Letters To The Editor

IN THE PUBLIC EYE

Let’s clarify manager’s position

Your 24 Sept. city-county consolidation feature indicated I oppose the charter change. That is false. I’ve taken no position, publicly or privately.

One value of mayor-council-manager government is that a city manager stays out of local politics. I am ethically forbidden to take a personal position on any local candidate or ballot issue unless the city council as a whole takes an official position.

What I told reporter Dan Hansen was that I am generically opposed to any form of government that doesn’t mandate a professional administrator at an upper level. While the current charter doesn’t include this position, it could (and should) be added by ordinance after adoption. This is done in other charter counties that have a “strong” elected executive by creating a nonpolitical deputy executive, to be hired on the basis of professional qualifications to assist in running day-to-day affairs. Including such a position should be among the first things a new city-county organization does.

While the proposed city-county charter isn’t perfect, it offers some positive aspects to the way we govern locally. I’ve been personally supportive of the concept for many years. Now that it’s been reduced to a specific ballot proposal, I can no longer be involved.

That the proposed charter would eliminate my job isn’t a critical factor to me. I have the skills to find a job elsewhere and am pursuing that option. My main problem doing that is that my wife and I find it hard to find elsewhere the quality of life we have here. Roger D. Crum, city manager Spokane

Amend flap ‘absurd,’ instructive

The brouhaha over Coroner Dexter Amend has become even more absurd and ironic with the recent proclamation from forensic pathologist George Lindholm that restraints, not methamphetamines, killed a jail inmate.

Teenagers and others with impressionable minds may be misled by Dr. Lindholm’s liberal thinking. They need to be told the truth. Drugs kill; restraints, when used properly, don’t.

Dr. Amend’s point: irresponsible behavior kills. Moral restraints don’t.

For voters considering supporting city-county government consolidation, there’s also a lesson here. Under the current form of government, if you don’t like the coroner, you can vote him out of office. Under the proposed change, you can be saddled with a medical examiner who believes restraints kill, and drugs and irresponsible behavior don’t - and you can’t vote him out of office. Bob Carlsen Spokane

This doctor’s not in

Spokane County Coroner Dexter Amend’s professional conduct astounds me as to how he got this position as county coroner, for which he doesn’t qualify to begin with.

The old cliche is, “If you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen.” I ask this: “If you can’t cook, what are you doing in the kitchen, anyway?” Charles Bowman Spokane

Clarke, his qualities will be missed

With the retirement of Judge Harold Clarke, we’re losing a giant in our judicial system.

I’ve known him for 20 years and his chambers were always open if I wanted to stop by for a chat. Judge Clarke was labeled as a judge’s judge.

From a layman’s viewpoint, I’m sure that prosecutors and attorneys always received an attentive ear on their arguments before the bench.

I’ve never seen Judge Clarke lose his cool. With the pressures placed on our court system these days, Judge Clarke could steer the proceedings in a fashion that left everyone involved feeling they had received a far shake. I’m sure his knowledge and expertise will be missed by all. Bud Hammer Spokane

SPOKANE MATTERS

Pricey meters not what we need

I read in the paper this morning about the City of Spokane testing 16 new state-of-the-art parking meters that seemingly will do everything but wash the car while it’s parked. These new meters would cost $400, versus $350 for those currently in use.

It’s beyond my understanding to reason why, when our city is in the midst of a budget crunch, we would even spend time thinking about new parking meters. Are the ones in use worn out? Can’t our leaders think of other things more worthwhile to expend energy thinking about? Laurie Anderson Spokane

We asked for pox on our house

Let’s stop complaining about juvenile crime in the streets. The voters had an opportunity to choose between incarceration and the streets. The juvenile criminals won, fair and square. Let’s not be sore losers. We created the problem, now we should learn to live with it. Ben Harney Spokane

Center supporters’ efforts lame

Add my voice of anger to Editor Chris Peck’s (“We had a chance on science center and we blew it,” Sept. 24). In rejecting the science center, Spokane voters - especially nonvoters - really blew it. By not doing an effective sales job for the project, proponents blew it, too.

