Thank you
Recently, in the early morning, we had a house fire.
A passerby, name unknown, and our neighbour (Karl) checked to see our family was out, and hosed the fire till the brigade arrived.
We would like to thank both these quick-thinking men and the men and women on the fire engines for their quick service.
Our gratitude extends to the ongoing services also: Insurance, cleaners, electrician, builders etc.
ANNETTE AND LINDSAY BOURNE
Whanganui
Run-down
Wanganui Chronicle, March 21: "Castlecliff and airport under threat, council warns."
Of course they are. We have been here 12 years and have seen no improvement of any of the facilities here.
We all pay our rates, which are out of proportion to the value of the homes.
The only time you see a councillor is at election time.
Over the years, Castlecliff has been a forgotten part of the city, holes or no sealing on the footpaths.
Granted we do see the street sweeper four times a year, otherwise nothing is done.
Repairs to cost in the $17 million bracket, roading over the city $20m.
Has all this occurred since we elected a new council, or more likely left on the back burner from previous council?
If we are to have a port to create jobs, it is a number one priority for all the above to get up and running.
Forget covered-in markets or cycle things; all these should have been budgeted for many years ago.
More than 200 fisherfolk are about to descend on Castlecliff over Easter.
What are the tourist people doing to take advantage of this amount of people to put some money in the council's coffers? Or is it like everything else here -- just dumped in the too-hard basket!
Castlecliff is a lovely place to live, but it is oh so run down, and no one seems to care.
MARGARET HADDON
Castlecliff
GST on food
My letter re the removal of GST on basic food items - milk, bread, butter, vegetables etc - has been supported by a Rosemary Michie.
I am sure we would all agree the nation's future health is at stake here, if people keep on eating and drinking high-energy food items, however price has a big effect, especially for families, those on benefits and government Super.
I would again urge the Government to do as other countries have done -- reduce or remove this tax altogether.
Re the cost of a visit to the GP, this varies considerably, according to which Primary Regional Health Authority provides a contribution to the practice. I think anyone who has a community service card should be paying a reduced fee.
The high cost of a visit to the doctor means many people simply do not go until their health becomes a major concern.
The GP is the gateway to our health services and should be accessible to all, not just those who can afford to go. The same should apply to the dental profession, as bad teeth are responsible for overall bad health for many people.
I also think that general practices could be zoned, as schools are, so that patients in a particular area can attend the practice in that area and not have to travel all across town because they cannot get into their local practice.
FIONA DONNE
Aramoho
Key facts
Your columnist, Jay Kuten, should get his alternative facts correct.
John Key's "have some guts" remark was made during the debate about sending a NZ Army detachment to Iraq to help in the fight against Isis, nothing to do with Afghanistan.
An army reconstruction team was deployed there in late 2001 by the Labour Government, well before John Key was elected to Parliament, let alone becoming Prime Minister.
I am inclined to believe the army's version of the events in Afghanistan described by Hager and Stephenson in their potboiler book.
That country is well known for its rampant corruption, and these carpetbaggers went there years after the event to interview anonymous sources through interpreters. How credible is that? And how hypocritical to insist that the Defence Force reveal its sources when they refuse to reveal theirs?
It doesn't take a lot of guts to sit in the Beehive and send someone else off to fight. Although I don't like war, I am patriotic enough to admire and support our soldiers who have the guts, misguided or not, to put themselves at risk to protect us.
STEPHEN PALMER
Whanganui
E-cigarette risks
Initially I thought that the introduction of e-cigarettes would be good to get the large number of our population who smoke to quit.
My view on this has now changed dramatically following reading about a lecture that Dr Carl Cox, PhD gave at the 21st International "New Scientific Outlook" World Congress of The World Foundation for Natural Science at Ulm, Germany in November.
Dr Cox pointed out that smoking has been literally reinvented with e-cigarettes. These electronic cigarettes, however, are every bit as devastating as normal tobacco cigarettes. The ingredients differ only slightly; most e-cigarettes contain nicotine and therefore create just as much dependency as tobacco cigarettes.
E-cigarettes, just like conventional cigarettes, are manufactured by the same established tobacco companies, who wish to secure a new sales market. In the USA alone the number of e-cigarette consumers has risen from 2.5 million in 2014 to 9 million in 2016.
A study in the renowned journal Pediatrics (July 2016) shows that young people who try e-cigarettes are six times more likely to start smoking tobacco cigarettes than young people who do not smoke e-cigarettes. E-cigarettes are harmful to the consumer and those passively inhaling the toxins in the vapour.
People of child-bearing age must also look at what harm may be caused to foetuses. Changes occur in the gene expression in the frontal cortex due to "co-smoking" that can cause ADD, ADHD and schizophrenia. E-cigarettes should be treated exactly the same as tobacco cigarettes with regard to prevention and prohibition.
Our Government and the Ministry of Health should look in more depth at the side-effects of this product.
BRIAN MILHAM
Palmerston North
Mandy Brooke says she has "got so much out of" her 10 years as manager.