Letters To The Editor
Energy
Top execs worth rates in gold
It’s true that people who buy electricity in Spokane also pay for Kaiser’s power bill. The idea is to create employment in the Northwest. A small amount of each ratepayer’s bill goes to Kaiser and this enables Kaiser to retain the best executives in the aluminum industry.
As example, Kaiser’s chief executive, Ray Milchovich, is paid $35,000 every week, or $140,000 a month. Charles Hurwitz, who is Milchovich’s boss, was paid only $1,000,000 per month last year. That’s only $250,000 per week, not a great sum when one understands the cost of talent in industry. It becomes necessary to rely on both the taxpayer and those who pay their electric bills, to help with these unavoidable salary expenses.
Only the “little people” pay electric bills. This allows industry to grow and provide employment.
Letter writers have complained about 25 percent increases to heat homes. These power bill dodgers don’t understand the importance of providing competitive executive salaries. Spokane’s little people need to wake up and try adding a blanket. They need to understand there isn’t a thing they can do about this. Nothing. They would be wiser to just pay their little bills. The complainers are those using power to heat their homes. Hurwitz didn’t force you to turn the heat up.
Clearly, the little people in Spokane could put on a sweater, spend a little less on Christmas and be glad you have what you have. Jon Michael Yeager Deer Park
Time to make decision about energy
As an employee of Satsop power plant from 1982 to 1995 I attended many meetings regarding the future of our plant in particular and the electrical power industry in general. For various reasons, Satsop power plant was not completed and is now history. Though it was thought that the power from the plant would be too costly, at today’s prices it would be considered a bargain. Remember, the plant was shut down in 1995 and was built in anticipation of today’s energy needs.
Anyhow, back in the early 1990s the people who make the big bucks planning for our energy future decided not to do anything and let the brownouts and blackouts to begin in order to force the public to make the decisions on how to prepare for our future energy needs. So start deciding.
Burnt by public criticism and poor management the nuclear power industry in this country is just a shadow of its former self. Natural gas burning combustion turbines thought to be energy’s answer are doing as predicted, running up natural gas prices and contributing to global warming. They do it at 38 percent efficiency - far less than the home owner can get burning it in his furnace.
I don’t see any great solar or wind generating facilities being built, although it does get pretty windy at times around here.
Prepare for public meetings where the people who make the big bucks to make decisions ask us what to do to solve the energy crisis. Derek W. Knudsen Spokane
Law and justice
Marijuana prohibition backfires
Regarding the Dec. 20 editorial on methamphetamine production in Spokane, meth is the latest dangerous drug to make headlines across America but it won’t be the last. When it comes to protecting children from drugs, the drug war fails miserably.
The thriving black market is very much youth oriented.
Unlike legitimate businesses that sell liquor, illegal drug dealers working the black market do not ID for age but they do push profitable, addictive drugs like meth when given the chance.
Sensible regulation is desperately needed to undermine the black market and restrict access to illicit drugs. Marijuana is the most popular illicit drug. Compared to legal alcohol and tobacco, marijuana is relatively harmless. Yet marijuana prohibition is deadly. While there is nothing inherent in marijuana that compels users to try drugs like meth or heroin, its black market status puts users in contact with criminals who push them. Current drug policy is effectively a gateway policy.
As counterintuitive as it may seem, replacing marijuana prohibition with regulation would do a better job protecting children from drugs than the failed drug war. Robert Sharpe Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy Foundation, Washington, D.C.
Animals
Take time to train with pets
As a volunteer at the Spokane Humane Society I was concerned and upset to learn the majority of animals brought to the shelter were owner turn-ins. These animals had a home, but because of behavior problems were no longer wanted!
Most animals don’t come with built-in manners. They must be taught and shown how to act. Dogs will bark, chew, dig, pull on a leash, jump up on you and have housebreaking problems. All these problems are very fixable, given love, time and patience.
