01/29/11 Letters to the editor

Life-saving assistance

To the editor -- While visiting Yakima on Jan. 15, my daughter, Ava, had a seizure. I came out of Fred Meyer to find Ava, who was in the car with my mother, not breathing, wide-eyed and blue-lipped. I panicked and could not find my phone, so I yelled at a woman to call 9-1-1. She did so very calmly and within seconds another woman ran toward me, saying she was a nurse. With their help, we got my daughter out of her car seat and onto the floor in the store's breezeway. Ava had two seizures while I held her hand and talked to the 9-1-1 operator.

I want to thank the woman who called 9-1-1 and stood by while I talked with the operator; the nurse who helped me handle the situation until the medics came; the Fred Meyer pharmacy technician who kneeled next to me and stroked my daughter's hair and continued to say everything would be OK; the medics, 9-1-1 operator and Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital staff who reassured me and cared for her.

Thank you to the city of Yakima! Ava is currently doing just fine and back to her normal, healthy and happy self.

BETH WINKLER

Tacoma

Building student skills

To the editor -- Matt Miles and I would like to thank those who helped us with the 2009-2010 SkillsUSA cabinet making and sheet-metal programs and Davis wood shop within the Yakima School District.

We were able to help students with $29,111.62 in donations and prizes, as well as provide jobs, internships, field trips, mentorships with volunteer hours of around 3,000. The end result left the students excited about this new year, and seniors are anxious to pursue industry related careers after graduation.

AMOS POE

Yakima

Tree-recycling thanks

To the editor -- Thank you, Yakima!

Our recent Christmas tree recycling event was once again a booming success. During the 15 days after Christmas, we collected more trees then we ever remember collecting before and $12,508 in donations. Thanks to the many enthusiastic volunteers who worked in the cold, wintry weather, and to the many local businesses that partnered with us by lending us equipment and advertising time. And a huge thanks to Barnett Implement for again allowing us to invade its property for a few weeks.

Camp Prime Time relies on your generous donations to keep the camp for special needs children and their families open and free of charge. For more information, please call 509-248-2854 or visit www.
campprimetime.org.

DIANE EILMES

Executive director, Prime Time Inc., Yakima

Honoring a benefactor

To the editor -- Nearly 20 years ago, Nancy Gavin invited me to lunch to help satisfy her itch to establish and fund a far-reaching, worthwhile project serving kids.

I rambled on with a grocery list of worthy YMCA programs, then added, "Wouldn't it be great to offer scholarships to college-bound graduating seniors staring at a staggering tuition ... bright kids, kids willing to work to maintain a B average, kids from limited-income families ... kids trying to make something of their lives?"

She snapped her napkin from her lap with a "let's do it." Thus the Friends of Youth was born.

We're talking $2,500 to $5,000 per 10 to 15 students, some continuing, some new each year, for seven years. Anonymously.

Nancy died Jan. 9.

It's finally time for all the students, now adults, who shared her gift, to know their benefactor and to say at last, thank you, Nancy, for your quiet generosity.

GRETA BRYAN

Yakima

Cost-effective Selah proposal

To the editor -- I do not like tax increases at any level but have decided that it is cost- effective for my wife, Lana, and me to support our local Selah School District bond issue.

If the proposed February school bond passes, we will have a net property tax increase of approximately $250 per year. However, when looking at the big picture, this is a minimal investment that will help to renew our aging school infrastructure, help the district run a more efficient school system and help preserve the quality of the Selah community.

If left as is, the buildings at the junior high and Lince Elementary will continue to deteriorate, become more unsightly and cost even more to operate. This will lower the desirability for families moving into the school district and consequently lower property values.

So to protect our investment in this community, we are supporting the Selah School District bond proposal.

LANCE SORENSEN

Selah

Selah needs new facilities

To the editor -- Imagine you are a teacher or a student at Selah Junior High. Can you smell the broken sewer line? Can you feel the cold classroom with the outdated heating system? Can you see the missing ceiling tiles exposing the wiring system that is inadequate for today's technology needs? Can you feel the projection screen hitting your head as it separates from the wall while you are trying to pull it down?

Now, imagine that you are expected by your boss and/or parents to do your best work in these conditions. Could you? I don't think I could.

The need for new facilities in the Selah School District is great and the time to address it is now. Construction costs and interest rates are not likely to get lower. The fact that the current bond for construction of the intermediate school is set to be paid at nearly the same time as construction would be complete means the smallest tax increase possible. Further, the proposed construction projects will allow the district to take the most advantage of state matching funds.

It is time for the Selah School District facilities to match the excellence of its students, teachers and administrators. Vote yes for Selah schools!

