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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1979-03-07, Page 27READY FOR SAUSAGES — Jane Sims serves sausages to Dianne and Sharon Rundle at Tuesday's pancake supper at Trivitt Anglican Church. T-A photo But placement officer optimistic Times-Advocate, March 7, 1979 Page 27 Student job situation tight Researchers claim belts wouldn't help Installing seat belts in school buses wouldn’t reduce injuries to children in a majority of bus ac­ cidents, according to research findings of the Multi-disciplinary Accident Research Team at The University of Western On­ tario. The team is collecting data which is fed to Transport Canada and will be used to create legislated safety standards for all Canadian school buses. Transport Canada put together a package of proposals two years ago which called for improved seat design and occupant crash protection. The recommendation that seat belts be installed in buses was one of a number of proposed improvements including better access to the rear emergency exit, roof and joint structural changes, protection of fuel tanks and systems and stronger seats. The UWO team is under contract to Transport Canada to investigate school bus accidents in Southwestern Ontario and provide data and reports on their findings. In the last year the team has studied three major accidents in­ volving five buses and over 200 children. Dr. Alan German, a physicist working with the team, says that in the ac­ cidents the Western team has examined seat belts wouldn’t have made any difference to the children riding in the buses. "In the collisions we’ve looked at occupant ejection hasn’t been a factor. In­ juries were due to occupants bouncing around.” "The only seat belt that could be installed is a lap belt, which still permits a child to bang its head, which is what happens now without a belt. If there were a major collision where occupants could be ejected or if the bus rolls over, then seat belts would be beneficial. But that type of accident occurs very rarely. The number of fatalities resulting from school bus accidents is very small in Canada.” Head injuries, con­ cussions, deep face lacerations and broken teeth are the most common types of serious injuries sustained by children in bus accidents. Approximately 750 children are hurt each year and Transport Canada estimates this number will be reduced by half when the im­ provements are made. The recommendations apply to both large buses, seating between 66 and 72 students, and to smaller buses weighing under 10,000 lbs, seating about 10 or 12. The smaller buses should have seats, both Transport Canada and the UWO team agree. In the smaller buses the shock of impact is two to four times greater. School bus operators and school officials don’t want the new standards to include ‘Seat belts for large or small buses. They feel that problems of making the children wear the belts properly render the seat belt requirement impractical. Dr. German says that in the three school bus ac­ cidents the UWO Multi­ disciplinary team has in­ vestigated, higher seat backs and additional pad­ ding would have reduced the severity of the childrens’ in­ juries. Cost-effectiveness of in­ stalling seat belts in large buses is also an issue, Dr. German says. It would like­ ly cost several hundred dollars per bus to add seat belts and only one half of one percent of the injuries sustained would likely be eliminated as a result of belts. Another factor to be con­ sidered is that children wearing the belts improper­ ly — too high on their bodies, for example — could actual­ ly increase the injury rate, Dr. German says. READY FOR GRIDDLE — Lrene Harness prepares to pour the batter for a pancake at Tuesday's supper at Trinity Anglican Church. T-A photo By JOANNE BUCHANAN There’s no doubt about it. The job siuation is tight. But Susan Freeman, student placement counsellor and manager of the student placement program at the Canada Employment Centre for Students located on East Street in Goderich, is not discouraged. In fact she is optimistic that most students in the area can find jobs this summer if they follow a few simple rules. These rules include visiting her as soon as possible at the Employment Centre and registering for a job. Her job then involves counselling students and helping them to narrow down what kind of work they are looking for. She also gives tips on how to apply for a job. Susan gives the following advice to students dr anyone looking for a job, for that matter: tell everyone you’re looking for a job (word of mouth is important); make a list of all possible em­ ployers; visit all of these employers; fill in ap­ plications early; keep looking at the want ads in your local newspaper; and keep your ears open. Susan admits that it’s a job in itself to find a job these days. It takes hard work and determination but it can be done. One of the reasons why it is important to visit the Employment Centre early, is to fill in applications for government programs like Ontario Experience ’79, Young Canada Works, Junior Agriculturalist, Junior Ranger, etc. Deadlines for these ap­ plications come very soon, warns Susan. Many government programs allow students to invent their own summer jobs. Susan can supply students with a list of all these programs, application forms and addresses. Some students can become self-employed if they are ingenious enough, There are all kinds of self-employment opportunities, especially in a tourist town like Goderich, says