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This is in response to Mr. Vail's letter to the editor regarding the criteria for the Turnaround Achievement Awards.

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His letter questioned the validity of giving this award to someone who made a decision in life, rather than to a student who was in a situation "through no fault of their own."

These awards have been given out to students who have made changes in their behaviours, attitudes, personal circumstances and academics. The criteria is not about whose fault it is that they are in those circumstances, but rather what they did to overcome them.

It appeared that Mr. Vail's opinion is that only students with a learning disability should qualify for this award because, obviously, no one chooses to be in that type of situation.

I found his letter to be offensive and cruel towards Ms. Allaby.

It took away from all of her hard work and accomplishments and was completely unnecessary. I would argue that she was nominated for the scholarship because of the choices she made in life, not despite them.

Ms. Allaby chose to raise twins as a young, single mother.

While Mr. Vail indicated that he is a father of three, I would ask if he raised those children while worrying about his next Math exam or about being on time to catch the bus after staying up all night feeding babies.

She chose to continue going to school when it would have been more likely to follow the statistics for teen moms who drop out of high school. She made the decision to put her efforts into her education and maintain an honours status so that she can go on to get a career to support those two children.

She chose to be responsible and to go against the stereotypes that would be placed on her from different people, including Mr. Vail.

Ms. Allaby more than met the criteria for her award and Oromocto High School made the right choice in acknowledging her.

Not only should Ms. Allaby be given the recognition for turning her life around, but her story is one that needs to be shared with other teens as an example of how lives can be changed by the choices that are made.

If that's not something to impress on young people, then I can't imagine what is.

For Ms. Allaby, please ignore those like Mr. Vail who would choose to knock you down after working so hard to build yourself up. Good luck to you and in all you endeavours.

Your choices make it clear that you will be able to handle whatever comes your way. Your babies, your family and many of us in the community will be proud.

Vicki Coy

Fredericton

A suggestion for property assessments

A number of well-written letters concerning property tax assessments have appeared recently in your paper.

Writers, including economists, have noted that while the city's tax rate has not increased, the city benefits considerably from increased revenues as a result of rapidly rising assessments.

Assessments are based on "fair market vale," which is not unreasonable; however, a property owner does not realize this value until the property is sold.

The result is that property owners with low incomes and those on fixed incomes have to pay more taxes each year, which gives them less money to spend on other essentials.

Over several years, these folks are forced to make unreasonable financial compromises to retain their homes.

Assuming the provincial government is serious about keeping seniors in their homes as long as possible in order to save money and, more importantly, maintain quality of life, they should consider a program along the lines of that used in British Columbia.

That province allows property owners to defer some or all of their property taxes until such time as the property is sold, or when "fair market value" is realized.

The province charges a reasonable interest on the outstanding balance, which makes it a win-win situation once the program reaches a steady state.

Property owners are not squeezed financially and the government does not lose revenue.

The system is inherently much fairer, as it is based on actual market value.

Roger Acreman

Fredericton

Seniors aren't responsible for health care's woes

A recent editorial included the following: "Who is going to pay the staggering health-care costs to look after our seniors? New Brunswick won't be able to independently afford skyrocketing health-care costs for seniors. There will be too few workers to support too many seniors. The cost of caring for seniors can be staggering."

What a litany of woe. Give us a break.

Today's seniors are healthier than ever in the past. Health problems in our society occur at every age and we won't tolerate the biased comments which lay blame for the health-care situation on the backs of seniors.

A 2007 study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives debunks the myth of runaway health-care costs attributed to Canada's aging population. Instead, senior economist Marc Lee predicts "aging baby boomers will add less than one per cent to health-care costs each year. The cost of maintaining the health-care system well into the future will be easily met by economic growth."

The study goes on: "When you look at population aging over the next 25 years, it's a pretty major shift. But it is happening slowly. Health-care costs do not rise uniformly as people age. Most of the costs associated with aging occur in the last year of life."

Seniors are not a major burden to health care in New Brunswick or anywhere else in Canada.

What message do we have for Premier Shawn Graham's government?

Recognize the contribution of seniors to the province of New Brunswick. Don't foster the attitude of ageism, which is rampant in this editorial. There may be more seniors in our province, but they continue to contribute significantly to the economy; never forget that seniors are taxed till their last breath.

Most are not saving for a rainy day. Many have health plans to which they pay premiums and a portion of all health-related costs.

Look at preventative measures to ensure good health in New Brunswickers of all ages. Seniors need doctors who understand their needs and provide the care required.

Geriatricians are of great value and New Brunswick needs more of them.

Prescription drugs for seniors should be far more closely monitored. Provide incentives for seniors to invest in their health, both physical and intellectual, through health and fitness centres, athletic teams, courses and seniors' organizations.

These are positive steps which would be encouraged by the senior population of New Brunswick.

Wayne and Barb Harrigan

Riverview, N.B.

Parents misled by province on immersion

I recently attended a meeting in Fredericton regarding the changes to French second language instruction in our province.

After speaking with a few of the couple hundred people in attendance, it was clear I was not the only one leaving with a sick feeling in my stomach due to the realization we have been so misled by this government.

If we were to believe the minister of education, one would think our core English classrooms in grades 1-5 are filled with kids who are unable to read, cannot perform basic addition and think the Earth is flat. Yet I now know that core students are performing at rates equal to early immersion students on literacy assessments in grades 2 and 4.

I also now know that the reason core French scores are so much lower than immersion scores in later years is due to the streaming impact late immersion has on the core program, yet late immersion is the very program the government is keeping in our system.

I found out that the intensive French program has never been attempted without some prior classroom exposure to French, and our own pilot program in New Brunswick has yet to produce any graduates. Yet our government is basing our entire FSL programming provincewide on such an untested model.

I learned that 80 per cent of all students in New Brunswick either attend or live close to a school that offers early immersion. This despite the fact the government has been trying to tell us that only 20-40 per cent can access the program.

This is one New Brunswicker who does not take kindly to being duped. To the group that held the meeting, I thank you for volunteering your time and efforts in keeping this government accountable.

To Premier Shawn Graham, don't think for a second this will be forgotten in a mere two years.

Adam McDonald

Fredericton