Be civic-minded with vote

If the local school levies don’t pass, think about the impact on the current students that are in our public school system. Let’s imagine these students as adults about 15 to 20 years from now. Without proper school funding, some of these adults will have been high school dropouts and could end up in the jail system or on the streets, where we will ultimately pay more for their incarceration and rehabilitation than what we will pay for this levy.

Do we really want to defund the schools and enfeeble this new generation of citizens from the get-go?

Right now, Spokane seems like the perfect place to raise a family, transplant or start a business; it is a perfect place to call home. We have that now, so why would we destroy our community by crippling our schools?

You can’t expect to block funding for the school levy and not have it hurt Spokane. Let’s be civic-minded and vote for the school levy, vote for the next generation of Spokane.

Joan Conger and Jesse Starnes

Spokane

Can’t support levy this time

Spokane Public Schools asks voters to say “yes for kids.” I have voted yes to preserve library assistants who helped students and watched that position virtually disappear. I have voted yes to preserve school librarians and watched the number of librarians reduced and my school library closed to students two days a week.

District administration says it has reduced the central office budget. True, but they did it by relying on teachers, building budgets and parent organizations to fill the gap.

During this economic downturn, teachers’ income has fallen. However, district administration negotiated a sizable pay increase for building principals and then received a healthy pay increase for themselves under the guise of needing to be paid more than those they supervise.

The state reimburses districts an average of $56,000 per administrator, but district administrators receive considerably more. The additional pay comes out of the levy money intended for our kids.

The governor of Washington receives $166,891 per year. The state superintendent of public instruction receives $121,618. Our district superintendent’s total annual salary is $222,576.

With 63 district administrators receiving over $100,000 per year and students continually impacted by budget cuts, I cannot continue to support the levy.

Oweta Floyd

Spokane

Yellow fliers raise ire

Thanks to Shawn Vestal for reminding us of the very lean years for schools. I hope everyone was as furious as I was to receive the yellow flier with all its distortions and lies. I was tempted to find the address and see what those people look like.

Elouise Engle

Spokane

Pay it forward

To those who left their page-long anti-school diatribe on my windshield one cold evening this week:

I did not enjoy getting out in the bitter wind to retrieve their paper after a long walk to get to my car. I’d rather you’d knock on the door and tell me to my face why you don’t want to help kids get a decent education. Then I could explain why I will be voting for the levies.

Years ago, people in Eastern Montana paid taxes for my education; I cannot repay them, but I can pay it forward. I will vote for the levies.

We can quibble about whether all education dollars are spent wisely, but we cannot hope to have a good education system without spending money. And a city without a good education system is a lesser city.

I hope that all the levies pass.

Hope Roszell

Spokane

It’s too much money

The Spokane School District says its levy is not a new tax, but how can they say that when this tax will cost me $4.94 per $1,000 of what my house is worth? On a $120,000 home, it would save me about $50 on my house payment each month if this levy doesn’t pass.

Teachers continually complain that the parents are not involved with the schools. Could it be that the school district is asking for too much money, and parents have to work two jobs just to pay this levy? Next time someone has a hard time making their house payment, or a kid goes to bed hungry, we will know why: Spokane school district!

Jeremy Dean

Spokane

It’s just a movie

Poor Gary Wiles, the wildlife biologist who is dismayed by the movie “The Grey.” Please be heartened by the fact that we humans as a whole know the difference between a (let me quote here) “Wildlife horror flick” and real life. I am not going to run around shooting wolves after watching this movie any more than I would hack to death every crow after seeing the movie “The Birds.”

Nor did I take pot shots at garden snakes after the movie “Anaconda” came out. Don’t get me started on “Jaws!”

By the way, we do have a few wolves up in the Danville area; even had those caught on film via motion camera. Relax and pass the popcorn!

Julie Witte

Republic, Wash.

Snow berms illogical

Downtown snow berms defy logic. Snow is plowed from streets for safety and to reduce traffic delays due to accidents and vehicles stuck in snow. It’s challenging removing snow in downtown; however, the snow berms are contrary to the reason for plowing.

On multiple-lane streets we lose one lane, increasing congestion. Access to driveways is cut off. Berms impede visibility and drivers have to make unsafe lane changes in intersections. Drivers caught on the wrong side of the berm have to travel farther to get to their destination. Then, the mind-boggling spreading of snow berms across already cleared lanes so the traffic can “melt” the remaining snow. This creates a hazard again and makes it difficult to drive.

