Congratulations, Mr. Eve

October 13, 2003

Dear Sir,

Hearty congratulations to Mr. Richard Eve upon his appointment as head of Tourism's overseas sales and marketing.

Not that Mr. Eve needs my endorsement, but the position is a long time coming. I note with interest Minister Webb's comments in today's paper that his application passed with flying colours. Mr. Eve's credentials and capabilities passed with flying colours years ago and I echo the sentiments of other former Tourism colleagues as to why he was passed up all these years.

What tourism really has in Mr. Eve is old-school savvy, old school contacts and an old school gracious manner. He is well-liked in the industry and is articulate. Essential then and crucial now.

PAMELA H. WILLCOCKS

Pembroke

Fireworks at 2 a.m.

October 13, 2003

Dear Sir,

Holy shell shock! What inee hell is going on?

This was my reaction at 2 a.m. on Sunday morning when I was knocked out of bed by several large explosions. Had Osama and his boys finally decided to take Bermuda?

Were the Cubans here for their buses and tea? Should I get my rusty machete out of the shed and protect my family from harm? All this was going through my head as I crawled, commando-style, outside to investigate.

Well, the sky over Dockyard was lit up like the 4th of July. Had to be one of the biggest pyrotechnic displays ever. Made Walt Disney look like a piker.

My first thought was, if I can be blasted out of bed in Spanish Point then the people of Somerset must be fleeing the West End with the fear of God at their heels. What idiot authorised this noisy display at such an ungodly hour? Did they not know about the noise laws? If I can be issued a ticket for playing my radio too loud at 11 p.m., how can they possibly get off with this breach of law? And how many policemen were on duty at Dockyard at the time of the incident and did they make an attempt to ticket or arrest the person in charge of the detonations? I hope someone has some answers out there.

This is the sort of reckless Government we are forced to contend with. They want to have their fun and everyone else be damned. The Premier better have a full investigation on this (unless he was a party to item, then who in Government really cares). I suppose this will get swept under the carpet like BHC and a few other incidents too scary to mention.

NERVOUS WRECK

Pembroke

Future at stake

The following letter was sent to Jeremy Elmas, general manager of Bermuda CableVision, and copied to The Royal Gazette.

Dear Mr. Elmas,

How much longer must we wait for our cable TV to be restored? It is now six weeks post-Hurricane Fabian and all I can see everywhere on the Island are downed cable TV lines and nary a CableVision truck in sight. We can never get through to your customer service lines and have never been provided with updates as to when we might ever have service again!Nowhere on earth (other than perhaps a Third World country) would it take months and months to restore cable TV - especially on such a small Island. Unfortunately, with so little else to do, we are very reliant on our televisions for entertainment. I only wish that your new up and coming wireless cable competitor (WOW) was up and running as I would be running to them, never to return! Get your act together or close up shop - your competition is just around the bend and I'm sure the majority of Bermuda residents can't wait! Unfortunately, you are setting your company's own destiny for failure and bankruptcy!

BEYOND FED UP

AND WAITING FOR WOW

Warwick

‘Completely unacceptable'

October 13, 2003

Dear Sir,

I find CableVision's offer of 14 days credit for customers living in Smith's Parish completely unacceptable.

As of today, I have been without cable for 39 days and when it is restored I expect a refund for the entire length of time I was without service.

I called their office two weeks ago and got the usual recorded message. This time, however, I was able to leave a voice message instead of getting the usual “mailbox is full” recording. Needless to say, no one has called me back.

According to Jeremy Elmas, customers who wish to request additional credits should contact CableVision, once their service is restored. Why would the “customer” have to contact CableVision? CableVision knows when a customer's service is restored and I feel that they should automatically credit the customer's account for the full number of days they were without service.

Once again, a “monopoly” service provider is not providing their customers with acceptable service.

ANOTHER FED UP

CUSTOMER OF CABLEVISION

Pembroke

Asbestos disposal

October 8, 2003

Dear Sir,

The old expression goes, ‘when you got lemons, make lemonade'. It seems that on the asbestos disposal issue we have made a mountain out of a molehill. Mixing asbestos with concrete is a well established and safe method of disposal; so why not use this technique and use the concrete to bolster the Causeway?

We can simultaneously get rid of the asbestos in a safe, economical and environmentally acceptable way with minimal liability issues, and provide protection for the Causeway from future storms.

Now you may remember Government was prepared to use this method until certain environmental groups objected. But I believe the objection was not specific to what was being dumped at sea, but to the precedent of dumping at sea. We can avoid similar objections because we are not “dumping” at sea. If you want to put a positive spin on this, why not have representatives from environmental protection groups give advice on how the Causeway support can be designed to foster marine growth.

D. GALLOWAY

Somerset

‘Take back our children'

October 13, 2003

Dear Sir,

I am writing this letter in concern for our children's future. How can we allow this new school system to ruin the chances that our children need to survive in the world and all that it will throw at them?

Teachers are complaining about having very little control over how the students behave in the classroom thus not being able to teach. Some students will not listen and are not willing to learn and disrupt others who are willing to learn. On the other hand, parents are having the same discipline problem at home. I think what is needed is for both parent and teacher to have a means to control our children. Both need to be able to whoop the child as it was done for us when we were children. It did not kill us or turn us into adults with severe mental damage. I say take away the power from Mrs. Cooper and take back our children and control of their future. Remember how it worked for us. We must work together on this, our most important task ever.

CONCERNED FATHER AND CITIZEN

Pembroke

A perfect ferry stop

October 11, 2003

Dear Sir,

To Commuter - Flatts Village. The Government received a very large parcel of land many years ago called the Penhurst Park just west of Store Hill. I believe it is between nine and 12 acres. The stipulation that the benefactor had in donating the property to Government was that they build a dock large enough to berth a ferry. Of course the Government of the day built a dock in a hurry to obtain the property and to date no ferry has ever gone there. The dock probably can't house the modern ferries of today but perhaps with minimal effort it could be modified. Parking will surely not be a problem as there is a paved area adjacent to the dock and many acres across the road.

Other areas to be looked at for a ferry stop would be Ducking Stool and Admiralty House.

COMMUTER ALSO

Event was a success

October 14, 2003

Dear Sir,

On October 12, the “Just Between Us” breast cancer support group held our 10th annual fashion show and tea which took place at St. John's Sunday School. It was a very successful affair.

Through your column we would like to thank Mrs. Joan White for arranging the hall. Mr. Richard Hill for setting up the tables and chairs. Thanks also to Mrs. Terry Weeks and her assistant Laurie Daniels for the commentary on the models and their outfits. This year we thank the band ‘A Piece of the Rock' whose music was well received by all.

We would like to thank the models who were members and their families who also modelled for us. Thanks to to the members who helped in any way to make the occasion such a success. Another thanks to those who purchased tickets and attended.

Thanks should go to the Bermuda TB, Cancer & Health Association for lending us their microphone system.

Next year we hope to present another event.

MARY E. WILLIAM

Chairperson JBU