Letters to the editor

Sidewalks need to
be maintained in winter
I walk the sidewalks from Salmon River into town to work regularly.
Last winter was really bad for walking conditions. When sidewalks were cleared they were rarely salted, especially in early morning. Even in town they were icy.
On March 28, 2008 I had a really bad fall while walking to work in the morning. I was just past Cedar Drive where the new school is. Missed days of work turned into weeks, then months. I returned to work on Aug. 11.
I had traumatized the nerves in my foot and injured my knee. Witnesses told me my body twisted as I went down. I went to physio and had three sets of three epidural steroid needles in the bottom of my spine. They helped but were very painful. I'm improving but still having problems.
I contacted the Municipality of Colchester, gave my statement to an adjuster, then later received a letter stating the County of Colchester was not responsible for my fall.
Now that children will be walking that same route to the new school early in the morning, what condition will the sidewalks be in? Will children need to be injured like I was before the county is "responsible" for the sidewalk conditions? Or does this mean I don't need to be as nervous as I am about cold weather and the walking conditions?
After rainfall in cold weather, sidewalks need to be salted or sanded very early in the morning. I also had a fall on slippery sidewalks in 2007 near my home. It was not as bad but my body can't handle even one ball fall per year.
I hope I don't hear of others having the kind of fall I had. Thank you to those who stopped to help that day.
Crystal Miller
Salmon River

What else do the
banks want from us?
Last week I went to the bank and made a payment on my credit card. After making my payment I was told that because I was making my payment in cash I had to pay an additional $1.35. The teller told me the reason was because I didn't have a savings account at that bank. That was the first time I was ever charged by a bank or any other financial institution because I made my payment in cash.
What are they going to charge you for next? Standing in line to be waited on? God only knows how much they will charge you for that.
Hector McCarthy
Truro

Thanks to all
in our time of loss
On Oct. 24 four old friends from university days (St. F.X.) drove from Dartmouth and surrounding area to Truro to meet another old friend from Stellarton. Some of us hadn't seen her for 51 years and were very happy to be re-connecting. We were to meet at Swiss Chalet at noon.
Four of us just got seated when our friend arrived. We hugged but never did have a chance to have a visit. Within 15 minutes our friend died.
The manager, Carrie McEwan, and the staff tried to help our friend while waiting for the paramedics. They also treated us with so much compassion and kindness that they were able to mitigate, in a small way, the horror of what was happening.
This is our way of thanking them from the bottom of our hearts.
We also appreciate the compassion shown us at the hospital by the ER nurse and doctor.
Annnette Chiasson, Dartmouth
Gen MacInnis, Dartmouth
Jane O'Neil, Wellington
Marg Roderick, Musquodoboit Harbour


Appreciation for
local coverage
The board of the Colchester Historical Museum and Archives, along with its staff and many volunteers, would like to thank the Truro Daily News for all of its excellent coverage of our Remembrance events.
The story about the Izzy Dolls a few months ago was instrumental in recruiting people to knit the more than 500 dolls for this project.
The photo and story regarding the opening of the exhibit and the presentation by Norman Leach on Passchendaele brought many people to the event.
Monique Chiasson did an excellent story on Mr. Leach, which was accompanied by a front page photo.
The Colchester Historical Society strives to offer quality programs to our visitors and when we receive excellent coverage of our events as we have been it benefits everyone.
Our sponsors for this event, Democracy 250 and the Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 26, will be equally pleased with the coverage of the event.
Thank you for mentioning in Mr. Leach's article that he also gave presentations to the Cobequid Educational Centre students and the Royal Canadian Legion. It is important for both our funders and the public to see that we do outreach as well as in-house presentations.
As a curator with 20 years experience in the museum world and in constant contact with curators across the country, I certainly know how fortunate we are to have a local paper that takes such an active interest in what we are doing.
Most museums are not so fortunate. The work of the staff of the Truro Daily News is greatly appreciated at the Colchester Historical Museum and Archives.
Thank you for a job well done.
Penny L. Lighthall
curator/administrator
Colchester Historical Society Museum & Archives