Readers' Letters

A definition of a resource is a source of economic wealth, something resorted to in time of need, something one makes use of.

There was a time when companies had a personnel department, by the very definition dealing with people, they now seem to favour a human resource department, they add the human bit to try and make you feel better.

Surely it must be better to be thought of as a person, a member of the human race, sometimes used instead of man or woman, than a something, unspecified or unknown thing, an inanimate object that cannot, or need not, be precisely named.

If any of your readers happens to be a human resource manager, kindly think very hard about returning to a personnel manager, you never know, people might start to like you.

C BRYANT,

Parkway, Steeton.

SIR - Many thanks to all the people involved in the garden fete and fun run held at the Rehabilitation unit at the Moor Lane centre, Burley-in-Wharfe-dale, on August 23.

Although the weather was poor £359 was raised on the day, and when sponsor money is collected we hope this will reach £500 approximately.

Particular thanks to your newspaper for running a story on the event, to the Keighley and Craven Athletic club for use of their equipment, Mr Neil Bland of Silsden for making the medals, local shops and businesses for their donations of prizes, all the staff and patients of the unit for their hard work in organising and running the event, and to everyone who turned up on the day.

The money raised will be used to purchase sports equipment for the ward.

MICK FLEMING,

Ward Manager,

Rehabilitation Unit,

Burley-in-Wharfedale.

SIR - May we make an appeal to your readers? I am joined by triple Commonwealth gold medallist Steve Cram to make this appeal through your newspaper, to encourage your readers to participate in the Sharron Davies Gold Swim Challenges which run from November 1-30, 1998.

Raising money for the Imperial Cancer Research Fund (Reg Charity No 209631), participants are challenged to swim one of six challenges: 50 seconds, 50 minutes, 50 hours, 50 widths, 50 lengths or the 50 kilometres challenge. You accumulate your distance/time over any number of visits to your local pool throughout the month of November, as an individual or as a team - each team member swimming part of the challenge. You can do your challenge at any swimming pool.

As well as helping improve swimmers' health and fitness, raising sponsorship for this year's main beneficiary, the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, is an extremely important part of the event. The facts are one in four of the UK population will develop cancer and one in three of these people will die, and it is only with everyone's support that the Imperial Cancer Research Fund can continue to work together to find new answers to cancer.

Phone the ActionLine on 01382 451146 for a sponsorship pack or pick up an entry form at your local pool.

Please take the plunge and help cancer research. We look forward to your support.

SHARRON DAVIES MBE

& STEVE CRAM,

Swim for Life.

SIR - I have followed Keighley RLFC for more years than I care to recall. I have been there through good times and bad, I have laughed with them and cried with them but after what I witnessed at Barrow last Saturday I fear I have had enough of them.

I watched the Academy lads win a good game against Barrow Acc, this in hot sunshine with very little breeze. They were clapped off the field with appreciation of their efforts, and the Cougar fans present settled down in anticipation to watch the Alliance play the cup match.

Out came the Barrow team, big, strong, seasoned players, a few grey hairs maybe but they looked determined, followed by the Keighley Cougars (runners up in Alliance League?)

Five or six regular A team players and the rest 16 and 17 year olds from the Academy team who had just finished playing one match. Worse was to come. By half-time the subs bench was empty, only 12 players able to play the second half, the majority of these being Academy players.

Talk about 'lambs to the slaughter' it was disgusting!

I understand it all came about because A team players were needed for Sunday's match! So we beat Hull KR.

So what? We were still in the same league position after the match as before it.

Wouldn't it have been much better to let the A team have a decent cup run after such a disappointing season by the first team?

NAME AND ADDRESS

SUPPLIED.

SIR - Further to my original letter (KN August 14) and the subsequent reply from the committee of Steeton FC (KN August 21), I would like to thank your most recent correspondent (KN August 28) on the subject of bad language for confirming my point that bad language is the norm rather than the exception at Steeton, and probably most other League grounds.

However, I would take issue with most of the rest of his letter, in particular his claim to not condoning foul language, yet he appears to have done nothing about it when given the opportunity. Now that the Football Club has raised the question of the referee's role in curtailing bad language, Mr Miller has vowed to act in the manner one would expect of the man in charge, sending off offenders.

It is also a red herring to claim Premiership players act in similar fashion. I'm sure no premier league player would remain on the field if he behaved in such a fashion, nor would he escape the attention of the police if he directed his comments to the crowd.

But the main point of all this is the question of responsibilities. Who takes them and who tries to pass the buck?

