Letters to the Editor

SIR, - Imagine the scene - a lovely sunny day with children playing happily on the swings and slides.

Mums relaxing having a coffee from the pleasant caf nearby, the river sparkling in the sunshine. People feeding the ducks.

But around the corner is the villain of the piece! I refer to the ladies' toilets in Farnley Lane which are archaic, unpleasant and in a disgusting state.

The floor was awash with dirty water, there was no toilet paper to be found anywhere, and the handwashing machine did not work.

There is so much talk of hygiene for shops and factories, but it seems that toilets are unimportant. People are not expected to complain and are left to put up with unhygienic and uncomfortable toilet facilities.

The majority of people in the park were mothers with young children and it is unacceptable that when they visit the play area they have to put up with such dirty conditions. I am sure people would be happy to pay a bit extra for clean pleasant facilities and with an attendant in charge.

Otley is supposed to be a tourist area, but this is not a good advertisement for the town. Visitors expect something better.

G Hinchcliffe

Danum Drive

Baildon.

GCSE results

SIR, - Your readers may be interested to know the background to the non-publication of our GCSE results in your last issue. Your policy to publish only A* to C passes reinforces the view that anything less than a C grade is a fail grade.

Many students work hard to achieve passes at grades below C but your policy gives them no credit for their effort. You may wish to comment on the reasons for your policy.

Two possibilities come to mind; time in preparing the information and lack of space. We can provide our results on disc or via e-mail, which will save time on preparing copy. Parents may wish to buy a newspaper when the name of their son or daughter appears; this also applies to grandparents, other relatives and friends.

The publication of more names should therefore lead to more sales and more cost effective use of space. Have you undertaken research to discover how many additional names would appear if you published A* to G passes?

We have 183 students with one or more A* to C passes and 214 with one or more A* to G passes - an additional 31 names, equivalent to one eighth of this letter.

You say that 'in fairness to the pupils involved' you will be prepared to publish their results if they are submitted as A* to C passes only.

How fair is that to their friends who obtained D to G passes, but whose names will not appear? Perhaps the time has come for you to reconsider your policy.

Graham Shutt

Assistant Head Teacher,

Prince Henry's Grammar School,

Farnley Lane,

Otley.

FOOTNOTE: Our policy is to publish EITHER A to C passes, which is what most schools provided this year, OR a full list of the number of subjects passed (ie 2A 2B 1C 3D 2E) by each pupil. What we are not prepared to do is simply publish a global list of the total number of subjects passed (ie F Bloggs 10, E Jones 10) without any grades because that is not a list of results, merely a list of runners. There is little point in having grades if we are not allowed to publish them. If Prince Henry's can provide us with a full list of results for each pupil, they will be published. - EDITOR.

Thoughts on war

SIR, - Some thoughts about contemplating war with Iraq:

Assumptions - 1 Not all American citizens can be convinced that a further response to the terrible events of September 11, 2001 is to force by warlike means a regime change in Iraq.

2 Not a few American citizens might be happy if there were to be a regime change in the United States.

3 UK citizens are very undecided about the merits of starting a war to rid Iraq of its President and support for such a war is not strong.

4. There is no revealed new cause for a strike against Iraq; there have been many reasons for judging that the regime in Iraq is unjust and inimical to some of its own people, to its neighbours and to other major states.

5 There is no unanimity in the United Nations membership for a strike against Iraq, though there are UN resolutions with which Iraq has not complied.

6. A war against Iraq would not with any certainty make for a just peace and an end to terrorism in any part of the world.

7 A liberal democracy with fair elections according to a clear written constitution is the right way to maintain government, justice and security in the states of the world, and there are many states where such a democratic system does not exist. There are many flagrant uses of force by regimes against their own citizens and those of other states which should be condemned as much as those of the Iraqi regime.

8 The threat of international terrorism alone does not justify unilateral responses based in the threat of superior force on "those who are not for us".

9 Weapons of mass destruction are available to the military of many states in the world, and agreements not to use them must be secured, maintained and reinforced by agreed procedures of inspection and report.

10 There are vast and terrible inequities in the distribution of wealth, power, food, clean water and education. There are major threats to our natural environment from uncontrolled economic development.

All states and organisations should recognise that efforts to resolve these inequities and problems should have priority in international relations. We are all neighbours on a planet together and the search for peace, justice and love for each other should be our paramount and prayerful task.

Conclusions: 1. There is no case for supporting the US administration in any war against Iraq.

2. The UK Government should redouble its efforts to bring about a change of approach by the US administration through all the available channels.

3. The UK Government should engage with all states which possess weapons of mass destruction in a continuing negotiation over inspection, control and elimination.

4. The threat of national and international terrorism must be addressed through continuing efforts to reduce the great inequities and injustices which generate such threats, not simply through attempts at heightened security.

5. We should promote co-operation at all levels between communities, regions and states, through education and the mass media, to end the spread of ideologies which foster conflict, suspicion, hate, violence and discrimination.

6. We should engage in a process of self-examination to ensure our own adherence to the principles of co-operation, good neighbourliness, respect for difference and critical support for attempts to do good in the planet.

Dennis Warwick

15, The Copse,

Burley-in-Wharfedale.

Seven stalwarts

SIR, - May I through the comment columns of your newspaper heartily thank the seven stalwarts who so splendidly gave of their time to the Menston clear-up day this last Saturday.

I am particularly grateful to the redoubtable Lorelie Fox who stood in for me at the start of the morning's proceedings at very short notice getting things off to a flying start; ensuring that everyone who took part knew where they were going and what they were to do.

In spite of the fact that Bradford Council officials failed to supply the promised equipment for the job, for which they get the Golden Cow Pat Award, we still managed to scrape up sufficient bags to get a large amount of litter removed, which when I eventually came on to the scene I was able to take to the tip.

It was a pity that more people did not take part, but perhaps in that I was to blame as the publicity of the event went up too late and was thin on the ground.

But in my defence, this was the first time that I have organised something like this but I hope I have learned something from this and have taken many points on board, so next time things will be better and hopefully we shall get some of the youngsters and their mums and dads involved.

Anyhow, my very deep and sincere thanks once again to those who took part and helped to remove the blight of litter from the streets of our beloved Menston.

Chris Hartley

41 St Peter's Way,

Menston.

Taxation unfair

SIR, - Recently published figures show that the number of mega-rich people in this country has more than doubled since 1997.

Could this have something to do with the present taxation policy which has reduced taxes on incomes and replaced this with indirect taxation? This means that the burden of taxation falls more heavily on those least able to pay.

As the Government persists with such a policy the rich will become richer and the poor are bound to become poorer.

C M Harper

Banksfield Avenue,

Yeadon.

Grants offer

SIR, - We are looking for charities or organisations working for the benefit of the people of Otley to apply as a beneficiary of Otley Carnival, 2003.

Application forms can be obtained from The Wharfedale and Airedale Observer, 9 Orchard Gate, Otley; the library, Boroughgate, or by writing to the Honorary Secretary, Sue Lambourne, 81 St Richards Road, Otley, together with a stamped, addressed envelope.

Closing date for applications is September 27.

Brian Dexter

Press Officer,

Otley Carnival Committee,

312 Bradford Road

Otley.

Winner's thanks

SIR, - As one of the lucky winners of two tickets for the Last Night of the Jubilee Proms at Harewood House, my husband and I would like to say a big 'thank you' for a great evening.

The atmosphere, the music and the fireworks were superb. We thoroughly enjoyed every minute.

P Smith

114 Bradford Road

Otley.