Ignorance is widespread .sx OVER the past few weeks I have been reading all the articles and letters in the Western Gazette about the future of the three Sherborne schools - Fosters Grammar , Lord Digby's Grammar and St Aldhelm's Secondary Modern School .sx I thought it was about time that someone who attends the grammar school(s ) which are due to close wrote in .sx Perhaps some people may think that we know more than people not attending the schools in question , but we do not , that is the reason that I am typing this letter .sx All Dorset County council can produce is a letter containing no information about the new school at all apart from the date it is due to open .sx Instead , they send to all the parents in the Sherborne area a letter containing verbal garbage which I think is a terrible waste of paper .sx We have been given no information about the school uniform , which is another important issue the council hasn't bothered to think about .sx What about the parents of First Year ( Year 7 ) pupils who will be coming to Foster's the year before the new school will be opening ?sx They will have just bought a whole new uniform - blazer , jumper , shirt , tie , trousers , etc sic !sx , not to mention all the PE kit which in the end amounts to over pounds112 for nothing .sx Closing Fosters and Lord Digby's School will end around 350 years of good education .sx All I can say is that when I am allowed to vote I will not vote Conservative .sx Phillip Dawson , .sx Pupil at Fosters School , .sx 20 Crossfields , .sx Nether Compton , .sx Sherborne .sx New school is an exciting venture .sx I WOULD like to point out that there are many , many parents , staff and all the governing bodies of all the feeder primary schools who are delighted at the prospect of the new school and look forward to its establishment with as much pleasure as the town's parents must have greeted the establishment of Foster's , Lord Digby's and St Aldhelm's schools when they were new .sx I very much hope that the new school will be seen as a forward step and a great opportunity to offer splendid educational opportunities to fit our children for life well into the next century .sx It will be building on the sound foundations laid by our primary schools , all of whom will be working to ensure the most positive and optimistic support will be given to this exciting new venture .sx I am sure Sherborne will be able to boast an exceptional and excellent school in the very near future .sx Jane Turner , .sx Fir Cottage , .sx Coldharbour , .sx Sherborne .sx Struck by Tower Hamlets disease .sx MRS Clark , leader of South Somerset District Council to whom I am normally most courteous , in suggesting that I have stolen a good idea in making progress in the dissemination of information via post offices , is clearly suffering from that disease known as 'La infection des aldeas de la torre' , or , being translated , Tower Hamlets disease .sx It manifests itself , in its advanced stage , as paranoia and reading too much between the lines .sx I knew they shouldn't have gone on that visit .sx Her letter unwittingly epitomises the differences between the Liberal Democrat cabal and local Conservative minority .sx In November , 1990 the Liberal 'Democrats set up the working party on dissemination of information , with a provisional budget of some thousands of pounds .sx We groaned .sx The working party met on 11 April , 1991 .sx Even before the November meeting had finished I had worked out on the back of an envelope the solution to the problem .sx On being elected as Chairman of Area East housing subcommittee in May I spent just five minutes in each of two post offices and convinced the postmasters that it would be in their interests to hang the minutes of our meetings on a brass hook , to be supplied by me ; this would both inform the council tenants and probably provide more business for the shops and post offices .sx Extra cost to council - nil .sx I reported this to our subcommittee meeting on 17 July and you reported it in your newspaper .sx In the meantime the Liberal Democrats' working party goes about its business and will report in the autumn of 1991 .sx Get the message , electors ?sx I did not say it was my bright idea because the point is immaterial to me - I just couldn't wait for the Liberal Democrats' ponderous think tank any longer .sx As the local Liberal Democrats cabal knows , their councillors will more often than not vote down perfectly good local Conservative proposals - cash limiting and compensating staff reductions , for example - and then resurrect them without attribution a year or so later .sx The Liberal Democrats seldom give credit where it is due , although Mrs Clark has paid tribute to the contribution of Brigadier Newth to the ongoing reorganisation ( although not acting on all his pertinent points ) , and Mr Temperley did pay an appropriate tribute to Group Captain Deacon's contribution to the planning system in South Somerset .sx David Aldrich , .sx Deputy Leader , .sx Conservative Minority , .sx SSDC .sx Proof of pudding leaves sour taste .sx ONE hundred and thirteen hospitals and ambulance units have this week revealed their plans for NHS Trust status .sx If they are approved a third of all our hospitals will then have 'opted-out' .sx What can we learn from those that were amongst the first wave to be granted Trust status ?sx The chairman of the newly formed West Dorset Community Health Trust , Mr Willis , spoke to the Yeatman Hospital League of Friends recently .sx On more than one occasion during his speech he urged the Friends to compete with the Blandford Hospital league of Friends .sx And what is to be the object of this friendly rivalry ?sx According to Mr Willis it should be to see who can raise the most money to purchase medical equipment for use by visiting specialists at those hospitals .sx The AGM also gave Mr Willis an opportunity , as guest speaker , to launch a consultation document about plans for the future development of the Yeatman Hospital .sx Welcome as