It was with great disappointment and distress that I read the recent `Letters to the Editor' from the Grade 10 class of Mount St. Agnes on Saturday, May 8.

While I completely support encouraging children to learn about freedom of speech, I think that any lessons they learn about `Responsible Reporting' are of equal importance, especially in a society as small as ours. In my opinion there are a few points to which should also be considered.

While the topic of vicious dogs is a good one, I don't think the students or teacher researched the particular story in any detail before submitting the many letters that they did. Every story has two sides and if you're going to write letters to the Editor, then the story should be verified. The front page article "Couples get `torn to pieces' by dogs'' only represented one person's view of the incident as there were inaccuracies in the story. In our opinion, it would have been nice if The Royal Gazette had taken the time to obtain the other side of the story while at the same time providing to our young people an example of responsible reporting. In our review of the letters provided by the students, it appears that the corrections contained in the follow-up article which appeared a few days later have been ignored.

Our dogs are family pets -- both adopted from the SPCA. One of the dogs is ten years old, the other five years old and prior to moving to Jennings Road (two years ago) we had not had one single incident with either of our dogs. We are responsible pet owners who have always taken a keen interest in animal issues.

We have always had invisible fencing on the property, like many people in our community and as such considered that our dogs were secured. We trust our dogs completely and still do not believe that they were involved with this incident.

As no-one actually witnessed our dogs attacking the neighbours dog, we still believe that it could not be proved in court that our dogs were involved.

Nonetheless, my husband pleaded guilty because we decided to move on with more important things. It was our opinion that the courts and the Police time would be far better used dealing with more important issues and that getting bogged down with a court case of this nature would not be in the best interest of our judicial system. To this day it still annoys us that our statements were never taken by the Police and that we were provided with misleading information in what appears to have been a need to get this high profile case resolved at all costs.

The Correias' contention that our dogs have attacked on three previous occasions this year cannot be verified as no incidents had been reported to the Police and no incidents had been reported to us.

By personalising this issue (reference to my husband pleading guilty and paying fine) you have further ostracised us from our neighbours. This has been a very difficult situation for all involved and these letters have served to further aggravate the current situation.

Unfortunately, while your topic is a good one, I think you have focused on a personal story that involves many more issues than an accusation of a dog attack. Our family has been quite shocked at the apparent vindictiveness of some of our neighbours and we have had a first-hand lesson in how intolerant and self-absorbing we Bermudians can be. In hindsight, it appears that we made the wrong decision to plead guilty and that we may feel the effect of this decision for a long time to come.

JULIA HAWLEY Smith's Parish Bill Shoaf should stay May 18, 1999 Dear Sir, It was exactly one month ago that I wrote to you concerning the outrageous behaviour of persons who were maliciously attacking Bill Shoaf, General Manager and CEO of the Elbow Beach Hotel.

Since then the machine of vicious and malicious gossip has continued. To read the front page of The Royal Gazette on May 17 ("Death threats made against hotel manager'') is very disquieting.

I have known Bill Shoaf since 1973, when I attended Cornell Hotel School with him until we both graduated in 1976. I know this man to be a great hotelier, a man with great ideas. Indeed he has many connections to Bermuda through family and spent much of his teen years here. I, Mr. Editor, know what a racist is. A racist is someone who systematically wants to rid society of a particular strain of human being. It can be because he is white, yellow or black. I consider the religious problems also as bad, in that Catholics have persecuted Protestants, Muslims have killed Jews, and vice-versa. Yugoslavia is in front of all of us to see the brutality of man. History shows us that many awful things have happened.

I am a Bermudian, born in 1951. My father was English so was my mother. I was born here in Bermuda. My Dad was of Irish descent. His father was a member of the I.R.A. But guess what guys, that does not mean I hate Protestants. I also only know Bermuda as my home. I am not responsible for what happened during the slave trade days. But what happens is that, hey Tony Brannon you're not really Bermudian, because your Daddy ain't an Onion. Well guess what...I am Bermudian and proud of it. I also am fed up of apologising for being "white''. I am sorry for those black Bermudians that have nothing better to do than make white people feel they should not even be here in Bermuda.

