Did you know they took Nick away. Children miss Nick. I liked Rugrats it was funny. But they took it away. Can you find out why? Thank you Nick, ASTORIA HOERRMANN Age 8 St. George's Land Tax is too much March 10, 2000 Dear Sir, I have kept quiet for too long, and now feel I must speak out against the Land Tax increases, and the comments made by Delaey Robinson in Saturday, March 4 Royal Gazette .

Contrary to Mr. Robinson's assertion that land tax increases have been very very minor, my land tax has gone from $2,200 per year in July 1998, to $5,200 per year as of July 2000. This is an increase of $3,000 or 136 percent in two years. Astronomical when you think that inflation is only at around three percent per year, if that.

I am married and have a young family. My wife and I have decided that we must send our children to private school as the Government system is inadequate in our opinion, and does not offer our children the very best opportunities. We therefore spend over $16,000 per year to educate our two children. We have budgeted and made sacrifices to do this. No trip to New York for the weekend, no shopping sprees to the East Coast during Thanksgiving, no fancy car, no satellite system, very few extras.

To be expected to pay another $3,000 per year on land tax without much notice is a stretch. The Government budgets a year in advance; surely we should be given that much time as well.

If 75 percent of the population's land tax has gone down since the PLP government has been in power, (or so they tell us) why am I in the 25 percent whose land tax has gone up? I can only come up with this answer. I am part of the white minority, and I live in a predominantly white neighbourhood. If you think I am living in a mansion and can well afford to pay the increase, you are mistaken. My house is 2,400 square feet, and sits on a quarter acre of property. Not what I would consider the lap of luxury, middle class perhaps. I would dare say a lot of the PLP Ministers live in larger homes, with more property. It would be interesting to compare their taxes with mine. Do they even pay their taxes, or do they receive a special exemption? It wouldn't surprise me at all.

Perhaps the PLP government decided that because statistically they do not receive my vote, they would stick it to me. I can only guess, as our new "transparent'' government does not provide me with many answers.

My family has lived in Bermuda for over 250 years, and because of the current political climate, I no longer feel welcome in my own country. Perhaps what I should do is ignore paying the land tax, spend my money on educating my children not to be a burden on society, and wait for a more sympathetic government to remove my taxes payable as bad debt, as the PLP government did not long ago.

It is time to make a stand against the discriminatory practices of our current government concerning a certain segment of the population. What can they do if we all decide not to pay the increase in taxes? There is no more room in Westgate to put us, and if they did, how would the PLP government then afford to feed us three squares a day? They wouldn't have our taxes to pay for it.

We have been told over and over again that is it not our business what the PLP government does with our money. Well I would love the opportunity to tell them what do with it! Sorry I can't give my real name, someone might want to shoot me.

TAXED OUT Pembroke Two-parent families help March 6, 2000 Dear Sir, I will remain silent no longer. I am sick and tired of hearing the whining about the poor "`Black Victims'' in our prisons. If it isn't Dr. Hodgson or some other "Luminary''...all of whom should know better...it's a member of Government. I refer you to the interview with Senator Calvin Smith, published in the Bermuda Sun, on March 3. He is quoted as saying: 1. "If you look at the prison...it is clear that the judicial system works against blacks. The prison population is over 90 percent black but black people only make up 60 percent of the resident population. That to me, screams out for something to be done.'' Surely, Mr. Smith is not suggesting that the judicial system in Bermuda is sending "innocent'' blacks to jail while at the same time, it is not sending enough "innocent'' whites to jail! Or is he suggesting that all blacks that commit crimes be excused until there are enough whites in prison to reflect the percentage of whites in the resident population? The Westgate vacationers aren't innocent or victims of the judicial system! 2) Senator Smith is again quoted as saying: "When I was a boy at Berkeley. At that time I was one of a very few children born out of wedlock. Now, everyone is. Now thank God, there isn't that stigma.

Some would even argue that if you are born in wedlock, there is something different about you.'' Sen. Smith considers himself an educated man. In fact, he is a statistician.

One who works with percentages. So, I invite him to consider some of the percentages: The percentage of children who were born out of wedlock and the percentage of them that end up before a judge and are sent as "innocent'' victims to Westgate. The percentage of the prison population bears a direct relationship to the percentage of children born into one-parent homes. Some of these children only know the "name'' of their fathers. Some of these children never had a male role model, other than the model of those fine upstanding citizens who got their mothers pregnant and then rode off into the sunset on their altered noisy bikes or in expensive cars, to get some other female pregnant with never even a thought as to how the mothers of these children were going to earn enough money to pay for rent, food, clothing, etc. Never mind where they would find the time to teach their offspring the value of family, life or how to become law abiding citizens! These children enter the world already miles behind the children born in wedlock. Those "different'' children that have two people looking out for their welfare. These "different'' children have twice the love, care, teaching and training.

Thank God that some people, both black and white, on this increasingly immoral and crime-ridden island are "different'', or we would be finding a use for all those closed (and closing) hotels? Another prison in every parish, perhaps! Just think of the percentage of people who don't cost the Government for housing, schooling, special education, drug rehabilitation and the vacation at Westgate! Just think of all the wonderful things that could be done with that money! Finally, come on you church leaders...especially the AME leaders, who are so quick to point out that God doesn't approve of homosexuality! Where are you? That same God that you quote, thundered from Mt. Sinai: "Thou shall not commit adultery.'' ONE OF THOSE "DIFFERENT '' PEOPLE Hamilton Parish Prison is not working March 12, 2000 Dear Sir, I read with great interest a letter from a concerned St. Georges' resident pertaining to recent coverage of sentencing from our Family Court. Readers might recall the frustration expressed by the Magistrate Carlisle Greaves towards the unrealistic punishment able to be ordered under current law in the court.

The concerned St. George's resident suggested the option of community service instead of a fine, probation or incarceration.

Certainly I support this alternative, however I believe that quite often current law prohibits this option being used. This must be changed.

During the recent Budget debate, in my capacity as Shadow Minister for Public Safety, I addressed the subject of our prison system and specifically asked the question of whether or not it is servicing us effectively.

In my opinion, at the present time, it is not.

This is not a reflection on the personnel. This is a comment about the success we as a community are having in effectively punishing the convicted, in addition to preparing them, once their time is served, to successfully returning to society. At present the recidivism rate in our prison system is about 80 percent! That alone tells us the system is not working. Recent studies also tell us that Westgate is nothing more than a "baby sitting'' service. Consider in that it costs around $40,000 per year to maintain each inmate we must have the most expensive "baby sitting'' service in the world! Thus it is imperative that we legislate programmes that will work.

I believe that we must be tough on offenders but also offer them the programs to habilitate them. This will have a two-pronged effect. First it will drastically reduce the recidivism rate and save taxpayers money. Second it will successfully return people to society.

There are many programmes that we do not use at the present time. There are also programmes that are available in prison currently that are not being used because they are voluntary. Prison must be tough, while at the same time training for the future. Thus in prison we must implement mandatory work programs that teach discipline and show the value of hard work. Westgate must be viewed as a prison not as a hotel.

In addition, as a sentencing option for first time offenders, instead of a prison sentence, we must offer our judges the option of structured community service. This will also teach the values needed to cope in today's difficult world. Some of the lost values of yester year such as respect, kindness, honesty, hard work, and integrity among others.

As the St. George Resident wrote, soft laws and unrealistic fines do frustrate me. However I am committed to working for positive change. Change that will benefit the whole community.

We all must get involved to have any success.

MICHAEL H. DUNKLEY, MP Devonshire