WOULD you appoint a school dinner lady to do the headmaster’s job?
Would you hire a tractor driver as a director of David Brown’s? Should a check-out operator be chosen as the next finance director of Sainsbury’s?
No. So why do Lesley Dunford and an anonymous self-styled ‘frontline worker’ (Mailbag) think that an organisation with a turnover of £1bn and 19,000 staff should be managed by any old Tom Dick or Harry – could it be that they enjoy looking for a scapegoat?
The mistake the Kirklees interim director made was to claim a few pence for some lightbulbs and batteries.
The mistake we are all in danger of making is to let the city bankers off the hook while persecuting the long-suffering public officials who are trying to sort out their mess.
Dave Rawnsley
Honley
Accidental design
WHOEVER designed the parking bay at Lowergate, Paddock, wasn’t thinking about health and safety.
To access the bay with a car on your tailgate and to reverse off onto busy Longwood Road is an accident waiting to happen.
JENNIFER HUDSON
Almondbury
In good faith
IN reply to the letter ‘Faith in humanity’ (Mailbag, March 10), the people who will fill in the Census are not zombies who have to be told what religion or not to choose.
I knew many people of great knowledge including scientists, astronomers, surveyors, constructors and consultants who professed their Christian belief and it didn’t interfere with their work.
Talking to them made me much more broad minded as they were experts in so many different fields.
Even the astronaut Neil Armstrong expressed delight seeing the greatness of the Creator when being made in space.
So let the people decide for themselves without any attempt to prejudice their belief. If Christians are still the majority, let it be.
Diversity grew peacefully on Christian tradition so let’s have the full freedom that only 70 years ago many hundreds of thousands of people sacrificed their lives for.
TONY SOSNA
Huddersfield
The times are changing
SOME of us are really amazed by the effort put in by the Liberal Democrats concerning the Reinwood changing rooms.
Last year Tony Brice the Conservative councillor raised concerns over the £100,000 handed over by the Salvation Army to help refurbish the premises, in return for land to build their community centre. There was an article in the Examiner regarding this.
At the time there was no attempt by the Liberals to help.
Kirklees originally wanted over £300,000 to bring the sports facilities up toŠSport England standards but settled for the lesser figure and then the money disappeared into general funds.
This year, with the Liberals lagging behind in the polls, there is a sudden burst of interest and £40,000 has miraculously been found to help do up the changing rooms.
Some of the players who use the rooms think they could get the job done for a few thousand. They tried to contact the Leader of Kirklees to raise their concern but he said it was a matter for Lindley councillors.
Now we hear that Clr Christine Stanfield wants £500,000 for a community centre on the site.
This is a crazy demand in an era of tight fiscal spending. There is a community centre on site already.
A stone’s throw away at Reinwood school the old caretaker’s house is being used as a social resource. It appears that the players who pay to use the Reinwood Rec will have to wait to get the conditions they deserve.
As a supporter of Marsh Sunday League side (formerly known, ironically, as Marsh Liberals), I know the will is there from that team and the other teams that use the changing rooms, to help do a decent job of improving the premises for a price a lot less than £40,000. The big society could reach Lindley – how about it?
Bernard McGuin
Marsh
Hit and run anger
I WOULD just like to say thank you to the driver of the large black car for causing nearly £1,000 worth of damage to my son’s car, then driving off without stopping towards the centre of Slaithwaite.
My son had parked his car outside the Lily Of The Valley florists on Britannia Road in Slaithwaite at 4.45pm on Friday, March 11 and was only gone a few minutes.
When he went back to the car he was greeted by the lady from the florists who told him what had happened. The back, side and front of the car were all damaged – so hopefully the black car will be a mess too.
My son contacted the police who asked him to go straight down to Huddersfield police station with all his documents. He did this as he has a driving licence, insurance that costs him an absolute fortune every year because of people like this other driver and road tax.
At the police station the officer who dealt with the incident found a car that could have been the other drivers, but because this person hadn’t informed the DVLA they were the owner of this vehicle they can’t be traced. Congratulations.
Well done to them. Now my son has to pay for the damage or lose his no claims that he has built up in the three years he has been driving. He works hard in his job and because of this driver the bonus that he’s earned in the last 12 months will have to go towards either mending the mess made or another new car.
Now I would like to say a genuine thank you to the lady at the florists and the gentleman who got the partial registration number for trying to help. Some kind and honest people still do exist.
A Very Annoyed Mum
West Slaithwaite
Fine Census dodgers
AS I don’t have access to the internet I couldn’t vote online regarding whether or not people who refuse to complete Census forms should be fined.
Yes they should be fined, but some who don’t complete the Census may be illegal immigrants and the people who employ and accommodate them. So how can a fine be imposed?
Or do the statistics make allowance for such?
R FISHER
Longwood
Voice of the people
DURING 2005 Town Hall chiefs asked Huddersfield people what they would like on Castle Hill.
In the end 99% said they would like to see the restaurant and pub back. This would give people the same facilities they had enjoyed there for years.
We are now into the year 2011 and people’s wishes have been ignored. Why?
H Barrowclough
Huddersfield
Do it yourself
I RECEIVED a leaflet through my door sent by a company claiming they can lower your council tax (for a fee of course).
They claim that contacting the council yourself can possibly result in you losing your right to appeal and ending up in a higher band.
Together with our next door neighbours we applied to Kirklees Council and ended up in a lower band which also resulted in a rebate.
It didn’t cost us anything but a few minutes on the computer and a stamp.
Concerned
Newsome
Palestine people
‘THE Promise’, Channel 4’s four-part drama, has both surprised and delighted the troops who served in Palestine between 1945 and 1948.
It is surprising because we thought our conflict, which left 784 of our comrades buried in what is now Israel, had been forgotten.
We are delighted because it was members of the Palestine Veterans’ Association who helped with the research.
We formed the association in 1998 because we were slipping gently out of Britain’s military history.
Despite our age we now have 1,230 members whose principle aim is to draw attention to our sacrifice, to restore the camaraderie we knew when we were young men and to supply future film makers and authors with a true version of the events of those bitter years.
We earned a campaign medal but many, like me, got theirs 50 years later.
We are always looking for new members and anyone requiring more details can contact me.
Eric Lowe
20 Treloar Road, Hayling Island, Hants PO11 9SE