Back to Bill Shoaf...

I remember well the day the Black Mayors conference came to Bermuda and to Elbow Beach. I remember Bill Shoaf was the one who offered Elbow as the host hotel, after others, including The Southampton Princess and Sonesta, did not want any part of it. I also remember well, The Bermuda Industrial Union lending Bonnie Marshall $40,000. Did you ever get your money back? Derrick, your members would love to know.

I think that when renegade middle managers OK the lobby of Elbow Beach to be turned into a clothing stall, with all sorts of inappropriate displays, I fully sympathise with Bill Shoaf being upset. The hotel lobby had been turned from its multi-million dollar refit into an embarrassing joke. I also know that the hotel bill had not been paid at that time and, I bet a lot of it still went unpaid, because of Bonnie Marshall, who you may recall was not allowed off the Island, until she settled her affairs. I beg the question, were they ever settled.

I remember a certain individual, at the centre of the Bill Shoaf affair, coming into his office and accusing Mr. Shoaf of being a racist because he asked if the hotel bill had been settled on the day in question? Perfectly good question I figure, given Bonnie Marshall's history.

Bottom line in all of this is that someone wanted Bill Shoaf's job. Guess what, when they get over their hang-ups and agenda, they might succeed one day. But using race, or any other form of discrimination, will get you nowhere. People who behave like this, should join Arkan in Yugoslavia. But guess what, the whole world is watching him, and he will pay, in front of the whole world. Is that what you want? The silence of the three who complained to Human Rights that Bill Shoaf was a racist, makes me wonder.

It's time, as The Eagles said in a recent hit, to "Get Over It''. I hope Bill Shoaf, stays in Bermuda. He has turned that barn into a beautiful resort.

I thought Peter Woolcock got it right in his cartoon of the Elbow fiasco...especially the caption "Hold it here Abdullah''. In six months when the "watching brief'' is over, what then? What then too, when Marriott closes? What then if another major resort closes for the winter, will Bermuda head for real hard times? Pay attention: It's all over town that another closure is coming.

TONY BRANNON City of Hamilton Minister is well qualified May 9, 1999 Dear Sir, This is a response to a letter dated April 30, 1999 and published in your paper dated May 6, 1999 and signed "You're Not Fooling Me!''. The letter suggests that the person placed at the head of the Ministry of the Environment is `totally uneducated, uninformed and has no inner relation demonstrated in his past to the area of his ministry.'' The letter writer says he is writing in response to the invitation for persons to make submissions with respect to our marine resources for the Green Paper.

Of course the purpose of the Green Paper is to ensure that not only the Minister but the public in general is as informed as is humanly possible. This is the public's opportunity to ensure that the Minister is totally informed.

However as far as this particular Minister is concerned, his past has included service as a seaman on the Queen of Bermuda as well as the Ocean Monarch ; he was himself a boat owner and sport fisherman; he conducted a case involving a fishing dispute all the way to the House of Lords. For many years the Minister was a teacher of geography, in which profession he would be required to have an intimate knowledge of the marine environment.

Speaking more generally, it would be difficult to find in Bermuda a person more suited to the Ministry of the Environment. In addition to the marine environment this Ministry is responsible for Planning. Mr. Hodgson has several degrees in economic development. He was himself a builder. At age 22 he built his own house.

Agriculture is also under the Ministry of the Environment. Again, Mr. Hodgson, having grown up in a farming family continues to farm today.

Dealing with waste and pollution; the Minister for many years was himself a cesspit cleaner. I don't think you can get more grass roots than that.

As a school teacher, as a churchman, as a Magistrate and as Minister for the Environment, it is difficult to find any one to say that he is not a man with "feelings''.

I note that `You're Not Fooling Me' is from Hamilton Parish, and therefore Mr.

Hodgson's neighbour. May I suggest that he give Mr. Hodgson a call and find out more about him.

ANOTHER NEIGHBOUR Hamilton Parish