Letters To The Editor

CONSUMER AFFAIRS

Take care hiring remodeling contractor

It’s that time of year again when people think about a remodeling or addition project on their house or lake place. Look out! If you’re a bargain hunter, you are extremely vulnerable to heartaches, headaches and bank account aches.

The “bargain” you seek would likely involve an unlicensed contractor. He’s the guy who will give you a better deal because he has no business overhead, pays no taxes and works out of the back of his pickup.

The problem, however, is that he’s also a deadbeat. If he gets hurt on the job, you’ll have to pay for his medical costs, loss of income, etc. In addition, there’s no guarantee on his workmanship or products. Chances are, you won’t even be able to find him after he screws up your project.

Deadbeat builders are plentiful in Spokane. They come and go. It’s really sad that people get sucked into having these guys take their money.

You should use only bona fide, registered (licensed and bonded) contractors with an established place of business and a solid reputation. You should ask them for references, i.e., names of people for whom they have done jobs comparable to what you want done. Then call and talk with those people to see if they were happy with the work, the price, etc. It’s only good business practice on your part to do so.

If you need names of good contractors, call the larger building material suppliers. Get several names, so you may obtain several estimates on your project. Dan Settle, executive secretary Eastern Washington Subcontractors & Suppliers Association, Spokane

WILDLIFE

Humans crowding into cougars’ space

I disagree with the bounty on cougars. This will cause a vacuum effect over time. The populations rebound so dramatically due to the number of prey increasing there ends up being more than before.

Human hunters will not compensate for the smaller, less desirable prey that the cougar keeps in check. It is natural for both predators and prey to have greater numbers. Using the unfair practice of hunting with hounds throws the balance off and gives predators a big disadvantage.

Even if the cougar population was steady, the huge increase in human population is pushing the “residents” out of their habitat. This is the main reason for the increasing encounters. There is not a huge increase in cat populations, just an increase in lost habitat.

Cougars are born with natural avoidance. They do not like to encounter other predators unless they absolutely have to. We do not have cougars lurking behind every bush waiting to get us. We are lurking behind every bush waiting to get them.

At least cougars hunt with a valid reason - strictly survival.

There are more humane ways of dealing with other creatures. Let’s think first, instead of killing everything.

We can and must live with nature. Our survival depends on it. Chris C. Lee Post Falls

Lack of cougar management costly

Indeed, we have chosen to live in a small community established well over 40 years that is surrounded by national forest. However, sharing our front yard with predators (e.g., cougars) is not acceptable.

We have had, and are still dealing with the effects of, a cougar attack that took place in our front yard. This cougar was one foot away from our front door. When discovered, she was not more than 35 feet away from our home, hiding behind a small snow bank.

This cougar attack took the lives of our 14-year-old dog and 12-year-old cat. Shouldn’t they be able to be in their own yard? Should our two children now have to fear being outside?

The insinuation that this attack was something we provoked because of living where we do is insulting. If we have to supervise our pooch while in our own yard to avoid a cougar attack, the issue is not where we live but that cougars are not being managed to ensure public safety.

Our loss from the cougar attack was significant. However, this attack could have involved one or both of our young children. Our son is 8, our daughter is 5.

We cannot express how horrifying it is to think that they could have been outside playing during this cougar attack.

Does the issue of the cougar not being managed correctly have to come to a child or an adult being killed before changes are made? Andrew and Claudia Anderson Metaline Falls/Sullivan Lake, Wash.

OTHER TOPICS

Featured pharmacist a gem

Your Monday Special regarding neighborhood pharmacies is good reporting and almost shows how there is a cure in sight. Rudy Anderson of the Altamont Pharmacy is the cure.

In the 15 years he has served us, he has never made an error in our medication. He will suggest a generic drug if one will do and he knows nearly every doctor in town, so he never hesitates to question a prescription while you are present.

He is equally pleasant with jokes for young and old, races and ethnic groups of all kinds, and those with paper work for remuneration. He knows your name and, if you told him, the members of your family. He likes to chat about his own kids. He manages to keep the same cheerful staff for years, so you are always welcome. If you came in feeling low, Anderson or they will have you leaving with a smile, for you have been with friends.

This is no pigeonhole among strangers. You can get penny candy, cosmetics, school supplies, food items and seasonal decorations. It’s also a post office. Best of all, you get full service with a smile - that loss which has cost so many other small businesses. It is worth driving to the South Hill on Perry for neighborhood friendliness and safety, with a church across the street. Dean and Kathleen Donaldson Spokane

Altamont pharmacist `one in a million’

Thank you for the great story on Rudy Anderson and Altamont Pharmacy! (Feb. 28). We have gone there for 15 years and if we moved to Montana, we would come to Rudy’s once a month, for not only pills but laughter. He also takes time to explain side affects, which sometimes our doctors are too busy to do.

We have seen people come in looking like death warmed over and leave with a smile and a spring to their step. It’s too bad there aren’t more people in this world who take time to care for others, as he does. He is one in a million. The women who work there are also very kind.

Last but not least, they have the best peanut brittle in town! Betty and Karl Von Heydrich Spokane

Keep those sirens - we’ll need them

So Spokane County is selling its Cold War sirens. Maybe these civil defense howling devices of doom should be left in place and checked every Wednesday, like in the past. Seems as good a way as any for us citizens downstream from the aquifer to be warned of the first major diesel spill at the proposed Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad refueling station at Rathdrum. Craig R. Bluher Spokane

This is not your father’s humaneness

Watching the Oldsmobile car commercial for the third time, I could visualize children all over American placing frogs on windows and watching them slide down. Apparently, marketing a trendy car is the priority, not modeling proper treatment of little living creatures. I would like to see them do both. Jeanette M. Packer Bonners Ferry, Idaho