THE EDITOR, Madam:
A NUMBER of issues of some concern are taking place in Eastern St. Thomas and the powers that be are either ignorant of these or they choose to turn a blind eye.
Let us begin with our roads. Repair work was recently carried out on the road from Port Morant to the border with Portland, and while these repairs did not solve the problem with the roads, it greatly improved the conditions which the commuting public had to endure.
However, a set of water pipes were laid in this area and in several places the road was dug up to facilitate this work. Since the pipes were put in, the road has not been properly repaired. There are several places in Amity Hall where the marl that was put in the trench has been washed out, thereby creating a hazardous situation for both pedestrian and vehicular traffic. This situation is compounded by the fact that the road is very narrow and there is no sidewalk.
Secondly, the level of unemployment in this area is very high and continues to get worse with each year as more students graduate from our high schools with nowhere to go, as our area is predominantly agricultural; and there has been the closing down of some of our estates and restructuring in others.
My last concern is not confined to Eastern St. Thomas. It has to do with our early childhood education. There are a number of "Basic" schools which accommodate children up to six years old, and from which they will proceed to the primary system. However, in these schools, the teachers are largely untrained.
This period in the child's life is very important and should be dealt with by professionals properly trained to deal with this age group. We must bear in mind that we cannot compromise the future of our country. This age group forms a part of the "formative" years for the child and to a large extent determines what the child does afterwards. I believe we may be losing a lot of our potentially good students to this present system.
I am, etc.,
HENRY GRAY
Golden Grove
St. Thomas
