The Citizen, 2009-05-28, Page 1The tragedy in Woodstock,
involving eight-year-old Tori
Stafford, is every parents’ greatest
fear.
While adults stress the dangers of
strangers to their children, however,
it is often, as it seems to be in the
Stafford abduction, the familiar face
that’s behind these stories.
Huron OPP Const. Joanna Van
Mierlo said that for that reason, it is
important that parents use a “blanket
approach” when street-proofing their
children. “Tell them that they should
never, ever go anywhere with
anyone, not friend, neighbour or
sibling, without (the parent)
knowing first.”
Supervision remains key to
protecting little ones. However, there
comes a time when independence
has to happen and it is then that
parents lose some control. Van
Mierlo said that in her visits to
kindergarten classes, she stresses the
danger of a stranger.
“But this group tends to be very
well supervised. It’s when they get
older, when that eight-year-old can
go visit a friend up the street, when
they are out of your sight, that
control is lost.”
There is no standard look for a
kidnapper or child molester, said Van
Mierlo. “People don’t have to look
scary to be bad. You don’t know the
ins and outs of your neighbour. You
could have a predator next door.
They can be physicians or priests,
man or woman. So if you have the
blanket approach that says go with
no one, without checking first, that
can help.”
Passwords are another protective
method. In this, parent and child
come up with a word that only they
know. If the parent needs someone
else to pick up their child for any
reason, then they share the word
with the individual. They then use
the word and in this way, the child
knows it is safe to accompany the
person.
“I’m surprised by how many
actually do use this,” said Van
Mierlo. “And I think it’s excellent,
especially in those situations where
a child often has to go with different
people at different times.”
The words, however, need to be
changed each time after they are
used. “So again, it comes down to
the basic rule of leave with no one.
That should cover a lot of problems.”
That the trouble might come from
a stranger is rare, said Van Mierlo.
Information released from the
Canada Safety Council said that in
2007, there were 60,582 missing
children cases in Canada. Of those
576 were children who had
wandered off, and 285 were parent
abductions.
Three quarters of all cases were
runaways and only 56, less than one
per cent were kidnappings. The
majority of those were by someone
known to the family.
“We always talk to kids about
strangers, but we need to expand
that. It is very rare, the picture of the
stranger coming up and grabbing the
child and pushing them into a car
and taking off,” said Van Mierlo.
However, it doesn’t mean kids
shouldn’t be prepared for it.
“I tell them that if a stranger
means them harm they don’t want to
be noticed. I tell them I don’t want
them to hurt someone, I don’t want
them to be disrespectful to an
adult, but if a grownup does
anything that makes them nervous,
now is their chance to act like a wild
person. Draw attention and don’t be
shy.”
“Do what you need to do to get
away, kick, yell, scratch or bite. If
someone tries to make you do
something you don’t want, make
sure they know you don’t want to.”
The Canada Safety Council
suggests practising what if scenarios
with children. Van Mierlo, however,
said being prepared goes beyond
role playing. “Discussion is what’s
important. It’s a gradual
communication process on
everything, drugs, alcohol, who
they’re with.”
Children need to develop ways to
protect themselves the Canada
Safety Council advises. If lost, they
should find a safe spot and wait for
help. They need to memorize their
name, address and phone number. If
they feel threatened they should trust
their instinct and seek out an adult
they can confide in. For help, they
should find a police officer, store
staff, an information booth or a
mother with children.
A child abduction is “our greatest
fear,” said Van Mierlo.
“Fortunately it doesn’t happen too
often, unfortunately one is one too
many.”
Hurry!
The ducks hit the water in the early afternoon on Sunday, racing in Londesborough for the
annual duck races. The weather was beautiful and dozens of onlookers made it out to see
whose duck would cross the finish line first. Of course, several of the Londesborough Lions
were in waders making sure it was a fair race and that the ducks kept their momentum up.
(Shawn Loughlin photo)
Some 1,400 homes were without
power on Sunday evening after a
pole on Hydro Line Road, just north
of Seaforth caught fire.
Tom Phillips, Seaforth district
chief of the Huron East Fire
Department said his department
received the call at 6:08 p.m. May
24, to a location between County
Road 12 and Hensall Road. Phillips
said that about 10-15-feet had
broken off the top of the pole.
“When it toppled it shorted out and
knocked out the feeder,”
Homes in Brussels and
Egmondville, as well as surrounding
rural areas were affected.
Firefighters were at the scene for a
couple of hours primarily to block
off the road until Hydro One crews
arrived.
“It was a priority call because of
the numbers involved,” said
Phillips.
Firefighters left the scene when
they received a call to respond to a
shed fire.
While power was restored in just
under three hours to some homes,
Brussels and other areas were left in
the dark until about 11:30 p.m.
Blyth Memorial Hall was alive
with the sound of country crooning
this past weekend as contestants
performed for the am920 Ontario
Open Country Singing Contest in
Blyth.
There were over 80 taking the
stage.
A Brampton girl was the recipient
of this year’s Rising Star award.
Melissa Ravenhill, who also won the
teen category, received a $7,500
prize package that included the
opportunity to have a song recorded
and distributed to radio across the
country. Last year’s winner Kira
Isabella of Orleans released Come
Around in January.
The winners of the open classes
were Steve Frost of London and
Stacey Bulmer of Cambridge. Kim
Atkins of Campbellville was the
senior winner and Brooklyn
Roebuck of Chatham was the
karoake winner.
Anyone interested in hearing the
performers can tune in this
Sunday at 6 p.m. to 1m920 for the
broadcast of the Singing Contest
Showcase.
OPP suggest blanket approach to streetproofiing
CitizenTh
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$1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, May 28, 2009
Volume 25 No. 21COMMUNITY- Pg. 12Walkerburn Club marks90th anniversary NEWS - Pg. 22 Bluevale fundraising forrecreation padHEALTH- Pg. 10Family Health Teamsponsors orphan clinicsPublications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 PAP Registration No. 09244 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0INSIDE THIS WEEK:
By Bonnie Gropp
The Citizen
1,400 area homes
without power
By Bonnie Gropp
The Citizen
Brampton teen
the Rising Star
in 2009 contest