Letters to the Editor

Ms Davis is to be congratulated on her eloquent espousal of Determinist and Collective Guilt theorem. These are, however, a matter for academic debate and have little bearing on a locational issue.

How sad that such profound personal social concern should be accompanied by an almost fanatical disregard for the unintended negative effects of her agenda and the distress this causes others. Zealotry, no matter how well meaning, is a destructive force in society.

Ms Davis, you, like me, should care where Project 6 is situated for the sake of its clients and the rest of the community.

After all, as you rightly point out, it is important to see the big picture.

MRS D LUNN,

Beechwood Road,

Wibsey, Bradford.

SIR - Do we have an MP? The nation grinds to a halt - local farmers and hauliers are facing bankruptcy and 94 per cent of the country demands a cut in stealth taxes, yet the voice of Keighley in Parliament is silent.

For the last three years I have read the standard Labour Party spin headline "MP support", "MP backs" just about every charity in Keighley - very admirable, but a Member of Parliament should be at the forefront of promoting the economy of a constituency. Bringing new investment, supporting and backing its existing employers and workers.

This form of silent representation is nothing new. Where was our MP when the Police had their numbers reduced by more than 250 in West Yorkshire?

While the hospital waiting lists keep getting longer - silence from our MP. Last week the government admitted 100,000 more pensioners now live in poverty since Labour came to power, yet not a murmur from our MP.

The support of our local good causes is the minimum - but do our farmers and hauliers have to become charity cases before they gain the support of our MP.

GLEN MILLER,

Conservative Councillor,

Worth Valley.

SIR - In the Keighley News, of 08/09/00, there was an interesting piece, based on a man who had worked on the Sladen Valley Reservoir.

The reservoir might be said to be the icing on the cake for our quest in Keighley of a good and certain supply of clean water.

Your newspaper was in its infant stages (the 1860s) when Keighley had a water shortage. No doubt they duly reported then in your newspaper. The wells and springs ran dry, the market pump, John Briggs private supply were opened to the public in general. No doubt the housewives of the town would have a daily task of carrying water to their homes.

Leading citizens of the town became anxious about a Bradford scheme to impound, for the city's benefit, Worth Valley sources of water.

May 30, 1868, a meeting was held in the Temperance Hall, to examine what might be done to oppose Bradford's scheme and what steps to take to improve the towns supply of water and build reservoirs, particularly in the Sladen Valley. On November 14,1868 the local board advertised that a parliamentary bill was being promoted to carry out the said works.

It was in the year 1876 that Ponden Reservoir was full to its capacity of thirty four million gallons. A year later, 1977, saw the Watersheddles project, higher up the valley, to be full, its capacity one hundred and fifty million gallons.

Blackhill Reservoir came on song with another two and a half million gallons, the cost of these projects, two hundred thousand pounds, quite an item in those far off days.

The logistical problems must have been many, in completing these works, feeding, sleeping, transporting men to the sites, with their picks, shovels, and wheel-barrows, not a dumper truck, not a bulldozer for them, the terrain harsh at times, no doubt there would be deaths from various causes.

I am sure there are many stories to be told of these efforts. Sladen Valley project, finished in the 20th Century, with its even higher capacity was a boon, wives could swill, at will.

I, of course, only am aware of other undertakings, gas and electricity etc, each with its own story.

Your archives must be a mine of information.

Good luck to Keighley News.

D BALMER,

Jennings Close, Silsden.

SIR - This newspaper has called for a review of the bureaucratic system of local voluntary funding.

Just as important, I believe, is how much of the £6,000,000 for voluntary groups does Bradford spend in Keighley?

There has been, since 1974, regardless of which political party controlled Bradford Council, a disproportionate level of financial assistance for Keighley voluntary agencies.

This has not only been measured by the lack of financial support given, but also by an inability of the political parties in Bradford to recognise the high level of need within rural Aire-Worth.

For instance the elderly within this area have not been spared Bradford's funding inequality. The recent refusal to recognise that financial support was needed for the Keighley Senior Health Awareness Project (SHAPE) demonstrates this point.

The young in this area have also suffered as indicated by the cuts in grant support to Keighley Kiddicare and of the total withdrawal of financial assistance to the youth club in Haworth. Unlike Bradford, Keighley does not have alternative agencies able to deliver particular services on demand. This means that in Keighley and District a cut is not a matter of the rationalisation of a service but the end of it.

