Letters To The Editor

WASHINGTON STATE

Peck a friend of the disabled

Spokane Valley voters have a rare opportunity to elect a senator who truly cares about them. As a person of disability, I have attended many events during this campaign season and have met Jim Peck, candidate for Senate for the 4th District. He impressed me and many others during the disAbility Fest on Sept 30, the Access Spokane legislative reception Oct. 11 and other events. He was knowledgeable about issues affecting the disabled and skilled in addressing our concerns.

Peck was the only candidate who actually stayed throughout the entire day of disAbility Fest. He is a strong advocate for inclusion of persons with disabilities. He is gifted in his ability to feel comfortable with those with disabilities and seeks to work with the disabled community to achieve independent living to the fullest extent possible. He is not only an informative, inspirational speaker, he is a warm and gracious person.

Please vote for Peck on Nov 7. Michelle Heiss Spokane

I-713 backers distort the truth

Lisa Wathne, leader of the pro-Initiative 713 campaign, recently stated that they have pictures of two golden eagles that were injured in traps and turned over to the College of Veterinary Medicine at Washington State University for treatment. She also said that this is a common occurrence.

As the retired state program manager for furbearer management, with 30 years’ experience, I was curious, since this didn’t sound right. In checking with the School of Veterinary Medicine, I learned that WSU has treated only four birds for trap-related injuries out of literally thousands of birds treated in the last 10 years. This amounts to a common occurrence?

Also, the two golden eagle were from the Colville Indian Reservation, from traps set by Indians on carcasses. It has been illegal in Washington to set traps near or on exposed baits since 1973, although state law does not apply to tribal members. Why do Wathne and her followers continually misrepresent the facts in this campaign? Is it because their political agenda can’t compete with what happens in the real world? Mike Thorniley, Sr. Republic

Animal fur belongs on animals

I strongly disagree with the assertions made about Initiative 713 in your recent editorial. It’s the fur trappers, not initiative proponents, who suffer from a “myopic” view of wildlife management. Trappers view wild animals like bobcats, beavers, otters and raccoons as “resources” to be harvested (like wheat, apparently) and consider unused pelts from furbearing animals a “waste.”

This mentality is wrong. Bobcats, beavers and otters are living creatures that enhance Washington’s wilderness and ecosystems. Their fur pelts belong on their own bodies - not on fashion garments.

Trappers would like you to think wild animals need to be “managed” by trapping. This is outlandish. The state Department of Fish and Wildlife does not even have population estimates for any of the species trapped in the state, yet it still allows unlimited numbers of traps to be set and unlimited numbers of animals to be killed. Wildlife management? Hardly.

Are we foolish enough to believe that trappers actually care about wildlife? Vote yes on I-713. Rick H. Jones Spokane

We can do better than Benson

It’s hard to believe anyone who cares about public education would vote for Brad Benson after reading this quote in the Oct. 20 Spokesman-Review: “I think it’s (schools) a bunch of people robbing the taxpayers without getting anything in return.”

Benson is an unknown in this community, took his children out of public school, failed at a small business and blames government for everything.

Benson is a young man who needs some life experience instead of being charged with leading the 6th District.

Yes, we need to continue to work to improve public schools and prioritize spending, but to openly attack all teachers, most of whom are dedicated to their profession and to education for all children, is an insult to this community.

One candidate has proven leadership and experience for this position. He is a dedicated citizen with many years of working for this community and in the state. He has worked with Republicans and Democrats to improve the lives of all people.I urge your strong consideration of Bernie Nelson for state representative in the 6th District. Sheri Barnard Spokane

Statements about me misleading

Peggy Murphy (Letters, Oct. 19) is concerned that some of my campaign donations come from tobacco. My position on tobacco is the same today as when I entered the Legislature four years ago: tobacco is a poor choice for adults, but still a choice. I’ll do everything I can, however, to keep tobacco away from kids.

