Skeptical of service animals

I don’t want to stomp on the Americans with Disabilities Act, but when is enough enough?

I met a woman at a local grocery who had a very unruly dog on a leash. I said “Really? A dog in a grocery store?” She turned around and declared her pet a “service animal.” I asked what service this pet was trained to do, and she proceeded to get nasty and tell me it was none of my business.

My problem: Anyone with a dog can claim their pet is a service animal by simply saying it is so. According to the ADA, “A service animal is a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability.” People are within their rights to ask what work or task has the dog been trained to perform.

The Department of Justice’s ADA website has received complaints that people with impairments that wouldn’t qualify as disabilities are “claiming that their animals are legitimate service animals” to get the animals into hotels, restaurants and other public places.

It’s time people started asking questions when they see a dog in the grocery store or restaurant and stop being afraid of offending someone.

Yavett States

Airway Heights

Grant full citizenship

Recently, many of your readers had several letters published indicating their dismay and disapproval with the governor and state Legislature in proposing legislation that would grant marriage rights to homosexuals. Many of your readers also cite verses from the Bible commanding that homosexuals be put to death, Leviticus 20:13.

“We the people.” Brave words, aren’t they? They come from the preamble to our federal Constitution. But, at our nation’s inception those words applied only to white males. Women, blacks and Indians were largely excluded from the Constitution.

It would take a major Civil War and passage of the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments to the federal Constitution to eliminate slavery, and to state that all citizens were to be treated fairly, equitable and uniformly. Unfortunately, these laws would not be put into practice until the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, and would take over three generations before the vast majority of our people would accept equality for all of its citizens.

Homosexuals are citizens, many of whom fought bravely in our nation’s wars to protect and defend our freedoms. There is no reason to deny them full citizenship rights that all other citizens enjoy.

Mark Johnson

Nine Mile Falls

Can’t freeze change

As the author of the book, “The Way It Was and The Way It Is,” I’m familiar with the nostalgic U.S. Postal Service and the great service it has performed since Benjamin Franklin. We all know they are in trouble now with the advent of computer technology, even though a British consulting firm has just recognized the Postal Service as the world’s best, and this is true.

We once had home delivery of milk, and lo and behold it disappeared along with many other everyday necessities we all took for granted. Change is tough, but we must progress, and I want to put in my three cents on how to preserve the post office:

Run it like a business and do away with Saturday delivery. No business would allow these losses. They would begin by cutting Saturday delivery.

It would save millions in wages and truck expenses, and better scheduling could prevent overtime. There would be other savings.

I, myself, like Saturday delivery. I also liked the ice man, but I sure was pleased when Dad bought a newfangled refrigerator.

James A. Nelson

Spokane