Letters: Kamiakin name an honor, litter is bad, wokeness is confusing and more | June 6

Honoring her grandfathers

There are two World War II fallen warriors I want to honor. An engineer with a dearly loved family, who never returned from the last of his multiple missions and fell in France. The other last known to be a POW in Siberia. Both of them are my grandfathers. Both of them, I don’t know how willingly because they were drafted, gave everything for their countries. Their absence reached into the future as their children grew up unprotected, in poverty for years and no memories.

However — I am an immigrant and they died for the wrong side.

Every Memorial Day I wonder whether I can be proud of my honored dead. Do I wish Hitler had won? Of course not. One doesn’t have to be American to despise tyranny. But is there a place for my grandfathers who fought for their families though they were German? Shall I continue that terrible, terrible war in my heart? Am I less valuable an American because I mourn my unmet grandfathers? May I be grateful to live in a country that makes room for all of us? May I work for peace so that all our honored dead can be proud of all of us now?

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Littering not good for environment

I am writing to share that it is not good to litter. It’s not good to throw trash on the ground because that is littering. Littering is not good for the environment.

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Just what is this ‘woke’ thing?

This “thing” with woke/wokeness has me confused. Even my computer is confused about it. I have been woke since 6:30 am today and am in a state of wokeness right now. However, if I sat down to read, I would no longer be woke, but would enter a state of napness. This is annoying to me because when I go to bed, I enter another state of wokeness, when what I really need is to enter a state of napness or sleepness. Some might say “sit down and read,” however that does not work in the evening, only in the daytime when wokeness is desired.

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Kamiakin’s name adopted in honor

In the spring of 1970, students who would attend the new high school were given an opportunity to name the school. The students voted on several selections, and Kamiakin was the lead name. We engaged with the Yakama tribe asking for permission to honor Chief Kamiakin.

With overwhelming support, the tribe gave permission to use Kamiakin and the Braves as our school name and mascot and the name of our school annual, Totem. The Yakamas even came to our school and honored us with one of their ceremonial dances and the appearance of the Princess Wanda Goudy Martin, the great-great-great granddaughter of Chief Kamiakin. Nothing was done to disparage or insult, only to honor.

It would be a shame to let a bad law interfere with the good intentions of those students, myself included.

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Stoplights badly timed at Chiawana

Some of the (Pasco) stoplights are turning yellow too fast. At least the one across the street from Chiawana High School is. That light only lets 2 to 3 vehicles go through it. The short stop light is making some of the high school students late to school. It is faster to walk to school than to drive to school. How do I know it’s faster to walk to school? Well, I’m one of the students. Some students leave their vehicle on the side of the road just so they can make it to school on time.

I think they should fix the stoplights timer so that more vehicles can get through the light at one time. I’m a student at Chiawana High School

This story was originally published June 6, 2021 at 9:33 PM with the headline "Letters: Kamiakin name an honor, litter is bad, wokeness is confusing and more | June 6."