Letters To The Editor

Idaho viewpoints

Voters, it’s time for a change

A few months ago the county prosecutor switched parties, claiming that unless he became a Republican he could not get enough money from the county commissioners to do his job. Kootenai County Commssioner Ron Rankin has now made the same threat against the citizens with respect to the sheriff. He made it quite clear. Anyone other than the Republican candidate will have a tough time with the budget.

In both cases we are talking about commissioners playing fast and loose with public safety.

It seems county government is run as a slush fund for commissioners’ salaries and contracts to pass on to their political cronies. Even the Kootenai County Taxpayers Association has complained at length about irregularities in the planning and contract awarding process for jail construction. The association once was headed by Rankin and has provided political support and cover for him in the past. It no doubt would’ve mounted a major resistance effort if Democratic commissioners had voted themselves three raises in three years and used public funds to help their political supporters.

When county commissioners are willing to hold law enforcement and public safety hostage for their political gains, it’s time for a change. A good way to start would be with electing a new commissioner, Mike Stine, and a new sheriff, Ted Pulver. Jerry Shriner Coeur d’Alene

Let’s not go overboard

We frequently enjoy walking and running on the Tubbs Hill trails. We have read the Tubbs Hill management plan prepared by the Coeur d’Alene Parks Department and attended the Oct. 10 meeting put on by the consultant for the trail enhancement study funded by Hagadone Corp.

The Parks Department took responsible action in response to the presence of bark beetles in 1998 by treating the areas with pheromones in the spring of 1999. Cleaning up after the 1996 ice storm was done well. There has been an excellent effort to control underbrush with prescribed burns. Ongoing maintenance of the main trail is in place.

We see a need to curtail the numerous spur trails that contribute to erosion on the hill. Medical emergencies on the lower trail could be addressed by a wilderness rescue gurney . As for fire control, the upper road provides emergency access. Existing kiosks at the entrances are adequate for the two-mile trail.

These observations are addressed well in the city’s Tubbs Hill management 10-year plan. We see no need for extensive improvements suggested by the Hagadone study. The forest setting would be adversely affected by wider trails and increased traffic, which will only add to already heavy use. The financial burden could increase taxes.

Please contact Coeur d’Alene Parks Department in support of Tubbs Hill. Terri Porcarelli and Steve McCrea Coeur d’Alene

Show of ignorance pitiable

After reading the Oct. 23 commentary about the harassment of the gay couple in Pend Orielle County, I was saddened. Things worsened when I turned to the Huckleberries column to read that a local pizza parlor recanted on its donation to the Human Rights Club simply because the club had gay and lesbian members.

For those who enjoy basking in their own ignorance, I feel sorry for you! Prejudice in any form is ugly and nothing to be proud of. Ignorance leads to immature ways of thinking which, in turn, lead to violence.

Those men who were harassed wanted nothing more than to enjoy the beauty of our Inland Northwest and live in its tranquility. They didn’t flaunt their sexuality or carry a rainbow flag with them wherever they went, or anything else.

I only wish Huckleberries columnist D.F. Oliveria had mentioned the name of that pizza parlor whose owner chose to be selfish and homophobic, as well as ignorant. Then we would know who to boycott. Victoria N. LeRieoux Coeur d’Alene

Drug tests done for safety

It seems we should all be concerned with the safety of our fellow man and if we want a job that requires that, then we should not complain about having to take a drug test. In time of carelessness, an employer can’t afford to not have this done. It may seem an intrusion to one’s privacy but when it comes to safety, it’s important.

Even in a job not directly connected with safety, like being in political office, to be on drugs affects how you think. And there already seems to be little enough of that going on these days. If you don’t have all of your facilities about you, other people’s lives will be affected by your choices.

Most people should expect to be drug tested when applying for certain jobs. If that’s not to their liking, they should look for a job where it’s not a factor.

Drug testing should be done in a private manner - the results should be between you and your employer. Pat Magner Rathdrum

Spokane matters

We know Powers is a good man

We know John Powers. We know him to be bright, honest and hard-working, with a sincere desire to serve all the citizens of Spokane as our strong mayor. We know Powers is more interested in the issues city government must face than in character assassination.