Many times the remaining berm is still too deep to safely drive on. It’s counterintuitive to plow streets clear, then spread snow back over them. Yes, it is expensive to have the berms cleared as they are created, but this has to be a priority for safety of the motoring public and pedestrians, helping businesses by not creating roadblocks, and enhancing access for emergency vehicles. Common sense says the snow berm system we have today is ridiculous.

Chris Powell

Spokane

Snow buildup violates law

It’s a federal, state and city law. Sidewalks must be cleared of snow to allow pedestrians to safely walk. According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, sidewalks must be ADA accessible and clear of snow.

Washington state law requires property owners to remove snow from sidewalks in a timely manner. Spokane City Code mandates owners to clear snow in front of their property within 24 hours of a snowstorm. With multiple levels of law mandating snow removal from sidewalks, why is it that a man in a wheelchair or a mother pushing a stroller is forced to walk in the street?

The simple reason is because these rules, although they exist, are not enforced. Yes, clearing sidewalks is the responsibility of Spokane citizens, yet on the same hand laws are only effective when they are enforced, and that responsibility falls to the city.

Do a mother and child need to be killed after being forced to walk in the street because the sidewalk is piled 3 feet high with snow from the plowed roads, for the city to take action? Snow removal should not only be to the benefit to motorists but also to pedestrians.

Danielle Taylor

Spokane

Can’t afford wars

I hope everyone read Trudy Rubin’s Jan. 25 column “GOP must elevate debate.” In it she states that the current Republican candidates’ positions on foreign policy are so incoherent that “they make George W. Bush look like a savant.” Rubin consistently avoids political partisanship, making this remarkable statement all the more powerful.

What Rubin understands is that avenues besides ground wars are available and more productive in seeking what we want in the world. The apparent lack of understanding of the subtleties and interrelatedness of regional politics on the part of these candidates should be both frightening and unacceptable to voters.

I believe the primary reason for our towering deficit is that we’ve been all too willing to wage war. War is far more expensive than its alternatives. And it’s rarely an absolute necessity. Tough talk can feel good, but the continuous waging of war is killing us, financially, morally and spiritually.

If you’re an independent voter, I hope you think twice before voting for a candidate who speaks recklessly about war. America, and the world, cannot afford endless wars. What a candidate says is important. It’s up to us to demand diplomacy, cultural understanding and alternative solutions from our leaders.

Andy James

Colville

Zehm wasn’t in a parade

When is a baton not a baton?

A baton is a baton when it is a short pointer in the hand of a band director or classical music conductor at a concert. A baton is a baton when a drum major uses it to keep time for the band, or if a majorette twirls it.

A baton is a club when it is in the hands of a law enforcement person. Or it’s a billy club, or billy stick. Or it’s a truncheon or a night stick about 2 feet long. How and when did these clubs come to be called batons? Looks like a euphemism. Are we self-conscious?

What kind did Officer Karl Thompson Jr. use? There are many kinds that are available to the Spokane police. A side-angle baton is a slightly more defensive weapon. As a walking arsenal with a gun, mace, pepper spray and a Taser, why do they need a club to beat on people when other, less-lethal defensive measures are available? But if they do, be honest with us and call a club a club. Calling a club a baton is just plain silly!

Bart Haggin

Spokane

Gingrich was asking for it

Any person or group of people (political parties) that chooses to promote an image of higher moral integrity sets itself up for scrutiny on moral issues.

John King was right to question Newt Gingrich about his marriage history. If one appears ambivalent on social/moral issues, the questions would have been out of line, but Gingrich’s holier-than-thou (non-Republicans) image makes the query entirely appropriate.

After all, he pledged faithfulness to his current spouse as he also pledged to stop the rights of other Americans in same-sex marriages. He, as well as other GOP candidates, needs to pacify the evangelicals in the party. He exhibits his self-righteous bluster at the question. Republicans adore displays of self-righteous indignation.

Personally, I don’t care what sexual proclivities a candidate has as long as he/she governs effectively.

As speaker of the House, Gingrich pursued President Bill Clinton with a vengeance on moral grounds.

He needs the media as he bashes it. I’d love to see major news networks ignore him. Even in a party of hypocrites, Gingrich stands out.

Donald W. Daw

Chattaroy