Take care of the children

May 1, 2007

Dear Sir,

I am writing with reference to the recent talks concerning our children not having breakfast or lunch for school. We must recognise that there are some kids who don’t have the same privileges as others. It’s a sad day when a rich country such as Bermuda, sees our kids being hungry and not act upon it. My solution to the problem is that it not be a Government social service to fix, as some (I did say some) of these homes may already be on Social Service assistance, but we allow the churches to assist here in this social problem. My church, The First Church of God, North Shore, under the direction of Bishop Lambe, has provided daily lunches for years, and I would like to see every church adopt a school. Churches give back constantly, and this is one area I would like to see developed. May I suggest that the United by Faith Group of churches address this situation for our kids, as they are the next doctors, lawyers, preachers and teachers of our Bermuda tomorrow.

MS INGHAM

Pembroke<$>

Our club is non-political

April 27, 2007

Dear Sir,

For the record the political views and opinions of Mr. Gerald Fubler do not reflect, nor are they representative of the West End Youth Community Club. The West End Youth Community Club is and will always be a non-political organisation. Built up of a variety of community members that seeks to provide educational and structural recreation for the youth of the community and the community as a hole.Thank you.

MAKAI DICKERSON

Chairman

The West End Youth Community Club<$>

Diaper all horses

April 28, 2007

Dear Sir,

I visited one of my favourite beaches this week — Warwick Long Bay, the section just east of Jobson’s Cove. This beach is visited by visitors on foot, on cycle and by taxi and the taxi tour operators who can be seen, and heard, talking to our visitors about the pink sand as well as locals. However, as in previous years, I found it difficult to find a section of sand to sit on that was not polluted with horse manure — some quite dried out and some quite fresh! On Friday, there was a not so nice pile of manure close to the bottom of the new steps to the beach. Horses were on the beach mid-afternoon on Friday — in the upper section, but still on the beach not in the dunes.

Horses in Hamilton are obliged to wear “diapers” (although some drivers frequently deliberately drop the “diaper” once they are out of the City limits) so why should the riding school’s horses that take out visitors for rides along the public beaches not also “diaper” their horses? If the Riding Schools do not wish to diaper their horses then they should clean up after themselves — just as most dog owners do. Beaches polluted with horse manure are neither attractive nor healthy.

MANURE IS FOR ROSES NOT BEACHES

Pembroke<$>

Challenge turned down

April 9, 2007

This was sent to Premier Dr. Ewart Brown and copied to The Royal Gazette. The reply follows:

Dear Dr. Brown:

I respectfully request that you will grant me an opportunity to debate with you, the closure of “The Medical Clinic” on television. The time and date at your convenience and I thank you for your consideration to this matter and will wait to hear from you.

DIANA WILLIAMS

Pembroke<$>

Dear Ms Williams,

Your letter of April 9, 2007 refers. At this time I do not see the benefit to Bermuda of engaging in a debate with you or anyone else on this subject. My energy is directed towards the success of the new, progressive plan which I am confident will be well received by the people we serve.

Sincerely

Dr. the Hon. Ewart Brown, JP, MP

A note of thanks

May 1, 2007

Dear Sir,

Please allow me space in your newspaper, to thank all of the wonderful volunteers who gave their time on April 20, 2007, to sell tags for the 4th Annual Tag Day for the St. George’s Foundation and those that so generously gave to our cause of “ Bringing History to Life” here in the old Town. We greatly appreciate all of you that gave your time and those who gave donations, we could not have done it without you. Although the numbers were down from last year, $6,093.68, every bit helps. Please stop by and see what your money has contributed to so far at the World Heritage Visitors Centre, on Penno’s Wharf St. George.

MAYOR MARIEA C. CAISEY, JP

Event Chairman

The St. George’s Foundation<$>

What’s up in St. George’s

May 2, 2007

Dear Sir,

The day of the annual Peppercorn Ceremony is always a great day for the Old Town with lots of locals and visitors mingling and enjoying the day in St George’s. I was so disappointed this day, however, to see the condition of the town, especially in light of the fact that the cruise ship and main tourist season is upon us.

The roads are in deplorable condition; the new raised pedestrian crossing has bricks out of place already and seems too high with insufficient markings for traffic; the line markings along the sidewalks and as road indicators are faded and patchy; the buildings look tired and uninviting and the woodwork is old; one building on the main road is boarded up and, I understand, has been for months. Walking further up this road, the previous police station looks in dire need of attention and the outside windows of two of the restaurants looked sooty and dirty.

What is going on in the town? This is supposed to be the world heritage centre of Bermuda! I would think everything would be clean and bright with lots of flowers and benches to invite visitors to enjoy their time in the town. Why are the docks still in the condition they are after the hurricane now so long ago? Where is the board walkway? These are not only unsightly, but dangerous. What is happening to that poor house on the hill? Hopefully when the old Club Med building is demolished, the townsfolk will get injected with enthusiasm and do something about the rest of the town. It could (should) be a gem but, right now, it’s anything but.

OH YEA, OH YEA

St. George’s<$>

Give children a chance

May 1, 2007

Dear Sir,

After reading the article ‘You can’t think straight when you’re hungry’ in the May 1, 2007 Royal Gazette, it prompted me to make this suggestion. Why can’t United By Faith come together to provide meals for our Country’s starving children? If they can stop a cruise ship from coming to Bermuda don’t they have enough power to feed our youth.

FED UP WITH ENTITLEMENT

Warwick<$>

We need an opposition

May 4, 2007

Dear Sir,

I think all people of Bermuda should be concerned at Dr. Brown’s latest repeat announcement that he wishes to put the Opposition into’ irreversible obscurity’. Regardless of what one’s opinion is of the UBP the idea that any Government would hold such a majority is dangerous. Bermuda needs a strong Opposition as we are already seeing what can happen when one party is of the opinion that they can do what they like when in government. We have had a number of poorly and hastily drafted pieces of legislation which fortunately to date, have not materialised due to the structure of our system, we need that balance.

I suggest that the reason so many people are interested in running for the PLP is not because they are all of a sudden so concerned about Bermuda but because it is the fastest way to get on the gravy train that politics has become lately. Politicians of the past on both sides were there because they cared, they worked their way up and were successful in their own right. Now we are seeing new faces coming forward with no history in politics and no experience. It’s no wonder the grassroots supporters aren’t happy.

There was a time when the UBP held a large majority in Parliament and that was not a healthy situation, now the pendulum has swung too far the other way and the negatives of that are obvious to almost everyone, the difference these days is that the stakes are much higher.

ALAN GAMBLE

Hamilton