| Letters - 25 June 2007 |
| School won’t take action over bully |
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| I DRAW attention to the lack of response to bullying in our schools.
My daughter, in Primary 5, has been experiencing this from a Primary 7 girl. She has been threatened several times and has been intimidated for long periods.
If schools refuse to use appropriate measures advised by the Government how can bullying be stopped?
The head teacher of my daughter’s school has told me her hands are tied as the bully has deeper issues at home.
But why should my child, who is well-rounded, smart and polite, suffer because someone else has problems?
The proper procedure would be to suspend this bully. However, the head teacher refuses as she claims following anti-bullying policies is inhumane. — Parent.
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| Left to live in misery |
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| I TOO am a tenant of Dalfield Court in Dundee and have been for many years.
Not only do we have to put up with drug users and anti-social behaviour, we also have to suffer the stairwells being used as toilets.
The police come at least once a day and the anti-social team work hard to help.
The main problem and responsibility lies with Dundee City Council. The housing department should take its head out of the sand and stop letting these people in, in the first place.
The department needs to start taking responsibility for law-abiding tenants who are being left to live in misery or being forced to leave their homes. — Dalfield Resident, Dundee.
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| We’ve had enough |
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| ALMOST EVERY story of violence from around the world concerns Muslims.
And now a knighthood awarded to Salman Rushdie (I don’t know why either) has got them up in arms again with threats of suicide bombings.
Queen Elizabeth I once famously said, “Methinks you protest too much.”
I’m sure the rest of the world is beginning to think like that about Islam. We have all had enough. — Fintryman.
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| No right to interfere |
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| THE PAKISTAN government has no right to say who is given a knighthood in this country.
We live by the laws of our country and so no other country or religion should be allowed to interfere. — Margaret Stewart, Kirkconnel Terrace, Dundee. |
| Brass neck |
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| I AGREE with letter writer Hi Standards. We ought to expect higher standards from those selected by political parties to represent them to the public. Being banned from driving is one thing, but another councillor was described by a sheriff as an “unreliable witness”.
Councillor Fraser MacPherson then resigned as Education Convener, only to become later Finance Convener and now Transport Convener.
It’s not just the brass neck of some of those who stand for election that should be condemned, but also the audacity and desperation of the political parties and their local leaders who choose and endorse these characters. — Dundee Reader. |
| Do more for homeless |
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| I WAS helped with my bags at the railway station by a Big Issue seller called Lisa. She told me she had to sell the magazine to get her bed and breakfast and keep some self respect.
She said many people saw the homeless as drink and drug abusers, but Lisa said that just wasn’t true. I wish I could have given her a home myself. I believe it’s time Dundee did more for people like Lisa. — Maureen Ford, Bonnethill Court, Dundee.
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| Don’t cut across lanes at circles |
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| I FULLY understand the letter from Advanced Driver regarding poor positioning on roundabouts and others’ interpretation that he/she was using the right-hand lane to overtake.
The letter writers who have criticised have missed out on the main point of this letter — drivers using the left-hand lane often encroach into the right-hand lane.
What happens if I am turning, and a vehicle in the left encroaches and collides into me? Who is in the wrong then?
What difference does it make if I am going straight on, overtaking or turning right? Drivers in the left lane should remain in the left lane and not cut across lanes at circles. — Someone Who Knows.
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| Lane closure annoyance |
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| ADVANCED DRIVER rightly complains about others on the A92 cutting across lanes at roundabouts.
However, he/she “drives mostly in the right-hand lane” and this practice is incorrect.
Rule 116 in the Highway Code states, “On a two-lane dual carriageway you should stay in the left-hand lane. Use the right-hand lane for overtaking or turning right. If you use it for overtaking move back to the left-hand lane when it is safe to do so.”
What really annoys me is drivers who, when approaching roadworks which have been well signed in advance as having a lane closed, refuse to get in line early.
They stay in the “blocked” lane until the point where it becomes one driving past those who have queued patiently then force their way in. — Doug Mitchell, West Smieton Street, Carnoustie.
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| Keep up good work |
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| GRATEFUL THANKED Dundee Anti Poverty Forum and Energy Advice.
I too used these services. Money Advice were great with me when I lost my job and had debt problems.
I did not even have to travel as they had a worker in Kirkton called Alan. A nicer man you could not meet. Keep up the great work. — Back In Work.
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| Festival volunteers needed |
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| WE NEED volunteers to help with the Douglas Festival taking place on June 30, in the Grounds of Claypotts Castle Primary School. It runs from noon to 3pm. A parade starts at 11.30am. If you have time and would like to help contact the Douglas Festival Association, c/o Community Centre, Balmoral Avenue, Douglas, Dundee. Tel. 01382 436944. — Rena Smith, Secretary.
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| Tenants’ AGM |
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| THERE WILL be a combined AGM for Balmoral Tenants and Residents Association and the Community & Library Centre at 6.30pm on Wednesday, June 27, in the Community Centre, Balmoral Avenue. Everyone welcome. Refreshments will be served. — Rena Smith.
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| Accent problem |
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| THERE ARE plans to screen Scottish soap River City in the rest of the UK.
It’s a good programme, but many English folk won’t understand the strong Scottish accents. — Reader, Dundee.
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| Hated by pc brigade |
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| HE WAS hated by Britain’s pc brigade, but Bernard Manning, who died last week, was a great comedian and entertainer.
He will be sadly missed. — Reader, Dundee.
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| Cancer drugs concern |
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| DRYBURGH READER highlights a concern shared by many about cancer drugs being denied patients due to cost.
The Scottish Executive is predicted to spend £10bn, around 30% of its total budget, on the NHS next year.
If more funding for cancer medicine is the way to go, Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon will need to be clear and transparent about which budgets will be cut as a result. — Politico.
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| THE ADDRESS for readers’ letters is - Readers’ Page, Evening Telegraph, 80 Kingsway East, Dundee DD4 8SL. They can also be placed in our post box at our offices in Albert Square, Dundee, emailed to us on letters@eveningtelegraph.co.uk or faxed on 01382 454590. We ask correspondents using a nom-de-plume or sending by e-mail to provide a name and address for reference purposes. The editor reserves the right to reject or edit any letter. Please keep letters as short as possible.* |
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