Society as a whole has abdicated responsibility and it is not surprising that the youngsters in the shopping mall stand around swearing, we have accepted it as the norm because nobody assumes the responsibility of setting examples.

Parents expect others to do it for them, yet when teachers or police attempt to instill discipline, the first to complain are those very same parents.

Whose children are those in the shopping mall anyway? Probably those of the players and officials of Steeton FC.

NAME & ADDRESS

SUPPLIED.

SIR - In my letter of August 14 I had hoped to raise the level of debate regarding the failures and achievements of the government. What a hope! Cllr Anne Hawkesworth's latest letter (Aug 28) merely reiterates her previous shrill denunciation of the government's failed 'promises'.

It is true that improvements in the NHS and in education were high on Labour's agenda in May 1997. It is also true that these aspirations have not yet been fulfilled.

But they remain high on the goverment's agenda, subject to economic conditions, and in no sense can they be seen as 'broken promises', especially when we remember that Labour has been in office only 16 months.

Traditionally, the Labour Party has always, at Election time, offered a vision of a more just society, while Tories have argued that sound economics must come first.

The cautious British electorate has generally leaned towards the latter view, especially in the 1980's, when the kindly visionary Michael Foot was contemptuously brushed aside by the harsh monetarism of Margaret Thatcher.

Since then, the Labour Party, under Neil Kinnock (brutally maligned by the Tories in 1992), John Smith (whose leadership was tragically cut short) and Tony Blair, has gradually adopted a more pragmatic approach and consequently earned the full approval of the electorate in 1997.

Cllr Hawkesworth, like many other Tories, is still fighting on the old out-dated battlefields of party politics. No wonder Mar-garet Thatcher, in a recent interview, prophesied that her party would be out of office for a long, long time!

In the list of 'broken promises' Cllr Hawkesworth has the gall to include 'school class sizes'. I have been a school governor for eight years and shall never forget our utter dismay as an impartial body on hearing Gillian Shephard's view that reduction of class sizes was not a priority! David Blunkett has at least got his priorities right!

HAMISH HAY,

Craven Avenue, Silsden.

SIR - As most people are by now aware Bradford Council has yet again ignored the people of Keighley and their concerns over the schools review. I feel that the people of Keighley should be privy to the responses that Bradford have made in their Final Recommendations.

Taking into account the birth rate and UDP plans, that there are sufficient places in the new Primary schools. Parental preferences lead to a reduced demand in the for the older children.

Excepting Eastburn, Steeton, Silsden and East Morton this is mainly because the education in place in Keighley is already failing to provide what people expect.

When the standards are improved under the new system the pattern of parental preference will undoubtedly change.

Unfortunately the secondary places to cope with this will not be available in Keighley.

The secondary at Parkside is to reduce the places required in Keighley by 90 per year.

Bearing in mind that the parents in Harden, Denholme, Wilsden and Cullingworth voted 95 per cent in favour of this option and the primary schools in these villages having themselves a total of 6FE(180 places) this would leave nine places free to be taken by children from the Oxenhope/Haworth areas.

Free transport to Bingley will be stopped putting further pressure on this school.

The most telling response is "a number of areas could provide additional capacity".

Despite requests Bradford will not clarify WHERE this additional capacity will be! How will children get to the areas where there is 'additional capacity'?

Who will bear the extra transport costs if as is rumoured free transport is to be cut? Will yet more parents be forced to find secondary education outside the boundaries of the LEA?

Concerns over Oakbank having 2000 places.

We agree that having 2000 children on one site will be unworkable.

Under Bradford's proposals this will happen in the changeover when three years from Worth Valley, Hartington and Bronte all transfer to Oakbank at the same time. Oakbank's proposal for a split site school with Bronte site would overcome this problem and still keep the continuity as both would be under the direction of one Head and Governing Body.

The education and economic disadvantages of split site schools.

A split site school at Rhodesway/Chellow Dene, in Bradford, is the Review Teams proposal and Final Recommendation for that school. The distance by road between the two school is half a mile, comparable to the distance between Oakbank/Bronte.

JOYCE NEWTON (KEAG),

Valley View Close, Keighley.

SIR - The West Yorkshire Advanced Drivers Group of RoSPA is running a better driving course open to all holders of a full drivin licence.

It will be held on four Thursdays in October, at Shipley Library, starting on the 8th. The course is free but places are limited and it is neccessary to register. Forms can be obtained by ringing me on 01535 642007.

F Parkin,

Haworth

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