THIS last week we have seen a groundswell of letters to the Mailbag criticising Kirklees College on its closure plan for Holmfirth Adult Education Centre.
This centre with its adult classes of mixed subjects will be sorely missed if Kirklees College refuses to have a re-think.
Some people will transfer to other centres but for the majority it will not be an option. Kirklees College sees Holmfirth as just a dot on their map.
What they fail to realise is that these centres not only provide food for thought, they also create bonds, friendships and instil a sort of comradeship in the students.
Adult education is not free – in fact quite the opposite – but Kirklees College seems able to provide shirt sponsorship funding for Huddersfield Town at a cost of £75,000 annually and at the same time cast those aside who do pay for the service which it provides, saying it has to cut costs.
Kirklees College should be looking to other areas to save money and should remember where the money comes from in the first instance.
Education does not have and will never have a cut-off age. You do not reach a point in time and say that is it. This is what is called providing a service. ‘Education for all’ and ‘Education, Education, Education’ were mottos dragged about and repeatedly shouted out to gain votes not too long ago. Funny how quickly things can change.
Kirklees College needs to start looking at those top salaries it is paying. For one of those chiefs you could probably buy three to four indians and keep a centre open.
Remember you are in the education business and without students those chiefs are just dead wood.
R J Bray
Shelley
Question of identification
I FEEL I must reply to Bill Place, (Mailbag, June 8) in which he comments on Arthur Hutchinson’s claim that Kirkheaton double murderer Alfred Moore was not being open to his solicitor ‘Ted’ Hutchinson.
I have read a copy of the brief prepared by Mr Hutchinson and this issue relates to Moore’s criminal activity, his contacts and associates.
I have read in full the entire transcript of the trial, the prosecution depositions and the original statements.
There were no objections made at the trial regarding the identification parade because, in the end, Moore volunteered to stand.
It is clear from what I have seen and read that Moore was bullied into standing on that parade. He was never told that he need not stand. This is one issue, among others regarding the identity parade, that the CCRC is being asked to look at.
Alfred Moore told his solicitor that he had volunteered to go on the parade in the knowledge that he wouldn’t be picked out as he was at home at the time of the shootings.
With regard to the Court of Appeal, the then Lord Chief Justice Lord Goddard said this when referring to Constable Jagger: “In these circumstances it was merely a question for the jury as to whether they believed the evidence of the dead police officer.
“He gave evidence in the most clear and convincing way as to how he shone his torch in the prisoner’s face and saw and recognised him as the man who produced a firearm and shot himself and Insp Fraser.”
There is now the most compelling evidence which suggests that the torch of Constable Jagger was in fact in his pocket at the time of the alleged confrontation with the gunman and that he did not shine it into his face as previously alleged.
Steve Lawson
Kirkheaton
Reflection of poverty
I HAVE been reading with interest the recent letters in respect of the new Poundland shop coming to Huddersfield and the general loss of high quality shops in our town.
Alan Parkinson, for example, (Mailbag, June 8) argues that the problem lies with the high cost of rent, rates and parking.
He may be right in his analysis, but are these charges any higher in real terms than they have ever been?
My own view is that the reason the quality shops are going is more likely to be as a result of demographic changes, both here and nationally.
For example, I read a news report recently that the income for ‘ordinary’ working class or lower middle-class people has actually gone down (in real terms) by about 1%, whereas professionals such as doctors and solicitors have seen their income rise by over 154% over the past 30 years.
This is highly significant, for during the same period, largely as a result of privatisation, gas, electricity and water bills have risen steeply, taking up a much greater proportion of a person’s income.
For those on the minimum wage, many pensioners and others on a low or moderate income, there is very little disposable income left once the necessary bills have been paid.
Sadly, the pound shops, charity shops and so on are simply reflecting the general wealth of the townsfolk.
Robert Nicholls
Kirkburton
Treasures revealed
I’M sure many people will be interested in the Treasures Revealed interfaith event next month, which the Examiner publicised on June 8.
As secretary of the Lydgate Unitarian Chapel, I want to point out that we are open over that weekend, July 15-17. We are hosting an exhibition by our friends the Baha’is, as publicised in the Treasures Revealed booklet, but we are also open in our own right.
We hope to show visitors around our chapel and grounds and explain our denomination and history to those interested.
We look forward to meeting and greeting everyone on that weekend. Come and see us!
Ray Vickers
Lydgate Unitarian Chapel
Funding for schools
I WAS not a fan of the Building Schools for the Future (BFI) programme. While there was a definite need for new school buildings, the basis of its funding was more costly than it could have been.
There was an alternative through the raising of low interest government bonds, rather than the expensive terms that many of the BFI proposals were funded under and will burden us over many years. Š
But the Examiner’s article Defunct School Plan Šwhich told us that £4m was ‘wasted’ on planning preparations for a £400m build in Kirklees seems to be pointing the wagging finger in the wrong direction.
If I plan to buy a house and pay surveyor and legal fees, but then at the last moment the seller pulls out, I might have wasted my money, but the fault lies with the seller who suddenly changed their mind.
Clearly the £4m in planning would not have been wasted if the Conservative led government had not pulled the plug on BFI and the school building in Kirklees went ahead.
In this instance, the Labour council in Kirklees was acting on a reasonable assumption. The Conservative councillors in Kirklees should be wagging their finger at their own government for causing this waste.
We need to be honest in politics, not attempt to spin the truth and score party political points.
Clr Edgar Holroyd-Doveton
Holme Valley North
Racehorse deaths
SINCE the launch of Animal Aid’s Race Horse Deathwatch website (www.horsedeathwatch.com) just over four years ago, more than 700 horses have been killed on British racecourses.
Fatalities occur at an average rate of one every other day on Britain’s 60 racecourses. On June 1, eight-year-old gelding Katalak broke a leg while racing at Fontwell and, within hours, three-year-old filly Sobea Star was destroyed at Ripon in Yorkshire.
Two deaths in April’s Grand National and the abuse of the winning horse with the whip, highlighted growing public, media and political concern about the failure to protect the welfare of race horses.
The British Horseracing Authority (BHA), which has responsibility for the welfare of race horses, has shown itself to be incapable of tackling the problems that beset the industry.
It’s time for the government to strip the BHA of its role as the industry’s regulator and to undertake and put into the public domain a full audit of race horse production, death and injury.
For more information on race horse deaths or to order a Horse Racing information pack, please visit www.animalaid.org.uk or call 01732 364546.
Dene Stansall
Animal Aid
Charitable grants
IN the wake of our recent survey which revealed that nine in 10 of those on a low income have no idea charitable grants exist, we are eager to underline that a huge variety of funds are available purely to provide assistance to ordinary people in need of financial support.
In the current climate, many are finding their financial commitments growing at a staggering rate, but reluctance to seek help from a charity is evident in the nature of applications we receive. Generally, it takes people about 18 months to approach us once they find themselves in a desperate situation.
In fact, as the survey verified, people often dig themselves further into debt before making the approach.
Breaking down the stigma attached to approaching a charity is essential in these times of rapidly increasing financial need in the UK.
Many charities exist to provide financial support and we urge those experiencing financial problems to use our free, confidential service, www.turn2us.org.uk, to ensure they are aware of any grants they are eligible for.
It’s important to note that there are more than 3,500 charitable funds available which in total distribute over £366m to those in need per year.
Malcolm Tyndall
Elizabeth Finn Care
