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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1989-04-19, Page 5THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19, 1989. PAGE 5. 10 years of helping Wing ham and Area Day Centre for the Homebound provides valuable service for area elderly BY BONNIE GROPP The Wingham and Area Day Centre for the Homebound is celebrating its tenth anniversary this week and to commemorate the occcasion will be holding an Open House on Thursday with guest speaker Dr. Anne Martin-Mat­ thews who is Director of Geren- tology Research at the University of Guelph. The Centre provides senior citi­ zens with social, educational and recreational programs thus enab­ ling them to live independently in their own home as an alternative to institutional care. Brussels resident, Mr. Alfred Knight has been going to the Centre for nine of its 10 years and says that it has been very good for him. He was referred by the Huron No job shortage for agribusiness grads A new breed of business experts is hitting the streets. Last spring, employers lined up to hire the 12 graduates of the first master of agriculture program off­ ered by the University of Guelph’s department of Agricultural econo­ mics and business, the only such program in Canada. The class of ‘89 has just graduated, and most are already employed. Prof. Larry Martin, department chair and one of Canada’s most respected agricultural economists, says his department polled dozens of employers before putting the program together. "They told us they needed people with good technical and management skills,” he says, "but of utmost importance was excellent in communication and interpersonal skills.” Training specific to agricultural business rather than typical business administration taught at other in­ stitutions was also a priority, for The scenic view During the Easter Weekend Sheron and John Stadelmann of Blyth walked the CP Rail line from Blyth to Goderich. After the experience Sheron wrote the following poem. RAILS TO TRAILS I walked down the old Blyth track On which the train used to clackity clack. The track it looked so bare to me 1 will miss that train, you see. The track it showed that the engineer cared That he missed the run from here to there And all the trees that lined the track Where he saw the coal so black. The train that used to whistle and blow In the morning through rain or snow Woke the cows that grazed near by. And all the trains have said goodbye. The rails to trails Is a great walk you know It is such a beautiful sight That you could walk from morn’ til night. - Sheron Stadelmann Easter Weekend family walk Blyth to Goderich 1989. County Health Nurse. Other refer­ rals to the Centre may come from family members, clergy, friends or self-referrals. The Centre was established many years ago that Huron County was known to have more residents over 65 years of age than the national average, many of whom lived alone with little or no access to transportation. As a result frequent trips were made to the doctor’s office or hospital with physical complaints that could be traced to "loneliness”. As'Mr. Knight points out, seniors need help to become motivated. The Rural Development Outreach Pro­ ject (RDOP) under the leadership of the University of Guelph’s planning department chose North Huron County to study the various both prospective students and the business community. So Martin’s department design­ ed a master’s program aimed at students with undergraduate train­ ing or practical experience in production agriculture. They built in all the desired elements - marketing, finance, accounting, operations management and mana­ gerial economics (using cases that apply to agricultural business); business communications and hu­ man resources management; and agricultural - specific courses on policy, farm management and taxa­ tion, and commodity and financial futures markets. The 16-month course includes three semesters of classroom study and one semester in a co-operative work program. Employers like the results. And they recognize the potential for supporting current employees who want to upgrade their skills. aspects of aging in a rural environ­ ment. ■ The RDOP survey indicated that there were at least 300 persons living alone in isolation due to physical infirmaties and lack of transportation. It was at this time that the Huron Day Centre for the Homebound in Clinton had opened its doors with the help of Anne Ste. John, a founding member of the Wingham Day Centre. The government was beginning to recognize that the number of senior citizens was going to in­ crease rapidly over the next several years. This would place stress on the available space in hospitals and nursing homes. Everyone agreed that the best and least expensive place for seniors to live was at home, with increased services in Specks on the map BY RAYMOND CANON Quick now! Without looking at your nearest atlas, how many of the following countries in Europe can you locate? The five are San Marino, Monaco, Liechtenstein, Andorra and the Vatican City and they are all ministates in a conti­ nent that has become accustomed to shifting its borders every so often. Not, it seems, with these five which believe firmly in the concept of small being beautiful. Let’s look at them in the order given above. To get to San Marino, you are going to have to travel to central Italy. The country likes to claim that it is the world’s oldest and smallest republic in that it was reportedly founded back in 301 A.D. You will really have no trouble finding it; the country, such as it is, is perched on the rock of Mt. Titano and plays host to no less than 3 million tourists a year. It does not count tourism as its only industry; factories there also turn out ce­ ment, leather and textile products and, because San Marino has a customs union with Italy, these products all have free access to the European Common Market. There are certain tax advantages for industries who locate there but all these will probably disappear by 1992. Given the number of tourists each year, the Sammarinese don’t need any tax advantages to attract people. The next country, Monaco, should be much better known, given that it was the home of the late Grace Kelly, the wife of Prince Ranier. However, apart from that, the country has been independent the community. Financial