Brain-dead supporters allowed the opponents to define the issues. The proponents’ main selling points were that the center would be more fun and better for the kiddies than carnival rides and that it wouldn’t have raised taxes. Dumb, just plain dumb.

The science center had the potential to attract additional convention business and new employers, by projecting an image of Spokane as a metropolitan city. It would have also been a powerful drawing focus for visitors from out of town. As long as tourists were downtown to visit the center anyway, they might have stayed downtown to shop.

Moreover, during Lilac Week and at other times in the summer, rides are available in parking lots in various parts of the city. There are rides at the Spokane Interstate Fair. Silverwood is less than an hour’s drive from Spokane. Losing the rides in Riverfront Park was a non-issue.

Did we hear the center’s proponents stress these points? Nope, they never managed to get off the defensive. They, and thus their case, came across weakly. The electorate responded accordingly.

Is this the same Spokane that managed to stage Expo ‘74? George D. “Martin” Maloney Spokane

At our hands, cats fare poorly

Between Jan. 1 and Sept. 25, 5,243 dogs and 4,644 cats passed through the Spokane Humane Society. The numbers are fairly close. However, of those animals, only 59 cats were reclaimed (792 dogs were reclaimed); 1,410 cats were adopted (2,078 dogs were adopted); and 2,278 cats were killed (1,406 dogs were killed).

The figures show that, although slightly fewer cats pass through the Humane Society, far more are being killed for want of homes.

Recently, the Humane Society offered SAFE, or the Save Animals From Euthanasia program. For a $10 membership, a cat would be spayed/neutered for free.

Of a possible 280 certificates that were available, 36 were given out. This is sad testimony to the fact that people just don’t care about cats.

Cats deserve at least as much respect as dogs, and dogs deserve a lot more respect than they get. In a very troubled world our pets are sometimes the only stability we have.

SAFE certificates may be purchased as gift certificates or used to alter feral cats to help keep down feral populations. Information is available at 466-8701. Dona Van Gelder, SAFE Coordinator Spokane

Querna has shown she’s qualified

Christie Querna has been a volunteer in my classroom at Sacajawea Middle School for the past six years. I have found her to be caring and knowledgeable about educational issues.

It’s obvious that her concerns lie with the education of all students in District 81. During the time we’ve known her, Christie has worked on several district committees in addition to being a volunteer at Hutton Elementary and Lewis and Clark High School. If she has a concern or question, she doesn’t hesitate to ask others for their opinions and/or suggestions. She listens before she makes a decision.

Through knowing and working with Christie, I feel she would make an excellent school board member. I feel she is the best candidate for the job. Margaret Soderberg Spokane

How about Wal Mart downtown?

Why not invite the Wal Mart store into the RiverPark Square? It would attract a lot of customers. It might not be considered a classy store like the Bon Marche, but it is a people store, a very affordable store with a large selection of merchandise.

Also, since the science center got voted out of the Riverfront Park Pavilion (before it got in), wouldn’t there be room for the science center somewhere in RiverPark Square?

Just food for thought. I’m sure there will be a million reasons why these ideas wouldn’t work, but nothing ventured, nothing gained. Maria M. Ossiander Spokane

GOVERNING SPOKANE

Change means dollars, makes sense

I certainly hope the people of this area will look at the facts concerning consolidation and not listen to someone who wants to put the Spokane Valley in debt it will never recover from, with a politician the city of Spokane is still trying to recover from.

The fact is, the entire city and county are controlled by the city manager and city council. County commissioners don’t live in the areas they’re supposed to represent. Basically, the entire county is run from downtown. Under consolidation, every area will be represented by someone who actually lives in the area that he or she represents. This is an extension of the successful neighborhood police stations.

This is not a bigger-is-better policy. Instead, it’s a smaller-is-better policy because we won’t have the duplication we now have. There’s no way the merger will cost millions, as the opponents say it will. It will save money and also help in applying for government programs.

