I HEAR we are living in a time of severe spending cuts and Kirklees Council is reducing its workforce to comply with government directives.

Can anyone explain to me why these cuts do not apply to Kirklees Highways department as evidenced by the ridiculous effort its is applying to building more and more obstacles in the roads, such as at the junction of Quarmby Road and Longwood Road.

This is at enormous cost yet only achieves disruption of traffic flow and creates an accident blackspot (Examiner, December 16, page 7)?

Have any of the perpetrators of these schemes ever held HGV drivers licences or driven a large goods vehicle?

I would have thought it was a minimum requirement to have practical experience before being let loose on these madcap schemes.

bh

Salendine Nook

Great memories of judge

I HAVE fond memories of the controversial Judge James Pickles who died recently.

As a young probation officer 35 years ago I had prepared a social enquiry form on a father from Sheepridge who had illegally reconnected his electricity during the cold winter spell when his infant child had a cold.

Judge Pickles asked me how the court could be of assistance to this man, but my reply didn’t please his honour.

I told the judge that the only way the court could help this man would be to reconnect his electricity, give him £50 to buy some food from the poor box, obtain a job for him and give him a larger property for himself, wife and three children.

Judge Pickles did not take kindly to my comments and sentenced me to half a day beneath the Crown Court.

In later years we become the best of friends.

As a children’s author I had arranged for national celebrities to read from my books in West Yorkshire schools and frequently called upon Judge Pickles to read for me which he did on half a dozen occasions.

I’m very sorry to hear of this good man’s death.

Bill Forde

Children’s author

Think of the victims

DOES D Brown’s letter, Commonsensical (Mailbag, December 13) support the driver who killed a man, ran away, put a false insurance claim and got away with it for three years before being caught?

Is he encouraging other drivers to do the same and find loopholes in the law. Hasn’t he got any consideration for the victims? Does he advocate the invincibility of today’s court decisions, stopping any criticisms.

Once we do this we betray all the people who gave life, health and hard work for our country’s freedom with sensible laws without fear of being ostracised by the extreme politically correct lobby.

Tony Sosna

Huddersfield

Help for homeless

I WRITE in response to the letter on Friday, December 12, from CMC of Birkby about the plight of the homeless in Huddersfield.

I agree with all that was said in the letter.

My late father, Mr William Hartley, managed a place run by the then Huddersfield Corporation at Nabcroft Lane, Crosland Moor, called the Casual Ward.

It was on the edge of the grounds of St Luke’s Hospital and we lived on the premises.

We left to live elsewhere in Crosland Moor when it was shut down in 1955, maybe 1958 (can’t remember the exact year).

I can remember my father saying other towns had such places for tramps, vagrants and they knew about them and used them on their travels. Many of the men liked the lifestyle and chose that way of life.

I can remember him telling me that one man told him that he came from a wealthy family and he turned his back on his family because he loved life on the open road. I am sure that some of them weren’t living that life out of choice.

I think they were only allowed to stop one night at a time and were given a bed and a very basic meal.

When it closed, I do not know if it was a local corporation decision or others closed in other towns because of a government decision.

I always assumed that they thought people were better off financially and such places were not needed.

They say life goes round in circles, so maybe such places are needed once again.

Mrs Barbara M walker (nee Hartley)

Briarlyn Avenue, Birchencliffe

Take a pay cut, Sir

IT was very kind of Sir Norman Bettison, Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police, to find time in his extremely busy schedule to reply to my letter (Examiner December 23).

I am also pleased that he accepts he does not run a business. He then continues in his letter to explain how he keeps us all safe in our beds by providing the policing that the Examiner readers see day in and day out.

If Sir Norman read this paper he would know that we do not see police officers on our streets any day of the week or month. I would challenge him to dress in a pair of jeans and a pullover and walk round Huddersfield during the day, any day, and count the number of police officers he sees.

During the hours of darkness there are very few officers covering the whole of Huddersfield and in this month alone over 150 cars have been broken into.

Sir Norman mentions the Anti Terrorist Squad, but where were they when the Dewsbury bombers were plotting the 7/7 bombings? There appears to be too many squads and not enough frontline policing.

I remember Sir Norman’s first visit to Huddersfield on being appointed. He stated he wanted every officer to wake up and go to sleep thinking police work.

Now we have West Yorkshire Police breathalysing 144 innocent people on Leeds Road on a morning when they are travelling to work, with not one positive test.

Where were the police when my daughter’s house was being broken into at 3am in the morning? It took 50 minutes for them to arrive.

Try telephoning the police and wait over 20 minutes for an answer. Try getting the police to attend a crime? Try reporting a crime on behalf of someone else and they will not accept the crime report.

No, Sir Norman, West Yorkshire Police are not the best thing since sliced bread and I would suggest that as you stated you were earning too much and your father would turn in his grave if he knew just how much, you take a voluntary 10% cut to show your officers what a great leader you are.

Hard Up and Fed Up

Huddersfield

‘Pipedream’ vote

THE news of impending strike action by Unison members says a great deal about socialists and their pipedream, head-in-the-sand mentality.

Clearly Paul Holmes and his clique at the top of the union did a lot of convincing to get a massive turnout of 36%.

On that basis I reckon only 19% of members have actually voted to go on strike – a resounding endorsement of the union’s arguments and hardly a mandate to take any strike action at all.

Gez Sharp

Huddersfield

Christmas Strimmings

I WAS quite puzzled on Monday, December 20. As I drove down Birkhouse Lane from Manchester Road I noticed the canalŠ was iced over and looking very seasonal.

What did look out of place Š Š were two figures on the canal towpath wearing high visibility overalls, safety helmets, goggles and gloves Strimming the grass verge of the towpath.

As I had only passing glimpse of this very unseasonal activity I’m wondering if anyone has reported a UFO sighting around the Paddock Foot/Longroyd Bridge area of town on Monday.

Or can anyone give a reasonable explanation why two people would be Strimming the grass verges along the canal towpath in December.

Or am I missing the point of the exercise?

Bryan Spencer

Crosland Moor

Clomping Cinderella

EVERY morning at 6am Cinderella got up to go to work.

She had laminate floors and every morning between 6am until 7am she would clomp, clomp, clomp around her house in her high heels on the laminate flooring.

Next door to Cinderella lived Baron Hardup and Dame Trot.

Every morning when Cinderella went clomp, clomp, clomp, she woke up poor retired Baron Hardup and Dame Trot.

For a Christmas present (hopefully) Buttons bought Cinderella some lovely soft-soled fluffy slippers.

Cinderella thought they were wonderful and Baron Hardup and Dame Trot slept peacefully ever after and enjoyed their retirement.

If you have laminate flooring, please make a New Year’s Resolution to be kind and thoughtful to your neighbours.

Dame Trot

Lepton