Letter to the Editor (re TT's dangerous sidewalks)

The gaping manhole into which the elderly man fell

The Editor:

At about 1:30 p.m. today, Friday, I was driving in pouring rain from Port-of-Spain, heading east. The roads were like rivers of brown water. As I hit the traffic on the Eastern Main Road, I was tempted to pick up two people just to be eligible to drive on the bus route and get home quickly. But as I passed the gas station and neared the traffic light in Champs Fleurs, I saw that the road ahead was clear and changed my mind. Good thing. As I reached the next corner, Gordon Street, I was just in time to see an elderly man get out of a maxi and step straight into a gaping manhole.

I quickly turned the corner, parked my car and ran to help him. A male youth also came to his assistance. The poor man was down in the manhole. Raging brown water was running through the drain. He could have been swept away. Luckily he had the presence of mind to save himself by using his arms. By the time he was back up on the pavement, he was shaking like a leaf, his left leg was bleeding under his pants and the underside of his right forearm from elbow down was bleeding profusely.

I got some napkins from the nearby parlour to place over his wounds. The elderly gentleman was shaking so much that he could barely hold the napkins in place. The youth and I put his umbrella and groceries in my car and I drove him home. He was telling me that as he stepped out of the maxi, his glasses were foggy, so he did not see the manhole.

This manhole is at the corner, where students of Mount Hope Secondary School gather daily, sometimes jostling each other and not looking where they are going as they move in large groups. A small-bodied student falling into that manhole may not be able to save himself/herself as the old man did. When it rains, the flood waters passing through those drains are relentless. How many times do we read about children getting swept away by flood waters in rainy season?

The sidewalks in this country are deplorable. Manholes without covers seem to outnumber those that have covers. And even most of those with covers are either broken or function as see-saws. This country can more than afford to provide new covers for all manholes nationwide. Relevant authorities, please look into this as soon as possible, before worse occurs.

Elspeth Duncan,
St. Augustine

Letter to the Editor

I recently wrote the following letter to the Editor and subsequently saw it in the Express.

I hope:
(i) the owners of the dog I mentioned also saw it and were able to rescue their pet. I haven't seen the dog since, so maybe they did get him.
(ii) the media houses really consider implementing the suggested service. There must be animal lovers working in the media.

The Editor:

During the rainy season, whenever there is loud thunder, some dogs run from their homes in terror. They wander far and are not always relocated by their owners. It is customary after heavy rainfall to see confused, lost dogs sniffing around at the roadside. I suggest that media houses introduce a service whereby members of the public can call in with information on lost-dog sightings and that these announcements be made (where/when possible) via print, radio, television, internet.

Last week I noticed an Alsatian with a washed out forest-green collar wandering around St. John Road, St. Augustine. I made some announcements via email and Facebook and did not see the dog after. I assumed it had been picked up by its owners. However, this morning I saw it trotting along St. John Road, sniffing and looking confused. I called to it and it ran onto the compound leading to the University School. It looks a little skinny, but otherwise healthy.

I would appreciate it if you publish this letter, as the owners or someone who knows them may see it and be able to rescue the dog. It's not a good feeling to know that a pet is wandering away from home and you have no idea where.

Thank you.

Elspeth Duncan,
St. Augustine

Letter to the Editor

This morning I sent this letter off to our three daily newspapers.


The Editor:

Someone once advised me: "If you agree to pay someone X amount of money, always pay them what you promised or more. Never change your mind and pay them less."

This morning I remembered this worthy piece of advice as I read in one of our daily newspapers that Fay-Ann Lyons-Alvarez's $1,000,000 prize money has been "slashed" by $250,000. Mere weeks ago, headlines in the papers screamed that this woman (performing pregnant over Carnival 2009) had created local history with her string of soca victories. Headlines following soon after proudly announced the successful birth of a bouncing baby girl to "Soca's Royal Couple".