We know Powers will work to bring together divergent interests, rather than perpetuating the divisiveness that exists within the current City Council.

As lifetime residents of Spokane, we are saddened to see special interest groups maliciously attempt to smear the reputation of a good and honorable man. It is critical to Spokane’s future to elect a strong, positive leader. Powers is our choice. Joe and Joan Gagliardi Spokane

Guilds’ School needs our help

“There’s something wrong with your baby” were the first words we heard after delivery of our son. We are not the first parents to hear those words and, unfortunately, we will not be the last.

Thankfully, the Spokane Guilds’ School and Neuromuscular Center was there for us. They evaluated our child, provided us with therapy and services as we faced challenges we were never prepared for.

Federal regulations could take away a school which serves bewildered parents and the most fragile of children from birth to three years. Officials at the Office of Special Education in Washington, D.C., are making decisions for us, by taking away funding from therapy centers that don’t provide services in what the agency deems natural and typical environments.

Please write to Mr. Irvin, Office of Special Education, U.S. Department of Education, Room 3090, 330 C St. SW, Washington, DC, 20202-2570 and tell him why this is wrong.

Contact the Spokane Guilds’ School for more information on its program and this issue. Tamara L. Henderson Spokane

Law and justice

Tucker made hard, correct decision

Prosecutor Steve Tucker’s decision to not seek the death penalty for Robert Yates was legally and morally sound. Such decisions should not be based on political expediency.

For Yates to receive the death penalty, a jury must find that an aggravating factor exists. Being a serial killer is not on the list of aggravating factors. Tucker would have been forced to convince a jury that Yates’ conduct satisfied some other factor. This is akin to driving a square peg into a round hole. This would have been a most difficult, if not impossible, task.

Tucker met with the victims’ families before making his decision. He explained that the plea bargain would solve six additional murders and Melody Murfin’s body would be returned to her family. The majority sought closure and wanted Yates to spend his life in prison.

The Yates case drew national attention. It would have been easier for Tucker (and probably better for his career) to have sought the death penalty, then wait to see if the court and a jury would buy his argument. If not, there is no downside in blaming the system. To roll the dice on the outcome of this legal issue would have guaranteed nothing but years of costly litigation.

Tucker made the tough call. He put politics aside and made the right decision for the victims’ families and this community. He is to be applauded for his courage in doing the right thing. Carl E. Hueber Spokane

Yates plea bargain is one bad deal

I disagree with Opinion editor John Webster’s editorial concerning Robert Yates, Jr. Washington has executed three murderers in the last 19 years: Westley Dodd in 1993, for killing three small boys; Charles Campbell in 1996, for killing two women and a young girl; and Jeremy Sagastegui in 1997, for killing two women and a small child. None of the prosecutors in those cases allowed the murderer to manipulate the system to save his life.

Plea bargains are good only if public safety is assured. Yates is a killing machine. How many other bodies are out there? Do you really believe he took a break between the 1975 murders in Walla Walls until he began his Spokane murder spree? Will the public be safe?

I prosecuted John Lamb twice in Walla Walla, where he was an inmate in the state penitentiary. A convicted murderer, Lamb first tried to escape by putting a knife to a man’s throat and stealing a vendor’s truck. He was convicted of attempting to escape. That crime got him placed in the IMU building, which houses death row inmates. Within six months he escaped from this “secure” building and was off prison grounds for nine hours. He told authorities he “thought” of killing again.

A Spokane County jury should have been allowed to decide if Yates should die, not Yates himself. Who dictated the terms of his plea bargain? Will the Spokane County prosecutor’s office ever ethically be able to seek the death penalty in any future case? Jim Reierson Spokane

There is no pleasing some people

I strongly suspect that those, other than the families and friends of the victims, who are most critical of the plea bargain with Robert Yates are also those who would whine, snivel and howl the most about the estimated 15-year, $15 million process involved in taking a death penalty sentence to its final conclusion. Gary Smith Spokane

Value forgiveness over vengeance

How very sad it is to see families in agony from the murders of their beloved family members, and yet craving in turn the killing of Robert Yates. Yates’ actions are fully reprehensible and we can all understand their frustration and intense anger, but the horror of the murders can only end when the families release the murderer’s power over them.

