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They do represent parent activists who volunteer a great amount of their personal time in the region. They are to be acknowlâ€" edged for doing so because they clearly care about their children‘s education and are willing to take an active role in it. Whether WRAPSC actually has the support of the greater commuâ€" nity is unknown, because unlike |{ LETTERS TO THE CHRONICLI The purpose of my response to former trustee Hendry‘s last column was to try to end the illâ€"conceived notion that parent councils and school councils were interchangeâ€" able names, and that WRAPSC somehow represents a grassroots, broadbased organization. They do not. ormer trustee John Hendry Fhas once again attempted to muddy, the debate he initiated regarding communication between education stakeholders. As he suggested, dialogue is needed and it needs to include all partners. _ Polite dialogue does not include nameâ€"calling; and suggesting that I, or the teacher local is paranoid is not only disingenuous, but suggests that Hendry‘s real purpose is to advocate either for a particular group or against another. And a wedge certainly does exist because WRAPSC and teacher repâ€" resentatives have not met for four years at the council, and there have been no plans to meet regularly despite repeated yearly requests to meet (including this year}. It is true that I am a "union rep", but the union does speak for teachâ€" ers simply because the teachers are the union, we‘re not separate from Our politicians are missing the point Ihave recently found our how our politicians of today operate. They have so many issues and problems in the news daily, that someone like myself doesn‘t know where to start, whom to write, why, and am I the only one who cares? Examples covered in today‘s news: Our faulty submarines docked, our new helicopters with cracked tails are grounded, (good thing we are only using them for ew people would be willing to Fput their lives on the line for their job. But for firefighters. police offiâ€" cers and paramedics, it‘s a daily sacrifice they‘te willing to make â€" not just for the paycheque â€" but for their fetlow man. Whether it‘s battling the blaze of a burning building, grappling with a gunman, or bandaging up the wounds of a car crash victim, these brave men and women pull out all the stops for the health and safety of their community. Public safety crews deserve respect Former trustee‘s opinions are ironic Nil search and rescue.} the sponsorship scandal, the flu shot episode, boarder crossing problems, health care lines and problems, plus the doctor and nurse shortage, natural gas prices up, along with the gasoâ€" line price increase, our English road signs don‘t have French on them, (and I hope never will!) civil servant strike problems, and to top it all of there have been no advancements on the hockey front. school trustees or the soâ€"called "union reps", they have not received a mandate in a democratic, public election. We do know that the WRAPSC Steering committee does not reflect the regional makeâ€"up of the school board, with just one representative from Cambridge and no rural repreâ€" sentative. Unaccountably, one member does not even sit on school council, and I believe that former trustee Hendry is well aware of these facts. I would suggest he has decided to use, WRAPSC to push a particular agenda that might be seen as just a little selfâ€"serving. WRAPSC ran into problems when steering committee members chose to enter the debate on high school closures by suggesting that a particular Cambridge school should be closed. This alienated that school community and appeared to lend credibility to the suggestion that it was biased in favour of a parâ€" ticular community (Kitchener) and against another (Cambridge}). He is attempting to sway the public and perhaps some trustees that they have no right to question any of the decisions of the previous Whether one agrees with the particular hypothesis or not is immaterial, perception is often conâ€" fused with reality. Let me be clear; no teacher union locally has taken a position on the proposed closure of any school, in any community, ever, and it is clearly outside of their mandate to do so. It is equally clear that this responsibility is vested in schaol boards. Their efforts and sacrifices often go unnoticed, and unappreciated â€" until they‘re needed. But those attitudes soon change when a loved one suddenly collapses from a heart attack, or a The real question is, what is forâ€" mer trustee Hendry actually up to? They‘ve likely seen the worst scenes imaginable, yet they find a way to cope with their own emoâ€" tions, and return to serve another day. Taxpayers, at times blinded by ignorance, balk at rate increases that would allow for more hirings in these departments. NO COMMENT DITORIA| This seems to be repeated, day in and day out. Is there anyone at the wheel? If honesty is the best policy, why don‘t the politicians get the point? Honest, accountable governâ€" ment would likely solve a great number of the current problems we face and it wouldn‘t cost the taxpayâ€" ers a cent. board and in particular the decision to close Southwood secondary (school) in Cambridge. I am surprised to see him enter a debate on the subject at all, given his own lack of consistency on the issue. While serving as a trustee, Hendry publicly voted to close Southwood once, and publicly voted to keep it open on another occasion. 