January 3, 2003

Dear Sir,

Where are the buses? Where are the buses? The Berkeley Institute school has waited in vain for the PLP to keep their promise to provide extra buses for the students to travel straight home - safely. I was in a state of shock when I was told that buses were being shipped overseas to other countries, and our students were left out in the cold - it is still a sad state of affairs.

Our PLP ministers spend thousands and thousands and thousands of our tax dollars to travel around the world in great comfort, while the Berkeley students are being forced to walk in the rain, and freezing temperatures in order to attend school. It is humiliating to watch our children suffer so badly at the cold hands of such egotistical, and autocratic leaders.

There is constant fighting between the students and outsiders at the bus terminal. The crowds are beginning to grow larger and larger, and forming groups. People are terrified to travel on the buses because the students are extremely rude and very disrespectful to the bus drivers.

The students roam into stores around Hamilton after school, i.e. "KFC" is a famous spot. They have no intentions of buying anything, and stop paying customers from eating and finding chairs to sit in. I have observed that there are severe problems encouraging students from both private and public schools to participate in - drugs - where is the discipline?

The police are constantly trying to keep the children under control. Why do they have to hang around the bus terminal so long after school has ended?

I have witnessed a man riding up to the bus terminal, got off his bike - took a bottle and smashed it over the head of a person and rode off. These are very serious issues. They need to be addressed as soon as possible before some one is killed. Stop trying to push our problems under the rug - you can't hide it forever - it will surface again... and again...and again... and again...

I am sick and tired of hearing Dr. Ewart Brown boast about the "Fast Ferry". It is so ho-hum to sit on the bus every day, and watch the Resolute at Marine and Ports doing absolutely nothing at our expense. Has Dr. Brown examined the new buses yet?

1. The seats are too close and smaller than the seats on an airline. A very heavy person has to occupy at least two seats in order to sit with ease - I observed that the other day.

2. If a heavy person sits in front of you, the back of the chair leans on your knees.

3. The "Next Stop Sign" - you never know when it is off or on. It is so small you need a magnifying glass to see it.

4. The chairs have no back support whatsoever - it's like sitting in a recliner at home and watching Cablevision.

5. Hand grips only go halfway down the bus. Standing passengers have nothing to support their weight when the bus stops suddenly. They fall over each other.

6. The windows are too low. You literally have to rest your head in your lap, to see outside the windows.

7. The bus drivers always look uncomfortable when they are driving. Their heads are penetrating through the roof.

The people in this country are living under constant fear, especially the senior citizens. We are facing severe pandemonium as America prepares for a World War and possible starvation. It is time to pull up our socks as a country and get it together.

Get those children in off the street - Now!!

OBSERVER

Southampton

January 2, 2003

Dear Sir,

I refer to today's headline "Nightmare on Front Street" where 300 people, with some reportedly as young as 14, were engaged in both riotous behaviour at 2.30 a.m. on New Year's Eve as well as often violent confrontations with the police who were attempting to bring order to the melee.

I also note that Government Minister the Honourable Terry Lister understandably questioned where the parents were when he was interviewed on the electronic media, and was rightly especially concerned as to whether or not the illegal consumption of alcohol and/or drugs may have been involved.

However, regrettably for many years now far too many youngsters have been raised totally lacking in positive male role models, while tragically the over-abundant availability of both drugs and alcohol are freely accessible to anyone lacking either positive parental guidance or learned self discipline to simply avoid those temptations.

When bearing in mind the increasingly frequency of such public disturbances locally, quite clearly we now have a major crisis on our hands. Indeed, even our visitors now regularly caution against our continuing to tolerate various and occasionally even more serious social ills lest we lose forever vitally important tourism livelihood opportunities.

For example, Mr. George Colesworthy's "Letter to the Editor" lamented in part the passing of politeness and well ordered tranquility enjoyed not all that long ago. Furthermore, your own editorial yet further highlights the critical importance of simple truthfulness in our everyday conduct when recognising the blatant examples of gross distortions afflicting even some of our highest-placed public servants who nevertheless often stridently call for respect in spite of their occasional own lack of respect for the truth.

Here it is also interesting to note the Honourable Kim Young's cogent remarks on racial divisiveness in today's Royal Gazette, that so often and tragically lies at the very root of all that I have already mentioned. How can we ever move forward as a society when perpetually facing this conundrum if we do not do everything possible to guarantee that every one of our young people is first and foremost raised in a disciplined positive atmosphere fully recognising the intrinsic worth of everyone? How can we ever escape the constant treadmill of pursuit of self interest above other if we are not first automatically obliged to recognise that self alone has absolutely no value without also first honouring society as a critically interdependent family of people? But where can such self disciplined character training for our young people begin?

I respectfully suggest that both Government and the Opposition now candidly and honestly most urgently work together on a non-partisan basis to review the feasibility of some form of compulsory service for every one of our youngsters (i.e. both girls and boys) who are both physically and mentally capable of undertaking an "outward bound" type of experience ideally also embracing sail training whenever possible. To this end I am informed that Singapore already ensures that all of its high school students are compulsorily required to undertake such totally positive character training. Are we not similarly willing to at least learn from others to positively train our youngsters in self disciplined life skills rather than continue on the path of racially divisive self destruction?

With every good wish for a far better future for all, I remain

TED GAUNTLETT

Somerset

Dear Sir,

In the new year 2003 I'm calling on Dr. Hon Ewart Brown MP to appoint a panel of at least three individuals to represent complaints made by the public on our ambassadors the taxi driver.

The present public license board led by EL James MP as chairman is a total uncombatant board always siding with the complainant. I know of three cases that shouldn't have gone to the board, the first the driver that put a passenger out of his taxi for being rude and eating. The driver whose licence was suspended for having a confrontation outside his taxi and whom were not passengers. A homeless lady who reported that she was propositioned by a taxi driver, that driver was summoned three times before the hearing was heard and even after police contacted TCB to inform them that the homeless complainant was under investigation and known to police for making false reports on individual public drivers.

I'm also calling on the Min Brown to appoint a lawyer with knowledge of Judicial law to chair the public license board as it has been for the past 20 years. Member EL James MP has not a clue on law and is not a lawyer thank you Mr. Editor and taxi drivers thank you for serving the public over the holidays. Again thanks. Yours truly.

AN EXECUTIVE BERMUDA TAXI

OWNERS ASSOCIATION