‘Litter problem needs our council to act’
HAS Redditch Borough Council forgotten it is responsible for street sweeping?
I’ve never seen so much litter and debris before. It’s so sad to see the town in such a state.
Over the last four years, I have been making sure all the road gulleys in my division are clean. Blocked gulleys lead to localised flooding and whilst there are still a few problem gulleys remaining, which need extensive repairs, the improvements have made a big difference.
Unfortunately, that will be all for nothing if all the gulleys simply get blocked up again through lack of road sweeping from the council.
Coun Emma Marshall
Arrow Valley West
‘Give it six months’
GEOFFREY Brooking must either live on another planet or looking through red tinted specs.
Give it another six months and the way Starmer and his crazy gang are going this country will be that far around the toilet bend it will not be retrievable.
Ask him to write in in a few months, I’d love to read another fairytale.
Terry Coates
‘Labour is taking action’
AFTER years of talk and gimmicks from the Conservative Party, how good it is to see yet more evidence of our magnificent Home Secretary smashing evil smuggling gangs.
First, Labour is introducing terror-style powers to arrest and disrupt people smugglers.
Second, the new Border Security Command is to be given powers to work together and set a long-term vision for working on border security.
Third, Labour is expanding serious crime prevention orders to issue travel and social media bans on smugglers.
Fourth, there will be new biometric data powers to identify those who pose a threat to the national security of our country.
And finally, there will be a new offence for endangering life at sea.
Five, well thought-out proposals which prove that whereas the Conservative Party was and still is all talk, Labour is taking action to make Britain great again and I commend these plans to every reader.
Geoffrey Brooking
‘Donations helping’
SUPPORTERS in the Midlands astound me with their compassion towards international communities, especially in such challenging times financially.
Your donations to Sightsavers are helping reduce the global burden of avoidable vision impairment.
We all need eye health support at some point, to see the board at school, to work, for independence. Yet access to health services varies between and within countries.
We work with governments and organisations in Africa and Asia to help people in need today, whilst strengthening health systems so they can deliver services long into the future.
Your generosity is essential to this and the start of something wonderful for people like Wilson, a farmer and family man from Chikwawa region, Malawi.
Deteriorating vision from cataract made Wilson feel like a burden.
He could not do anything at home, and his children and grandchildren missed school to help him.
Surgery through a Sightsavers project had a positive impact on every area of his life.
His work is back on track, he can go to the farm and the children are back in school.
Thank you for helping people like Wilson.
Your support means everything.
You can visit: sightsavers.org to find out more about how you are making a difference.
Dr Caroline Harper, CBE
CEO
Sightsavers
‘Follow your heart’
FEBRUARY is Heart Month – a time to reflect on and act upon how heart and circulatory diseases affect around twice as many people in the UK as Alzheimer’s and cancer combined.
Here at the British Heart Foundation (BHF), we urgently need your help to fund the cures of tomorrow, so we are asking readers to Go Red in Heart Month.
Whether it’s a big ball, an office dress-up day, a coffee morning or a red-themed quiz, red is a great theme to have some fun with.
By fundraising for the BHF this Heart Month, you can help get us closer than ever to a world free from the fear of heart and circulatory diseases and help to keep hearts beating.
Too many of us have felt the pain of heart and circulatory diseases – losing a loved one to a cardiac arrest, supporting a child with congenital heart disease or coping with the devastating impact of heart failure.
We are also encouraging your readers to learn the lifesaving skill of CPR in just 15 minutes, through our digital tool RevivR.
Using just a cushion and a phone, you could learn the skills to help save a loved one’s life in the event of a cardiac arrest.
You can donate to the BHF this Heart Month here: www.bhf.org.uk/donate
Teresa Hicks
Director of Fundraising at the BHF
We welcome your letters….
We welcome your letters for the Redditch Standard on any subject.
Email them to [email protected]
EDITORS COMMENT
IT IS GREAT Children’s Mental Health Week (February 3 to 9) is raising the important issue of young people’s emotional wellbeing.
Everyone knows where to go for physical ailments and injuries but it is equally crucial for people of all ages to know where to turn and what help is available if they are struggling mentally in these often challenging times.
Visit: childrensmentalhealthweek.org.uk for more information and free resources for schools and families to help them encourage children to express their emotions.
