The Moray Council has received considerable criticism for its snow-clearing work in 2009/10, but we tax payers have to accept that the snowfalls were exceptional for this area.

As I stood waiting for my lift to work on Wednesday and Thursday morning about 6.45am I watched two council workmen load up their mini-tractor with grit and proceed along the already clear pavements on the High Street.

Our large, quiet garden is very attractive to birds for nesting. In the spring each year there is wholesale slaughter of the fledglings, with very few survivors.

I am writing to express my dismay at the reason given by the head of Forres Academy, Mr Findlay, as to why the school was closed last Thursday and Friday.

The proposed £8 million new Forres health centre to be built at Thornhill faces delays because of issues over funding.

Although we live Scotland we do expect certain standards of care. Our family live in a small town in Moray called Forres. Since Saturday, December 19, we have encountered normal winter weather ie snow, ice, black ice etc.

Have you ever noticed the council lorries with the big yellow thing stuck on the front?

With regards to the article in the Gazette last week (late licence for Tesco) although I am not affected directly by the proposal I feel that it is an absolute disgrace that not one of our local councillors saw fit to inform the community council or the people most affected, thus denying them the opportunity to express their views or objections.

I fully sympathise with the people living close to the topsy Forres Tesco for their justifiably loud complaints about the extended opening of this store that just seems to grow and grow.

Forres Academy Parent Council has been invited to comment on the proposals by Moray Council to make at least £20 million in budget cuts over the next four years. We are dismayed that educational services are particularly threatened by the proposed cuts.

I would like to thank the team from Forres Christmas Lights Committee, and volunteers, for their hard work in putting up the Christmas tree in such appalling, miserable conditions on Sunday, November 29.

Calling all pensioners and those approaching pension-age with access to the internet.

In answer to Mrs Maclean, who asked a very valid question in the 'Gazette' last week: "Why does our community council not know what is spent in Forres by Moray Council?"

I read with some dismay a recent article that raised the issue of massive cutbacks in RAF strength and funding that could have ramifications for Morayshire.

Once again a big "thank you" to the Round Table for the magnificent bonfire and fireworks display on Saturday, November 7.

I was infuriated on reading the article in last week's paper about the council cuts.

I wonder if there is anyone out there who is happy to deal with call centres for any reason whatsoever?

If Councillor Hogg is suggesting ('Gazette', October 28) that he is considering leaving Moray and setting off for Scargill country, that must be the best news of the year.

The health and well-being of the population in any area is a major factor in wealth creation for that area.

It's all very well the Grampian Police Crime Reduction Unit telling us to lock our bikes in the street, (Gazette, October 14) but where are the cycle racks in Forres High Street?

As a retired officer of the Forres Company now living in England, it is with joy that I read the story of Asa and Craig achieving their awards.

Having read the front page headline in The Forres Gazette, I find it quite ludicrous that the Hydrotherapy Pool has not been given the go-ahead after some four years of fund raising by the pool committee.

Are you passionate about writing for television? Do you have an idea that you are burning to tell?

There is no dispute that a new health centre is required, and to combine it with a hospital facility is joined up thinking, so far good. Where they are proposing to built it is questionable.

Yet another police public relations disaster, this from our local force, and it comes in the wake of an ignored harassment which ended in tragedy and the reports of no assistance to harassment in Elgin.

In light of the recent outbreak of E.coli at petting farms, some parents are understandably concerned about the risks to children from household pets.

Your readers know that swathes of the population are conflicted by the potential industrialisation of Scotland's wild open spaces – the impact of wind farms on tourism, fisheries and wildlife – and the accepted need to reduce carbon emissions.

With all the floods in the area I was relieved to hear that the new flood prevention scheme in Forres had worked successfully.

I was sitting on the train at Forres Railway Station recently, waiting for it to depart for Inverness, and couldn't help notice the derelict state of the opposite, now unused, platform.

The letter from Mr Donnie Williamson (Forres Gazette, August 26) raises some interesting points but is somewhat misinformed.

I really must congratulate your reader for the 'grandiosity and greed' letter (August 12). If it could only make the headlines of a National Daily.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who assisted a very distraught dog owner at Rosisle beach on Thursday, August 6.

Once again the issue of wind farms on the Dava Moor calls out for action by concerned residents of this area.

I purchased the new Forres Handbook, a useful little guide to the town.

With reference to the article in the "Forres Gazette" of July 15, the last paragraph of "Gazette Opinion" stated Redco Milne would build a supermarket on the site of the old Tesco store.

Last month, through your columns, I again challenged the SNP to guarantee that, in the event of Scottish separation from the rest of the UK, their local military bases would pump £100 million plus into the local economy as the Royal Air Force presently does.

Sir, – I have a reputation for being blunt, so blunt I am going to be. As a community councillor my job is to listen to what the public say and pass those opinions on to Moray Council as best I can.

Sir, – I trust you will allow me a short reply to last week's letter "Risk assessment ensured gymnasts' safety".

Sir, – I write in response to R.C. McKay's rather inflammatory letter in last week's edition. I am not averse to criticism when it is based on truth and fact. As a British Gymnastics coach and tutor, I am renowned for my safety record.

Sir, – Re Redco Milne's proposals for a retail scheme development at Bogton Road, Forres, I was born and brought up in Forres and know, to my cost, that it has always lacked a decent shopping centre.

Sir, – So at last plans have been submitted for the proposed development of the Bogton Road area.

Sir, – Weddings. A wonderful part of life. Walking the High Street and seeing a happy bride in her finery leaving the church with her smartly-dressed, smiling husband is a heart-warming sight.

