My warm welcome

April 11, 2005

Dear Sir,

A few letters to the Editor have appeared concerned that the venues for the BIC public meetings were ill-chosen. One writer even felt his wife and daughter might be unsafe in such surroundings.

I attended the meeting at the Warwick Workmen?s Club as a matter of principle. It was far from being the most entertaining evening out that I have ever had. However I felt perfectly safe at the Warwick Workmen?s Club and everyone was very courteous to me. Nobody expected the BIC to hire the ballroom at the Southampton Princess.

I would far rather spend an evening with the Warwick Workmen than with the intensive and impertinent UN Decolonisation Committee, whose totally unnecessary trip to Bermuda was a complete waste of time and money, the latter thankfully theirs and not ours.

Feat of endurance

April 10, 2005

Dear Sir,

What should have been a lovely peaceful Sunday afternoon stroll around Hog Bay Park was turned into a feat of endurance.

A large number of men, youths and quite small children were scrambling there, with total disregard for the damage they were inflicting upon the paths and the farmer?s fields. The noise was terrific.

Most worrying was the way we had to stand to the extreme edges of the trails, which were full of poison ivy, more than a dozen times, in order to avoid being run down, as the riders made little attempt to slow down as they approached. Needless to say, our walk was ruined.

Now I can quite understand that these folks were having a lot of fun, and most of them were kitted out in correct gear and helmets, which means they take the sport seriously. However, a public park and reserve is not the place for such activities. Surely, if there is not a proper facility available for the practice and enjoyment of this sport, there are enough lands at NOB to provide such a venue.

Save the children

April 8, 2005

Dear Sir,

With reference to a court case in today?s . My heart goes out to the little 18-month-old baby girl who was subjected to a heated argument between her mother and father. At that age little children are so impressionable and absorb every action, particularly of their parents.

Too bad these so called adults couldn?t put aside their differences in the presence of such an innocent God given precious gift.

What racial comment?

April 12, 2005

Dear Sir,

This brief correspondence is directed at police spokesman Dwayne Caines. Mr. Caines, at no time while reading Mr. Cann?s account of events surrounding his and his wife?s arrests did he say, or suggest, that Police made racial comments.

He does suggest that he was ?profiled? because of his hair. May I suggest that you use more appropriate descriptive language, as I, and others I?m sure have been misled (hopefully by accident), due to the connotation that race was a factor in his arrest.

Angry about sentence

March 25, 2005

Dear Sir,

I refer to the verdict read on the afternoon of Friday, March 18, 2005 in Supreme Court No.2 by Judge Norma Wade-Miller. This was the case of Theresa Ebbin against Jacquelyn Fubler, who was found guilty in September, 2004 of causing grievous bodily harm to Stephen Ebbin in July 2001, who was only ten months old at the time. Words cannot describe the rage I feel when I think about the outcome.

This incident happened over three-and-a-half years ago and had been in and out of court and bounced back and forth between Magistrates? and Supreme Court when it should never have been in Magistrates? Court initially.

The bruises inflicted upon the tiny body of my nephew are still vivid in my mind and I can recall the pain he suffered at the hands of this woman. Then to sit in court and hear the judge pass down the sentence of two years (12 months incarcerated and 12 months on probation ? taking into account time already spent incarcerated) made my blood boil. If I, or any one of my family members sitting in court that day, had attacked Jacquelyn Fubler after hearing the sentence and inflicted pain upon her body the way she did to my nephew, we would have been arrested, charged with assault or something of that nature, and then would have received a similar or harsher sentence than she did. The difference between my nephew?s incident and the scenario described above is this: He was an innocent baby incapable of defending himself. That reason along is just cause for a harsher punishment. Considering the sentence given, this important fact seems to have been overlooked.

On the one hand, I am disgusted, shocked, and outraged to say the least, but on the other hand, I expect nothing more from our justice system as I have seen it fail our community time and time again in many different areas.

It truly amazes me when I hear or read about the sentences passed down on drug dealers, drug abusers, bike thieves, employees stealing money from companies, etc., but when dealing with the monsters that hurt our innocent, defenceless children, some of whom end in death, it sickens me to see them get what I call ?a slap on the wrist?. I recall a recent case in which another innocent, defenceless baby did not survive. The accused in that case was found guilty and received life behind bars. This woman, Jacquelyn Fubler, was found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm to a ten-month-old baby and receives a two-year sentence, only one of which is to be served behind bars. Where is the balance? My nephew survived so the punishment for the criminal is minimised? Someone, please show me the justice in this. What message does this send to our community? Or better yet, what message are we sending child abusers?

In closing, I have two children of my own and the thought of raising them in this society with an inconsistent and failing justice system frightens me every day. What a sad world I have brought my children into God, protect us because no one else will.

EVA N. HODGSON

Bailey?s Bay