Dear Editor:
I doubt many teenagers or young adults read the letters to the paper, so I'm asking that parents read this out to their kids.
We live near Handsworth secondary. In the 10-plus years of living near the school, we are constantly dismayed by the abundance of litter that is usually scattered around the schoolyard and into the MacKay Creek ravine behind. However, the last weekend of September the litter became more than just an annoyance and became a safety issue when our young daughter (age seven) slipped in the Handsworth schoolyard, fell on some broken glass and sustained a horrific cut to her leg, requiring several stitches at Lions Gate Hospital.
We would like the Handsworth community to consider how the chronic littering affects our environment - MacKay Creek is a fish-bearing stream - and the safety of its neighbours.
To the administration and the teachers: Can't the school take better care of its surroundings? We don't think blaming the student population is an answer. Change must be occasioned at the top.
To the kids who are leaving the litter and glass: Could you please consider how your behaviour affects others?
It would be great to have the high school be a welcome addition to the neighbourhood, as opposed to a chronic eyesore.
Mary Buttery North Vancouver
