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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1987-09-30, Page 1ESTABLISHED IN 1873 "THE SEPOY TOWN" ON THE HURON -BRUCE BOUNDARY PUBLISHED IN U,CKNOW, ONTARIO -20 PAGES 400 PER COPY [tar3:ueh. `ednesday, ,eptexnber 30, 1987 Valerie Anderson, of Goderich, has gained increased independence since obtaining Josh, her guide dog through the Lions Club International's Canine Vision program. With Valerie at a recent Lions meeting are her sponsor from the local Lions club: President Mel Bogie, Past Governor Grant Chisholm, Chairman of the Walk -A -Dog -A Thon for Lions District A-9 and local walk chairman Ed Hagle. (photo by Patrick Raftis Irk the words of the Pope It has often been said that the words of the Pope are far re hing. Following the Pope's recent visit to he United States, his words have reached ucknow in the form of a balloon found by John Garter with a message attached. Mr. Garter of RR5 Lucknow found the balloon containing a Papal message on the Second Concession north of the Village. The message accompaning the balloon reads: "Peace awaits its builder. Let us stretch our hands towards our brothers and sisters to encourage them to build peace upon the four pillars truth, justice, love and freedom." The quote is from a speech given by, Pope John Paul II at Assisi in 1986 while the balloon it made its trip to Bruce County on was released on September 19, 1987 to celebrate ,the visit of John Paul II to the Archdioces of Detroit. We thank Mr. Garter for sharing his find with us and hope that these words from afar will soon come to pass for all mankind. Rash of local break-ins still under investigation A rash of break-ins during the night of Wednesday, September 16 in the Village of Lucknow are still under investigation by the Kincardine Detachment of,the Ontario Provincial Police. The OPP report that no less than four establishments were reci- pients of late night visitors during that time. On the same night that the Kinsmen Club House, Henderson's Lumber Yard, Hackett's Machine Show, and the old Silverwoods Dairy were broken into, a car was stolen from its parking spot on Camp- bell Street. Constable Andy Burgess of the Kincardine OPP told the Sentinel that some of the articles stolen have been recovered but that many remain missing. While Constable Burgess says the police force has two suspects in connection with the break and enters, more evidence is re- quired before action can be taken against. them. He askes that any citizen of the area with useful -information that could led -to arrests in this case call the Kincardine OPP or Crime Stoppers. Until a time when this person or persons is brought to justice, the OPP will continue their investigation and hope to keep a higher profile in the Village to discourage further break-ins. In unrelated cases currently under in- vestigation by the Kincardine OPP, the detachment reports having investigated 32 accidents which caused about $75,000 in damages and resulted in the injury of 14 persons during the past two months. Dog Attacks As a result of an occurence in which a Lucknow youth was biten by a dog, a hear- ing under the Dog Owner's Liability Act was held and the dog's owner was ordered to build an enclosure sufficient to contain the animal. In light of the recent media attention regarding vicious dog attacks, particular- ly pit bulls, the OPP feel this is a good time to point out ceratin sections of the act to dog owners. During a hearing such as the one recent- ly held in regards to the local incident, the court may take into consideration such things as the seriousness of the attack, the probability of a repeat attack and any other circumstances the court_ feels:_ relevant. Section 4 of the Dog Owners Liability Act states, "if the court is satisfied that an order is necessary for the protection of the public, the court may order that the dog be destroyed or that the owner takes such steps as are required for more 'effective control of the animal". Local man saved from fire -: The Lucknow and. District Fire Depart- ment reports having responded to a fire eall on the evening of Monday, September 21. The blaze at the home of George McIn- nis of RR1 Lucknow did considerable damage to the residence before being brought under control by the fire fighters. The fire was noticed by Steve MacPher- son who turned the call into the depart- ment - at aproximately 6 p.m. Fireman Doug Hamilton was the first of ten firefighters on the scene and was succesful in rescuing Mr. McInnis from the smoke filled home. Firechief Bud Hamilton says the quick response by his department sav- ed serious injury to the homeowner. It took almost two hours for the local fire fighters to extinguish the inferno which gutted most of the west side of the home. Mr. McInnis has no insurance but was able to return to the home later that evening. On a positive note, Chief Hamilton' reports that the number of fires in the area are down considerably this year as oppos- ed to previous years. Last year, the local department responded to 60 fire calls. This' year, they have been called to only 22 serious fires in all of the three townships they serve "We've received less than half the calls we normally get in a year," Hamilton told the Sentinel, "and let's hope it stays that way." Seeing -eye dog gives independance to the blind BY PATRK RAFTIS Before Josh came'into her life, Goderich resident Valerie Anderson, who lost her sight in an explosion at the age of seven, found herself trelying on help from others to get around,. "While reying on other people, I felt very dependent. I didn't like that feeling at all," Anderson said. Now, with assistance from Josh, "I'm able to go places by myself," she added. Josh is Anderson's new companion, an 80 -pound Yellow Labrador Retriever -- her Seeing -Eye Dog. Josh helps Anderson avoid such pitfalls as construction sites, open manholes, parked cars and normal traffic hazards. "He's even taken me around mud pud- dles, and I don't think they're really train- ed to do that," Anderson notes. CANINE VISION Anderson and Josh were brought together through the local Lions Club, who sponsored her entry into the Canine Vision Canada (CVC) program, run by The Lions Foundation of Canada. The non-profit CVC was founded by the Lions Foundation in 1983, as a national dog guide training school for visually -impaired Canadians. An old Public schoolhouse in Oakville was chosen for the site. Through the foundation's support, proceeds from the 1984 Walk-A-Dog-A-Thon and cor- porate and individual donations, CVC had a financial base from which to begin renovations to the old schoolhouse. On November 9, 1985, CVC officially opened and to date, has graduated more than 65 students from across Canada. Anderson is the first such student from Goderich. She applied, through the local Lions Club, to attend the school iitOctober, 1986 and was accepted the following March. She and Josh have been working together since last June, and Anderson has been pleased with the results. "I feel very fortunate to have him," she said. It takes anywhere from six months to a year, after the CVC training program, "to become a perfect ' working team," she notes. "We still have a few obstacles to overcome". DEVELOPMENT STAGE The CVC school is still in a development stage. It is designed to eventually train 120 teams per year. During the training stage, participants are provided, at no cost, with: transporta- tion from anywhere ` in Canada; team training with their dog, room and board. The actual cost of each dog guide team is approximately $6,000 per student, all of which is paid by CVC through donations and sponsorships. CVC commonly use three, ,;breeds for their dog guides: German Shepherds, Labrador Retrievers and Golden Retrievers. The majority of the puppies come from professional breeders. These eight to ten -week-old puppies are placed in foster homes for one-year "socializing period". CVC also receives adult dogs bet- ween one and two -years -old, that have spent their first years in a family environ- ment. Currently CVC has more than 100 puppies placed in foster homes across the country. Turn to page 3