1 believe former trustee Hendry is using this column and other media venues to criticize particular board members and maintain his former position of influence in eduâ€" cation policy at the local level. I find it ironic that Hendry felt no need to question whether change to school boards was necessary when he was a trustee. It‘s too bad tragedy precipitates respect and appreciation for these honourable professions. â€" Of course after many years of service at the local level, perhaps it is just natural for him to do so. I find it ironic that former trustee Hendry has never actually camâ€" paigned on a platform advocating for the closure of schools while many of those trustees he‘s criticizâ€" ing did campaign on a platform to keep community schools open. What I do know is that former trustee Hendry did not keep it secret that he felt trustees were woefully underâ€"compensated for their work â€"and I agree. 1 do find it shocking that former trustee Hendry could even consider that the appointment of representaâ€" tives rather than the election of trustees is acceptable in a democraâ€" tic country in the 21st century. third generation home goes up in flames. They wonder why response times aren‘t faster, or more staffing is not in place. They forget that they â€" the citiâ€" zens â€" ultimately hold the cards. So next time you see one of these treasured public servants, be sure to say thank you. You never know when you‘ll need their help. Communications Officer, ETFO Waterloo Gary Jenkins Kitchener Isure did stir the pot with my complaints about Bell Mobility in last week‘s column. As previously mentioned, 1 have been a loyal Bell customer since I was old enough to own a phone, and whenever they expanded services I happily signed on. Satellite TV, business phone, business fax, home phones with all the features, and naturally, of course, cell phones. _ Oh, how I tried. After several months, I gave up arguing over the amount of the final bill and sent them the cheque, two weeks later they sent me their own cheque for the exact same amount 1 sent them to cancel the phone! Naturally, they kept sending me bills for a cell phone I was no longer using. Well, I‘m happy to report that someone from Bell must be reading the Chronicle because after last week‘s column, I received a personal call the next day, {1 wasn‘t home) with a number to call where I was guaranteed to speak to a real perâ€" son. I will try and get a hold of them sometime this week and see if they will take my money for a second time and finally cancel the #$&% phone. JV writes, "Hi Sean, I‘ll bet that you are receiving more eâ€"mails from your > readers about this week‘s column than about any other issue you‘ve dealt SEAN with in some time. I am just now preparing to leave Ma Bell because of STRICKLAND screwâ€"ups since I set up my limited company as my listed number in the phone book rather than myself." _RJB writes, "It‘s ironic that J read your article in the Waterloo Chronicle about Bell Mobility. I just received a bill from them for over $1,300." "I paid them approximately $500 in July using Visa (balance in full) and requested a receipt so I could submit my expense to my employer for reimbursement. _ s "I, of course, not only never got the receipt but it never came off my Visa statement. By this time I was so frustrated with them, I began to call them to get my phone cancelled. For two months I have, to no avail, been trying to get in touch with them. Several times on hold for over an hour. Once I got through and they cut me off. Hopefully by Monday I will get in touch with someone to remedy this poor customer service. "Any ideas or alternatives??" Here is an eâ€"mail from a reader who had a similar problem and was able to get it satisfactorily resolved by contacting the "executive offices." Still hope for unhappy customers TT writes, "What a timely anecdote! I, too, am a victim of Bell Mobility‘s atrocious ‘customer service‘. I am trying to break my contract for lack of service. 1 hold up my part of the bargain (paying my bills). but they don‘t hold up their end of the barâ€" gain (providing service). We are not able to communicate with any reliability with this service. Bell wants $199 per phone to cancel this contract. They want almast $400 to cancel a service that has never properly worked. I suspect that even if I paid them this ridiculous amount, 1 would still be billed, wouldn‘t 1? Yes. indeed. "What the heck kind of customer service is that?" Thankfully TT wrote back after contacting the executive offices and was happy to report, "Further to my earlier eâ€"mail, I am happy to say that my problem with Bell Mobility has been solved. I took it to the executive office. 1 am (hopefully} free of Bell Mobility for good!" But last week I reported I switched my cell phone business and yikes, I couldn‘t cancel the phone no matter how hard I tried. Readers are singing the "Bell" blues Several readers expressed similar complaints about the service they have been receiving. Here is a sample of a few eâ€"mails ! received on troubles with Bell, Hopefully this will give direction to RBJ and others who need help with getting their accounts straightened out. 1 was unable to determine from TT the exact contact inforâ€" mation for the executive offices, but for all those people who are having problems with your cell phone bill, here‘s the numâ€" ber they gave me, 1â€"800â€"361â€"2613. Be my guest, give ‘em a call. Tell them Strickland sent you. Eâ€"mail your question/comments to sean@seanstrickland.com. Getting your ‘Bell‘ rung