Susan. Students can cut grass, walk dogs, paint houses, wash cars, babysit and even organize groups of students to perform various services. If worse comes to worse and a student can’t find a summer job that pays money, the Student Employment Centre can help students get into other meaningful activities like volunteer work. There is even volunteer work which can be done abroad and many programs like CUSO which Susan can inform students about. If you can’t make any money at them, you can at least gain in­ valuable experience, she explains. Contrary to what many people think, says Susan, most students really want to work and are really sincere in their job searches. A lot of students are very talented too and Susan encourages them to fill out the hobbies part on their application forms. Susan says the Centre always has enough students to fill jobs but not enough job orders from employers. She has been busy writing to all employers who used the Centre last year to en­ courage them to use it again. She will also be visiting as many employers as she can in person. She would like to explain too that anyone can phone into the Centre and hire a student for even an hour or two. There is no red tape involved, she stresses. Orders can be filled the same day. Susan does not want the rest of Huron County to feel left out because the Student Employment Centre is located in Goderich. It is for all students in the county and covers villages as well as towns. An office will be set up in Exeter as well as Goderich and two student placement officers,one for each office, will be hired in May to man these offices while Susan acts as overall co-ordinator. Susan started her job at the Employment Centre on February 5. Already a large number of secondary and post-secondary students have visited the Centre to apply for part-time jobs now and full-time jobs in the summer, she says. These students are eager for any type of work and can be hired for any length of time. Susan has taken a three day course in London for her job at the Centre. The course taught her communication, promotion and management skills and basically she learned how the Centre works. She will be taking more courses throughout her term at the Centre which ends in September. Right now she is busy familiarizing herself with the Centre and various programs. She has been reading up on what others have done at the Centre, planning ads and setting up schedules for speaking to employers and students in the area high schools. She wants to reach as many students and em­ ployers as possible to let them know that the Centre CAN help them. "I want to be really organized. I want more people becoming aware of the Centre,” she says. There are 128 Centres across Ontario she says and last year’s statistics for the Centres show that the London district (in which Huron County is included) did very well as far as the number of students placed in jobs. Susan is not nervous about speaking in front of groups of students or employers. She has always enjoyed working with people and she knows most of the people in Goderich already. She is the daughter of Mart and Stan Freeman of R. R. 2 Goderich. She likes organizing and is very en­ thused about her present job. She pledges to help everyone to the best of her ability. Her own experience If Susan’s ability to help students can be measured in terms of her own expriences, she rates high and should be very successful at her latest job. She is a graduate of G.D.C.I. and a graduate of the University of Western Ontario (Huron College) where she received an Honors Bachelor of Arts in English with an Area of Concentration in Honors French. She worked for one summer as the superin­ tendent of Judith Gooderham pool being responsible fo the entire organization of the pool and the Water Safety program. Her swimming qualifications enable her to Ro/e of health unit outlined by staffers READY FOR PANCAKES — Shawn McFalls gets help from his father Peter in removing his jacket for Tuesday's pancake supper at Trivitt Anglican Church. At the left is cashier Charlie Smith and in the background is waitress Jane Russell. T-A photo tea WITH PANCAKES —• Jane Russell and Dorothy Knight pour tea for visitors at Tuesday's pancake supper at Trivitt Anglican Church. T-A photo By HURON COUNTY HEALTH UNIT STAFF Huron County Health Unit . . . what does it do .. . how . . . why? Would you like to look inside your Health Unit . . . after all, you (and,I) are paying for it? Public Health Agencies (Units) are established un­ der the Public Health Act, Statutes of Ontario. Under the Act there are two princi­ ple bodies who are responsi­ ble for "the public health”. These are the Provincial Ministry of Health and the local Board of Health. The Provincial Ministry of Health has various departments which deal with general medical ser­ vices, hospital services, community health services, mental health services, etc. That branch dealing with community health services acts as director of the overall provincial public health programmes, sets financing goals, and acts as a consultant to the local Health Unit in case of dif­ ficulties. For example, if I need advice on how to deal with a difficult or unusual situation, there are specialists in the fields of in­ fectious disease, child care, school health services, and many others, with whom I can get and share opinion. The local Board of Health directs the Health Unit, tak­ ing into consideration the Ministry of Health’s programmes and plans throughout the province generally and its