Drug counsellor gets prisoners’ support to stay

PRISONERS have shown support for a Drug Concern counsellor fighting to keep his job.

John Knight and his family must leave today because Housing will not renew their essential five-year licence.

Mr Knight worked as a drug and alcohol counsellor in the prison for four-and-a-half years.

It is understood that prisoners organised a petition, which was forwarded to the Housing Department.

Prison governor Terry Wright said yesterday that although he could not comment on the matter, he supported Mr Knight remaining in the job because Drug Concern provided a valuable service.

Mr Knight said he had heard a lot of the prisoners had signed the petition.

‘It’s very flattering and gratifying to know I was doing a good job.’

He said it had been a nice gesture and he was ‘gutted’ that he and his family had to leave.

His wife, Lizanne, will leave the Guernsey Knight School of Irish Dancing without a qualified teacher.

Some 50 dancers aged five-to-18 cannot enter competitions without registration by a qualified teacher. (from thisisguernsey)

Wonder if our government trained any locals to take over this job?

I know we have a problem with unemployment but how many local people are qualified to do this sort of work.

I can see we will have hundreds of people doing jobs they are not capable of in the next few years, that may be OK as a shop assistant but when it comes to Health related Jobs and essencial top staff in many businesses, we are in danger of going downhill fast.

I can remember this story being in the media 5 years ago when the previous license was expiring. Part of the job is to train a local to take over, but too many license holders prefer to make themselves indispensable, so that they can stay on beyond their license.

I assume the "Training" part was written into their contract? So make them train or kick them out.Otherwise what is the point of the contract?

You can only train someone if you have them to train.

It is what kills everything over here - lack of continuity - especially in the hotel and catering trade.....they have to constantly train new staff and when they are up to scratch and customers are 'relating' to them - it's time for them to go and the next batch to come in for training.....my late hubby used to get his staff from a Hotel and Catering School in Italy and they stayed and people liked seeing the same staff when they dined!!! How many Priests and Doctors actually go back to where they came from - not very many methinks!!!!

Welcome back peter, I have almost missed your comments.
Harsher sentencing that won't do much good if they do not have the rehab facilities to stop them re-offending. If Terry reckons there are no drugs in his Prison then he is living in cloud cuckoo land.

You are quite right that people know they are here for a 5 year term so they should not complain when it is time to go. But in reality why give them a 5 year term, why not say you can stay in Gnsy as long as you stay in that job, we have to replace them so we lose continuity and we may lose a good employee especially as in this instance his wife is also providing a service of sorts.

You are quite right that people know they are here for a 5 year term so they should not complain when it is time to go. But in reality why give them a 5 year term, why not say you can stay in Gnsy as long as you stay in that job, we have to replace them so we lose continuity and we may lose a good employee especially as in this instance his wife is also providing a service of sorts.

I think the problem with this solution is that once they have stayed in that job for say 15 years giving continuity then they get local status and are able to move around at will and buy local market houses! This is what happens with priests and doctors! - as I said in a previous post - not many of the people in these categories go back to where they came from and therefore become local....

There are many cases where People are given a 5 year Licence but are told this will probably be extended and if they do a good Job in the first 5 years it is not unreasonable for them to expect a renewal of thier licence.

Pete Burtenshaw
You cannot blame the English for our social problems.

Pete Burtenshaw wrote:Thanks for the 'almost missed you welcome back message', it is good to see you are still the diplomat and your posts are still both challenging and controversial.

I am all for rehab for the locals who have become users because of the dealers who in reality have caused the users to become users in the first place by peddling their misery. I say, kick out these english dealers and let their country deal with them.

I have been advocating a rahad centre for ages now but with no avail. There is not the will by our gov but there is the will for a multi coloured felix symbol to be erected at Delancy funded by finance houses etc. Still, it's all down to 'who you know and not what you know' is it not.

Why should we import none locals, their families, granny and pops for one post. This form of immigration cannot continue. Let us take a hard long look at our licensing processes and see if any licenses may have bee issued which should not have been. I was asked if we ‘have a culture of Housing licenses for money’, here in the island especially the way our political system works in the island. I must confess, I was taken aback by this comment and responded by informing these people that this sort of corruption would never happen here.

It will not be long before we resemble a 'mini england' and this is not a good thing. Just look at the negatives we have from their culture: - yob culture, drinking culture, arrogance, failed social security system, failed health system, failed education system, a ‘vickie pollard culture, failed housing system.

It is a pity we do not have not have any of their positive elements installed in our culture, but I can’t think of any of these positive elements at the moment!!!!!!!!

Once again the massive sweeping statements from Pete that don't make much sense when analysed.