Before you give up on your pet, please take the time to ask for help. Books, videos, the Internet, dog training clubs and animal lovers can work with you and your pet to solve any problem.
A well-mannered pet is such a rewarding relationship. Given the chance, a dog or cat will steal your heart every time.
Please don’t forget to adopt your next pet at a shelter. Your next best friend is waiting to meet you! Carolyn S. Smelcer Spokane
Consider care when giving pets
I am concerned about the abuse and neglect of animals. One of my pet peeves is people who purchase pets for their children who are not ready to deal with the responsibility that comes with pet ownership.
When “101 Dalmatians” first came out, almost immediately parents went out and bought puppies for their children. Christmas is one example of when people buy little puppies or kittens and a month or two later they realize it’s too much to handle. And what about Easter? Adults think little ducklings, chicks and bunnies are the perfect gift. Most likely these little creatures end up in an animal shelter or die of neglect. Many parents don’t realize the work you have to put into caring for an animal until it’s too late.
Another example of animal neglect and abuse is failing to have your pet spayed or neutered. Owners who don’t spay or neuter their animals will most likely end up with unwanted puppies or kittens. These little guys usually end up in an animal shelter, and if they are not adopted they will be euthanized.
I volunteer at a local veterinary clinic and have assisted in numerous spay and neuter procedures. The cost is minimal when you consider the consequences.
I have also seen pet owners who have had their animals euthanized because they don’t want them anymore.
It is my wish that people who buy pets as gifts realize the cost, care and responsibility it takes to raise these little critters. Stacey M. Scheid Spokane
Other topics
Electricity shortages affect all of us
I find it a little disturbing that your front-page article on the dams (“Tribes unhappy with salmon plan,” Dec. 22) made no mention of the benefits of the hydropower it produces. Electricity shortages are a reality of the new millennium. It is yet another lopsided report on a Northwest issue that affects us all - industry, electricity consumers, loggers, farmers and more - not just the tribes. Wylie Gustafson Dusty, Wash.
Message on priorities clear
Re: “Police priorities need explaining” Letters, Dec. 24.
Carol M. Schmedding expressed confusion over a seeming lack of proper priorities as demonstrated by Spokane police who responded quickly to a complaint of snow being blown into the neighbor’s yard, but taking their time answering complaints of gang activity in the same neighborhood.
I would like to say a word on behalf of our men and women in blue. In an era where we are well justified in complaining about the way government spends our tax dollars, we should compliment the Police Department for getting the most out of our tax dollars by responding more quickly to those calls that they are more qualified to handle. And I think it sends a very strong message to our community. People are not going to get away with throwing snow into other people’s yards. I know I will sleep better. It means something when you see a patrol car drive by with the lettering: “Serve, Protect, Defend.” Elmer C. Jorgensen Cheney
Honing closer to faith important
The Pope, American bishops and Cardinal Newman Society are calling on Catholic colleges to strengthen their identity through faithful teaching and moral expectations. It’s about time!
Catholic universities should teach the truth about Jesus Christ, the church he founded and the moral expectations that lead us to full maturity as children of God. This instruction must wed faith and reason into an academic program that includes disciplines such as science, mathematics, philosophy, literature, history, economics and law.
We’re amazed that this provokes such fear, hostility and intolerance from some professors, e.g., Gonzaga University Professor John Downey, who purports to speak for all mainstream Catholics. As Catholic Gonzaga alumni, we believe the debate of ideas is enhanced, not limited, when points of views are in sharp focus. Suggested guidelines don’t limit academic freedom. In fact, they increase it by ensuring that students can actually find higher education that is different from secular, relativistic universities (including many so-called Catholic universities).
True Jesuit education is about a way of life which integrates the intellect, spirit, heart and body out of love for God and neighbor. If a majority of Catholic university faculty modeled this instead of waging open and stealth warfare on Church teaching, students just might catch the fire, light and freedom of a faith working in love. And they just might get parents and benefactors willing to pay out big bucks for such a unique education. John A. and Cindy J. Omlin Mead