The people of Dundee do not know if the council tax will be frozen or increased.
Administration leader Councillor Kevin Keenan says officers are still unpicking the details of the budget settlement announced by the Scottish Government.
Why is Dundee always the tail end of all other councils in Scotland when making decisions like this? Is it waiting to see if some other council increases its council tax so they can follow suit?
Look at Dundee changing its mind when Labour councillors found Glasgow was having no increase. Suddenly they found money to hold down the tax. — G. O. B.
Post problem
I posted a birthday card to my daughter on January 11 at the Camperdown Post Office in Methven Street, Dundee.
Before posting I checked that the first class stamp would cover the postage and was asked for another 14p. So I was furious that the card was not delivered by January 14.
What is the extra charge for? It is certainly not for a quality and speedy service. — Angry Mother.
Money matters
Using a cheque is seen to be “old fashioned” nowadays as bank transfers are quicker usually (3-4 working days) and anyone with a current account can do this.
Most banks don’t charge for a normal basic current account so need to make their money one way or another. As for families who have bills to pay, the sensible thing is use last week’s pay cheque for this week’s bill, etc. — Give It A Rest.
Road rage
Why are the road surfaces in Dundee so poor — and I am not talking about the pot holes?
Can anyone tell me who you can claim from for steering and suspension damage? I don’t think it’s asking too much to be able to run on a smooth surface. Some of our roads are like dirt tracks. — Road User.
Licence lay-out
I have just renewed my HGV licence and in doing so I had to get a medical from my GP. This cost £92.
The last time I renewed this licence was five years ago, and the medical cost £30. Five years before that, it cost £26. This jump of £62 deters me from getting this licence again. — Truck Stopped.
Schoolkids in 30s learned respect
I agree with letter writer Eck French that life was hard in the 30s compared to now.
I attended primary school (Butterburn) from 1934 to 1941, but I have fonder memories of that era at school.
True you had to do as you were told and the belt was used if you stepped out of line, but we learned to respect our teachers and we regarded them as fountains of knowledge.
Our qualifications teacher painstakingly drummed into us the basics of English grammar, very boring at the time, but so useful in further education.
He even explained the mystery of the apostrophe and how to use it. The Tele feature, Down Memory Lane, often shows old school class photographs and I always count the number of pupils.
There are usually 30 or more with one teacher in charge (no classroom assistants then).
The on-going hearing regarding unruly behaviour at a Dundee school highlights the difference between the old days and now.
Any similar situation would have been nipped in the bud and saved the taxpayer a lot of money. — R. F., Broughty Ferry.
£1140 for kids’ ward
Richard and William hand over the cheque to Suzie Byer.
The Angus Bar in Union Street, Dundee, raised £1140 for the children’s ward at Ninewells Hospital, by doing a sponsored walk 10 times over the Tay Road Bridge.
Those taking part were Richard Lackie, Stephen Cox, John Gaffney, William Miller and Brian Thompson. Thanks to all the customers who gave. — Staff at The Angus.
[“Thank you for your donations of £1140. This money is greatly appreciated and will be used to ensure all children are cared for in the best environment possible.” — Suzie Byer, Senior Charge Nurse.]
Baffled by bus driver’s request
Could someone from Travel Dundee explain my situation?
On the No. 18 bus heading towards Kirkton on Tuesday, December 18, at approximately 5.25pm, there were about eight passengers on the bus, including myself, leaving the town.
The driver drove past most bus stops not stopping to let anyone on, only stopping to let passengers off.
The second last person got off at the top of Clepington Road, leaving me and the driver.
He asked where I was going. “The bottom of Old Glamis Road” was my reply.
To which he asked if I would get off on Clepington Road as he was running late.
I replied “No!” I did get dropped off and instead of the bus going back to Kirkton he went round the circle and headed back to town. No wonder the buses are late. — Fare Play.
[Managing Director of Travel Dundee James Lee said, “As a result of major traffic delays on the day in question, this particular service only left the city centre shortly before 17.25 heading up to Kirkton.
“When our services are running extremely late they are instructed by our Traffic Department to turn as soon as possible — i.e. after all passengers have disembarked — to get them back on time.
“As this particular service was timetabled to have left Kirkton at 17.24 (the time at which it left the city centre) it was necessary for him to turn at the first opportunity and head back to the centre knowing that the next service would be very close behind him.”]
‘Hoodie’ came to rescue
While driving to work on January 11 down Constitution Road at Dundee College, I saw a lady at a halt coming down the hill because the pavement and the edge of the road were so slippery she couldn’t go any further.
She was looking very unsure of her footing and as I looked into my rear view mirror, I was very pleased to see a young guy in a white hoodie top stop his own journey up the hill to take her hand and help her down to safety. — A. H.
Misuse of funds
I read the story in the Tele about teachers from St Clement’s spending £300 out of school funds on pool and gym facilities at a hotel on an in-service training day.
I don’t think they should get away with this. If they worked in any other sector they would have been sacked. — Margaret Carroll, Charleston, Dundee.
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