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10 Comment(s)

Re: Recent FredRock concert

While we all have a right to our opinions, there are a few Frederictonians whose minor grievances are causing major damage to our city's reputation.

It needs to stop.

I attended the FredRock festival recently, and I have no complaints whatsoever. I was thrilled to see such amazing talent here in my hometown, but disheartened to hear that a few locals were complaining about the noise.

It is disrespectful to everyone involved in the event. A lot of time and effort went into making the event a success.

The promoters shouldered a big risk, showed professionalism, held public consultations prior to the event and respected city bylaws.

Let's commend them for their entrepreneurial spirit and a job well done.

If you enjoyed the festival, let the promoters and artists know (via websites, Facebook and other means).

If you were unable to attend, make plans to go next year. The performances were great and the ticket prices very reasonable.

If you were bothered by the noise, please keep in mind that it is only a weekend-long event and there are economic spinoffs at stake.

As a city, let's show the world that we are open for business, that we embrace the arts, and that we know how to put on a good show.

Lastly, I would like to thank Symphony of Sound, all the bands, the crews, the volunteers, the Fredericton Police Force and Fredericton Transit.

You rock!

Laura Seheult

Fredericton

For the first time, I cried when the buses left

Re: Education cuts

I am a teacher's assistant with District 17.

Due to former education minister Kelly Lamrock's infinite wisdom and huge layoffs, I was bumped out of my position with the school I have come to love, and I recently spent my last day with the children I have helped for the past two years.

I want to let you, the public and the parents of my children, know the repercussions of what this government has done to me, and therefore to you, in the name of saving money.

I have had to say goodbye to students who have come to rely on me to help them transition from class to class, and from grade to grade.

I have had to watch a mother cry in my arms because I was not going to be there for her son next year.

I have had to put a student who has depended on me for every aspect of her academic life on the bus, knowing I would not be there to get her off the bus in September. Who will be there for her? No one she knows; therefore, she's sunk.

I do not hold the person who was forced to bump me out of my job responsible, as I'm hoping the person I was forced to bump will not hold me responsible for laying her off, yet I cannot fathom how this is affecting my students, or the students in all of our wakes.

This was the first year I cried as the buses pulled away. I was crying for my children, the ones I knew expected me to be there for them in September, but because I will not be, will be lost.

Sure, someone will be there to pick up the pieces, but would you trust a stranger to help you through the unfamiliarity, or would you rather have someone you knew there to collect you off the bus in September to guide you into the strange world you were forced to endure?

This is an emotional letter, certainly, and for that I must apologize.

My children, my students, are bearing the brunt of this monetary loss, and I just cannot imagine how they will feel in September when they realize I will not be there to help them adjust to a new, unfamiliar situation.

Stephanie Marshall

Lincoln, N.B.

There is no excuse for crime, and the penalties are too light

Re: Criminal justice system

Usually I can listen to news and let it roll off my back, but this particular story got to me.

The story was of a 71-year-old lady who lost her life to couple of drunken punks, one under house arrest, the other on the run from Alberta on drug trafficking charges. They were drag racing on a narrow causeway in Newfoundland.

I know alcohol and drug addictions are hard to take, but please, judges and police, make them take responsibility.

Quit letting the lawyers get them off with a slap on the wrist using the excuse that they were drunk or stoned or in a blackout.

The judge gives them house arrest or time served or time served in the community. Give me a break!

The other excuse which drives me nuts - pardon the pun - is the excuse of insanity.

No one is that far gone that even for a split second people make the choice to do the wrong thing. If they can do the crime they must do serious time.

Quit babying them. Quit letting innocent lives be taken or ruined.

I don't think I'm alone in these feelings.

Heather Fletcher

Fredericton

Try this idea for a controlled study

Re: Cosmetic pesticide use

The news on June 18 showed John Evans of Pro-Care Lawn & Property Management speaking about the ban on a number of cosmetic pesticide chemicals.

He thinks there is no link between exposure to cosmetic pesticides and cancer.

Dr. Robin Walker, vice-president of medicine at the IWK Hospital in Halifax, recently told New Brunswickers that doctors have linked pesticides to cancer and other life threatening illnesses.

Canadian Physicians for the Environment has been telling us the same thing, as have the NB Lung Association and Canadian Cancer Society representatives.

Controlled studies are not possible. Who would want to volunteer their children to take part in such a study?

Some would have to be directly exposed to pesticides for a lengthy period and some kept away from pesticides, then the health of all examined over time.

The lack of controlled studies is the reason why sellers of cosmetic pesticides say there is no link between exposure to pesticides and disease.

I wonder if we could get the promoters of 2-4,D to volunteer their children for a long term study. That would be putting their money where their mouth is.

Merlene Crawford

Oromocto, N.B.