Cllr John Prestage has commented that 'Bradford has one of the best records throughout the country for what we give the voluntary sector.' He is probably correct, for Bradford that is. The question is, what percentage of the financial cake does Keighley receive?

RUTH BLACKMAN,

Prince Street, Haworth.

SIR - So the Tories are abandoning the tax fuel escalator they introduced to help in the fight for a cleaner environment and sustainable energy, a policy that was in their 1997 election Manifesto.

Have they suggested any strategy to replace it? No, instead they have opted for another cheap populist ploy, a 3pence cut in the rate of duty.

This is not the action of a Prime Minister in waiting. His policy initiatives seem to be on the same level as his pronouncements on his beer drinking prowess simple gimmicks to make the public think of him as something other than a strange teenager who spoke at Tory conference.

When will he learn that substance is more important than froth?

The problems of transport and the environment are complex and call for intelligent debate. Public transport has been neglected for decades and the Government's 20 per cent increase in its budget will alone not be enough to solve the problem.

We must ask ourselves can we reduce the number of unnecessary short urban journeys made, without impeding transport in rural areas.

How can we ensure goods are moved around the country cheaply without encouraging more cars on the road, which in turn endanger the planet and our health?

Our dependency on oil is frightening! OPEC's hike in oil prices has shaken the whole world and not just Keighley. Governments everywhere have the same problems as Tony Blair.

I hope Britain can lead the world out of this impasse. We can all help by thinking clearly about the situation and perhaps contributing to the debate. I look forward to reading responses to this letter.

DAVID CLAYTON,

Belgrave Road, Keighley.

SIR - No wonder the majority of people despise politicians and refuse to vote at elections.

Over many years I have demanded of local politicians that urban Keighley ratepayers receive the same financial treatment as those ratepayers living in rural Bradford.

That a disproportionate amount of Aire and Worth rates are spent in Bradford has never been questioned.

The results of such a policy can be seen in the abandonment of the needs of over 200 people who use the Keighley Temple Street SHAPE facilities.

I suggest that if these facilities had existed in Bradford, funding would have quickly been found by Bradford politicians. The shame is that many sincere and charitable Keighley people who have spent years building up the Keighley SHAPE group now see this worthwhile organisation disbanded because of a lack of care and vision by local politicians and officials.

SHAPE's downfall was that a success in meeting the needs of many people in this region was ignored by Bradford Council and politicians who have no thought of the damage that such inaction on their part will cause to an older population in the Aire-Worth region.

The founders of SHAPE, including our own Keighley-based Molly Jones, are responsible for pioneering what today is now recognised as being the essential essence of the Government's new Health Action Zones.

Twenty one local councillors have been voted in to fight for this area. Where were they when they were needed? Dishonour is due to those elected local councillors who abandoned the fight that they were elected to fight for in this region.

DAVID SAMUELS,

Station Road, Oxenhope.

SIR - As our daily lives become more and more noisy, many of us will at some time experience a temporary ringing in the ears.

For four million people in the UK these sounds, known as tinnitus, are a permanent feature of life. Since tinnitus can sound as loud as a jet engine, it's not surprising that the constant noise can lead to stress, isolation and depression.

Although there's still no cure for tinnitus, it can be treated. But new research by medical research charity Defeating Deafness shows that many GPs just aren't aware of the treatments on offer. In fact, a third of GPs in our survey didn't even refer tinnitus patients to a specialist.

That's why we're launching a free information pack for those affected by tinnitus, explaining the cause of the condition and the treatments available.

If you, or someone you know, are affected by tinnitus, order your free copy today by calling the Defeating Deafness Information Service on Freephone 0808 808 2222.

VIVIENNE MICHAEL,

Chief Executive,

SIR - For information about Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October call Imperial Cancer's hotline: 0870 161 1600, or visit our website www.breastaware.org.

You can also get a free booklet - "Breast Cancer, Spotting the Symptoms Early". Just send an A5 stamped addressed envelope to: Breast Cancer leaflet, Communications Department, Imperial Cancer Research Fund, PO Box 123, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, WC2A 3PX.

SIR PAUL NURSE,

Director General, ICRF.