Letters for July 18, 2024
Only a citation for homicide?
Let me see if I have this right. According to your story in the July 10 Spokesman-Review, you can fail to stop at a stop sign, just pull out into the street where a scooter rider has the right of way, and when she collides with you and is killed, it is considered an accident and all you get is a citation? Running a stop sign is negligent. When that act causes a death isn’t it considered negligent homicide? A citation? I can’t believe it.
Karen Buck
Spokane
Support the levy for Airway Heights police
I started my police career with Airway Heights in 1992. Like many people, I chose this area because of its potential. Our community has supported pedestrian safety and transportation improvements, improved our fire department and re-invested in our local library.
The last piece of the puzzle is improving public safety. The Airway Heights Police Department has a public safety levy on the Aug. 6 primary election ballot. If voters approve the levy, we would still have the lowest property tax rate in the area.
Calls for police have increased 133% in five years, yet Airway Heights has the lowest number of patrol officers in the region. Our patrol cars cost more to fix than they are worth, and we can’t afford to buy new ones. When we don’t have police officers available, non-violent crimes must sometimes go unanswered. And illegal drug trafficking continues to threaten our community.
U.S. Highway 2 cuts right through the heart of Airway Heights, and it’s a pipeline for deadly fentanyl and other drugs. We want to investigate and arrest traffickers that are using our city to dump their poison. The public safety levy would fund more police officers, replace aging patrol cars, and update outdated technology and equipment to help identify and locate these criminals.
Airway Heights has come a long way, and I am proud to be a part of that progress. Please reach out to me with questions, or learn more on our website, www.cawh.org. Thank you for considering our request.
Chief Brad Richmond
Airway Heights
Big promises with little follow through
“Spokane Public Schools to ban cellphone use in classrooms” is the headline from Elena Perry’s article in the July 11 Spokesman-Review. Superintendent Adam Swinyard said, “The district plans to implement the proposal before school starts in September.” Well, that would be great, if it is enforced.
I recall a similar article from Elena Perry in The S-R from Jan. 28, 2024. From that article, “Current cellphone policies at Spokane-area schools restrict cellphone use, but students say they’re rarely enforced, and it looks different in each classroom.” Also, “(Spokane Public Schools) district’s policy directs students to keep phones off and out of sight, only to be used before and after school and during lunchtime.”
More rules without enforcement are meaningless and lead to a lack of trust and respect for the authorities making these rules from students and voters. Maybe student test scores would improve if the district does what it says it will. Maybe voter trust would be salvaged when the school district is asking for more funds.
Rich Zywiak
Spokane