Letters: Harmless Mel

OK, his sartorial style may be relaxed, and he may take a swig from the bottle. So what? Does he do anyone any harm? Now a bylaw is proposed with the avowed object of driving him away so the well-dressed townsfolk of Leyburn won't have to endure the sight of him getting a little enjoyment from life.

I go regularly to Leyburn and take people who enjoy a chat with Mel. Maybe I should advise them to wear suits and ties in future and make sure their shoes are well polished. As for drinking from a can or bottle, perish the thought.

Come on, Leyburnians, have a heart, have some humanity, and while you're at it tell your town council where to go.

Robin West

Countersett Hall,

Countersett,

Bainbridge.

Witch hunt

Sir, - I was saddened by the appearance of the gates on Leyburn bus shelter, it seemed an expensive over-reaction to the problem of Mel and his dogs.

However, the latest idea to bring in a bylaw to hound the man seems to be a continuation of what now seems to be a witch hunt.

People have a right to be different. It is part of living in a democratic society that we try to be inclusive of others regardless of age, gender, race, disability or personal hygiene.

It isn't easy and it challenges us to confront and look at our prejudices, but that is what it means to live in a democratic as opposed to a fascist society. Trying to move or push the problem elsewhere isn't the answer.

On a practical level, the expense of these actions seems out of all proportion. Surely there are more urgent calls on town council money. I ask that councillors consider their actions carefully.

Mrs JENNIE WHITE

Wensley Mill,

Wensley,

Leyburn.

Flouride fallacy

Sir, - I see the spectre of fluoride is raising its ugly head again. They now want to poison children's school milk with it.

I cannot believe there are people in authority who are still indoctrinated in the fallacy that fluoride might prevent tooth decay. It doesn't. All the double-blind tests show that fluoride is ineffective and unsafe. The side effects can cause permanent damage to health in the long term. Why? Because fluoride is a poison. It had a toxicity rating between that of lead and arsenic. It is still used as a rat poison. It is raw toxic industrial waste scraped from the scrubbers of industrial chimneys (hexa-fluorosilicic acid), that is difficult to dispose of safely.

Is this really what you want our children to be forced to drink in milk and, even worse, in drinking water?

If you not want children's milk and water to be poisoned with fluoride, please write to your MP and say so. The children have no say in preventing it happening to them. We must stop it for them now.

A HALL

Marine Road,

Darlington.

Untainted views

Sir, - It's good to see that Trevor Nicholson (D&S letters November 30) has not allowed himself to be tainted by the objectivity and tolerance which he so admires in others.

Rejecting followers of Islam for their "ambiguous customs" and "prejudices that include dietary practices" doesn't entirely accord with the generally accepted notion of "modern liberal Western society." Vegetarians beware.

It is clearly this kind of tolerance which has led Leyburn Town Council to pursue their campaign against eccentricity as reported elsewhere in the same issue.

BOB SAMPSON

School Lane,

Newton-le-Willows.

Active to the last

Sir, - For over 20 years my mother, Mrs Dorothy Halsey, regularly contributed to your Letters to the Editor section in the D&S.

Her forthright and honest opinions brought support from some and made others uneasy, but she steadfastly stood by her beliefs, especially on religion.

Sadly it is now my turn to write to your column to inform you that she suddenly, but peacefully, passed away on the afternoon of November 26, still active in mind and body right up to the moment she left us.

I'm sure she is now already penning her next letter, with the opening words "see, I was right; there is life after death".

DAVID HALSEY

The Close,

Romanby,

Northallerton.