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The Lucknow Sentinel, 1978-06-07, Page 4Page .4--Lucknow Sentinel, Wednesday, June 7, 1978 The Lucknow Sentinel LUCKNOW, ONTARIO "The Sepoy Town" On the Huron -Bruce Boundary Established 1873 - Published Wednesday Published by Signal -Star Publishing Ltd. i Robert G. Shrier - president and publishes I Sharon J. Dietz - editor Anthony N. Johnstonegeneral - advertisingmanager and ' i �C A Subscription rate, $10 per year in advance Senior Citizens rate, $8.00 per year in advance U.S.A. and Foreign, $14 per year in advance Business and Editorial Office Telephone 528-2822.6, Mailing Address P.O. Box 400, Lucknow NOG 2H0 Second class mail registration number - 0847 A Block Parent program in LucL..now The most obvious question when consider- ing the establishment of a Block Parent program in Lucknow is: Do we really need a program here? We are a community of only 1,000 people. We all know everybody in the community. The children on our streets are safe from harm because we do not have incidents of child molesting here. Such a program is only necessary in metropolitan areas where crime against children is more prevalent and nobody knows their neighbours. Danger From Outside The danger of a child being molested in Lucknow as he/she plays in our neighbour- hoods or walks to and from school, baseball practice, music lessons, the swimming pool or arena is not as remote as it may seem. The people who molest children will not ogivcree 0/ Vemor BY D. A. CAMPBELL In the beginning, my life in Redtrees was nurtured in a strange compost of soil and printers ink: I drew sustenance from the bosom of the ,earth and a few pitiful dollars- from the press - by the. grace of God and the advertisers. ,As the new editor of the "Grunt and Thunder", my head was in the clouds. In fantasy, I saw myself being welcomed as another Hemmingway, sprouting from the bottom of the literary heap. In fact, I was as popular as poison ivy in a nudist colony, expecting at any moment to be torn out by the roots and banished from the community forever. Had I stayed in Redtrees for a lifetime, to some, I would always have been a stranger, but not to Morag MacLeod. I was attracted to Morag at first sight. Her eyes reflected the beauty of her spirit, and when she spoke, her voice was tinged with a Gaelic accent, like an echo from the Highland hills. As often as I could, I escaped from cold reality and warmed myself . in the fading sunset of her life. I love her - she was , eighty-five! On the MacLeod property, the old log cabin was in a state of excellent preservation. The interior still contained some of the original furnishings and was as clean as the day it was inhabited. Morag lived in the newer frame house but the "auld hame" still sheltered the treasured memories of yesteryear - the joys, hopes, fears, and the dreams which nevdr came true. "Built we my father's own hands," she would tell me, time and time again. "They'll no neglect it - no as long as I live!" It was a stout building with a large stone fireplace and a loft which had served as sleeping quarters. There was a rough plank table, some bench type seats and an old rocking chair - Morag's special favourite. Upon a wall, a faded print of "Bonnie Prince Charlie" shared a place of honour with an embroidered message in Gaelic which I never did translate. Sometimes, in a moment of reverence, she would ask me to carry logs to the cabin and I would start a fire in the hearth. Whilst the fire crackled and spluttered, she would rock in her 'chair and take me back across the years to an bra I had never known. • As long as she spoke, I listened in silence. Time .had no meaning, and often her musical voice continued until the fire was just a smouldering ember and all that was left of the day was a golden streak in the west. I would light the oil lamp and toss a few more pieces of wood on the fire. There would be a soft warm glow in the cabin and it seemed that there was nobody left in the world except Morag and me. Morag told me why the Scots had chosen to settle at Redtrees. They were attracted to the rolling hills because they resembled the terrain of their native land. But why was it. called Redtrees? The clansmen from Skye had argued about the name for some time. Portree, Duhvegan and Kyleakin were some of the names naturally suggested but nobody could agree. It was whilst they were building the first church that the name of the settlement was decided. Ian MacDonald., the minister, had been working with them, felling trees with the same dexterity as his flock. Looking up at the red maple leaves, he found the -title for the new home in the restless tree tops, and cried out in aloud voice. "We should look nay mare for a name. Can ye no see it written by the hand of Almight God? This place is Redtrees!" From such stories of the old people, historical