Among other things, Fay-Ann is (listed in no specific order of importance) a woman, a wife, an artiste, a new mother, a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago. I see the 'slashing' of her prize money from $1,000,000 to $750,000 "due to the economic downturn in the country" as being more than just "unprofessional". I see it as a blatant symbol of how this Government regards and treats its citizens in general. It shows lack of respect for her as an artiste - and by extension all local artistes and our right to be fully recognized, to earn our due and to earn a good living as we create and sustain "the multi-culture" of which this nation so loves to boast. It shows lack of respect for her as a wife and mother - and by extension all mothers/parents/caregivers/citizens who, in this time of "economic downturn", struggle to find ways to feed, clothe and house themselves and their loved ones. It shows lack of respect for her newborn baby - and by extension, all of the children of Trinidad and Tobago who deserve to live in an honourable nation that provides, at the very least, basic necessities to guarantee their ongoing health, harmony and happiness.

Elspeth Duncan,
St. Augustine

Letters to the Editors

Below are two letters I wrote (yesterday and today) to the editors (of the three daily newspapers). I'm not quite sure about the spelling of Jizelle Salandy's name. Some of the articles on her spell it as Giselle, but I'm going with the spelling that was in the article I'm referring to in the letter below.

Letter written and sent today:

The Editor:

First of all condolences to the loved ones of Jizelle Salandy.

The day after her fatal car accident, a question in one of the daily newspapers asks: "How do you think champion boxer Jizelle Salandy should be remembered?" A few pages on, a reprinted article on Jizelle (entitled "The Feminine Touch") mentions that "in years to come she hopes to open a home for abandoned and underprivileged children". She is quoted as saying: "I love children and I want to give them the pleasures I never had as a child."

The end of the article states that a degree in Child Psychology is on the agenda for Jizelle and ends with her saying: "I want to be a shining light for the youth ..."

I think she can be remembered through:
(a) the establishment of The Jizelle Salandy Home for Abandoned and Underprivileged Children
(b) the establishment of an ongoing Jizelle Salandy scholarship fund which enables young people to pursue degrees and training in Child Psychology.

Well trained, professional, accessible, open-minded and committed child psychologists and peer counselors are needed in today's society. Many young people are largely misguided, lack trust in elders and often have nowhere to turn. The 'shining light' that Jizelle Salandy wanted to be can, in part, be passed on as a torch to the hands of those who, through the scholarship, will strive to be great child psychologists and offer ongoing guidance to the youth. Investing money in initiatives like this will support and encourage a much needed culture of national healing.

Elspeth Duncan,
St. Augustine

*

Letter written and sent yesterday:

The Editor:

On Friday morning I stopped off to buy a phone card at the corner of El Dorado Road and the Eastern Main Road, Tunapuna. From where my car was, I couldn't see the sidewalk properly as I drove onto it to get to the parking space outside the store. Normally I would have just driven forward, but something inside told me to be careful and angle my car, which I did as I mounted the sidewalk. All was well until I heard a loud 'braddaaaps!' and felt my back right wheel go down. I pressed hard on my accelerator and was fortunate to get out without sticking. Because I had angled the car in the way I did, only part of my wheel (not the entire thing) had gone in and the car was seemingly undamaged. I got out to see what I had escaped: a huge, gaping manhole without a cover on the sidewalk.

I went into the store and told the two men at the door that something had to be done about the manhole. They wearily told me that they had put a stick in it to warn people and a vagrant had removed the stick. They had also made several reports to the relevant authorities and nothing has been done to date.

Will the relevant authorities please move swiftly to cover this manhole and the many others that are gaping open on our national sidewalks? They are extremely dangerous. Using the above-mentioned hole as an example: not only do cars drive up onto that sidewalk to get to the parking spaces, but hundreds of school children and other pedestrians pass there daily. If any car or pedestrian falls victim to a manhole, the potentially extensive damage and resulting personal expense will be extremely unfortunate.

What is even more unfortunate is that fixing these holes to ensure our citizens' safety is not as urgent as spending vast sums of money to hurriedly prepare the old airport for the arrival of American Presidential jets in April.

Elspeth Duncan,
St. Augustine