CARLA SCHRENK

Selah

Time for new Prosser school

To the editor -- On Feb. 8, Prosser voters have the opportunity to give the gift of public education to our children and future generations. Public education is a valuable asset to our community.

Prosser High School is a 75-year-old building, short on space with inadequate building systems. Twelve portables, along with space in an adjacent church, are needed just for current enrollment. Room for growth is nonexistent. Passing space and time within the main building and between portables create health and safety concerns.

To be competitive in today's world, our students need and deserve an appropriate, safe learning environment. Our teaching staff need and deserve an appropriate space and materials to provide the best education possible to our children.

If you haven't toured the high school recently, please join one of the scheduled tours or contact the principal. Please see for yourself how great the need is for a new high school. Interest rates are low; construction costs are favorable. The time is right.

My husband, Tom, and I feel blessed that prior generations sacrificed to ensure a great education for our children. To ensure the future of our community, state and nation, I encourage you to support the bond issue.

LINDA DENCHEL

Prosser

Need school? Look yourself

To the editor -- If you have not had a chance to take advantage of the Prosser High School tours being offered, I urge you to do so.

The infrastructure at the high school cannot support the level of learning that is expected to compete in the 21st century. The electrical system cannot support the required technologies of today, the HVAC system cannot provide an environment conducive to learning, and there are not enough restrooms or classrooms. Expensive portables that do not have a long life expectancy have had to be brought in to provide a sufficient number of classrooms. The church was rented and then bought because it was cheaper than buying more portables for the needed classrooms.

Prosser has a history of being an excellent school system largely due to the support the community has given. Students today have many obstacles to overcome in their efforts to be able to compete in today's marketplace. As adults, it is our responsibility to provide them with the tools for success. The Washington state government does not take its responsibility to make education its top priority seriously; we need not follow their poor example.

Vote yes for Prosser High School.

BILL STARKEY

Prosser

When vitriol is victorious

To the editor -- We hear much about the acrimony in our political discourse. Civil debate and viewing those who disagree as opponents are now provocative, rageful vitriol; opponents are now enemies.

This is borne out in increasingly negative political ads and how personal hatred, name calling, are now the accepted vocabulary. Is this dynamic something only "others" do and say? Manufactured by partisan media? Do we pay more than lip service to how regrettably nonproductive it is?

Acknowledging this landscape should prompt reflection on how we each voice our views. It's dishonest to assess our involvement in hate speech but call it "exercising our rights." When your child hears an adult opine that it's too bad it wasn't our president who was shot as if expressing dislike of tomatoes, it highlights the profound insensitivity plaguing our expressions. They're listening!

We hold that words, regardless of tone, are never an excuse for violence, but we must reconcile that with how thoughts lead to words which precede actions. Ever heard a transformational sermon, attended a pep rally, experienced an insult?

Conscious reflection is not caving to political correctness and need not dim our passion. The fear should be of losing our ability for civil behavior.

ROBIN L. WATSON

Yakima

Spiritual guidance

To the editor -- Re: The issue of prayers at Yakima City Council meetings. From what I read, Gonzalo Guillén didn't have a problem with the prayer itself, but the words "Jesus Christ." He isn't by any means in the wrong; in fact, proper etiquette dictates that such prayers (that begin meetings) should be silent or nondenominational. What does this mean? It means that the person leading the meeting should start off by saying something to the effect of "Please prepare yourself to pray following your custom" or "We will now take a moment to pray for guidance in our responsibilities." These two openings are silent.

If the need to say a prayer aloud is simply too overpowering, leave it nondenominational such as "Please may your presence guide us through the steps we are about to take."

With these, hopefully meetings can both retain the spiritual guidance needed by some and the separations desired by others.

BRYAN BALL

Yakima

Onerous facility fee

To the editor -- So, here's my dilemma. I go into Cornerstone Medical Clinic every two weeks for an injection. I spend less than 6-7 minutes in there, tops. I don't see a doctor, but a nurse. On top of my $25 co-pay, I must now pay a $75 facility fee.

My insurance won't accept more than one PPO (preferred provider) so I'm pretty much stuck unless I abandon my doctor and go someplace else, which I cannot fathom. Now I find myself sick with an upper respiratory infection. I want to see the doctor, but can't afford the $110 facility fee, that fee which was charged to me when my daughter went to the doctor for the same thing.

So, now, I have to choose my money instead of my health because $5 chest congestion medicine is more economical than spending 10-15 minutes in my doctor's office and being charged $110. Is this what it has come down to?

MARK SAWYER

Yakima