Letters to the Editor

If I follow Fire Authority thinking then my smoke alarm is as under-used as their aerial appliance.

Should I therefore remove my smoke alarm and hope to receive cover from my neighbour's smoke alarm?

John Lane

Hermit Hole, Halifax Road,

Keighley

SIR - We are writing to express our great sadness at the news of the death of Mr Ken Bigley. We offer our deepest sympathies to Mr Bigley's family.

It is also of great concern to us that the people who committed this dreadful act call themselves Muslims.

No religion condones this sort of behaviour and nor is there a place for extremists' views in Islam. Our beloved Prophet Muhammad has taught us that "He who kills one person, it's as if he has killed the whole of humanity, he who saves one life, it's as if he has saved the whole of humanity''.

There is no room for bigotry, intolerance or prejudice in any civilised society, be it Baghdad, Keighley or anywhere else.

We can imagine that Mr Bigley's family will be in tremendous pain and our thoughts and prayers go out to them.

Ghufran Mehmood

General secretary

Madina Mosque, Keighley

Sir - I know this is a long shot, but does anyone remember a Maurice Bartle who lived in Oxenhope with his wife Peggy?

They were my grandparents. I am told they lived there. I never got the chance to meet my grandfather.

It would be interesting to know if anyone knew them.

STEVE NICHOLAIDIS

steven@snicholaidis.my-

bulldog.com

SIR - Exploiting animals for entertainment on television is on the increase.

Reality programmes such as ITV's "I'm a Celebrity - Get me Out of Here!" showed insects and fish being eaten alive.

Channel 4's Big Brother showed contestants attempting to care for chickens. Now Channel 5's The Farm is taking the exploitation of animals for entertainment still further and plans to show "celebrities" with little or no animal-handling experience undertaking anything from de-horning of calves to sending animals for slaughter.

How far will a reality show go to boost ratings?

We need to start asking some serious questions about the way we see and treat animals.

Farming Trust's micro site www.animalsentience.com encapsulates the philosophies of respect towards animals.

GWYN HAMILTON

Burnroyd Avenue,

Cross Hills

SIR - I would like to thank Graham Mitchell for his concerns over the justification of allowances given to the two BNP councillors in Keighley, as he rightly states all councillors must justify their incomes that are paid for courtesy of the tax payer.

But Mr Mitchell must also recognise that there are 88 other councillors in the Bradford district who are paid salaries ranging from £11,295 - to £44,000 per year. Maybe he may want to look into their justifications for earning these large amounts, or is it just the BNP councillors he is targeting for some reason?

When I was elected I stated that my role was to tell the truth at all times and work for the people of my ward. So far I feel I have done this to the best of my ability.

For various reasons I could not attend the police forum and area conference recently passed, but it does not mean I do not know what is going on in this town.

Then Graham Mitchell tries a poor attempt at exploiting me for not attending the Medina mosque -- well done Mr Mitchell, your bridge building expertise between communities is second to none.

Continuing with the Medina invitation, we do have an agenda in place, and in due course we will approach and discuss the areas we feel are of importance to the people of Keighley, but that will happen when we feel ready to communicate to the necessary people.

Going back to my allowance, after tax/insurance etc I receive approximately £160 per week, something I personally cannot live on due to massive tax increases and pressures of life put on us by this corrupt Labour government.

I have to chase other work to live a more stable home life, something we should all be entitled to but unfortunately do not get. Any time left after trying to live is divided between my family and my duty as a councillor, and at the moment council work takes the lead.

Personally I know that I am carrying out my duties as a ward councillor with 100 per cent effort and can do no more than what I now do. I also have a fantastic committee in the Worth Valley who ensure that I do not sit idle. I am sure Mr Mitchell can appreciate the obstacles our party personally has to over come every day, just to do our normal constituency work, we do have a mountain to climb.

I hope the evidence of achievements I make in Keighley over the next few years will provide enough justification for Mr Mitchell to help re-elect me, but that is merely his choice.

Cllr Chris Kirby

Shann Lane

Blackhill

SIR - In response to last week's letter regarding Cllr Kirby and myself attending council meetings, I would like to point out that to date we have attended all full council meetings, and the vast majority of other council engagements.

However it is not a requirement for every councillor to attend every single meeting or engagement open to him or her. What's more it would be almost impossible for every councillor to attend every engagement open to him or her simply due to the time constraints involved.

It is obvious that the writer of this letter is trying to besmirch the work that the BNP councillors are doing. He has made no mention of the fact that at the recent Keighley Area Committee meeting, which was to discuss increased spending in the Keighley area, all three Labour members failed to attend. The failure of the Labour Councillors to attend caused the meeting to be aborted. Would Mr Mitchell like to comment on whether these Labour Councillors' allowances are justified?

CLLR ANGELA CLARKE

Bankfield Drive, Braithwaite

SIR - In 1974, prior to the Bradford take-over, Keighley Central Library had five experienced qualified Librarians.

They knew their jobs and had ordered and looked after thousands and thousands of books over the years, so that borrowers had a wide selection of up-to-date reading matter, whatever their individual tastes. It was a magnificent library, catering for the needs of a medium-sized town with a new extension for a specialised children's library.

What have we now? The children's library has returned to the corner of the lending library from which it was removed as out-of-date in the 1960s. What has taken its place? Nothing to do with Libraries -- but the Citizens Advice Bureau. I hope greedy Bradford is getting a good rent because the Library Service, such as it is, needs all the money it can get.

As for the Lending Library, have you seen it? Half the books have been taken away. A third of the bookcases have disappeared.

Three large empty areas of dingy carpet squares are surrounded by vacant shelving. The unfortunate staff (who have to bear the brunt of borrowers' complaints) have to do as they are told by their masters at Bradford, who are so arrogant that books are taken away with the airy promise that new books will replace them sometime, when they feel like it, if and when they have any money.

J HARRINGTON

Banks Lane,

Riddlesden

SIR - Sorry to raise an old chestnut once again, but it appears our Mr Evans and his Rawdon Road car park are again trying to drive Haworth visitors away.

On Monday, October 11, an old teaching friend of mine and his wife decided to re-visit Keighley and look up some of his colleagues from Keighley College.

He parked in Rawdon Road car park, purchasing a ticket at 12.10. On returning at 15.10, still one hour to go, he found he had been clamped and contacted the attendant.

The problem appeared to be that the ticket had dropped from the windscreen and, although still visible, was the wrong side up, the attendant clamped the car.

The stupid thing is, no way could my friend get the attendant to just check the ticket to confirm there was still one hour left. He then had to pay a £50 fine.

What sort of characters does this man employ, that a little courtesy and respect can't be shown so that letters like this are not required or does a commission factor come into this?

B F RODGERS

Blackhill

Keighley