Smelling a rat on council policy
The other morning near my front door I found a large dead rat which I presume my cat had brought home. I managed to put it into a carrier bag which I placed in two more to make it secure.
I then phoned pest control at the town hall and asked if someone could please come out to collect this rodent.
I was told unless my area had been treated recently for vermin, no-one would be coming out and that I should put it in my grey bin. I refused point blank, as my bin had only just been emptied and to leave a dead rat in it for another two weeks was out of the question.
I was then told I could use a public bin as these were emptied regularly, some daily. Aren't most public bins left outside business premises and takeaways?
As I was getting no help at all I decided to contact my local councillors, Joyce and Terry Cartwright. Within one hour a man from the council rang to say it would be collected the next day.
After three days passed without contact, I got in touch with my councillors again, and after checking their emails from the town hall, they informed me that this dead rat was classed as meat and bone and it would be OK to bin it.
Should my cat bring another rat home I will keep it for whoever wants it in the town hall. As meat and bone it should make one of them a nice Sunday dinner.

Grandma OAP,
Holme Slack, Preston
(full name and address supplied)

Such a shame to see great school close
Our daughter has been going to Stonehouse School in Leyland, since she was three.
All the time she has been there we have only had praise for the school and the teachers.
The school has always believed in putting the children first, developing them as well-rounded individuals and equipping them for the next stage in their school life.
It's extremely sad that the school has had to close but we realise it has been a last resort.
We wish Mrs Williams all the best with the nursery and know that her dedication to child care will continue for many years to come.

Ian and Elaine Spurr, via email

Giving young science stars chance to shine
It was with great interest that I read the article on June 20 relating to the visit of the director- general of the CBI to BAE Systems.
It included a quote about the lack of high quality apprentices. I teach at Ashton Community Science College in Preston and we actively encourage our students to apply for apprenticeships in the science and engineering sectors each year but in spite of our best efforts, numbers remain disappointingly low. I have been fortunate enough to teach our top scientists in Year 10, who will leave school next summer.
They are of precisely the calibre that is so sought after by industry but it is proving extremely difficult to get them to apply for the excellent apprenticeships available rather than heading off to college.
In February I submitted a proposal for the Rolls-Royce Science Prize 2009 and we have made the finals, beating thousands of other schools and colleges in the process.
I proposed to build an applied science website containing, among many other things, background information on local businesses and descriptions of real workers about their jobs.
It seemed natural to link this to apprenticeships in the hope that it will attract our students in that direction.
There are clearly benefits for any businesses involved, since the website will be available for schools nationwide.
I feel that it has great potential to strengthen the links between schools and industry in and we are desperate to draw it to the attention of local businesses in order to gain their support.
I feel that it is the only way of making it a success on the scale we envisage.

Phil Day, via email

Curfew saves little
I believe it has been quoted that less that 1% of elderly people eligible to travel by concession after 11pm actually do so.
What, then, is the point of denying them the opportunity?
The savings are hardly going to provide a king's ransom.
This is just another go at hitting the people in society who are least able to afford it.

Bill Roberts, Lea, via email

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