support became avail­ able through the Ministry of Com­ munity and Social Services for Home Support Programs such as Homemaking and Day Care for Homebound Seniors. The Wingham Armouries was selected as the home for the Day Centre with necessary alterations to the washrooms being made and a ramp built to make the building more accessible. The area served by the Day Centre is roughly that of the Wingham and District Hospital, five northern townships and towns of Huron County, and two southern townships and towns of Bruce County. In 1988 there was a total of 57 clients from Huron County and 29 from Bruce County. These were spread over the Centre’s three program days. According to Mr. Knight the drivers have picked up people in the Ethel area and the Cranbrook area in addition to Brussels. He said there was once a lady from Moncrief who attended the Centre. Transportation is provided by volunteer drivers who only receive reimbursement for their mileage. More recently the government of Ontario has increased funding to 70 per cent of the approved operating budget leaving the Board of Direc­ tors with more time to expand the programs. There is a total of approximately 50 volunteers who assist in the operation of the Centre. Several persons who require wheelchairs have attended the centre and it became necessary to purchase a van equipped with a lift for persons in wheelchairs, this van is also available to persons on a donation basis when it is not required by the Day Centre. for over 800 years and while it is generally believed that the chief source of revenue comes from the casino at Monte Carlo, this is assuredly not true. The latest figures I have show that only four per cent of the government’s revenue depends on the proclivities of gambling foreigners. Nothing certainly came from me; I won a fair amount the only time that I was there and 1 refuse to trust my luck any further. The biggest source is much more mundane, in the form of a VAT or value-added tax. It also serves as a tax haven for foreign­ ers, with the exception of French­ men who cannot escape French taxes in Monaco and one of the rules is that you have to live at least six months a year there. How many actually do is problematical. Moving right along, Liechten­ stein is also one of the better known. This is because of its attraction for those who want to set up a business in order to escape taxes elsewhere. The country has a population of some 27,000 but there are no less than between 25 and 50,000 businesses registered there. Banking secrecy is said to be more secure than in neighbouring Switzerland and, if you live there and want to buy groceries, you will cross the other border and get them in Austria. Vaduz, the capital, ranks on a par with Ulan Bator or Benghazi in my book of boring cities, that is, unless you are fascinated by postage stamps. The sale of this item is one of the leading industries in Liechtenstein. You will have trouble locating Andorra if you have never been engaged in the smuggling of goods across the French-Spanish border. It is located right in the middle of this border up in the Pyrenees and, since it has not really developed its facilities as a tax haven, most of Programs at the Centre vary with bus trips on occasion, trips to Blyth Festival Theatre or a water exercise program at the Vanastra Recrea­ tion Centre during the summer. Other activities include discussion, sing songs, exercise, crafts, guest speakers, entertainment, slide pre­ sentations, etc. Regular program days are Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Each client is contacted by phone to arrange their ride. A typical day at the Centre is: 10:00 - 11:00 - arrival, cup of tea or coffee and discussion 11:00 - 11:45 - Sing Song and exercise period 11:45 - 12:00 - Shuffleboard and cards 12:00 - 1:00 - lunch 1:00 - 1:30 - discussion, speaker or film 1:30 - 2:30 - craft period 2:30 - 3:00 - refreshments 3:00 - home For people like Mr. Knight the Centre has proven invaluable. Al­ ways an active man, Mr. Knight is finding it difficult to adjust to the fact that his arthritis is keeping him somewhat homebound. He is hoping that with the advent of the nice weather he will again be able to go for walks but for now he knows that at least two days a week he has something to look forward to. Seniors at the Wingham and Area Centre for the Homebound receive a nutritious hot meal in addition to companionship. Mr. Knight says that he has met a lot of interesting people. Also he enjoys the crafts and maintains that the Centre does so many things to keep seniors motivated and busy. Enquiries may be made at the Wingham and Area Day Centre for the Homebound, 273 Edward St., Wingham, Ontario. NOG 2W0 or by calling (519) 357-1445. those taking advantage of it are Spaniards who have yet to break into the big leagues. It does, however, play host to a few thousand tax exiles who can at least not complain about the scenery; it is even better than that of Liechten­ stein. Smuggling is right up there as a chief industry but the Andorr­ ans are not counting on that to see them through another century. Perhaps they can attract more tourists to come to look at the scenery and at the sumptuous homes of the tax exiles. Few, indeed, should be the readers who cannot locate the Vatican City but, for those who still find geography a bit of a drag, get out your map of Rome and you will find it in the eastern part of the city. Outside of the fact that it is the home of the Pope, what can I say? It has a population of only 800 but it does have a heliport and, of course, the Swiss Guard. It pro­ duces and exports little except what economists describe in the mysterious way of theirs as "invisi­ bles.” This would, I assume, include the Holy Ghost. Vatican City does count as a sort of tax haven because of its big bank, the Institute for Religious Works. Its reputation took some­ thing of a knock due to its connection with the Banco Am- brosiano and the latter’s enormous scandal. The Italians found out how powerful the Vatican was when they tried and failed to get the bank’s director, Paul Marcinkus, to testify at one of the hearings connected with this scandal. Keep this article and when you get tired of doing Rome, Paris, London and all the other metropoli, dig it out and take a trip just to see these five. Who knows what adven­ tures lie in wait for you!