Sir, – I am a Yorkshire lass who is married to a man from Fife. We live in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, and we have travelled Britain from the Shetlands to Cornwall on self-catering holidays with our two sons and our two Bernese Mountain Dogs.

Sir, – Do Redco Milne think the people of Forres are gullible?

Sir, – I went to the 'Gazette' offices recently to pick up my copy of the feedback sheet for Redco Milne re: the new development proposals, and find myself troubled enough to write to the paper again.

Sir, – I am responding to the article in the June 3 issue covering the play park loss at the proposed site of the new health centre and hospital.

Sir, – For the first time in my life I refused to vote at an election and did not turn out for the European last Thursday.

Sir, – So we finally find out what is happening with local plans via the "Forres Gazette" as usual.

Sir, – RedCo Milne's £25,000,000 investment is not a gift to the people of Forres. Each and every one of those pounds will be paid back out of the pockets of ordinary Forresians.

Sir, – The ongoing expenses scandal involving many Westminster MPs has justifiably angered people the length and breadth of the country. I welcome the involvement of the police and hope that charges follow against those who have broken the law.

Sir, – The news that Angus Robertson, our SNP MP, has been blowing our taxes to buy items for his London home at extortionate prices when alternative goods could have been bought for cheaper, highlights the hypocrisy for this "Right Honourable Member".

Sir, – The local Cats Protection are running very low on food and wondered if the general cat-loving public could spare a tin or some some biscuits.

Sir, – On the morning of May 5 I went to my car to go to work and I found the glove box emptied and the front panel off my radio.

Sir, – In reply to the letter in last week's "Gazette" regarding free WiFi in public places, I can only say as a outlet that does provide this at present, that I understand why people may be reluctant to do so.

Sir, – Shame on the councillors who failed to back Councillor Coull's motion for 20mph limits at all schools and shame on the people who for whatever reason hide behind so called guidelines.

Sir, – I am a laptop computer owner, and as such like to sit in cafes to check my emails and surf the web. My favourite cafe in Forres used to offer wi-fi, but now they don't for some reason.

Sir, – With regard to the proposed development at Thornhill Long, Forres. The roadway through Knockomie Rise was left the way it is for the purpose of entry into this "future" development from what I gather.

Sir, – I wrote to the "Gazette" just before Christmas, suggesting that we, the public, independently research the likely effect of the proposed Bogton Road development.

Sir, – Like a lot of local people, I suspect, it has taken me some time to clarify my thinking about the proposed Bogton Road development.

Sir, – Every day, at dawn and dusk, between September and February, wildfowlers shoot the greylag geese as they fly between their night roost on the Findhorn Estuary and the fields on which they graze.

Sir, – I am responding to Mr Anderson's letter regarding the work of Elizabeth Finn Care in Scotland, which was published on April 15, 2009.

Sir, – I have been fortunate to live for nearly 40 years beside Findhorn Bay. Although it is a designated conservation area people can still shoot wild life, namely the greylag geese.

Sir, – June Whitfield's letter (Gazette, March 4) caused me to review my dealings with the Elizabeth Finn Trust (formerly The Distressed Gentlefolk's Association).

Sir, – I have no doubt that your page two article regarding the Chapelton Dam lido left readers wondering how the concept was developed.

Sir, – Subject: Solution for Cameron Court.

Sir, – Further to the missive from Roddy Burns, Moray Council, in the 'Gazette' of March 18 regarding the Forres Common Good Fund, I thank Mr Burns for his letter to me via the paper.

Sir, – Stone, Bronze, Iron, Dark, Middle, Industrial, are just some of the many periods of recent history through which man has passed successfully.

Sir, – There has been a steady steam of letters about the dog mess problem in Forres. However, nobody has commented on the rubbish that is constantly on show in the Mosset Burn and the duck pond.

Sir, – Is this the "green" way forward? I looked at the letter regarding Green Parcs ("Gazette", March 11) and the handling of the whole Riverview Park affair by the Moray Council.

Sir, – Further to your article "High Street hell for wheelchair users" ("Gazette", March 11), I am pleased to see that some work has begun on the drop kerb situation on Forres High Street.

Sir, – Following the letter from John Bremner of the Forres Community Council ('Watchdogs working for the Common Good', March 4), I agree that it is in the best interests of those concerned with the operation of Common Good funds to have sight of all the information.

Sir, – I read with interest the story in last week's "Gazette" about the plan to acquire a Nimrod MR2 as a gate guardian at RAF Kinloss.

Sir, – On a recent walk through Sanquhar Woods, how refreshing it was to see such diverse groups of people making use of the stunning beauty of that natural facility.

Sir, – Forres in Bloom or filthy Forres?: When I moved to Forres over four years ago it was a lovely clean town to enjoy walking around and take in the nice scenery at the local parks, duck ponds and visits up to the High Street shops.

Sir, – The letter from the car owner who recieved a parking ticket on Caroline Street sounds like sour grapes to me! They receive a ticket and decide to have a go at the poor traffic wardens.

Sir, – We, the Forres Community Council, would like it known that we are currently in discussions with Moray Council over the Forres Common Good in general.

Sir, – Re: man-made climate change. David Scobie Munro's crazed diatribe in support of anthropogenic climate change ('Gazette', February 18) is devoid of facts until his last paragraph, where he refers to "700 respec-ted scientists" who support this view.

Sir, – I am a resident of Caroline Street, and recently was given a parking ticket as my car was illegally parked.