Letters to the Editor for April 1

Former teacher deserves all the praise she gets

My brothers Frederick and Patrick Roberts (twins) and I had Mrs. Vince as our junior and senior kindergarten teacher in the 1970s.

Later on, in 1980-1981 she left as my Grade 6 teacher and started a special class for seven or eight students, some developmentally challenged (my two brothers) and some with behavioural and learning difficulties. For three years she taught my brothers, and was the one great teacher in their schooling. They suffered greatly when sent to a regular high school after Corpus Christi.

Few other than trained special education specialists have the patience or aptitude for this type of work, and I can say after witnessing both the good and the bad as they attended mainstream school,  much was bad. Mrs. Vince was a rare exception.

Teaching wasn’t just a job for her, but a responsibility.

Terry Roberts
Amherst, Nova Scotia

 

Councillor earns high mark from constituent

I would like to challenge Brian Graff’s recent comments about Ward 32 councillor Mary-Margaret McMahon [Letters to the Editor, March 18, 2014, Beach Metro News].

I have lived in the Beach for more than 30 years and thanks to Mary-Margaret I have never felt more connected to my community. Her enthusiasm and energy for our neighbourhood and her consultative approach in bringing groups and individuals together is the secret to community engagement.

I wish her nothing but success as she continues to fight for our ward.

Lynn Wilson
Rainsford Road

 

Neighbourhood comes together for children

It was a Monday morning, unremarkable to start. I woke up, still exhausted, dragged my arse downstairs. Got our two-and-a-half year-old, Kennedy, some “distraction” Cheerios, combed her hair, and dressed her for pre-school.

In the meantime, our 10 month-old, Spencer, was rising and it was time to collect her and get everyone packed up and out the door. Due to the extreme temperature (-32°C) I bundled the girls up, despite the short ride in a heated car.

All of the doors to our car automatically unlock when the keys are taken out of the ignition, so it was OCD and unnecessary for me to double click the unlock button, again. When I went to open my toddler’s door it was locked! With every subsequent attempt to open another door to find it also locked, my anxiety grew. The kids and I were a window apart; surely I could solve this and get in. Surely!

For what felt like an eternity, but in real time was about 10 to 15 minutes, I tried desperately to have my toddler undo her car seat buckle, to “push that button and pull hard.”

“I can’t do it mommy!,” she told me. “I have no muscles.”

By this point I’d contacted my husband, who was on his way.  Due to the extreme temperature the school administrator, Joanne, was having a difficult time getting through to CAA.

I knew that I could smash a window before the cold became a hazardous situation, and this gave me some solace. I also didn’t want to alarm Kennedy or Spencer, so I wanted to avoid that if possible.

Joanne showed tremendous support, reassuring me, singing and playing peek-a-boo with the girls, getting through to CAA, and suggesting calling the police. My husband Ryan and his colleague Dave also worked tirelessly attempting to get into the car. Dave worked with such determination and dedication you would have sworn they were his own kids.

Within minutes of calling, a fire truck and police cruiser arrived with sirens blaring, making me feel like I could breathe again. By this point both children were crying hysterically. Spence was sleepy and hungry. Kennedy was over the whole thing and had to go potty.  Emotions were running high, and no kind gesture went unnoticed.

Eventually the firefighters were able to get in. Hearing the “click” of the UN-lock button had a similar effect to hearing the first cries when my babies were born: sweet relief!

Kennedy proclaimed “I DID IT!,” and beamed ear to ear with pride. The firefighters walked her to her school door (yes, she still wanted to go!), and badged her with an “honorary junior firefighter” sticker for her bravery. Her classmates cheered and applauded her arrival.

My most cherished memory of the day’s events was the rallying of the community, everyone coming together. Amidst a crisis I saw the innate love and goodness in those that surrounded me. The feeling of stress has since gone, but the feeling of love will stay with me always!

Alia Anderson
Claremore Avenue

 

Time to fix monumental spelling error

I read the letter from Bob Murdoch [Letters to the Editor, March 18, 2014, Beach Metro News] about refreshing the monument at Kew Gardens.

There is a spelling mistake on the existing monument and it would be nice if we could correct it while we are refreshing it. The word ‘honour’ is misspelled, using the US Webster spelling, contrary to all proper Canadian conventions including the Canadian Press guide.

I am suggesting this only if the stone is being resurfaced or replaced. It is not easy to correct this without removing all of the lettering and resurfacing the stone.

It is funny to notice that there seems to be room for one more letter after the word ‘served’. I am sure that at one time US spelling was acceptable because of its use in newspapers up until some time in the 1980s.

Webster really had fun messing around with English. The best mistake he made is changing inflammable to flammable, without realizing there is a whole family of words. So now we have a flammable liquid, but inflammatory statements and skin inflammations. I would like to hear someone say, “That statement is flammatory.”

In the US they like to say, “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.”

If we are going to fix it – and I hope we do – we should make this correction. I am quite sure that Bob would agree we should use this opportunity to get it right and Canadian once and for all.

John Bailes