BEING the grandmother of a beautiful 15-year-old granddaughter suffering anorexia for the last three years, I would like to let anyone who has a family member suffering this dreadful illness know that a new support group, fedskirklees.org has been set up by Cherie Hinchliffe and Quadia Lewis, to try and help anyone who is affected.
Both are mothers of anorexia sufferers.
The next meeting will be held on March 14 at 6.30pm at the Voluntary Action Kirklees HQ at 15 Lord Street in Huddersfield.
All are welcome: parents, siblings, grandparents – anyone whose life is being turned upside down by this life-destroying illness.
Please believe me it does help to talk to people who know what you are going through. I know from heartbreaking experience.
If you want to know more about the group you can contact Cherie on cherie@fedskirklees.org and she will be glad to be of help.
Gill Holroyd
Lowerhouses
Noise in the shallow end
LAST week’s budget debate at the Town Hall was interesting in that it demonstrated the lack of depth in current Tory thought.
Recently, Examiner letters from Tories have demonstrated that a) they hate the Local Development Framework process, b) they wish to split Kirklees, and c) that they will take control of Kirklees in May.
In their amendment to the proposed budget, there was no provision for restarting the LDF process, despite this being specifically promised by the current Tory leader, so we can now presume that they are happy to accept the validity of the consultation process.
Further, there was no provision for the splitting of Kirklees, again despite the statements made by the current Tory leader, so we can also presume that they are actually happy to maintain the current make-up of Kirklees.
To take control in May, they will have to gain 15 more seats – and even that pipe dream will be dashed if the electorate maintains its voting record as demonstrated over the past three or four elections.
So, what is really going on? Well, their arguments over ‘Saving the Green Belt’ show a dogmatic refusal to embrace the potential benefits of inward development capital for Dewsbury estimated at £650m, contrary to national policy.
Second, that they will include all currently empty properties in their ‘target’ for new homes over the next 15 years.
But at the budget meeting they spoke eloquently in opposition to the LibDem proposal to tax owners of long-term empty properties, rather than supporting this proposal, which would at least have made some sense of their LDF utterances.
Their basic argument over splitting Kirklees is to create efficiencies. But no mention is made of the removal of further services from Huddersfield to Calderdale, as with the NHS, or their proposal that there should be three chief executives instead of one.
It was pointed out that Todmorden is more distant from Holmfirth than is Chickenley. Do we really want all decisions affecting Huddersfield to be made in Halifax?
None of their arguments stack up and they know it.
David Ridgway
Lib Dem Candidate, Colne Valley
Taking back control
OVER the last three years I have seen ‘people-power’ in Kirklees go from strength to strength.
It appears that the people have had enough of the council not listening to their views and railroading what they want to happen. The recent climb down by the Labour/Lib-Dem controlled council in respect of the Sure Start scheme is another people-power motivation that has forced the council to rethink.
In this respect I was pleased to speak to Sure Start campaign mum Gemma Wilson, who obtained more than 5,000 signatures to keep Sure Start in its present form.
Clr Donna Bellamy, Clr Jim Dodds, myself and others in the Conservative Party have behind the scenes been helping the mums to keep Sure Start going in its present high-quality form.
This fight is just part of a larger movement in which the people of Kirklees are demonstrating they have had enough and are starting to come out on the streets to campaign. There seems to be no other alternative with a non-listening Labour/Lib-Dem led council.
Contentious issues include the unspecified sum that the tax payers of Kirklees will have to pay out for the building of the new sports centre, now clearly not 100% Tesco-funded, random council job losses with no back-up justification in many areas and of course the Local Development Framework (LDF), which the Labour/Lib-Dem controlled council have bulldozed through, despite thousands of complaints and objections raised by the people of Kirklees.
This last is totally indifferent to the people’s common sense thinking. There simply is no economic justification for destroying Green Belt land. No business will travel six miles off the motorway to Clayton West when there are literally thousands of empty industrial units off the M62 and M1 corridor in Leeds, Wakefield, Castleford etc, etc.
On March 3 there is another rally of the people of Dewsbury and Huddersfield who are not happy with the council’s forced through LDF decision. They will converge on St George’s Square at 11am to walk to Huddersfield Town Hall to show again their strong feelings and the people’s solidarity.
Everybody who believes in Kirklees democracy is invited on March 3 to show their feelings. It is your council and you have to take back control.
David Hill
Conservative Candidate, Colne Valley
Supermarket blues
I WISH that our local MP Barry Sheerman had been as vehemently opposed to the closure of the maternity unit at the Huddersfield Royal Infirmary as he is to Tesco building a new store in town. We would still have the maternity unit.
It’s obvious Mrs Sheerman does not shop at Tesco or she would tell him what a run-down store we have to shop in.
Mr George Senior
Holmfirth
A village divided
MR ALLEN (Mailbag, February 27) is disturbed about Holme Valley Voices’ ‘sponsorship’ by Tesco.
He should be more disturbed about who gives Keep Holmfirth Special a mandate to speak on behalf of the Valley residents.
They clearly do not speak for me nor the majority of Valley dwellers, who strongly support the Tesco plan.
Home Valley Voices made it clear in their letter that Tesco had been approached by us to pick up the cost of the mailing, a mailing that at least gives residents the possibility to voice their opinions either for, or against, unlike the letter circulated by Keep Holmfirth Special.
There the financial involvement of Tesco in funding our support begins and ends.
Mr Allen would soon discover that Nick Willock is the planning officer responsible for looking into Tesco’s application if he read the letter.
The sealed reply paid cards are being returned to the Freepost address which was already established as it takes time and further expense to set up the necessary license to operate a Freepost address.
As regards independent scrutiny: the sealed cards will be collected by myself or another supporter of HVV and delivered in person to Mr Willock. I trust him implicitly to be impartial and independent.
Tim Radcliffe
Holmfirth
Going vegetarian
MARCH is designated National Veggie Month – the perfect motivation for anyone who has been thinking about going vegetarian.
The average meat-eater consumes as many as 11,000 animals in his or her lifetime so by choosing to go meat-free you can save animals’ lives and end the needless suffering of these sentient creatures.
In addition, going veggie can lower your risk of suffering from diet-related diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and some cancers. A meat-free diet is also better for the planet as the farming and slaughter of animals is now recognised as a significant contributor to today’s greatest environmental problems.
Animal Aid has produced a free Guide to Going Veggie – full of shopping tips, recipes and nutritional information.
There is every reason in the world to try this healthy and ethical lifestyle. For more information visit www.veggiemonth.com or call 01732 364546.
Kelly Slade
Veggie Month coordinator
Newsopinion
Examiner letters, February 28 2012
BEING the grandmother of a beautiful 15-year-old granddaughter suffering anorexia for the last three years, I would like to let anyone who has a family member suffering this dreadful illness know that a new support group, fedskirklees.org has been set up by Cherie Hinchliffe and Quadia Lewis, to try and help anyone who is affected.
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