HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2012-04-12, Page 6PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 2012.County interested in Youth Centre property
Establishing character
Stratford author Melissa Strangeway was at Grey Central Public School late last month thanks
to the Foundation for Education to teach the Grade 6/7 class how to show and not tell with
their writing. Working on a co-operative writing exercise are, from left: Devin Bachert,
Mackenzie Smith and Madison Hinschberger. (Shawn Loughlin photo)
THE EDITOR,
It has come to The Royal
Canadian Legion’s attention that
some unscrupulous people are
charging fees to disabled veterans to
help them complete disability
claims. To make matters worse
they are also making arrangements
to take a percentage of the disability
award when it is granted.
This must stop immediately.
While veterans are free to have
anyone they desire help them with
disability claims, they should not be
charged for this service. We are also
concerned that some veterans may
be uninformed about assistance that
is also readily available free of
charge.
The Royal Canadian Legion is
well suited to help identify and
complete disability claims for
veterans for free. For more than 80
years, we have provided exemplary
and outstanding services to our
veterans, including our serving
members in the Canadian Forces,
the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
and their families free of charge –
and these people do not have to be
Legion members.
As we prepare to commemorate
the sacrifices and accomplishments
our veterans made for this country
during the Battle of Vimy Ridge
some 95 years ago, Canadians
should remember the immense debt
of gratitude we still owe our
veterans. Any veteran or family
member can call 1-877-534-4666 or
visit our website www.legion.ca for
free assistance with your Veterans
Affairs Canada Disability
Application. It is only just that they
receive this service for free.
Patricia (Pat) Varga
Dominion President
Royal Canadian Legion,
Ottawa.
Huron County Council has showninterest in owning the site of the
former Bluewater Youth Centre in
Central Huron.
The decision to express interest in
the building and property was made
at council’s April 4 meeting when
Central Huron Mayor Jim Ginn
informed his fellow councillors thatthe clock was ticking.Ginn told councillors that thefuture of the building has beendiscussed at length by members of
the task force recently assembled to
handle the closure and he had been
informed that if the county was
interested in owning the property,
notification would officially have to
be made by April 19.
Ginn speculated that the near-immediate deadline could be theresult of what he called “an over-exuberant employee” but that it wasbetter to be safe than sorry in this
instance.
Ginn said a motion to expressinterest in the property would benon-binding and would just makeHuron County a part of thediscussion when the time comes.
“This gets us into discussions that
we’ve been sorely shut out from.”Chief Administrative OfficerLarry Adams said Ginn would haveto make a resolution to that effect,which he did. Council passed the
resolution.
THE EDITOR,
Happy National Volunteer
Appreciation Week!
During National Volunteer Week
and all year-long, the Canadian
Cancer Society Huron-Perth Unit
wants to thank our team of
volunteers for your dedication,
tireless energy and helping us make
the most impact in the fight against
cancer.
Our volunteers are at the centre of
all we do and everyday our
volunteers are active in the fight
against cancer.
The Canadian Cancer Society
Huron-Perth Unit from February 1,
2011 to January 31, 2012:
• Raised $865,912, which will go
toward our mission of eradicating
cancer and enhancing the quality of
life of those living with cancer.
• 86 volunteers drivers drove over
186,960 kms. and completed 2,327
client trips.
• On average per month, Society
drivers assisted 49 clients to 194
cancer-related appointments.
• On average per month, four
families were assisted by our
family-provided transportation
assistance program.
• Eight peer support volunteers
provided assistance to 20 clients;
four group support facilitators
provided support to two general
cancer support groups and one
breast cancer support group.
The Huron-Perth Unit applauds
all its fundraising volunteers for
their work as residential team
captains/canvassers, Daffodil Days
volunteers, pink ribbon volunteers
and Taking Steps committee
members. Sincere thanks to our
Relay For Life steering committees
and event day volunteers who fight
back against cancer 365!
The Huron-Perth Unit is proud to
have a team of 18 office volunteers
who support the work of the Society
in all areas. Our advocacy
volunteers work with all three levels
of government to support the
implementation of healthy
community policy whether it is
concerning smoking, tanning beds
and youth, or pesticides, they are
working on prevention! Prevention
volunteers set up and man displays
as well as provide presentations on
prevention.
The support from volunteers
enables more impact, against more
cancers, in more communities, than
any other cancer charity in Canada.
Thank you for your time and
fighting back against cancer!
Sincerely,
Anita Looby
Volunteer Engagement Co-
ordinator.
THE EDITOR,
On behalf of the Board of
Directors of United Way Perth-
Huron, I would like to share my
deepest gratitude for all those who
pulled together to make the 2011
Campaign a huge success. We were
able to slightly exceed our campaign
goal of $1,052,011 while raising
over $193,975 for Tornado Relief
(69 per cent matched 2:1 by
government assistance) and $35,000
for the Local Community Food
Centre.
The campaign is dependent on a
team of dedicated volunteers. Our
lead volunteer, Campaign Chair,
Anita Gaffney, gracefully reached
out to community members and
passionately inspired staff and
volunteers to work together in
pursuit of the goal and its greater
cause. We thank Anita Gaffney for
her outstanding commitment to the
2011 campaign and to the agencies,
programs and citizens dependent on
funding from United Way.
The United Way Perth-Huron
Campaign relies on over 600
volunteers. Regardless of whether
they are answering phones, working
at events, stuffing envelopes,
leading workplace campaigns,
connecting with potential donors or
serving on committees, each
volunteer is a necessary cog in
the workings of a successful
campaign. We are grateful to our
campaign cabinet and team of
volunteers for their enthusiastic
commitment.
The focus message of the 2011
campaign was “Change starts here”.
Thank you to all of you who:
attended, sponsored, or hosted an
event; gave through workplace,
individual, or corporate giving; or
provided in-kind support through
media sponsorship, consulting, and
technological services. We are
overjoyed by your generosity and
dedication and your desire to team
with us as we “Create Change” for
Perth and Huron Counties. We look
forward to partnering with you in
the future and in sharing the
allocation of these funds as we
commit to building strong local
communities.
Sincerely,
Ryan Erb, Executive Director
United Way Perth Huron.
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Letters to the Editor
Writer wants new
funding model
Writer thanks volunteers
Legion outraged by fees
United Way
exceeds target
THE EDITOR,
It is very important that very
young children have a safe place to
go to school when their parents go
to work.
I think school funding for Junior
Kindergarten, Senior Kindergarten
and Grade 1 students should be a
provincial responsibility and, when
a school closes, a private or non-
profit group in the village or town
should get the same per-child
funding to provide schooling for
students under seven as is provided
for children going to a larger, new
school, as in the case of
the Maitland River Elementary
School.
This is particularly important with
the number of single parents who
are raising their kids on their own,
or sometimes with the help of their
parents.
This funding model is used in
some U.S. rural states for
Kindergarten and Grade 1 students.
We need the Village of Blyth to
lobby Lisa Thompson, MPP for
Huron-Bruce, to pressure the
government for these changes. This
must be done before the Blyth
Public School is closed.
If students under the age of four
must ride buses they should have
washrooms on the bus and an adult
to help them.
Stephen Webster,
Blyth.
By Shawn LoughlinThe Citizen