Letters for June 15, 2023

Dark spot in the rainbow

Last weekend my husband and I attended the Pride parade, as we do most years. It is a wonderfully full experience of joy, exuberance, peace, love and affirmation. The colors say it all.

Except when they don’t.

Juxtaposed against the many beautiful hues was one dark spot, and I mean dark – the Spokane Police Department. What made them think that repeatedly riding en masse in single file along the parade route would engender calm or security? The dark uniforms, expressionless faces and lack of crowd engagement were more terrorizing than comforting. If they thought they’d bring a sense of safety to us, they didn’t. If, on the other hand, they thought they would provide engagement with the community, they sadly missed the mark.

I thought police on bicycles was a part of community policing, but there was no sense of community in what they did. Whoever advised them on this behavior, they were truly off target.

Edie Rice-Sauer

Spokane

Sprague Avenue beautification

We were driving into Spokane from the Valley on Sprague Avenue and reached what I think is now called the University District. There were hanging baskets of beautiful pink flowers and American flags displayed along this section. The new trees that were planted when this part of Sprague was remodeled have grown. Kudos to whomever was responsible for this area as it looked amazing!

Shirley Brown

Nine Mile Falls

SHS board member speaks out

I am saddened by the negative articles being generated by a group of Spokane Humane Society ex-volunteers. Their negative campaign only hurts the animals and SHS personnel who are deeply dedicated to the mission of saving and caring for animals. Several letters to the Spokesman-Review discussed repurposing the SHS Red Barn into “plush offices for executives.” First, a big thank you to Washington Trust Bank and the KXLY Extreme Team for the previous renovations of this barn. Those renovations provided the foundation for this current office renovation. Prior to the barn renovations, we received this statement from the bank: “… Washington Trust Bank confirms they are supportive of SHS evolving the use of the barn space in whatever ways it can best meet their current and future needs.”

The executive director and six other SHS management personnel are housed in a portable trailer, donated in 1996! The trailer has no running water or restroom facilities. Two offices (12-by-12 feet) are shared by two individuals in each, one being the executive director. The accommodations do not portray the exceptional level of dedication and animal care that these individuals exhibit daily.

The barn was being used for miscellaneous storage and animal training (about 8 hours per month). Any future animal training activities will take place in the renovated office trailer. The renovated barn is far from plush and included many cost-cutting measures like used office furniture and donated design/project management services. The remodeling of the barn is the first step in a larger vision of a more useful facility that will allow SHS to overcome many infrastructure pitfalls existing in our early 1970s shelter. Please thank SHS personnel for everything they do for this community and the animals in need.

Jeff Milligan

SHS board of directors

Spokane

Craig Chamberlain

Unlike former local reporter (“Remembering Deputy Craig Chamberlin,” June 9), I never met nor had any personal contact with Deputy Craig Chamberlain. Based on his public relations persona, he seemed like an affable personality. Certainly, like many others, I was shocked at his passing. But sometimes the personality is not what one’s life is like outside the public view.

I have to say, I am not attempting to cast a shadow on his career. However the question remains: Did the half a tab of fentanyl add to his apparent heart attack? Was the unknown person who gave him the highly fatal drug a friend, dealer or cop? Was, or is, the person being investigated or charged?

I am not a conspiracy freak. I truly respect our law enforcement personnel. However, this is the kind of thing that can create an “us versus them” mentality. To Deputy Chamberlain’s family, I am truly sorry for your loss. For you, he was a husband and father, and I know you are grieving. But because of his profession, there is a higher standard.

Jim Bickel

Spokane

Protect old growth forests

As climate change increases as a threat, new approaches to climate mitigation are needed. Trees are often overlooked as a tool in the fight against climate change, but the reality is that they are one of the most important assets. Mature and old-growth trees sequester carbon from the atmosphere, are more fire-resistant than younger trees, and are critical resources for supplying clean and fresh water to our communities. However, the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management are still logging these old forests at an alarming rate.

In response to President Biden’s Earth Day executive order calling on the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to conserve mature and old growth forests as a climate solution, the agencies have opened an official request for public comments on how they should adapt current policies to protect, conserve, and manage the national forests. It is critical that we urge them to permanently protect these mature and old-growth trees on all federal lands from logging across the country.

Logging is the most immediate threat to these forests and we have until July 20 to use our voices to preserve valuable public forests. Go to regulations.gov/document/FS-2023-0006-0002 to submit a comment.

Shenandoah Marr

Spokane