Let's just have a look at the points regarding England:-

1. Yob culture - fair enough in certain areas, by no means country-wide though.
2. Drinking culture - that's a bit rich!! Guernsey people I am sure drink more than English people, they certainly like to boast that they do anyway!
3. Arrogance - not sure what you mean here, of course there are arrogant people in England, as there are everywhere.
4. Failed social security system - how so?
5. Failed health system - really? Guernsey seem quite happy to send their residents to the UK for treatment, and as far as I'm aware, and certainly from my personal experience, the service is excellent.
6. Failed education system - more youngsters going to University than ever before, the minimum age for leaving school being increased, exams passed in record numbers, hardly indicative of a system in crisis is it?
7. Vicky Pollard culture - in isolated areas maybe
8. Failed housing system - again where's the evidence for this? Of course there are problems with some elements but then so are there over here, it's impossible for everything to be 100% perfect.

I am a Guernseyman through and through but making anti English comments like Pete does just make us all look like little islanders with no sense of reality. It's a bit like Harriet Harman making her anti men comment at the weekend, she just makes herself look stupid.

Just where do you think we'd be Pete, with no access to UK education (universities, training colleges etc), the health system, and in particular defence?

Oh dear technophobe, it seems you have a personal problem with whatever comments I submit. Are the personal attacks going to continue every time I submit a post because if they are at least reveal your identity so I can see who I am dealing with. C’mon, or do you not have the guts to expose yourself.



By the way, I stand by my comments....

Where was the personal attack?

Interesting that you are able to back up your outlandish claims with such weighty evidence i.e. I stand by my comments.

There is none so blind as he who will not see, as the saying goes.

Such acerbic wit, only matched by the quality of grammar and spelling.

technophobe please keep to the thread personal attacks will not be tolerated

But technophobe is only attacking the premise that the UK is to blame for Guernsey's drug users, which is a bit like blaming Saddam Hussein for Al Qaeda.

As the legal high industry has exploited, there is big demand for recreational drug use which isn't alcohol. We cannot claim to be any different in Guernsey to anywhere else, a small minority will abuse drugs to the point of entering the vicious circle of social exclusion and onto criminality.

The authorities let us make our own decisions about alcohol, by and large, despite scientific evidence that places it up amongst the most harmful of the recreationals.

All the time there is a ridiculous hypocrisy, especially over here where it's claimed that our lifestyle is so coveted, then a few kids will be tempted into nihilism.

There is no doubt that social problems are highly exacerbated by drug use but its too easy to place the cause on drugs, or whether the drug is merely a gateway to reflecting the hopelessness these people feel they are in.

Compared to those folk on crystal meth in the states, I think we can say that the 'hopelessness' of our Guernsey youngsters is more perceived than real, but again, we can't blame the UK for that.

Legalise cannabis, decriminalise the rest, and make recreationals available by prescription so usage can be monitored and quality standardised.

There are laws already to punish disorderly/burglary etc, giving someone a record for getting high is nonsense.

My mum gets a high off a double espresso and a Marlboro red. CALL THE COPS

technophobe wrote:Such acerbic wit, only matched by the quality of grammar and spelling.

personal fast robert

You can go almost anywhere in the world and people will say that things are changing for the worse, its not just a Guensey thing, its a fact we had it too good for too long and now we all have to adjust our standards of living and we dont like it.

It will not happened while our politicians start every statement about change 'In keeping with the UK guidlines' .... and IMO that is not going to happen!!!

Apart from recommending a good councilor I can also recommend a good optician.............you obviously need both.....

Above is as personal as any of the other comments and no warning, let's be consistent.

Pete, as much as any Guern will dislike this comment it is true, we are part of Britain like it or lump it so it stands to reason that we will take on the good and the bad qualities of our mother nation. There are many of the bad bits that you mentioned in a previous post that Guern' probably taught, certainly leads the UK. For instance, drinking alcohol, money as the b all and end all. Perhaps you could enlighten me with a nation that as a shining example we should follow, you will be very hard pushed unless you take the good bits out of several.

Fast Robert and Plimmerton

Thank you for your posts, it seems that personal attacks are allowed on some members but not on others, not that I'm particularly bothered by it but what's good for one should be good for all.

As I've said before, harking back to the "good old days" when we all grew tomatoes, the island was full of tourists, you could leave your front door open etc is just pointless. And despite what Pete says, not every "real Guern" will tell you that the island is going to rack and ruin, far from it in fact. There are plenty of "real Guerns" (not only in the finance industry) who are doing very well and who are not so negative as to forever dream of yesteryear when the sun shone from May to September and you could go out for the night (and get a bag of chips on the way home) all for tuppence halfpenny.

Not all of us want to live in isolation from the UK Pete (or Europe for that matter) there are actually some "real Guerns" who do accept that there is another world outside of these 24 square miles.