Letters To The Editor

Business and labor

Developer’s intentions not honorable

Re: “California developer woos Spirit Lake,” Dec. 12.

As summer residents of Spirit Lake for half a century, my family and I see John Sempre and his Laguna-like vision as the antithesis of all that makes the lake and town so special.

At just over four miles long and a mere 12 miles of shoreline, Spirit Lake will never be confused with Lake Couer d’Alene and Pend Orielle. Indeed, Spirit’s size and terrain preclude it from being suitable for the type of development Sempre proposes.

We’re also curious about city Administrator John Austin’s zealous embrace of the pharmaceutical magnate. Can a millionaire’s donation of one acre of land really cloud a person’s vision to this degree? Just how the addition of 400 lake shore homes and a marina will improve the lake’s water quality, as Austin suggests, is a spin we can’t wait to hear.

Austin portrays this project as one of and for the people. In reality, the golf course, marina, condos and ski course will cater exclusively to the privileged and offer residents of Spirit Lake no more than seasonal minimumwage jobs, not to mention taxing current property owners out of their homes.

Further, this brand of slash-and-build development will only pave the way for Wal-Mart types to squeeze the life out of longtime local retailers like Miller’s Food City and Old West Hardware.

Austin claims Sempre saw Spirit Lake and fell in love with it. What Sempre saw was a blueprint for an expensive playground and a fatter wallet. That isn’t love. That’s lust. John C. Witter Spokane

Outdoor recreation

Hikers should share, cooperate

Re: “Hikers should get half of gas tax pot” (Opinion, Nov. 27).

The 190 members of the Priest Lake Trails and Outdoor Recreation Association enjoy trails based on the following percentages: snowmobiling, 48; dirt bike, 41; ATV, 31; hiking, 27; mountain bike, 19; hunting, 19; cross-country ski, 7; horseback, 4; and four-wheeling, 3. Our association is diverse.

After several exploratory trails symposiums it was agreed that trail sharing problems can be solved with courtesy and education. There’s not enough space or money for all to have an exclusive area.

Because of the Endangered Species Act not all areas are open to mechanical travel, leaving hikers with substantially more miles of trails than others. Hikers use motor trails but if a trail is exclusively for hiking, others are left out. Where’s the fairness? With 20 percent of the gas tax already going to projects that exclude other groups, this is more than fair. The funds should go for trails that everyone can enjoy.

During the first eight months of our existence we have donated $13,000 to all types of trail maintenance in the Priest Lake area.

Historically, I see three groups doing the majority of trail maintenance: the Back Country Horsemen, motorized associations and now, multi-user groups like ours and the Blue Ribbon Coalition.

I see a small group of elitists who perceive that any other presence on “their”’ turf violates “their” space. The Spokesman Review seems to enjoy perpetuating this allmine mentality. Isn’t it about time cooperation became the standard? Mike Sudnikovich, director Priest Lake Trails and Outdoor Recreation Association, Nordman

Government and politics

Conservatives don’t trust the people

Though it pains me to realize that the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority kept Al Gore from becoming president, at least the justices’ naked power play will prove to my conservative acquaintances that what I have been saying all along is true: Freedom is in danger from conservatives and not from liberals.

We liberals knew we were fighting arbitrary power in the 1960s and we are still fighting it today. I thank the justices for again proving the truth of liberal ideas.

Conservatives, justices or not, don’t trust the average American or they would trust the ballot above their authoritarian opinions. But they can’t help themselves because their misguided faith tells them that all of us peons are created evil and must be guided and ruled over by their betters. The justices’ naked grab for power proves again that conservatives are not fit for democracy.

Down with tyrants and long live liberty. George Thomas Spokane

Illiteracy a spoiler of elections

Adjectives we have heard in relation to the election fiasco in Florida include incompetent, infirm, incapable, inconsistent and ultimately illegitimate.

Add illiterate to that list.

A disturbing recent study showed that more than 50 percent of people over age 25 in Kentucky cannot read and write. If Florida comes close to that literacy rate, it is just as possible as machine problems that a significant number of voters were actually unable to read or follow written instructions. It seems very likely that those who worked hard to register new voters failed miserably in making sure they understand voting procedures.

