Letters for Dec. 8, 2024

Spokane drivers refuse to slow down

In my opinion, the city of Spokane is faced with two major problems, homelessness and speeding. It is obvious there is no simple solution to the complex problem of homelessness.

Speeding in Spokane, however, can be fixed. I am not talking about the type of speeding that happens in the summer involving racing on Division. I am talking about speeding that started during the pandemic, I believe because there were fewer vehicles on the streets. Right now, if you are driving at the speed limit on a Spokane arterial, you are in the way. Driving in Spokane has reached the point of being dangerous, especially at night.

Drivers topping 50 mph on Francis Avenue (an arterial with a 35-mph limit) are common.

I had a driver pull alongside me at a stop light and yelled at me because he had to follow me on a single-lane road, and I was driving “just over the speed limit,” as he put it.

But the interesting thing is most Spokane drivers are courteous. They will help you merge from another lane or get into traffic from off street. Speed limits just don’t mean anything anymore.

To solve the problem, the city needs a traffic unit again. It’s up to the mayor and council to provide funding and solve this problem.

Larry Reisnouer

Spokane

Our pets deserve so much better

I want to bring awareness to an issue that is plaguing our animal rescue and sheltering community. I’m a volunteer and board member of a respected local rescue, a volunteer at SpokAnimal, member of an animal rescue team that assists SCRAPS, and a former volunteer with the Spokane Humane Society. For clarification, SpokAnimal is a nonprofit shelter, SHS is a nonprofit, owner surrender shelter, and SCRAPS is the county animal control agency.

Currently, insurance is limiting SpokAnimal to dogs 30 pounds or less, and SHS is mandated to perform behavioral assessments that a dog must pass before being accepted. SCRAPS is self-insured with the county. On a daily basis, our rescue receives requests to help strays, dumped and otherwise homeless dogs. There is nowhere for them to go, especially the large dogs. All the rescues are full. It is reported repeatedly that SHS has a three-week waiting period with no guarantee of acceptance and SCRAPS refuses to take dogs and puppies, reporting that they are full.

This is an unacceptable situation that will leave us faced with marauding bands of strays becoming potentially dangerous as they reproduce and compete for food. This is what places without capable shelters and animal control contend with.

Our pets deserve so much better. We need a community that strives to find workable solutions before it degrades to this. We need the resources, support and planning to put the right experience and agencies in charge to amend this dire situation.

Brenda Wright

Spokane

Spokane animals move toward crisis

Spokane is on the verge of being overrun with abandoned and stray dogs on our streets. There is no effective means of controlling what could become an insurmountable problem.

Spokane city and county have three main organizations dedicated to animal welfare: Spokane Humane Society, SpokAnimal and SCRAPS. The first two are privately funded charitable organizations and have recently been placed under very restrictive mandates by their insurance companies. The Spokane Humane Society is only allowed to accept dogs who pass a strict behavioral assessment. SpokAnimal is prohibited from accepting dogs over 30 pounds. SCRAPS, although county taxpayer funded, self-determines its operating capacity and surrender policies.

There are many reasons why a dog may need to be surrendered. The lack of shelter availability due to the conditions outlined above has led to the abandonment of dogs into the community. The occurrences are increasing due to a lack of options.

In addition to the suffering abandoned dogs experience, their presence on our streets poses the problems of traffic accidents, dog bites, formation of dog packs, attacks on personal pets and public health hazards. As many of the abandoned dogs are not spayed or neutered, their numbers will likely expand exponentially.

Please urge our government officials to initiate a proactive plan to address this situation in a humane and effective way while it is still controllable.

Jeff Sandler

Spokane

Goodbye, Rev. Watkins

I worked as a physician at Holy Family hospital for over 30 years. During that time, I had many occasions to interact with the Rev. Happy Watkins, who served as hospital chaplain. He was an incredibly strong man: strong in his faith, strong in his devotion to family, his congregation and his community and strong in his commitment to social justice.

In my job I tried to bring skills, knowledge and compassion to help my patients in any way I could. Sometimes that was not enough. The Rev. Watkins was always available to bring an element of acceptance and peace to any situation. Sometimes a “man of science” had to recognize the value of a “man of God.” We would sometimes discuss this, and I often thought he felt a little bit of pity for me. I did, too.

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated while I was in college. I was well aware of him and heard bits and pieces of his speeches but never a complete version of his “I Have a Dream” speech. I am not sure what year he began, but multiple times in the 1980s and ’90s, I had the privilege of listening to Watkins give this speech. He never failed to inspire me, and I could see in the eyes of the young they were moved as well. He was a great man, and I was blessed to know him.

There is less goodness and kindness in the world with his passing.

Tim Gardner

Colbert