Letters To The Editor

SPOKANE MATTERS

TV stations should offer it up

How can any local TV station devote hours, days and even weeks televising local and national sporting events and not give one evening a year to such an awesome spectacle as the Armed Forces Torchlight Parade? Not only is it the largest in the country, it honors the families and schools that compose a large part of the viewing area that supports the area economically. It also brings this beautiful Lilac Festival into thousands of homes of people who are not able to attend.

If it comes down to a matter of expense on the TV station’s part, perhaps they should look at the larger picture and how they could promote Spokane at its best. Darlene R. Wernz Fairfield

Mime class’ effort wonderful

Hats off to Professor Rick Horner and his Whitworth College Mime and Movement theater class! Thanks to Whitworth and its community service program, several members of On Stage!, a rehabilitation program for consumers of mental health services, recently performed with Horner’s students on the Whitworth campus.

This event was the result of several one-hour weekly rehearsals in which Whitworth and On Stage! students created mime skits on a circus theme. And what a show it was. Students from a musical dance class energized the evening with their exciting performance, which included an appearance by Horner. Mime students presented solo and duo acts and our musical theater company performed three skits with Whitworth students. Near the end of the program we had the opportunity to perform our signature song, “We’ve Come a Long Way, Baby.” As our cast took its bows, the theater filled with thunderous applause - a moment some very special people will not soon forget.

All of us associated with On Stage! extend our sincere appreciation to those who are helping us integrate college and university students into our program. And to our new friends, the students who are now a part of our extended theater family, thank you for sharing your time and talents with us. You are terrific! Donna Douglass, MA, MT-BC Institution for Mental Illness, Research and Training, WSU, Spokane

AIRWAY HEIGHTS

Fire department doing good job

I have been a resident of Airway Heights since the early 1950s. Over the years I have seen many changes in our city. I remember when we could not get fire insurance on our homes due to the lack of fire protection., Now we have a very efficient fire, police and paramedic service.

My brother, who spent his working years in the fire service in England, retired here in Airway Heights. He was astounded at the quick response and efficiency of our small town fire department.

My own family has reason to be thankful to the department: my son for the saving of his life and my granddaughter for the correct treatment of a neck injury.

To Toby Coombs and all our volunteers, thank you for a job well done! Rhoda E. Mintle Airway Heights

PEOPLE IN SOCIETY

Frank exhibit could work wonders

Michael Hoffman’s letter of May 16 is a good example of why the Anne Frank Exhibit is here in Spokane.

The major purpose of the exhibit is to educate people about the effects of hatred and discrimination, with particular focus on the experience of one young girl. The exhibit is subtitled, “A History for Today.”

In addition to illustrating Anne Frank’s story, it describes Hitler’s campaign against any group he deemed unworthy of being part of an Aryan “master race.” This included Gypsies, communists, homosexuals and those whose writings did not support the Nazi ideology.

The exhibit also challenges the visitor to apply the lessons of the Holocaust to our own time, citing more recent ethnic wars and offering messages from individuals who have to deal with discrimination in their own lives, in the United States and yes, even in Israel.

I suspect Hoffman’s letter is based on his prior biases and that he has not even visited the exhibit.

I encourage all readers to find time to attend and make their own educated assessment of the value of this experience. None of us is naive enough to think that one exhibit will eliminate all injustice in the world. But yes, Hoffman, a visit to the Anne Frank Exhibit could instill a desire to work for “Tikun Olam,” a key Jewish concept of “healing the world.” Mary M. Noble Spokane

Exhibit about time-proven wisdom

I am writing in reply to Michael A. Hoffman’s May 16 letter regarding the Anne Frank exhibit at Gonzaga University.

This powerful exhibit reminds us of the tragedy war has on the people in its path. It reminds us of the cruelty we humans can direct at one another and at the same time the tremendous strength of character we can muster to survive. It emphasizes the kindness and trust in a child’s heart and that any group can be targeted by rabid prejudice.

The Anne Frank exhibit focuses our awareness and reaffirms our commitment to the world community, the protection of everyone’s human rights and freedom from persecution.

While our own U.S. government continues to support violent and oppressive nations purely for economic gain, this exhibit clearly portrays the long-range ramifications of this irresponsible thinking. It reminds us that there are still those who will downplay and even challenge the horror of the Holocaust to advance their own corrosive agenda. Genevieve T. Campbell Sandpoint

Folks, improvement is up to us

Re: “The enemy is us” (Opinion, May 16).

I congratulate Opinion editor John Webster for writing the truth about our society and The Spokesman-Review for printing his editorial.

It is time for we the people to step to the plate and accept the fact that society is the problem and that change has to start. We the people are the ones to demand change in journalism, entertainment industry, drug users, politics, law enforcement and, most importantly, ourselves. Changes and improvements will not happen without a push. Societal changes take time; it is not an overnight change. The situation we are in today has evolved over the past 40 years.

The time has come to take Webster’s advice and crawl out of the gutter to a respected society on the sidewalk.

We the people must start to accept the responsibility for our actions and life. No longer can we point the finger at an organization, manufacturers, government or neighbor to be responsible for our lives or actions. Step up to the plate and demand change. Fred E. Reis Liberty Lake

OTHER TOPICS

Pet neglect in hot weather bad, too

Betsy Jordan of Deer Park wrote (Letters, May 13) because she was concerned about a dog that was chained up during the thunderstorm without shelter or water. She ended by saying she hoped Animal Control would remedy the situation.

I know just how she feels, as I have rescued many dogs in that horrible situation. I would like to say to her, please keep on top of this until it is resolved. Although it was bad enough during the storm, it’s twice as bad with the hot afternoon sun beating down on them, when they have no shelter or water. Wanda Constantine Spokane

Integrate tip in meal price

There is a simple solution to the tipping problem. Tips should become part of the total bill, a hidden cost paid by every patron. Most European restaurants have used this method for years, and it’s being adopted in this country.

The system eliminates two problems: the help is guaranteed the much-needed tip money and the house escapes the embarrassing question, “Why don’t you pay your people a living wage?”

I’m in charge of arranging a monthly breakfast for a large group. Our tips were not quite up to par, so we agreed to accept a $2 increase in the total price of the meal. Our group accepted this arrangement, and now the help is happy. Problem solved! Ross Woodard Spokane

Reach best off in federal hands

Re: Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt’s visit to the Hanford Reach and its possible designation as a national monument.

Besides being the last free-flowing portion of the Columbia River in the United States and home to the last healthy wild salmon population in the Northwest, this wildlife haven contains countless sacred and traditional Native American sites, the spectacular White Bluffs and rare plant and insect species recently discovered by science. Sounds like monument material to me.

Protecting this natural wonder as a monument is good for the economy and would leave intact a little island of diversity amidst a vast sea of irrigated monoculture crops.

Contrary to the baloney about local control that Sen. Slade Gorton and Rep. Doc Hastings continue to espouse, protection of the Reach is a local, regional and national priority. Through endless letters to the editor, polls and public hearings, the public and especially the locals, overwhelmingly favor federal protection of the Reach and its remarkable lands. Besides, local governments by themselves do not have the expertise or funds to administer the protection this national jewel deserves. Lupito Flores Spokane