Letters

Positively close-knit

I was pleased to read your article about the prayer shawls being made all over the world. It is so nice to see the positive side of life.

There are prayer shawl groups here in this area. I belong to one at St. Mary’s Church in the Valley. We have been knitting and crocheting for about five years. We make them for hospice as well as for the sick and homebound in our area. There are about 20 women of all ages in our group.

Keep up the good work.

Naomi Robinson

Spokane Valley

Meet dental needs

Thank you for highlighting the enormous cost of treating dental problems at Spokane emergency rooms and urgent care clinics (March 7 editorial).

With innovative programs like Access to Baby and Child Dentistry, and great service providers like Community Health Association of Spokane, some kids are avoiding the brunt of this crisis. But not all.

A trip to the emergency room is the first dental visit for one out of four Washington children, according to the Pew study. Either their parents can’t afford dental care, or can’t find a dentist. Add to that the fact that most dentists don’t accept Medicaid, and you’ve got an access crisis that falls disproportionately on poor children and children of color.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

Mid-level dental providers are trained to focus on preventive and routine care. They can improve access to routine oral health care and prevent needless suffering. They work in partnership with dentists, extending their reach. Trained in one-half the time as dentists, in Alaska, for example, these providers are delivering affordable care to communities that have gone without it for far too long. Minnesota has also adopted this innovative approach. We should do the same.

Jon Gould

Children’s Alliance

Seattle

Wage law vital to moms

Mariah Cornwall on March 4 wrote, “The state of Washington has the highest minimum wage, so I think that these single moms should be competent in supporting themselves and their families without taking advantage of taxpayers who have provided for them.”

At the $9.04 per hour minimum wage, a mom would have to cobble together two or three jobs to work 40 hours a week. If she worked all 52 weeks, she would earn $18,803. That mom would be rewarded by living in substandard housing, driving a clunker, and needing food stamps. No medical or dental insurance. Child care?

Why would we begrudge this mom that wage and some extra help? I begrudge Home Depot’s chief executive officer, who was fired after less than a year yet given a $15 million going-away present. I am proud to live in a state that indexed the minimum wage to the cost of living.

Cornwall also states fathers should be accountable to support their children. Part of our taxes pay for state employees to track fathers to enforce child support.

I am far more concerned about the shriveling spirit of some Americans than the chance a single mom might get some help.

Larry Winters

Cheney