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| FEBRUARY 6, 2019
Viewpoint
OUR OPINION
THE MINER
LETTE RS POLICY We welcome letters to the editor. Letters should be no longer than 300 words. Letters should be typed and submitted to The Miner office no later than 5 p.m. Friday for publication the following Wednesday. No letter will be published unless it is signed by at least one individual, even if the letter represents the view of a group. The letter must include a telephone number and address for authentication. The Miner reserves the right to edit letters. Political letters will not be published the last issue before an election. Letters will be printed as space allows.
Eyes peeled for moose Last Monday I was driving home from work and had a not so pleasant encounter with a moose. One minute the road was clear with only a couple other travelers on the road and the next there was a set of hooves bouncing in front of my car. As I jumped the creature, Dukes of Hazard style, my 2002 Mercury Sable catching air, ‘I thought, oh my god was that a moose.’ Only having seen a single moose live and in person previous C A N E E L’ S to this tragic event and having C O R N E R only snatched a quick glance at its hooves as I used it as a ramp CANEEL to catapult into the air, I was not JOHSNON sure. I landed on the other side of the animal wondering why I had not been stopped dead in my tracks as if I had hit a brick wall. I haven’t hit an animal since I was in high school. I always attributed it to the fact that my thoughts were so loud that all the wildlife in a five-mile radius could hear them. My assumption was always justified by the fact that all the deer I had come across had been waiting on the side of the road staring at me as I drove by. I couldn’t understand why my thought throwing super power had not worked. Numb from the shock I tried to reconstruct what had taken place. I went through it in my mind. I looked in my rearview mirror and saw that there was someone parked on the other side of the road with their hazards on. The animal was not standing when I hit it. In fact it had not even finished landing, I realized as a flash of memory of the hooves falling rolled across my mind. What had happened was that the person in the oncoming lane had hit it and thrown the animal into my lane, and I had driven over the top of it. I had had just enough time to hit my breaks bringing my speed down to just under 55. In a daze I called my fiancé for a ride home because my car was sputtering and overheating. Then I called the police to report the accident. I got out to inspect my car and saw that the hooves had taken out both my headlights. My grill was gone and most of my front bumper had been torn off. When my fiancé arrived he went to inspect it and discovered it was in fact a moose. As I approached him he was touching it. “Don’t touch it,” I screeched astonished at the male need to poke at dead things. “It is still warm,” he said. The person who had hit it first had gone to get assistance to help remove it from the road. He was driving a large SUV and had minimal damage and a cracked windshield. After conferring with other people who either hit a moose or known someone who has, I began to realize how lucky I was. I was already grateful that I had not killed it, but I now realize that if it had been standing it may have seriously injured or even killed me. My car is low to the ground and it would almost surely have come through my windshield. The man who had hit the moose told me his son had hit one just a week or so ago and it had come through the windshield and bent the steering wheel. Another person told me that her friend had hit one, also in an SUV and it had come through the windshield and landed in her back seat. Can you imagine that? Having a moose crash through your windshield and end up in your back seat. I walked away without a scratch, but I don’t even want to imagine what it would have done to my midsize sedan and to me if I had hit it first.
Student debt draining retirement income Lots is written about students exiting college saddled with hefty student loans; however, the impact on retired parents went largely unnoticed. Recently, Wall Street Journal writer AnnaMaria Andriotis reported Americans over 60 years old are coming out of retirement and going back to work just to pay for their children’s education. On average student borrowers in G U E ST their 60s owed $33,800 in 2017 up O P I N I O N 44 percent from 2010. Student loan debt for seniors rose 161 percent DON C. between 2010 and 2017. It was the BRUNELL largest increase of any group. ASSOCIATION Why the shift to parents? In OF 2008, lenders started requiring moms and dads to co-sign for colWASHINGTON lege loans. BUSINESS As a result, seniors are finding PRESIDENT themselves working deeper into their retirement years and are holding on to jobs that younger adults would normally take. Older financially strapped Americans are relying SEE BRUNELL, 6A
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YO U R O P I N I O N Vote no on permanent levy To the editor, The West Bonner County School District (WBCSD) has proposed a permanent annual public school levy. Property owners must have a voice in how their property taxes are used. The WBCSD board has stated the following reasons for support of a permanent levy: (1) It will save the cost of having special elections, (2) It will hold the bond amount at $3 million, (3) if the State increases the money it provides to schools, the board can lower the levy, and (4) The public needs an opportunity to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Following are the facts: 1) If WBCSD wanted to save taxpayers the cost of a special election, the school levy vote would be held in May with other county elections. They don’t because fewer people will vote against the levy if it is not held at the same time as other issues, and it is more likely to pass when summer residents are out of state. 2) Board members stated they still could raise the levy amount if they need to; they just have to bring it to the community for a vote. This nullifies both No. 1 and No. 2. 3) The District could reduce the amount of the levy in the future, but it won’t. WBCSD always has projects on hold because new projects demand more money. Once it is allotted to them permanently, they will spend it. 4) Voters may have an opportunity to say yes or no this year, but that will be the last time. If the levy passes, voters will lose the opportunity to
