Letters for Dec. 22, 2022

My colleague, Doug Brant

Currently, I am the Washington State Nurses Association president. My job is to advocate for and support registered nurses in this state. One of those nurses was Doug Brant. It took the wind out of me when I heard the tragic news of his killing. As a nurse, this is something I just could not fathom would happen to a colleague.

You see, I worked for 18 years for the same agency here in Spokane, Providence Visiting Nurses Association. It was one of my most favorite positions in my career. I met many talented and caring nurses and other health care providers. I enjoyed doing wound care, helping clients and families manage their medications, teaching them about signs and symptoms to manage their cardiac or other disease processes. We would administer care to make it possible for the person to continue to live at home. My most sacred client was one who was in the process of dying. It was an honor to help them and their family to make that walk. While reading and listening to other nurses, it sounded like Doug was a gifted soul. He was able to read situations and clients and know when compassion was needed.

It is a remarkable talent to be someone with Doug’s ability. We lost an incredible nurse. He was a nurse who would not back away from an emergency or need, but rather walk to it. Doug, I am so sorry we all lost you. You were a gift to us and your clients.

Lynnette Vehrs

Spokane

Terrorized by blaze

Let me explain what it is like to experience a neighborhood garage fire with sounds of gunfire, small bomb sounds and 50-foot flames. It’s terrorizing. My husband sat in his wheelchair to see the action. Neighbors ran toward it and came back rapidly to say “gunshots” were going off.

We live in a calm, mostly quiet senior area in Spokane when bomb sounds went off at the corner of A and Broad. Thinking of all the shootings recently in America, I was beyond frightened. My calls for my husband to go into the house were not answered. I hid in our basement. Five or more fire engines and police came in mere minutes. Family there was just pulling up to their driveway when the fire broke out. Beyond scared, I literally shook for hours.

What I need here is to not hear from the “haters” of complaints about not storing gun powder and possible gun storage to be in garages in the first place. Please, somebody make it a law. Homeowners insurance should be notified. Older folks like us don’t need heart attacks.

Connie Lee

Spokane

Support Gonzaga’s ROTC

The Dec. 13 letter to the editor about the Gonzaga ROTC color guard being unprofessional is completely disrespectful to the men and women of this program. These are young cadets gaining experience and learning everyday how to become an officer in the Army. They are doing their best as they volunteer their free time to serve in the color guard for these basketball games.

Also, speaking to the pride of the ROTC department, clearly this person doesn’t know the cadre and civilians of this wonderful program. To put the program on blast like this in a letter to the editor instead of contacting the program itself doesn’t show concern for the color guard. It exposes a superiority complex from this person. Thank you, Gonzaga ROTC, for your amazing leadership. Please continue to do great things!

Michele Rodriguez

Post Falls

Seeing a different side of Leach

I am a Washington State mom but not much of a sports enthusiast. I do follow local sports teams on TV news as well as a lifetime subscriber to Spokane daily newspapers since 1970.

I was not a fan of former WSU coach Mike Leach. I often described his visage as a perpetual puzzling scowl … as though he was experiencing a sudden off-putting nearby bad odor. I rarely saw him smile, even when he should have been pleased and celebrating a win.

I write to applaud the evenhanded and balanced commentary by Jacob Thorpe on the cover of the sports section on Dec. 14 (“Love him or hate him, nobody can deny Leach’s results”).

Thorpe helped me appreciate a more balanced view of coach Leach. Thanks to the insights expressed in this well-written piece, I can now embrace and reiterate a couple of the last lines of the column: “I still don’t know if I liked the man … May his memory be a blessing.”

Jere Mansfield

Spokane