The Lucknow Sentinel, 1985-05-08, Page 4Page 4—Lucknow Sentinel, Wednesday, May 8, 1985
A
Lucknow group home operating. for 15 years
By Alan l>llvett
Fred sits on a couch in the living room,
.the television humming with the sound of
Midday Magazine. ,Beside him lies Hector,
a big brown tomcat, who is fast asleep.
He's later joined by Joe, who sits down to
enjoy the program. Bill takes up residence
in his favorite. lawn chair at the front of the
house while Jim takes his afternoon nap.
All the elderly gentlemen live in a resid-
ential home in Lucknow and are cared for
by Betty O'Donnell.
Betty has been running a group home for
elderly men for the past '15 years. Two of
the,four men, ranging in age from 60 to 78,
have lived at her home since it started on
September 15', ,1970. The fourth, Bill, took
up residence in August of 1978. All of the
men originally were residents of the Blue
water Centre in Goderich.
While working as a cook at the Pine -
crest '
ine-crest' Nursing. Home in Lucknow, Mrs.
O'Donnell heard there was a need for small
group homes in. the community which
would be subsidized and administrated by
the Ontario Ministry of Health.
"I said to my husband, "We 'have a
couple of empty bedrooms, so why not try a•
group home. Once I told them at the
nursing home they/ came right over. I had.
to meet certain expectations and had to get.
.a licence for a residential home," she says.
The "expectations" that were required
was to provide a good home and meals as
well as making sure the men keep active.
Tories dumbfounded...
from page 1
change. The organization in this riding did -
as, well as we could."
Mr. Peter said he wasn't sure how much
Frank Miller's presence influenced the
Snobelen campaign. "Mike made it clear
he wasn't supporting all the government
policies and that's the way it should be,"
he said.
Another Election In 18 Months
Grey -Bruce MP Dr. ,Gary Gurbin, who
said Thursday's results would make things
tougher for. the Tories in Ottawa, predicted
another provincial election in 18 months.
When asked if he would run again, Mr./
Snobelen said "you never know what I
might do", adding that he would return to
his position as chairman of the Bruce
County Board of Education.
Jim Bradley, a Snobelen backer who
became a leading orator for the Tories here
in the weeks leading to the election, told
the crowd Mr. Snobelen would be back.
"If any of you think Mike Snobelen is
politically dead, you better get another
idea in your head," said the Ashfield
Township farmer. "Mike will be back and
we'll rise again. ; Maybe people have
spoken and we can take notice and pull up
our socks."
Mr. Bradley provided some humor at the
Tory gathering Thursday night while being
jokingly chided by PC Association presid-
ent Barb Flsher for wearing a red/tie. Mrs.
Fisher took the tie and then presented Mr.
Bradley with a pair of red striped boxer
shorts.
"I was going to wear this tie to a liberal
funeral this weekend but I guess there's
nothing wrong with looking good in your
own casket," joked Mr.., Bradley.
NDP vote increases...
from page 1
government on the riding and province,
Mrs. Peterson said "a minority govern-
ment tends to be more accountable• to the
people". She said she didn't know how it
would affect Mr. Elston's role at Queen's
Park, saying she disagrees with a Tory
theme that you have to sit on the
goverment side of the Legislature to be an
effective MLA.
The Kincardine resident says she has an
interest in running provincially again. Mrs.
Peterson ran in last fall's federal election
for the NDP in the Grey -Bruce riding, and
she will seek a second term on town council
in the municipal election this fall.
Despite coming out third, Mrs. Peterson'
_said she has learned a lot during the past
month.
"Even if, you lose, it's an educational
experience. You meet so many people, you
benefit personally from the experience."
Lucknow news
correction
I wish to apologize /for my error in last
week's news. Wilfred and Florence
McQuillan celebrated their fiftieth wed-
ding anniversary, not their 65th as stated
in last week's paper.
Enjoy luxury beachfront
condominiums for rent at
Marco Island on your
FLORIDA vacation
Located on 3% mile crescent beach, with
panoramic view of the Gulf of Mexico, each
2 -bedroom apartment is magnificently fur-
nished, fully equipped. Two tennis courts„1
swimming pool, poolside self-service bar
facilities. Enjoy Marco's restaurants,
unique shops, championship golf, nightly
entertainment, water sports.
a
PHONE
Toll -Free
1 -800 -
SEA WINDS
4.5
BEACH RESORT
890 S. Collier Blvd.
MARCO ISLAND, FLORIDA 33937
f.
Please send information/rates
237-4155 NAME
,I
In Florida I ADDRESS
\....813-642-6262 Gay, STATE, ZIP �. ' b
q r m J
. Operating the nursing home has been a
fairly enjoyable experience. The men have
never been unkind or nasty or even moody,
says Betty. She describes the men who live
in her home as "people who have
had a problem in their life and needed
help''. They each have a certain household
duty which they perform such 'as clearing
the table or helping to sweep the floor.
Each his a hobby which keeps them busy
through the day.
One resident, Joe, has been collecting
multi -coloured stones since he arrived and
has built a fence which surrounds most of
the back yard without the use of mortar to
hold stones in place. He says he's stopped
FEATURE REPORT
r
building the structure because it's getting
too high. He also enjoys mowing the lawn
and going to the, library, as he is an avid
reader of history and geography books.
Bill, one of the more talkative residents,
chats about everything from, tv's Jack
W ebster ("he sure is a real Scotchman") to
Don. Messer's Jubilee ("They sure
don't make TV like that these days" )..
Turn to page 5
Betty O'Donnell has been running a residential home for the elderly for the past 15 years.
Here, Mrs. O'Donnell 'stands with three of her four residents, Joe; Fred and Bill. The
fourth resident, Jim, was napping at the time of the photo. (Photo by Alan Rivett)
SELECTED BRANDS
IMPORTED
Quality
Wallcoverings
(6,(er /r /
CANADIAN
SA TINESQUE
PeStaVER SUPPL ININ>
QFiofeau
update
MULTIPLE CHOICE
`y��•�« JAbf,
SAVE 20 ES.
Special discounts on all in stock wall coverings
Prices in effect until May 15, 1985
CARPETING
CUSIIIONFLOR AND LINOLEUM
A 4,411, terra,' '., 1'"kl
DMAPr.RIFS
FINLAY DECORATORS
WALL PAPFR ANC) C I PA'. "' p,,,,,,, ,;r )41.