Voter literacy is a major factor in our country’s success. If you can’t read you can’t be relied on to properly cast your vote in selecting our leaders. It may explain the relatively low rate of registered voters as well.

Before the next election we need to resolve this problem, along with uniform standards not subject to interpretation, revising laws to remove ambiguities and incontestable definitions of “is,” “shall” and “may” (although doing so may decimate the legal profession).

We must convince the illiterate that they are not too old to learn something vital to both their own and our national interest. William H. Allison Medical Lake

People in society

Give others benefit of the doubt

Recently, I was shopping with a friend and it felt like in every store we went into that all eyes were on us. It’s hard enough being 14, getting new freedoms and worrying about school work, sports, and occasionally, boys, but now I also have to worry about being accused.

In one of the stores we were looking at cosmetics when a lady walked up to us and said, in a smug tone, “You know that we try that on you for sanitary reasons.” We weren’t even touching them. You know if we were adults she would never have treated us rudely. I left that store feeling down on myself and pretty offended.

That’s not the only case where I’ve felt treated badly and many of my friends tell me similar stories.

I have never stolen anything. I am pretty shocked at how elders treat teenagers. I was always taught to respect my elders and I think that some adults should return the favor. Just because we’re teenagers, we automatically are the ones retail salespeople see as causing trouble.

I know not all adults see us as criminals and most parents teach their kids rules and boundaries. But hey - give us a chance. Not all of us are rebellious.

I believe in the Golden Rule, “Treat others as you want to be treated,” and I really hope that everybody in this community can start respecting others and treating one another as equals, having age not matter. Laura Anderson Spokane

Bad decisions create welfare moms

I hate to sound like Scrooge regarding The Spokesman-Review’s yearly giveaway but I feel compelled to respond to a statement made in the article, “Welfare moms feel pinch” (Dec. 12).

The Rev. Frank Bach, who is running the Christmas Bureau, was quoted as saying that welfare reform “has created a lot of women who have to go to work with small children.”

Welfare did not create this problem, irresponsible decisions did. Unless young women choose not to make babies until they are in a position to provide for them, they will continue to feel this pinch that unfortunately hurts the children most of all.

I commend Brandi Lauth and her efforts to make a better life for herself and her daughter. It is undoubtedly very difficult for her to manage school and a small child on such a limited budget. However, the payoff for her and her daughter will be great.

Perhaps, given enough time, welfare reform will accomplish what a perpetual handout cannot - people taking responsibility for themselves and their decisions. Diane Delanoy Cusick, Wash.

Only mistake was not shooting burglar

The Spokesman-Review sure got a lot of negative letters about the young man who confronted a burglar with a shotgun.

Anne Bordwell can’t believe it when parents believe it is OK to leave their children alone in the house with any gun. If she doesn’t trust her kids then she should try to keep dangerous tools away from them. But don’t try to tell other people how to raise their kids.

I was raised in southern Arizona. My dad started teaching me to handle guns when I was 8 years old. By the time I was 12, I was hunting by myself. I kept my guns and ammo in my room. I raised two boys. I started them handling guns at an early age and by the time they were 12, they were as safe with a gun as any adult - safer than most who had never had any training. They also kept their guns in their rooms.

What would have been the result if the boy had confronted the burglar without a gun? The burglar might have killed him with the crowbar. The boy could’ve left the house and gone to a neighbor but you can’t expect someone to run out of the house every time he hears a noise. Most kids would have investigated without a gun and could have been killed.

The only thing I could fault the boy for is not shooting the burglar. Burglars are not an endangered species and it wouldn’t hurt to kill off a few of them. John Lang Kingston, Idaho

Youth right, `whiners’ clueless

I missed the original story (Dec. 6) but read the letters from the four whiners in the Dec. 9 Roundtable.

Nick Burger has obviously been taught how to handle firearms. He has been hunting birds for four years and got his first deer this year - something the whiners are probably not capable of doing.

Our former police chief made the statement that “The law-abiding gun owner is law enforcement’s best ally.” Nick exemplifies this perfectly. He stopped a crime. This was common in early day America and we are the worse for the fact that now we have deteriorated to the point where so many don’t even understand it.

Nick Burger, I salute you! Dick Bond Spokane