Orchid Club thanks donorsApril 25, 2006Dear Sir,We the officers and members of the Orchid Charity Club take this opportunity to express our appreciation to the many merchants who made donations to our Annual Christmas Project. This project enables us to make a contribution to the residents in the senior homes and other organisations throughout the island, for which they are very thankful and overjoyed.

At this time we would also like to thank our faithful taggers, who donated their personal time, to tag for us on our Annual Tag Days of January 20 and 21, 2006.

Thanks to the merchants throughout Bermuda, who gave us permission to place our taggers in front of their establishments.

We are happy to report that this year’s tag day was a resounding success; this could not have been realised without any of you.

Also to any other merchants who supplied us with food provisions for our St. Patrick’s Day Tea, we would like to say thank you, as our Tea was once again a huge success.

During the tea we were challenged by our guest speaker Rev. Ronald C. Smith of the Angle Street Church of God, and serenaded by the North Village Band soloist Olney Bean, Trinity of Marsden Methodist Church and the Apex Four.

To you and your families we give our heart felt gratitude. To our brothers, the Leopards Club, our own sisters the Orchids, our faithful helpers, and lets us not forget our loyal patrons, for without your dedication, our Tea would not be a reality, “Thank you”.

May God continue to bless each and every one of you, as you go about carrying out His charitable deeds.

LOIS WEEKS

Hamilton<$>Education explainsMay 4, 2006Dear Sir,Recent incidents at CedarBridge Academy, the decision to close Smith’s Preschool and subsequent coverage in the press, give us the opportunity to explain the Ministry of Education and Development’s approach to communicating with the public on issues affecting public education in Bermuda.

Mr. Editor, as you would be aware, the decision to close Smith’s Parish Preschool was made as a last resort after an exhaustive search for suitable alternative premises.

It is unfortunate that a subheading (“Statement made after Sun inquiry”) in the Bermuda Sun story of Friday, April 26, gave the misleading impression that the Ministry would not have informed the public of this decision, when it did, had the paper not made enquires about the matter.

There are several thousand direct stakeholders within the public education system, however, the Ministry recognises the critical significance of public education to the country as a whole.

As such, the goal of the Ministry is to communicate as proactively as possible with the general public on issues pertaining to public education while tempering this with the need to ensure that full dialogue and consultation take place with internal stakeholders before decisions are made public.

In the case of the Smith’s Preschool closure, the direct internal stakeholders included parents who had registered their children for the upcoming year and the three staff members.

Discussions and communication had to take place with these groups, and the Bermuda Union of Teachers, before communicating the Ministry’s decisions to the general public.

That process was completed on Wednesday afternoon, clearing the way to informing the general public on Thursday, April 27.

The Bermuda Sun, apparently, concluded that the Ministry issued its statement when it did only because of their inquiries.

The Royal Gazette’s <$>coverage of Friday’s evacuation of CedarBridge Academy also left the misleading impression that the Ministry’s intention to revise the Education Rules to require schools to have a bomb threat evacuation plan was a direct consequence of Friday’s incident.

In fact, that decision was made well before this recent CedarBridge Academy incident, as part of an ongoing review process, and was explained in response to a reporter’s questions at a press conference called by the Ministry immediately after the all-clear had been given.

While there may be any number of reasons why the printed coverage was misleading in both instances and we do not wish to engage in a “media bashing” exercise, it is important to correct any perception in the minds of the public that the Ministry of Education and Development was being reactive when nothing could be further from the truth.

The Ministry of Education and Development, with the assistance of the Department of Communication and Information, strives to be as proactive in its communications as possible. Its actions and decisions reported last week were sterling examples of such a pro-active approach.

DR. JOSEPH CHRISTOPHER

Chief Education Officer

Ministry of Education and DevelopmentIndependence and visasApril 30, 2006Dear Sir,During this month I had the occasion to stay at a small hotel in a town between Melbourne and Sydney, Australia. It was run by a Maltese citizen.

In conversation with this person, the question came up as to whether he returns to his country of birth or elsewhere. His reply was that he could not be bothered to do so as he was sick of having to apply for visas to every country he visits since Malta became independent from Britain in 1979.

For the record, Malta has a population of about 350,000 compared to Bermuda’s 64,000. Makes you think doesn’t it!!

KBJ

City of HamiltonRegiment is valuableMay 1, 2006Dear Sir,There was a Letter to the Editor the other day from, I believe, Mr. Marshall and he said that conscription is not practised anywhere in the world at this time.

There are 33 countries around the world that have mandatory military service — Austria, Belarus, Bermuda, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, Croatia, Denmark, Egypt, Eritrea, Finland, Germany, Greece, Iran, Israel, South Korea, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, Ukraine and Venezuela.

The Bermuda Regiment is very valuable part of our community here. It mixes all races, all backgrounds, instils disciple and makes men out of boys.

It would be a great shame if it were not continue.

L.L.

PembrokeHorrifying horse photo April 26, 2006Dear Sir,The front page of The Royal Gazette today was horrifying. Those poor animals were left to fend for themselves, without food and water in dirty stable conditions exposed to all kinds of insects, I’m sure.

It goes to show that some people who have animals should not have animals in their care, ever. It baffles me as to why the SPCA took so long to take these animals away from this jerk. Why were they left in his care after being taken away from him before? Why didn’t the SPCA check on those animals every day or even every other day? Why did these animals suffer for so long before anything was done? It completely and utterly disgusts me.

Do we honestly think that in five years, when he again owns animals, which he cannot afford to feed, he will treat them any better? Is this system continually going to give these people a slap on the hand each and every time they mistreat animals?

It’s about time we stand up for these animals and talk to our Parliament Members about these laws we have and possibly have them increased or even have the responsible party forced into some sort of service of animals where they can learn to treat them with dignity. Maybe they should be forced to provide volunteer services with the SPCA.

Mr. Darrell should be made to pay for every penny that was spent on vet’s bill and the SPCA’s time. If he can’t afford it, there is such a thing as a payment plan. Mr. Darrell should never be allowed to own animals again, and that should be the end of it.

M. DUBOIS

PembrokeGet the chairs out, pleaseApril 19, 2006Dear Sir,I would like to put a word out to the shop keepers of Bermuda (all kinds). I think they should be a chair or two at the entrance inside where someone can sit and wait for the wives, husbands, friends.

Every time I go into a shop with a friend, I cannot find anywhere to sit while she is being waited on and I am sure there are a lot of people who have the same wish. ‘Coopers” always had one by the door and so did Trimingham’s . So shops get that little chair out.

WAITING IS TIRING

Devonshire