LETTERS

5:05pm Friday 22nd February 2008

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Schools: Give us the money to do the job I am appalled that the Liberal Democrats continue to politicise the primary school issue.

In order to stop the uncertainty they are causing for those 22 schools, let me make it quite clear that while I am the leader of Shropshire Council, those schools will not be closed.

The Conservative administration is going to set up a policy commission which will be open and transparent and will involve teachers, governors and stakeholders.

I expect this policy commission to recommend changes to the existing policy, which will result in a strong viable network of small rural schools.

We must, all of us, be strong and resolute in our arguments to central government in orderto obtain fair funding for our Shropshire schools.

It is the funding mechanism of the Labour government that created the problems in the first place. Our message must be loud and clear to government: give us the money to do the job.

Malcolm Pate, Conservative leader, Shropshire County Council.

Closures will cause irrevocable damage THE public are being misled into thinking that our politicians acted swiftly to prevent closures and, in the case of Lydbury North School merger, in fact a closure.

All 22 schools that were on the closure list are still under threat and are requested to continue the fight and join Lydbury North's closure battle.

Please do not insult the intelligence of parents. These actions are damaging communities and the sooner this is stopped the quicker our communities have a chance to recover.

If closures go ahead it will cause irrevocable damage, especially to small rural villages such as ours.

As we have done, parents with young families will choose to live in villages that have the schools.

Ian Kidd, parent, The Old Blacksmiths, Lydbury North.

Jo clears up after society's yobbos I DO feel some youths of 16 years plus are the yobbos of our society. Each day I take my dog on Oldwood Common, St Michael's, for his daily constitutional.

I can guarantee on a Saturday, Sunday and Monday morning I can fill a plastic carrying bag with empty cans, bottles, fast food wrappers, cigarette packets and sometimes other nasty items which should not be thrown out of a car window.

When a bottle is smashed I meticulously pick up every piece of broken bottle so that dogs will not have glass embedded in their paws.

I can do nothing to stop all the litter thrown out of cars, but I have made myself a collector, so that my fellow walkers and their dogs can enjoy a clean common to walk on.

Jo Sothers, Rochford, Tenbury Wells.

Thank you: Holly is as well as can be expected WE would like to thank all our family and friends and everyone else who has supported the fundraising efforts in aid of our daughter, Holly Pitt, aged 10, who is recovering in hospital following a bone marrow transplant at Birmingham Children's Hospital.

The transplant was necessary to beat her condition which is aplastic anaemia and not leukaemia as was previously thought.

Special thanks go to Barbara Biggs, Ray Cooper, Thurza Sibbons, Andy Evans at McConnels and everyone else involved in organising any events.

Thanks also go to Dianne and Ron Morgan from the charity Dreamcatchers who provided Holly's laptop.

Thank you to all for the support and wishes sent to our family.

Holly is doing as well as can be expected and will hopefully be back home within the next six weeks.

Dave and Sharon Pitt, Steventon Crescent, Ludlow.

Cinema justifies LAR's existence and subsidy HOW heartening to read the Assembly Rooms has again been awarded another year of grant funding, of more than £12,000, from Ludlow Town Council.

I understand Councillor Tony Pound has maintained the majority of his constituents were against any subsidy on the grounds that few of them use the facilities.

I use the Assembly Rooms often and see Ludlow residents I know from all over town.

If you only mention the cinema facility, it justifies its existence and subsidy.

At £4.50 per adult to watch the latest film is a real boon. Or should we all travel to Shrewsbury paying more than that with fuel costs on top?

Or should the rooms be turned into a bingo hall as is the case in Leominster?

At the Rooms there is a wondeful choice of music, plays and shows to suit all tastes, plus an excellent, varied array of children's activities, which are hugely popular.

If such policies on subsidy were introduced it would also mean an end of support for Ludlow Leisure Centre. Many people don't use the centre but do understand the need for subsidy.

Terry Jacobs, Hillrise View, Gravel Hill, Ludlow.

Park would cause problems at night RESIDENTS of Greenhill Close (Advertiser, February 14)aren't only protesting about plans for a walk through, but also access from the close to rebuild the wall in Market Street alongside Kyre Brook.

The suggestion is that the enclosed play area be turned into an open public park yards from people's homes.

This would cause numerous problems for residents and police, especially at night.

This aspect doesn't seem to have been given a lot of attention in this suggestion, if you consider the problems with the Burgage and surrounding buildings.

Bill Tristram, Greenhill Close, Tenbury Wells.