Letters for Wednesday, Oct. 22

Collect what’s owed before asking for more

The DOT needs money, firefighters need money, schools need money and parks. When the state, city and county start collecting the overdue tab fees, I will be more than glad to help out any way I can with extra taxes, until then the answer is a big “no.”

Carleen Reilly

Spokane

‘No’ on school/park measures

I will be voting no on the school/park measures. The bottom line is a lot of people are really struggling, and this is too much. The cost of everything from food, insurance, taxes, gas, clothing, etc., have all gone up. My monthly expenses are higher than they were a year ago, but my wages have not kept pace. Currently 60% of my property taxes already go to schools. A lot of folks have lost their jobs, and more layoffs and firings are on the way. The city just announced the cutting of some jobs. Currently, with the government shut down, some people aren’t even getting a paycheck, and it’s a hard recovery from that when you get behind. Rents will certainly go up as landlords won’t want to absorb the property tax hikes. A lot of people can barely pay their rents now. We’ve heard about the real possibility of large premiums increases in health insurance come January, if the tax credits aren’t re-established. Medicare Part B is already scheduled to go up $21.50 a month in January. Who knows what other low-income programs will disappear. This levy percentage is also slated to increase every year.

We all have to tighten our belts and make do with less. The schools and parks need to learn to live within their budgets just like the rest of us. Vote “no” on the school and parks bonds.

Lorrie McLaughlin

Spokane

Bond and levy are a win-win situation

The Together Spokane bond and levy proposal will benefit every student and family in the Spokane Public Schools. The district took a big risk last year in prohibiting the use of cellphones during school time. The goal was to encourage student interaction and better listening skills. It paid off. Students, teachers and parents accepted the challenge and admit it improved student learning.

The second half of that challenge was to encourage every student to engage in some activity, i.e. sports, cooking, hiking, technology, etc. The parks and school partnership will go a long way to open opportunities for students and families to step away from their screens. Sounds like a win-win situation to me.

Penny Lancaster

Spokane

Open-concept schools are a bad idea

After the Shadle Together Spokane event, I went to its website to look at the school proposals. Chase looks like it will be turned into an open concept like the new schools, and Garry is more of the same. No one seems to remember that Garry was an open concept school, it was such a failure that by winter break, 6-foot-tall bookshelves were installed around the perimeter of the library to prevent staff and students from cutting through the library. I worked for Spokane Public Schools for 28 years and over the years, all of the open concepts were removed. Funny thing is, when the new open concept schools were opened, Glover put caution tape around the perimeter of the library and Yasuhara installed mobile bookcases to prevent people from cutting through. If you go to one of the new classrooms that have movable glass walls you will find that most of the glass is covered to prevent distractions.

I think the schools should be built with education in mind rather than being a community center with a school attached, like the superintendent called them. Once you figure out how to get kids to get into college without having to take remedial math, then do the extra stuff.

Oh yeah, for all you upset about where the stadium is, the district is supplying the Albi stadium location for the Merkle expansion, that land was supposed to be used for a future elementary school, just saying.

Steve Butt

Spokane

Logan benefits city with community court

Some criminal offenders merit incarceration because of the seriousness of the crime and their threat to public safety. But many low-level crime offenders benefit not from incarceration but by treatment and service to the community. Community court, not jail, addresses the root causes of crime. Conversely, jailing increases the likelihood of later crimes because of behavior learned from other prisoners. This issue does not pit liberal against conservative. Community courts save money. Studies show that the probability of reoffending decreases.

Judge Mary Logan began in 2013 and continues to oversee an award-winning community court in Spokane. As an appellate judge, I spent a day observing the court. I was thrilled with the success stories discussed during the court day. I was impressed with the presence of multiple service providers to assist the accused. The Community court is a mentor court through the Center for Court Innovation. Not only I, but attorneys and judges from throughout the nation visit the Spokane Community Court to learn how to make a community court successful.

Judge Mary Logan is a treasure from which any city would benefit. I encourage everyone to attend a community court session before deciding for whom to vote for Spokane Municipal Court.

George Fearing

Richland

Support Deer Park capital levy

On Nov. 4, the registered voters of Deer Park have the opportunity to support their local school district by voting “yes” on a short-term capital levy. This levy will enable our community to support four priorities: 1) purchase land for future school facilities, 2) upgrade an existing dilapidating elementary school, 3) build a centralized transportation facility and 4) increase student safety district wide. All of these efforts are worth supporting; however, I’m urging our community to vote Yes to support Priority 1 – the purchase of land for future school district growth.

How many times have you said to yourself, “Wish I would have bought that land 10 years ago”? The city of Deer Park has offered up a 42-acre parcel of undeveloped land in the center of our growing community for the low price of $385,000. That is less than the average single family home cost in the surrounding neighborhoods. Yes, the school district will need capital levy funds to develop infrastructure upon that land. That infrastructure will be tied to the existing and adjacent school district facilities that continue to serve our local educational needs.

As a tax-contributing citizen of nine years, with children enrolled in our school district, I encourage a “yes” vote on the Deer Park School District short-term capital levy on Nov. 4.

Daniel Cregger

Deer Park

Climate change is real

Wow! We’re still enjoying tomatoes off our own vines in mid-October. They are quite a treat. On the other hand, the lack of a hard frost well into October meant that our prune plums never really sweetened before they fell off the trees.

Unfortunately, this was not an extraordinary year. We live with the evidence of climate change all around us here on the Palouse, just like everywhere else. This is despite our president’s claim that climate change is a hoax (see his embarrassing speech to the U.N. a few weeks ago).

So, what can we do? There is strength in numbers: Join organizations that are fighting climate change. Make choices in our own lives that reduce our carbon footprint because the U.S. has the highest per capita carbon footprint in the world.

Finally, let your members of Congress (usa.gov/elected-officials) know that, despite the line coming out of Washington, D.C., climate change is affecting us, it’s a threat to our future right here in the Inland Northwest, and they need to act in their constituents’ best interest to combat it.

Mary DuPree

Moscow, Idaho

SNAP cuts will harm your neighbors

“I wouldn’t be able to eat.”

That’s the answer to my question to my 70-year-old neighbor when I asked her, “What if you didn’t have SNAP?” My neighbor worked all her life and is on Social Security. She had to sell her home and now rents. She’s living thriftily and is worried about the prices of food going up.

You see, this “One Big Beautiful Bill” makes sweeping cuts to SNAP that truly will take food away from millions of Americans. In Spokane County alone, approximately 84,000 people are on SNAP.

Also, this happened:

On Oct. 3, the USDA notified the states that the changes to SNAP go into effective on Nov 1.

This Nov 1.

Now, the government is shutdown. Which gives us an opportunity to convince Congress to stop the crazy and cruel cuts to SNAP. We need to remind them that it’s time to prioritize people over politics!

Contact your congress members. Let them know this stinks. Help speak up for the people who will go hungry if nothing is done.

Ellen Beatriz-Ray

Shelton, Washington

Protests are an American tradition

It’s in our bones. From the Boston Massacre to the No Kings protest, Americans have taken to the street to rail against bad government and social ills. I was among the proud thousands on Saturday at B.A. Clark Park. A wonderful blend of young and old. It was reassuring to see fellow baby boomers marching the line as so many of our generation did in the ’60s. Kudos to marchers and law enforcement for keeping it cool. A prayer that is stays that way. And that Washington is listening.

Tom Benemann

Spokane