AFTER reading the "Fears move will be step back for troubled pupils" article in the Nottingham Post, Monday, January 14, I feel very angry and disappointed.
These pupils are the next generation of Nottingham; they are troubled for many different reasons and get valued support to improve themselves, but yet again the service is being closed to cut costs.
At what cost, I ask myself, when 18 months ago funding was taken away from the youth offending team to support young children in the city. Since then, I have dealt with pupils who have gone from petty crime to more serious crime – more cost to the city without the intervention at an early stage.
Now they are closing the Deenwood centre. What will this mean to our young students who get positive, valued support?
Early intervention is vital for these troubled youngsters; yet another vital service is being cut. Without this service, youngsters will not cope with everyday situations.
I ask myself: will the city council save money?
My opinion is, it will not.
DEBBIE WALKER
Learning mentor
Ambleside Primary School
Aspley
RECRUITING police officers, it is reported, has fallen over the last two years, with officers below the age of 26 having reduced by almost 50%.
The commitment of the new Police and Crime Commissioner to recruit 100 new police officers, reported recently, will, I believe, be welcomed by many readers
Irrespective of efficiencies stimulated by new technologies, succession is a vital component of any organisation's continuity and survival; acquired skills, local knowledge and experiences can be passed on.
Widening age profiles have the potential to sustain or increase generational barriers within our diverse communities.
Recruitment should give career opportunities for an age group experiencing high levels of unemployment.
Hopefully, the Nottinghamshire force will be in the vanguard of recruitment for front-line officers.
PAUL KEY
Castleton Avenue
Arnold
HOW can local councillors justify their proposed increases when their workforce has had pay freezes in place for a few years.
I live in Carlton and have never seen or heard of those councillors supposedly representing my area.
How can the three candidates state they represent us, when they haven't step foot on our road, in my knowledge?
I have seen local councillors representing our neighbouring ward distributing election leaflets, which I feel pointless considering it's four months before any elections are to take place.
I am a strong believer that we have far too many councillors on our councils who, in my opinion, are looking for a meal ticket or supplementary income.
Now, politicians are seeking a whopping 32% increase in their salaries. Will they get a bonus for the number of incidences of their insensitivity in these austere times, which goes to show that politicians are still not in touch with the electorate, irrespective of all the spin and manifestos coming through the door?
Well, at least the manifestos and electioneering leaflets will come in handy for the WC!
TONY MORRIS
Manor Green Walk
Carlton
THE most recent estimate is that 40,000 serving soldiers will have their take-home pay cut as a result of Monday's vote to cap benefits to one per cent. That is because the largest group of people affected by the changes are those in work, on low pay, in receipt of working tax credits.
Could the Conservative Party please explain to the nation why they think that our troops are "shirkers"?
And here is my prediction: it will be pensioners next, then the disabled and their carers. Yet we can afford to cut the top rate of income tax for millionaires by five per cent.
ERIC GOODYER
High Street
Colsterworth
YOUR readers have been very, very good with their responses, but can they go that extra mile and do something really, well, shall we say special, memorable and sympathetic?
Were they serving, or were any relatives serving on HMS Collingwood when Herr Hitler's men tried to sink it?
In a recent Letter to the Editor, I asked those who had served at any time, in any capacity, at HMS Collingwood, the massive shore establishment at Fareham, just outside Portsmouth, to get in touch if they wanted to be reunited with their old shipmates.
They are still coming out of the woodwork and I have received some wonderful stories of their experiences, but something else more dramatic has emerged.
In the early hours of June 18, 1943, a bomb dropped on to one of the accommodation huts and killed over 30 sailors. These sailors, all volunteers to serve king and country, were mainly 17 and 18-year-olds.
They had been in the Royal Navy for just over a fortnight and were still under training. There are no photos of them in uniform.
Two sisters of those killed saw my appeal and have come forward seeking more information. Following this interest, I have now tracked down service details of all of them. They came from all over the country and I am hoping that readers of local newspapers, and those who had relatives killed, or they themselves served at HMS Collingwood at that time, will come forward and contribute information ready for the 70th anniversary on June 18, 2013.
We will all meet up and do something special.
Thanks to the kind permission of the Commodore of HMS Collingwood, I have arranged for a memorial service to be held in the chapel and a visit to the spot where the bomb dropped, with a short service there. Wreaths may be laid at the tree planted in their memory.
Be they sisters, brothers, nieces or nephews, it doesn't matter, the HMS Collingwood Association will make this something special, and 70 years seems a good opportunity before it's too late.
Send the details of the one you have lost, or your story if you were there, to Mike Crowe, Chairman, HMS Collingwood Association, 7 Heath Road, Sandown, Isle of Wight, PO36 8PG, or e-mail mike.crowe1@btinternet.com
I also look forward to hearing from anybody who has served at HMS Collingwood at any time, in any capacity, or who would like to "swing the lamp" at one of our reunions, or even join one of our other organised visits to HMS Collingwood to see how it is today.
MIKE CROWE
Sandown
Isle of Wight
AS a retired railway worker, I can see sound economic benefits in having a proposed station on the HS2 route at Toton Sidings (pictured) situated as it is close to Nottingham and Derby.
Most of the present area of Toton is a shadow of its former glory, which in its heyday marshalled trains from the vast Nottingham hue and Derbyshire coalfields (which have long since gone).
Nowadays, block trains (of, say, coal and oil) go from A to B as single units without the need for major sidings (such as Toton).
In the future, we can envisage most local routes such as the Robin Hood line electrified with bimodal locos (using electric and diesel traction on non-electric lines) and tram trains which can use light rail (such as NET) and heavy rail routes (connecting HS2 to the city centre).
DAVID HARDY
Woodstock Avenue
Nottingham
