jazz Orchestra, among others.
If area residents want to experience a truly great, total work of art, they should see “Tosca” in two weeks. It won’t be as flashy and colorful, but the musical and dramatic content will beat “Phantom” hands down any time!
Making the statement that a showy, out-of-town production adds class to our great city is an insult to the hard work and talent of our local musicians and artists. I would hope more people would discover the excitement that our already classy cultural scene can provide. Luke Bakken bassoonist, Spokane Symphony, Spokane
ENVIRONMENT
Oliveria’s wolf comparisons wrong
In editorial opinions concerning reintroduction of grizzlies into the Selkirk-Bitterroot Wilderness, D.F. Oliveria’s arguments against it raise interesting issues.
He compares wolf reintroduction to the imagined consequences of reaching a projected population of 280 grizzlies. That’s an unlikely figure, considering that in our Selkirk mountains the remaining handful of grizzlies is being steadily reduced by illegal hunting. The wolf is described as a “killing machine.” Wolves and grizzlies, which once populated the entire West from Mexico to Canada in balance with all other wildlife, have been almost exterminated by humans. So who is the real killing machine?
The possibility of economic loss, including partial forest closures, seems to trouble Oliveria the most, but he mentions danger to people, too. An unmistakable parallel leaps to mind.
These arguments are identical to the old justifications for extensive deliberate killing of American Indians, for breaking treaty after treaty, and for eventually forcing Indians onto reservations in marginal wastelands. Just as Indians in the 1800s were regarded as an inconvenient impediment to westward expansion and commercial development, so today are some large native animal species whose survival requires a separate, largely undisturbed territory of their own. It’s typical short-sighted bottom-line thinking: If anything interferes with our present economic interest, we need to get rid of it.
The arguments Oliveria uses were dead wrong in the case of Indians in the past and they are dead wrong now in the case of grizzlies, wolves, lynx and caribou - all threatened and endangered because of economic greed. Joanne V. Hirabayashi Priest River, Idaho
PEOPLE AND SOCIETY
`Children cannot raise themselves’
The evening news delivered a startling statistic: five million children, age 6-17, fend for themselves after school. Years ago, studies also connected the time period between 3 and 7 p.m. with increased juvenile delinquency.
No matter how well-intentioned advocates for more gun control may be in the continuing debate about preventing children from killing, there is a constant theme that simply escapes the laws currently on the books and any additional laws. Many children have too much unregulated, unmonitored time alone.
Children cannot raise themselves. They need our help. It is difficult for a child to combine a gun with ammunition or surf the net for bomb recipes if a responsible parent or guardian is nearby. Parenting is the toughest job most of us were never trained to perform, but it is essential. Penelope B. Rundle Mead
Nothing can be done for canine friend
I have seen a lot of outrage in our paper over the shooting of a Bozeman dog as well as over the dog thrown onto the highway in a road rage event in California.
My brother was out in the woods building a tree stand with his buddy Bayley along for the exercise. A hunter walked up not 40 yards away and shot and killed her. My brother grabbed his things and chased the guy to his truck and down off the mountain. He then called the police with the information.
The wheels of justice grind slowly. Four months later, he was asked to identify the “suspect.” He failed, because in his surprise and terror he had only caught a glimpse of the man’s face. He did identify the vehicle and had the correct license plate, but we lose anyway. We know who this man is and where he lives, but nothing can be done.
Bayley was a beautiful 1-year-old shining white English Setter. Not much like a game animal. The wheels of justice for her came to a grinding halt.
Mister, we hope that someday a higher judge will avenge our friend. There wasn’t any justice here. Terry Lemke Spokane