HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1988-02-10, Page 5Lucknow Sentinel, Wednesday, February 10, 1988—Page 5
Don't leave a child open to assault.
Dear Editor:
"Don't talk to strangers" is a common
warning given to children by parents con-
cerned for the personal safety of their
children. Although well intended, the war-
ning ignores everything known about those
who commit sexual crimes against
children and, if anything; leaves the child
more vulnerable to exploitation.
The term "stranger" is confusing to a
child and misleads the child into believing
that he or she should only be cautious of
people who have an unusual or slovenly
appearance.
The truth, of course, is that it is impossi-
ble to know a child molester by ap-
pearance. They come from all walks of
life, many of them even in positions of
trust with children.
Research has also shown that over 80%
of all crimes against children are commit-
ted by someone known to the child, not by
someone the child would consider to be a
stranger.
Creating undue fear in the child's mind
of "strangers" then leaves the child open
to assault by someone the child knows and
trusts..
When speaking to children about per-
sonal safety it is more appropriate to teach
them how to respond to certain situations
rather than giving them a particular pro-
file or image of a "stranger."
Research has also shown that those who
prey upon innocent children use only a
limited number of lures to attract, their
prey. Children can easily be taught these
"lures" and how to respond should they be
approached.
Crimes against innocent children will
not be prevented by the use of games,
gadgets, gimmicks, fingerprint kits or fear,
generating literature that is becoming too
common on the market today. They can be
prevented through common sense educa-
tional programs in school and in home.
For free information on the prevention
of crimes against children or on how to
establish a preventive programin your
community please write to Victims of
Violence Canadian Centre for Missing
Children, Provincial Court House, Edmon-
ton, Alberta, T5J OR2.
Sincerely,
Shari Ure
Director, Education
Dear Editor,
During my campaign at the last provin-
cial election a letter was dropped off at my
home.
I was very moved by what this lady, who
had an abortion, had to say. Unable to see
her and hoping I had her approval, I read it
out to several hundred people at. two
meetings.
Her letter reinforced my belief that the
mental anguish and trauma an abortion
brings about iS far greater than even our
research reveals.
Peterson announced he would,spread an
additional 81.7 million over three years for
mental health because mental illness had
risen to the extent that now one in three
people have some sort of mental health
problem. It is fair to surmise that a
substantial number of those are the ones
who suffer from post abortion trauma.
Instead of prevention the liberal govern-
ment is accelerating the problem by mak-
ing abortions accessible, thus creating
more illness of the mind.
I cannot accept the fact that women with
deep feelings of motherhood could casual-
ly terminate a life without a feeling of loss
at least.
As a man I still feel the loss of two of ours
( and we still talk about it) by miscarriage,
and that is 30 years ago.
Many people who heard and read the ap-
peal of the young lady came to see me, full
of compassion and wondered how we could_
help.
I for one would like to be able to console
them and perhaps form a support group.
Her letter has already been a tremen-
dous help to a lot of us in and outside our
party. •
As courageous as her decision was to
write the letter, so much more could be
done if more people like her would come
forward with their testimony. So many
more lives could be saved, empty arms
filled and trauma spared.
The following is her letter:
Mr.. Keet,
I am writing about your stand. against
abortion and to tell you about the emo-
tional scars it leaves.
I know because I had one. It is the next
worst thing to this side of hell! Later, I've
had feelings of guilt, nightmares, and ex-
treme hatred, mostly at myself.
No matter how deeply buried these feel-
ings are, they will always surface.
Please continue to tell people about the
devastating effects of abortion.
It has only been by God's grace and love
that I am able to continue on with a healed
life. May God Bless You in Your Stand.
Anonymous.
Mr. Adrian Keet
Bruce County Candidate
Family Coalition Party
Barry, not Dave,
is the Reeve
of Kinloss
The Sentinel would like to bring to your
attention a couple notes of clarification
arising from the February 3 edition.
In a letter to the Editor from Mrs. Muriel
Coultes with regards to Sunday shopping,
it was mentioned that letters to Provincial
Members of Parliament do not require
postage stamps. In fact, such letters DO
require a stamp.
Also, in an news article on the visit of
Cabinet Minister Charles Mayer to
Holyrood last week, it was noted that Dave
Johnston is the Reeve of Kinloss.
Of course, it is Barry Johnston who is the
Reeve and, as farr as we know, he has not
been recently replaced.
The mistake arose by looking a a picture
of Barry Johnston and Dave Eadie and
typing Dave Johnston.
Our. apologies to both these gentlemen.
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