Please, look at the facts before voting. Sam Wetterhus Colbert

Charter provides balance of power

The proposed charter for the city and county of Spokane has created separate branches of government, the executive and legislative. Each with its own authority and responsibility. They are balanced by the executive having the veto power on most actions taken by the council; however, the council can override the veto.

The freeholders considered the balance of power thoroughly and concluded that the city/county executive should not have the power of the veto on budgetary issues. The executive does have the authority not to spend money authorized within the budget, however.

This is a win-win situation for the tax payers of Spokane County. I’m voting yes on Nov. 7. Michael L. Senske, former freeholder Spokane

WASHINGTON STATE

Defeat flawed Initiative 640

Initiative 640 attempts to address the problem of by-catch in commercial and sport fisheries with a nondimensional approach to a multidimensional problem. It proposes to limit fisheries to a by-catch mortality rate of 15 percent and fails to consider the total numerical impact of this by-catch mortality on the affected species.

For example, in the course of a fishing operation many tons of a targeted fish are harvested along with one individual fish on a nontargeted species which is killed. This would represent a by-catch mortality rate of 100 percent and would be illegal under initiative 640. In another fishing operation, a by-catch of 10,000 fish is taken and 1,500 are killed in the process. That represents a by-catch mortality rate of just 15 percent, making it legal under Initiative 640.

This glaring oversight by the authors of Initiative 640 reveals they aren’t interested in solving by-catch problems, but instead are using bar-stool and self-serving statistics to take advantage of the well-meaning but uninformed public to seize more of our fisheries resources for themselves.

Initiative 640 is total nonsense. Give it the no vote it so richly deserves. Bryce Divine Longview, Wash.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

Shutdown threat, ignorance appall

I was horrified when I heard of the Republican Congress’ threat to shut down day-to-day operations of the federal government by refusing to raise the ceiling on the national debt. I’m also surprised by widespread prevalence of the belief that it’s necessary for the federal government to balance its budget the way states, municipalities and domestic households do.

It’s neither necessary nor desirable that the federal government balance its budget. The government of the United States makes it possible for anyone, anywhere, to invest in America. People everywhere who want to come to and live in America can buy U.S. bonds and have a piece of America.

It’s almost unimaginable what horrific consequences would ensue from such a heinous act as shutdown of the government.

The Republican Congress is new to power and those who are in power are frequently oblivious to the consequences of their actions. Would Congress members lose their salaries? If so, this consequence might deter them from suicide. Merle Gordon Hunt Spokane

Immigration foes’ story shunned

For the past two years, I’ve noticed an effort by your editorial staff to present a balanced debating format in your opinion columns. So why publish Joanne Jacobs’ pro immigration column (Opinion, Sept. 27) while denying mainstream exposure for the opinions of a growing number of people in this country who want to severely curtail immigration?

We allow more legal immigration to this country than is allowed by all other countries combined. The effect has been and will continue to be devastating to many of our urban neighborhoods, at the expense of their native residents. Countries from which most of this immigrant avalanche comes won’t accept any immigrants.

Jacobs attempts to make the usual neoconservative case for the “stimulating effect” of Third World immigration. But Japan’s economy increased tenfold in 40 years with a strictly native work force.

Mediacrats and pundits, whose attitudes are sharply to the left of Americans generally, have applauded anything that deconstructs the homogeneity of the American people.

It doesn’t surprise me they have singled out California Gov. Pete Wilson for scrutiny for shifting to the anti-immigration side of the political spectrum. They have attempted to disarm the modern nativist movement with terms like “angry white male.”

Those of us with ancestry that predates the American Revolution simply feel an obligation to protect the legacy of those who fought for a better way of life for us and our children. Jim McCurdy Otis Orchards

Helms hurts GOP credibility

If its’ not bad enough that the poor, elderly and the environment are being hurt by the Republican blitz to “save” America, now Republican Party icon Sen. Jesse Helms is hurting world peace.

Helms has blocked more than a dozen treaties and other international agreements to make a budget point not related to the treaties themselves. His actions are unconscionable.

If the Republican Party is to retain any credibility and if its members are really concerned about saving America, Helms should be removed so America can be saved from him. Hudson Mann Clarkston, Wash.