Letters for Sept. 3, 2023

Education should be more important than sports

WSU should use this mass-realignment mess to get rid of all their semi-pro sports attempts like football and basketball and concentrate on becoming the best state college in the nation.

I went there in the late ’60s and early ’70s, and they couldn’t come up with a competitive team then and they haven’t done that since, with one exception.

Take all the conference athletics budgets and put them into the true purpose of their existence – educating people.

Eric C. Johnson

Spokane

NIC attorney hire

Did three out of five North Idaho College board members fail their college critical thinking classes? Sad!

Steve LaCombe

Spokane Valley

New mental health facility instead of jail

Why aren’t we being asked to pay for a new mental health facility rather than a new jail? We obviously need more services for the homeless, many who are mentally ill. And if the problem with too many shootings is lack of mental health, it is obvious that more services are needed there too.

This issue is one that both sides can agree on.

Dorothy Mehl

Spokane

Bad publicity better than no publicity

There is an old adage, which I believe to be true: “Any publicity is better than no publicity.” Despite his alleged actions, he is ahead in the Republican polls and continues to get front page coverage in this paper. Please relegate coverage of his misdoings and trials to interior pages where they belong. Thank you.

Shirley Dicus

Spokane

Concerned Mead parent

It is time for Denny Denholm to be retired from the Mead School Board.

This fall, voters have a choice to finally elect someone to take his place. That person is Alan Nolan, a concerned parent in Mead School District who has stepped forward to run against Denny for his seat on the board.

Twenty-five years on a school board is too long. Denny claims he is the most experienced candidate. It depends on what you count as experience. Experience at making poor decisions like overspending the budget, not allowing public comment, passing policies that don’t align with the majority of Mead parents, and saying one thing and voting for another.

Mead voters don’t need any more of that kind of experience. We need a fresh voice and a fresh perspective to represent parents on the Mead school board. Vote Alan Nolan for Mead school board.

Kevin Lewis

Mead

The Thunderbirds’ new school

During the severely overcrowded conditions of years past, Sacajawea students were obliged to turn right when exiting a classroom, move single file through the long halls, and eventually find their way back to the next class.

What a difference 40 years makes!

A flock of 1,000 Sacajawea Thunderbirds will soon descend on their new “nest,” checking out the “open spaces” where they will be invited to “gather,” “socialize,” and “kick up their heels.” A recent article in The Spokesman-Review (Aug. 26) spared no details in describing the features that will allow students to “make themselves comfortable” in their updated middle school.

Because the article lacked descriptions of the classrooms and labs, one must assume that state-of-the-art technology, abundant natural lighting and other built-in amenities will provide an exceptional environment for learning. May these spectacular surroundings inspire the young students to look past the “common area with cushy chairs” and see this building as their workplace and focus on the necessary effort to be successful in their stunning new school.

Donna Fender

Spokane

Maple Street bridge graffiti

What has happened to Spokane? I’m a California native but have lived here more than 25 years so consider Spokane my home.

When I drive across the Maple Street bridge, I’m devastated by the recent increase in the amount of graffiti splattered across every part of the bridge and overpass. It looks like a ghetto.

I realize it’s a problem that’s difficult to keep up with and right after it’s been painted over, new graffiti appears. Isn’t there some way this vandalism can be thwarted? Would the installation of cameras be a deterrent or occasional police present work?

I love Spokane, and it breaks my heart that it’s starting to look like a crime-ridden city.

Lucy Holt

Spokane

Thank you to firefighters for tackling Thorpe fire

We live in the area that was threatened by the Thorpe fire, as do hundreds of other people. It’s heavily wooded and, like the rest of this part of Washington, ready to explode at the slightest spark.

We were incredibly lucky to have dedicated firefighters who saved us all from what could have been the kind of devastation that Medical Lake experienced. We, and many others, can’t thank them enough for putting their lives on the line every day to save others.

Someone in a homeless encampment started the fire. Cigarette? Campfire? Who knows, and it’s irrelevant. They started the fire that put so many, including firefighters, at risk. I feel sorry for many of the homeless, who have lost jobs or can no longer pay the high cost of renting a place to live. But first, they have no business living in our dangerously dry woods, and second, they have no business either smoking or starting fires.

Kudos and thanks to the firefighters, who deserve more thanks than we can ever give them, but a big no thanks to the city and county law enforcement agencies, who should have deputies and officers patrolling these areas and removing the encampments on at least a weekly basis. We in the neighborhood can do nothing about them, only law enforcement can do it.

Lynn Bain

Spokane

Mead school board race

I want to highlight the importance of a school board race in the Mead School District. In position 3, there are two candidates: Jaime Stacy and Jennifer Killman.

Jaime is a teacher for Spokane Public Schools and is supported by political activist groups that have political social agendas they are trying to promote in our schools. One of the organizations endorsing and donating to Jaime is Fuse Washington.

Fuse calls themselves “Washington’s largest progressive organization.” When members of the Mead school board tried to stand up on behalf of parents and address concerns around critical race theory and gender ideology, Fuse proudly proclaimed that Jaime Stacy was the one that rallied the activist community outside of Mead School District to stop those policies. What they are really saying is she rallied the political activists to fight against the parents of the Mead School District.

Mead community, do you really want a teacher from District 81 setting policy on behalf of progressive political activists and their associated organizations for the Mead School District? Of the $7,000 Jaime has raised $1,700 has come from Fuse and their Eastern Washington Director.

Her opponent, Jennifer Killman, is a Mead parent and longtime volunteer who has a history of standing up for parent concerns and trying to keep our schools free of political social agendas. Jennifer has raised more than $15,000 in support directly from Mead parents and local businesses.

Keep progressive activists and their financial influence out of our school board. Vote Jennifer Killman for Mead school board.

Tanner Rowe

Spokane

Enablers of Trump

Mr. Salcido’s letter of Aug. 20 (“Insurrection supporters should face consequences”) is so true. Most of those he named are elected officials. They are “closer to the action” than the rest of us “normal” folks.

By virtue of their positions they should be more aware of the facts, and more qualified to separate facts from lies and plain old bull. But, unfortunately that doesn’t appear to be the case.

Apparently, they choose to either ignore the facts and take the path that supports their own self interests, while they think that we, the public, are so stupid we won’t notice what they are doing, or they just don’t care what we think. Plain and clear, they are simply enablers. Enablers of Trump who wants to overthrow the government and establish a dictatorship. They are just as guilty as Trump is and should be treated accordingly.

In addition to the people Mr. Salcido names, there is also another group of people whom I think we should be concerned with, and that is those people who are so enamored with Trump that they believe all of his lies, who cheer him on when he makes threats against those who disagree with him. They, too, are enablers. Their reactions to Trump’s lies and their continued support lead me to question what value they place on their family, their friends, and the future of our country.

God bless America.

Norman Coffman

Spokane