these plans are , there are differences between this consultation document and the prospectus prepared last year by the health authority , as its submission to the Department of Health for Trust status .sx First , a start on a new 20-bed unit for the elderly severely mentally ill is to be delayed for a year .sx Secondly , land adjoining the proposed ESMI unit , always considered to be part of the hospital site available for future expansion , now seems to be eyed as ripe for disposal and development when the market circumstances are right .sx Thirdly , the original prospectus stated that capital projects would be allowed to proceed when long term commitments had been given by the health authority to buy patient care at the hospital .sx The consultation document discloses that a new qualification has been added to that statement .sx The phrase used is , " support to proceed from local interest groups " .sx In other words the League of Friends is to come up with a sizeable amount of money for the project .sx Mr Willis also made it clear that the Trust would be seeking a borrowing approval from the NHS Management Executive .sx I reminded him that the District General Hospital Trust had sought a pounds5M loan earlier in the year only to be told by the Government that , far from getting the money , they would have to repay existing debts totalling pounds1 .sx 9M. I asked him what expectation he had of obtaining such approval and did not get a satisfactory answer .sx The only people who seem to have benefited so far from NHS Trust status are a firm of management consultants brought in to review the plans previously prepared by the health authority .sx When the Health Minister , Virginia Bottomley , came to West Dorset she denounced as " wreckers " the critics of NHS Trusts .sx The proof of any pudding is , however , in the eating .sx If the fare offered leaves a sour taste in the mouth then she would be better employed sorting out the chef and not the customers .sx Robin Legg , .sx 90 Newland , .sx Sherborne .sx Sad days for dog lovers .sx IN her letter under the heading " Wipe out this foul problem " , Mrs Broom says , " Recently we have read in the papers of a local boy who has gone partially blind due to dog excrement .sx " But she doesn't say what evidence the paper had for making that statement .sx Toxacara eggs are found in some dog faeces , but not if the animal is regularly wormed .sx They are also found in fox and car faeces , and there is no way of telling which is the source of infection .sx It is pretty safe to say that the majority of today's dog owners do worm their dogs regularly .sx The same cannot be said of the majority of cat owners .sx And there are many feral cats with no owners as well as foxes , which are never wormed .sx Thanks to the media many people are now genuinely afraid of dogs both as potentially dangerous animals and as carriers of disease .sx This is very sad , especially in a country which has always been regarded as a nation of dog lovers .sx It is now accepted by many in the medical profession that people who keep dogs are healthier and live longer lives than those who do not .sx To many old people their dog is not only their only friend but also their only incentive to take walks in the open air .sx In over 60 years of breeding and training dogs I have never heard of a dog breeder's child being infected by toxacariasis or any other dog related complaint .sx But I have known many kids develop some pretty nasty infections as a result of contact with other children .sx Of course anyone who exercises their dog in a public area should 'pick up' after it ; and the new legislation which is now coming into force will make it an offence not to do so .sx The idea of areas specially for dog owners and their dogs is excellent .sx I am sure the vast majority of dog owners would welcome it - if only to avoid the risk of harassment by people like Mrs Broom .sx John Holmes , .sx Formakin Farm , .sx Gotham , .sx Cranborne , .sx Wimborne .sx Roadside storage helps maximise efficiency .sx I AM writing to answer the criticisms directed at British Gas by Mr Ron Anstey .sx There are good reasons for the gas pipe to be stored by the side of the Ringwood Road in Verwood .sx Contrary to Mr Anstey's comments , those reasons highlight our commitment to maximize efficiency .sx British Gas aims to keep storage and handling costs under tight control .sx For this reason we order pipe from manufacturers and have it delivered direct to the site where it is to be used .sx This arrangement minimises handling , transport costs and storage space .sx It is normally timed to arrive shortly before the job is due to begin .sx Unfortunately at Verwood the work was delayed and this is why the pipework was left on site .sx Pilfering is most unlikely because the bright yellow pipe has no other practical use .sx Most of the pipe has now been used to replace an old main in Ringwood Road and there is very little work left to be done .sx We will remove any pipe that is surplus to requirements as soon as possible .sx I apologise for any inconvenience that has been caused .sx I would add , however , that the work will ensure residents can rely on a gas supply to service their future demands .sx M R Delahaye , .sx General Manager , .sx ( Bournemouth District ) , .sx British Gas Southern .sx Riders aren't all hunters .sx WORKERS on the Arrow project ( Access and Riding Rights of Way ) , would like to clarify that bridleways and hunting are two totally separate issues .sx Work being done on bridleways in West Dorset is nothing whatsoever to do with local hunts .sx Hunting people rest their horses during summer months , and tend to exercise them mostly on the roads to keep clean and fit during the hunting season .sx They hunt across country where they are welcome , at the invitation of landowners .sx They are , of course , entitled to use bridleways if required .sx Many other riders , both locally and nationally , have absolutely no connection with , or interest , in hunting .sx