documents and my own experience, I usurped my own acres from the proud human endeavour that once was Redtrees, - acres of memory! "They'll take me from this cabin, when it's time to go," Morag would tell me. She would clutch my arm with a knarled hand and her blue eyes would search my face for approval. "An' they'll play a lament. I'll away as I came a true MacLeod!" It was a damp fall day when Morag left the cabin and me for the last time. A fine mist hung over the rolling land, clung to the rail fences and dripped from leaves. Itmay have been the mist which clouded my eyes. The neighbours stood bareheaded in groups and whispered to each other. I had walked over to the MacLeod place with Angus, but now I stood alone on the hillside, looking down on the old homestead. Somewhere in the mist, a piper filled his bag, and experienced fingers flittered across the chanter. I knew the tune well - "The Skye Boat Song". It was not a lament but yet it was more appropriate for Morag. Here, I told myself, were people of my own blood, clinging to traditions too precious to relinquish, and as long as Morag occupied a small corner of my heart, I would never feellike a stranger again! operate in their own community where they may be recognized. We. live in a highly mobile society and these people will drive 40 or 60 miles to an area where they are strangers and where there is no program to protect the children of the community. Strathroy is a town similar to size .in Goderich. It did not have the problems that exist in London because it is not a city.When the London Block Parent prram was established, however, the number of incidents of child molesting rose drastically in Strathroy while the number of incidents dropped dramatically in London. Child molesters will drive to an area that is unprotected. And as Margaret McGee, chairman of the Ontario Block Parent Advisory committee says, they will drive from the urban areas which are protected to little villages like Lucknow where people think they do not need a program, because it cannot happen here. It is a danger that comes into the community from outside or is passing through that makes it necessary for Lucknow to protect its children. Concern Several concerned parents attended the public meeting last week because their children have been involved in incidents or because they have heard about incidents in nearby Kincardine or Wingham. These parents are reluctant to talk about what has happened ' because it involves children and we want to keep crime involving children quiet. It is false, however, to assume that incidents of crime against children do not happen in Lucknow. There are other reasons for establishing a program in Lucknow. Weather conditions in the winter can be very severe in our part of the country and it is comforting to know that there would be several people on each street who would be on the look out, to make sure that any _children who must walk home during a storm, are able to make it without becoming lost or overcome by cold. Many mothers in our community work and they cannot be at the school to drive their children home on `a stormy day. The child • must walk to the home of a babysitter. It is a comfort to a working mother to know that her child can find help along the way should he/she need it. Earlier this spring there were several reported incidents of rabid foxes in the northern section of the village. A child who is being chased by such an animal could not outrun the attacker all the way home across the village, but, he/she could stand a chance of running to the home of a Block Parent on that very street for help. Comfort The Block Parent is a person who will give help and protection to a child who is lost, frightened, hurttor, in trouble. A Block Parent is anyone who is interested in the welfare of children 'and who has been screened by the local, police. This is why senior citizens are good Block Parents. They enjoy children. They are home much of the day and they can participate in the community in a means fuI way. A program established In a communit has a way of bringing the members o the community closer together as they ail a sume responsibility for the children q the neighbourhoods around .the town, ven if they are not parents themselves. This community responsibility is something lost in even a small community as our nuclear society makes each - family . unit less dependent on . each other and on other members of the community. A Block Parent program builds community spirit. it is a comfort, to parents .to know their children can receive help from a kind stranger if their children were ever in trouble. It is a comfort to the children to know they can get help from two or three homes on every street in town. It isa warning to those who operate crime against children that our community cares. We are protecting our children - Stay out!