ever say yes or no again. Please vote No on March 12. -Ingri Cassel Spirit Lake
Turn PUD shop into town facility To the editor, This is an open letter to Pend Oreille County Commissioners, Public Utility District Commissioners and Port of Pend Oreille Commissioners Dear Commissioners: Having served as a county commissioner I know how hard it is to bring people together. I also know how much time is spent on economic development. Getting all three commissions – County, PUD and Port – to work together can be difficult but also powerful, I am impressed and applaud your work. The problem is that the current proposed smelter project has turned out to be extremely divisive. The credibility of the three commissions is being questioned. And my bet is whether the smelter is ever built or not, the credibility question will remain. So, why not have the three commissions continue to work together to improve not only the local economy, but also the look and feel of the county. A project that will improve the Newport business district and provide opportunity for more economic development. Here’s the idea: Take the three blocks on Union Avenue currently being used by the PUD as a storage yard/ shop and move them out of town. Those three blocks can then be developed into a beautiful down town facility which would include a Railroad
READE R’S POLL Howard Schultz, the 65-year-old billionaire who got rich turning Starbucks coffee into a global brand, announced last week he was considering a run for the presidency of the United States as an independent. He says both parties are being driven by their extreme elements. Do you think Schultz should run? No, we don’t need another billionaire (expletive) as president. Yes, he’s right about the influence of the extremes on the parties. He’s fiscally conservative, socially liberal and values international relations, just what we need.
Depot for the Rotary Train Rides, possibly an experimental Incubator Kitchen, maybe a Community Center or who knows, maybe even a Trader Joe’s. I am positive that such a project would be embraced by the community and bring all kinds of long-term benefits to our beautiful county. -Joel Jacobsen Newport
Government shut down over wall is wrong To the editor: Concerning President Trump’s partial shutdown of the federal government, in order to coerce funding the border wall between Mexico and the U.S. In 2017, 15 million Mexicans, 20 million Canadians and about 40 million other foreigners legally visited our nation. Most returned to their home countries. Others were operating under work permits. Of the above there was a small percentage that stayed in the U.S. after their visas and work permits expired. Of the undocumented people in our nation the vast majority constitute the above. Building a wall between the U.S. and Mexico will not stop the above. To secure our nation it would be necessary to completely seal off our borders and not let any foreigners into our nation. This is not reasonable. Another method would be to impose severe penalties upon U.S. employers for hiring undocumented persons. The last two years the Republicans controlled the federal Senate and House of Representatives. But even they
Greed leading to civil war? To the editor, Having reached a respectable life of almost 91 years, I was sincerely dedicated to let the troubles of our nation be someone else’s problem. The country that I adopted 77 years ago was a ‘dream come true.’ Unfortunately it is not anymore. Gone are the civility, the fairness and the compassion. We have turned into a greedy, unfair and uncivil bunch of unruly kids. Leading the pack is a congress that can’t find the closest washroom without a GPS. The usual congratulatory handshake between winner and loser has become a bitter, hateful, SEE LETTERS, 5A
R E A D E R ’ S P O L L R E S U LT S Do you think the government will remain open or will Trump and lawmakers again allow it to shutdown?
41% No way. The Republicans will not allow the government to shutdown again.
No, he won’t win and will get Trump reelected if he runs as an independent. He should run as a Democrat or not at all. Yes, he’ll pull the Democrats back from the influence of that crazy Alexandria Octasio Cortez, who wants to turn us into Venezuela.
would not support funding for constructing a border wall with Mexico. Where was the national emergency then? Why didn’t President Trump initiate a partial shutdown of the federal government when his own Republican party would not fund the border wall? Also, according to president Trump, Mexico would pay for the construction of the border wall, of which they have refused to do. To shut down large portions of the U.S. government and put federal workers in sever economic conditions is wrong. And to separate babies from their mothers and to send children back to their home countries and put them in severe jeopardy is wrong as well. Your Christian readers may want to refer to Matthew 18:6, and 25:35-36. -Mark Johnson Nine Mile Falls
It will close again. Trump will do what it takes to make the border secure with a wall.
59% Total Votes: 32