I hope all the family members of the victims will soon be able to let go of the desire for revenge, and achieve the most difficult but healing act: forgiveness. J. J. Volz Spokane

The judiciary

Chambers should be on high court

Tom Chambers is a candidate for the Washington Supreme Court. His experience and integrity alone qualify him for the position. More important is the common sense he can bring to our state’s highest court. Respected by judges, lawyers and litigants alike, his involvement in and out of the courtroom makes him uniquely qualified for the position.

In addition to being a former president of the Washington Bar Association, Washington Trial Lawyers Association, American Board of Trial Advocates and Damage Attorneys Roundtable, Chambers has been a United Way board member, received the Seattle Housing Authority’s Good Neighbor and Legal Secretaries Association’s Boss of the Year awards.

Any informed voter who would ask those associated with the legal and judicial system would learn that Chambers is not only the best qualified but has a reputation for fairness, scholarship and common sense.

I strongly urge voters to support this Eastern Washington native for justice of the Supreme Court. Michael J. Pontarolo Spokane

Sullivan will be a great justice

On Nov. 7, voters of Washington will select justices for the state Supreme Court. The court interprets and sometimes creates the laws by which we are all required to live. We need the best possible justices available.

Jeff Sullivan is the best we can get. He has argued complex cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. He has personally prosecuted dozens of difficult murder and sexual assault cases. As prosecuting attorney for over 25 years he has supervised the prosecution of thousands of felony cases and has personally prosecuted or has supervised hundreds of appeals to the state court of appeals and Supreme Court.

He is a strong defender of victims’ and minority rights.

Sullivan is a member of the Washington State Minority and Justice Commission, whose charge is to assure equal justice for all people without regard to racial or ethnic background.

Sullivan has the intelligence, the experience and the integrity to be a great Supreme Court justice. Helen Casper Spokane

Other topics

Shun huckleberries, for animals’ sake

If you have any respect for wild animals please don’t buy huckleberries or huckleberry products. The increased harvesting caused by a huge demand is starving our local deer, bear, squirrels and birds, which rely heavily on the high sugar content to help them store fat for the hard winter ahead.

Commercial pickers completely devastate huckleberry patches. Huckleberries are very delicate - so delicate, in fact, that with all our scientific knowledge we are unable to grow them domestically. Huckleberries only grow in the wild. Human greed is again causing suffering and starvation.

When the animals can’t get enough food in the wild they migrate to the valley and town looking for food. Then they are in trouble with the very humans who are depriving them of food! It’s a vicious circle which humans will eventually win. After all, when the huckleberries are gone we will just go to the store and buy something different. Sherron Mitchell and Cameron Peacock Missoula, Mont.

Kennwick Man must be Ainu

I totally agree with S.S. Howze that the Kennewick Man is Ainu and that the Ainu were here thousands of years ago.

Tomon pottery, the earliest pottery in Japan, produced by the Ainu, was found on the coast of Peru. There are, according to National Geographic, about 15 Caucasian skeletons that have been found that show Ainu traits. Ainu artistic styles are very similar to those of coastal Indians in both Washington state and Canada.

I also know that no one has ever found any ethnic group that is similar to American Indians in Asia, which tells me they were created here by intermarriage between Ainu and Asiatic people who came in later. It would certainly explain why they have two blood types, A and O. As such, the Kennewick man and other Ainu skeletons are their ancestors. Judith Jones Spokane

How could Gonzaga welcome Gore?

Your Oct. 20 article concerning Vice President Al Gore’s visit to Gonzaga University points out dramatically the dichotomy of philosophy espoused by Gonzaga University. A few short months ago, Planned Parenthood was prevented from holding a forum on Gonzaga’s campus because of its support of abortion as an option. It seems the same logic was not applied to hosting Gore’s visit.

Gore has made it abundantly clear he supports a woman’s Supreme Court-created right to the choice of abortion. In addition, he has clearly spoken in favor of RU-486 and has been clearly opposed to a ban on late third-trimester abortions.

While I support vigorously Gonzaga’s stance in the first instance, I believe it inconsistent in the second. Perhaps Fr. Spitzer would care to clarify the nuances of this apparent diametric contradiction. Paul W. Becker, M.D. Spokane