own view of the needs in the county. The members of the Board of Health are drawn from the Huron County Council, with the exception of one representative appointed by the provincial Ministry of Health. The members from County Council, and es­ pecially the warden, are familiar with many other aspects of Huron County planning and services, for example, Social Services, Family and Children’s Ser­ vices, and County Planning and Development. This gives some measure of con­ tinuity and integration in the overall development of Huron county social and health planning. County Council has members sitting on the hospital boards throughout the county and this further improves input into health service develop­ ment. These two bodies, the provincial Ministry of Health and the Huron Coun­ ty Board of Health, largely shape the direction of the Health Unit’s programmes and services. Direction is given to them through the Health Unit staff, par­ ticularly the Director of Nursing and Inspection and the Medical Officer of Health. The three of us direct the services given by the Health Unit and can assess what services are adequate, which need im­ provement, and which are redundant. The county physicians, county hospitals, social service agencies, volunteer groups, separate and public schools, and many other bodies, are in regular contact with us and provide the Health Unit staff with an idea of the services we should provide to both those organizations and the people of the county. These service directions are then brought, through the Medical Officer of Health, to the attention of the Board of Health, and through them, County Council, so that improvements or change^ may be made in the services given to Huron County. This may at first seem like an awkward system. I sometimes see myself as be­ ing an arbitrator between the service requirements and political direction, but in this type of a system there exists an automatic set of cheques and balances so that, hopefully, few of the services given are un­ necessary or inappropriate and those services that are necessary can be identified. What is commendable is that the Ministry of Health and the elected represen­ tatives of Huron County have a genuine interest in the well-being of the people of the county and have an op­ portunity to partake in the development of health ser­ vices here. • • m Your heart works fll harder when ST you're not in the UH game. Get fit — and turn the clock back. fMMR Fitness is fun. Try some. g K) STRETCHING THOSE MUSCLES — Prior to engaging in a gymnastics display at South Huron District High School on Saturday, members of the South Huron Rec Board sponsored class engaged in some stretching exercises. Helping Carol Morrissey to loosen those muscles is Michelle Slenin. T-A photo teach and examine most levels of water safety in­ struction. She is also an ACUC suba diver. She worked for one summer at Point Farms Provincial Park as a gate attendent, welcoming and registering park visitors. She worked for a summer as the assistant to the park personnel officer at Mont Tremblant Park in Quebec. She fulfilled this job as a participant in the Ontario- Quebec Student Exchange Program of the Public Service Commission. Next she worked for the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Carillon Provincial Park, the province’s only bilingual park, as visitors services technician. She was entirely responsible for the organization of activities, staff and publicity. While at Huron College, she worked for the cor­ poration of Huron College as Don of Brough Hall (Women’s Residence). She was responsible for 20 girls ranging in age from 17 to 22 and she was selected to be a member of the Don’s Selection Committee for incoming Dons. She worked for Parks Canada, Georgian Bay Islands National Park as an intreptive naturalist presenting programs to groups of 10 to 200 park isitors. She was the bilingual naturalist on staff. She was also employed by Parks Canada as a planner. She designed an interpretive Unit Plan for Parks Canada’s Flowerpot Island. Susan has received academic awards, a music award, an executive award, a public speaking award, a leadership trophy and a gold cord for Girl Guides of Canada. Susan was chosen to represent Huron County as a Young Voyageur of Canada in 1972. In high school she was vice-president of the Studentcouncil, president of the school band, president of the Spirit Club, editor of the school newspaper, instigator and implementor of the House System and student delegate on the student-staff liaison committee. At University Susan was Educational Affairs Com­ missioner of the Unviersity Students’ Council adn Acting Cultural Affairs Commissioner. She was one of eight elected members of the Board of Directors of the Students’ Council and was chosen to represent UWO at Ontario Federation of Students and National Union of Students conferences held nationwide. The list of her accomplishments seems endless. As well she is an outdoor enthusiast with interests in photography, swimming, cross-country and downhill skiing, snowshoeing, bicycling, camping, canoeing and hiking. She has a lot to offer the Employment Centre for Students and she takes her responsibilities there seriously. Sure, it’s tough to find a job these days but it CAN be done. Help is available at the Centre. Why not visit Susan soon and give it a try? HOT DOG DELIVERERS — Michael Grubb and Eva Takacs were in charge of delivering hot dogs to the various class rooms at Usborne Central School during the noon hour, Thursday.