Letters to the editor

No ogres or bogeymen at church It's weird but true that I am not really surprised anymore to see my husband or my church blasted in the letters on this page. Lots of people in Moscow know us or know people in our congregation, and so they can dismiss the letters as more of the same old onslaught. And I tell you the truth, when your adversaries are willing to flat out lie, well, there's really no limit to what they can say (and they do use this "advantage"). But for those in town who just read the paper and take it all in, I'd like to repeat what my father told me many times growing up: Don't believe everything you read. Just because it's in print don't make it so. When I look around Christ Church on a Sunday morning, I wonder where all the so-called racists and hateful people are. Our church is full of some real sweet folks, just like other churches on the Palouse. Amazing as it might sound to some, my husband, much like many of the other husbands in our church, is kind, generous, forgiving, humble, and very jolly. At the end of the service each week he gets tackled by our herd of little grandchildren. They don't think he is scary at all. So all you skeptical readers in Daily News land, please come see us for yourselves. We would welcome you to join us for worship. Nancy Wilson, Moscow Ask City Council about water use Fact: The city of Moscow is signatory to the Palouse Basin Aquifer agreement which requires it to limit increases in aquifer pumping to 1 percent annually and for Moscow to not exceed a pumping cap of 875 million gallons/year. The pumping signatories (Moscow, Pullman, University of Idaho and Washington State University) hoped limiting pumping increases would allow the aquifer levels to stabilize. They were wrong. Fact: From 1994 to 2003, Moscow exceeded its 1 percent annual growth limit and from 1998-2003 its 875 mgy cap. Fact: After Moscow conservation and civic groups filed a petition with the state asking for designation of area aquifers as critical groundwater management areas and groundwater management areas the city implemented mandatory landscape irrigation measures that reduced the amount of water pumped by the city from 919 mgy in 2003 to 819 mgy in 2005. (Bravo.) 2005 was the first year since the city signed the PBAC agreement that it was in compliance with the agreement. Fact: Moscow city wells (with the exception of Wells 6 and 8 which have had their pumping significantly decreased due to municipal piping issues) continue to have declining water levels despite the conservation efforts of people and businesses across the city. Fact: the Wal-Mart Supercenter developer forecasts full build out at 1.5 million square foot of commercial space. The applicant predicts water usage at over 62 mgy or a 7.6 percent increase above current levels violating the 1 percent PBAC limit. Full build out will cause the city to exceed its absolute PBAC cap of 875 mgy. Questions: Is this how we want to use the water we have conserved? Do we want to give all our water to Wal-Mart? Answer: City Council public hearing on proposed rezone to accommodate a Wal-Mart Supercenter is 7 p.m. Monday. Ask the council yourself. Mark Solomon, Moscow Things could be related Some of the most retrograde people in America reside on the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal. The following exchange occurred recently with one board member and a CNN analyst: "There have been no attacks on American soil in nearly five years," says the editor. "And that's because of the invasion of Iraq?" asks the analyst. "They could be related," says our editorial sage. That's the sort of namby pamby that apologists for the war are now reduced to: Things could be related. We now know that the administration ran roughshod over the meticulous planning of Pentagon general officers. American lives were lost due to Defense Secretary Rumsfeld's colossal arrogance, and the generals know it. Those things are related. Ten billion dollars a month are now put toward this pig-headed president's evangelical mission of deliverance. Meanwhile, resources are diverted from the health care, education, energy security, and the border and port security of Americans. Some things related are the benefits forgone. The administration's concept of homeland defense has been wrong from the get-go. We have lost credibility, respect, influence, and moral authority. The things related are the powers forgone. These are some of the spoiled fruits of wars of choice. Lee Freese, Pullman Election letters Letters to the editor regarding the May 16 Moscow School Board election are due by 5 p.m. May 10 at the Daily News offices in Moscow or Pullman. Letters to the editor regarding the May 23 Idaho primary election are due by 5 p.m. May 17 at the Daily News offices in Moscow or Pullman.