In fact, when I came to Olympia in 1997, we made it against the law for children to use or possess tobacco. I’ve asked the teachers’ union and school officials to help enforce the law around schools and been refused.

As far as privacy is concerned, I worked closely with our attorney general to build a bill. It’s true the attorney general’s proposal would have harmed Washington’s businesses - not just banks but everything from grocery stores to newspapers. The bill, however, wouldn’t help consumers. Government-owned personal information would still be widely available. The AG refused to have government live by the same standards she proposed for business.

Murphy says I work for a bank and line my own pockets when I vote pro-business. The fact is I left the bank when I first ran in 1996 and took a pay cut to come to the Legislature. Brad Benson 6th District state representative, Spokane

Locke did not fight federal agency

Shame on Opinion editor John Webster for superficial analysis of Washington’s gubernatorial race and endorsing Gov. Gary Locke. Webster failed to mention the biggest issue to Eastern Washington citizens: water.

We need water for farmers to raise food, for cities to grow, to produce cheap electricity for industry. Locke did not lift a finger when the National Marine Fisheries Service shut off water to the irrigation canals in the Methow, causing crops to wither and die. His administration supports the burdensome Growth Management Act but blocks requests to acquire water for the increased populations of cities and allows NMFS to halt road construction projects needed to ease the gridlock on our highways. Kaiser workers should be especially afraid of Locke. Four more years of his empty promises and inaction on water issues may well be the demise of the region’s aluminum industry. Without cheap electricity we may see a permanent Locke-out.’

We need a governor with the backbone to stand up to federal agencies and the leadership to control state agencies. John Carlson has proven his vision and leadership with spearheading three very popular state initiatives that Locke opposed. Let’s take back control of our state. Vote Carlson for governor. Robyn Meenach Valleyford, WA

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

Value environment? Vote accordingly

A poll taken of Idaho residents and published in the Sept. 17 Spokesman-Review reports we think that care of the environment is the most important issue facing Idaho today. Idaho residents rate the quality of life as excellent primarily because of our environment. Yet, Idaho’s current congressional contingent always get failing grades because of their lack of care for protecting what is wild and beautiful in this state.

Now comes Butch Otter, campaigning for District 1 representative. Otter believes in turning wetlands into backyard ponds because it suits him to do so. At the presidential level, Gov. George Bush’s commitment to protecting the environments is less than one-tenth what Vice President Al Gore will do. Bush has even vowed to undo the good done by this administration. His home state of Texas is one of the most polluted in the country and the air quality in Houston is the worst anywhere in the United States.

If Idaho voters care about the state’s quality of life, they must vote for candidates who will protect it. Janet Callen Coeur d’ Alene

Bush exploited Cole tragedy

Any hope Gov. George Bush may have had of getting this person’s vote was shattered when I read the Oct. 30 Navy Times. This weekly publications covers news and stories of interest to the Navy and Marine Corps active and retired community. In this issue it reprinted an excerpt from a Boston Globe article (Oct. 17) which lauded the sailors who gave their lives onboard the USS Cole and gave examples of how the two presidential contenders reacted to the tragedy.

Vice President Al Gore left the campaign trail to go to Washington, D.C., for the crisis. Bush accepted the endorsement of Arab-Americans in Michigan and talked about how dangerous it was to dependent on foreign oil.

To make political hay out of this tragedy is despicable and ensures that this retired sailor will vote for Gore. G. E. Beyer Sandpoint

Cooking the books not good enough

On Jan. 28, 1999, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, testifying before the Senate Budget Committee, stated that bookkeeping gimmicks that appear to solve Social Security financing are unacceptable (double counting). He said the only way to bail out the current Social Security system is to raise taxes or cut benefits.

Politicians are now promising prescription benefits to Medicare recipients. Thousands upon thousands of participants, baby boomers, will soon move from being contributors to the fund to becoming benefit recipients. Where is the funding for all of this to come from? Forrest M. Ault Colbert