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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1985-01-30, Page 6Lucknow Sentinel, Wednesday, January 30, 1985—Page 6 "The Sepoy Town" . Established 1873 The Lucknow Sentinel, P.O. Box 400 Lucknow NOG 2110 Telephone: 528-2822 Pat Livingston - General Manager Thomas Thompson - Advertising Manager Sharon Dietz - Editor Joan Helm - Compositor' Merle Elliott.- Typesetter 9� Subscription rates in advance a Outside 16. Canada Senior Citizens s45 o0 1s" g0 Canada '4O Outside a• Second class mailing reg. no. 0847 Advertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of a typographical error, the portion of the advertising space occupied by the erroneous item together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for; but the balance of the advertisement will be paid at the applicable rates. BLUE RIBBON AWARD 1984 Smoke free workplace In both Canada and. the United States, the non-smoking majority is becoming more concerned about its right to clean air. The struggle between smoker and, .non-smoker over indoor air pollution is shifting from public 'elevators, rest- aurants, buses and airplanes to a major new battle ground - the work place. Millions of workers spend one-third oftheir productive lives in offices and some are starting to demand protection' from'. second hand tobacco smoke. ,In most Canadian work places, tobacco smokers arestill allowed to carry on as they please for the simple fathere are .a lot of them. Thirty-nine per cent of the adu'" `opula tion in 1981 were smokers and they are devoted to -.their habit. A -recent surveyshowed they consume an average of . 27 cigarettes a day, many of them during working hours. Until recently it was a question of manners. Non-smokers suggested smokers should be polite and avoid causing unnecessary annoyance or discomfort to •others.,Smokers argue they have a right to their personal habit. . _ The debate is now moving fromthe realm of personal habit to the arena of public ,health., As scientific evidence of the hazards of second" hand smoke accumulates, the issue becomes more sensitive ,as did the controversy o'ver.primary smoking 20 years ago. According to Dr. Donald Wigle of Ottawa's Department of Health and Welfare, tobacco smoke which contains over 50 known carcinogens and many other toxic agents, is a health hazard for non-smokers who' are regularly exposed to it while at work. J• Wigle and his Canadian colleagues point out, that several constituents of tobacco smoke, especially sidestream smoke, are so toxic or carcinogenic that the recommended exposure level .is zero. There may not be a safe level for involuntary exposure to' tobacco smoke, ,they conclude. A 1982 task force on smoking ;told the Ontario Health Council, which advises' the Ministry of Health, that Ontario office workers should have 'a legal claim to safe and clean work place air. The task force report was buried at the time, but now that its legislative proposal has gained acceptance in California it doesn't seem quite so far fetched. The municipal governments of San Francisco and Los Angeles have adopted bylaws that offer employees a right to clean air and accordingly require employers • to introduce smoking control policies. The giant Boeing Corp., a Seattle based aircraft company issued an edict a year ago banning smoking on all its U.S. premises. Its Canadian subsidiary in Winnipeg has been ,. given extra time to phase in the smoke ban. The pressure to create rules are increasing. Gar Mahood, director of the Non-smokers Rights 'Association, says' the battle for ' dean work 'place air . is' a "top priority .of his organization. He is about to issue a report arguing half measures - segregated smoking areas, improved ventilation systems - can't solve the public health problems 'created by tobacco smoke. The Ministry of Labour has received seven complaints and another is before the Supreme Court. The possibility of a medical officer of health in Ontario ordering a smoking ban in a work place is not remote. Smoking in the work place is a serious public health issue which is very likely to come to the forefront of public debate in the near future. Winter' wonderland Photos by Sharon Dietz To use a cliche, Teddy Murdoch had "fallen on his feet" when he married the beautiful and wealthy Lucy Lockhart. As is natural with all young men who acquire good fortune without too much effort, the .change in his character was quite noticeable. Although he worked like any ' other man in the lumber mill; he, obviously showed a distinct superiority; the hallmark of an upstart who does not' know how to handle new found wealth! When the foreman, Adam Simpson, did not appear for work one morning,. Teddy had his chance to show off his capabilities (if any). "Now we'll see what Mister Teddy •Clever Breeches is made of," a workman said to his mate. "I bet ye before the mom's out, he'll run crying tae Chippy Chisholm!" "Alright!" • Teddy , shouted. "Dinna stand there waitin° frae Christmas. Get yon hardwood fogs o'n tae the saw tablet' The workmen, shrugged their shoulders and did his bidding. When the first log was in place, Teddy shouted in a manner which imitated `Adam Simpson. "Stand clear o' the machinery, while I open the sluice gate!" Teddy pulled on the long lever which manipulated the gate ,and allowed . the water from the dam to flow on M the big wheel. When the saw was in motion, he engaged the sprocket which operated the table, and thef first log began to move towards the big saw. When the oak log made contact with the blade, there was a terrible screeching sound, the saw snapped' like a twig and leather drive belts flew in all directions. Luckily nobody was injured and one man had the sense to quickly close the sluice gate. Teddy's face became crimson with embarrassment. "Looks like we are going tae need Charlie Grant the blacksmith," he said, trying to sound as cool and authoritative as possible under the circumstances. "Aye, so it does," one .cheeky voice called out. "Lucky we don't need Doctor "Cameron. Seems tae me we had best get a - man here who knows what he's doing, before we start np again!" The frightening noise which came from `the mill, caused Lucy to be filled ,with apprehension. She dropped whatever she was doing, and not even pausing to put on a hat and coat, ran all the way to the mill. She was relieved to find nobody injured, and the men just standing around holding a post mortem on the sudden breakdown of the machinery. Teddy explained to her what had happened ' REDTREES by Don Campbell "Where is Mr. Simpson?" Lucy asked. "He has no come to work .Yet," Teddy explained. "So we had tae .start i'out him." "I think it would have been betterto, have waited until there was proper super- vision," Lucy retorted, much to the'annoy- ance of her husband. "Somebody might have lost their life!" She waited until the impact of her words had sunk into the minds of the workmen and then She said: `There will be no more work to be done here ' until the machinery has been repaired: In any case, the Mill , will be Turn to a 78 pig