HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1996-06-19, Page 1Special
`Citizen'
introduces page
for teens, by teens
See page 25
Entertainment
Actor's role
provides insight
into silent world
See page 27
700 5e GST 750 Wednesday, June 19, 1996 Vol. 12 No 25
Look what we found
Tara Martin, a student from Brussels Public School, proudly shows off a water creature
discovered during her search of a Maitland Valley tributary at the Wawanosh Nature Centre,
June 12. The Grade 2/3 class was playing Boots, Bubbles and Bugs Bingo with Nature
Centre employee Esther Buck as they tried to locate everything from crayfish to beetles and
plants to animal tracks.
Gala party opens Blyth season
Milestone
Lifelong resident
celebrates
100th birthday
- See page 6
Features
Men share tales
of planes and
automobiles
See page 7, 10
C
The North Huron
A MPP Johns says 1lizen workfare a start
fhe Blyth Festival will kick off
its 1996 season Friday, June 21
with a gala dinner, official opening
of its Art Gallery, a performance of
Barndance Live!, and a post-
performance reception. This year,
the Festival celebrates 22 years of
presenting new Canadian plays.
Festivities will get underway at
5 p.m. with the season opening of
the Bainton Gallery featuring the
floral-inspired work of award-
winning London artist Bonnie
Parkinson. Parkinson herself will
be on hand for the ceremonies.
The Blyth and District Conunun-
ity .Centre will be decorated in a
country and western theme for the
gala dinner to take place at
6:15 p.m. Special guest speaker at
this year's dinner will be
Christopher Newton, artistic
director of the Shaw Festival. •
After dinner, the Blyth Festival
Singers will perform in the Blyth
Memorial Community Hall
courtyard.
On stage a 8:30 p.m. is the
premiere of Barndance Live!, a
musical collective celebrating the
great touring radio show, The
CKNX Barn Dance, followed by a
post-performance reception in the
lower hall.
CKNX AM 920, sponsors of
Barndance Live!, will broadcast
live from Blyth Memorial
Community Hall courtyard during
Continued on page 27
Talks are ongoing across Huron
County to develop proposals for
participation in the Work for Wel-
fare program, says Huron MPP
Helen Johns.
There have been discussions with
social assistance agencies, the Min-
istry of Education and Training and
the Huron Addiction Assessment
and Referral Centre (HAARC), to
capitalize on their experience in
training people for new careers,
Johns said. Municipal office (staff)
have also been looking at the
opportunities.
Huron County was one of 20
centres chosen by the Ministry of
Community and Social Services to
take part in the pilot project which
Minister David Tsbouchi
announced recently.
Beginning in September, the pro-
gram, called Ontario Works, will
be phased in across the province.
"Those people receiving social
assistance who are able to work
will be required to participate in
community projects to earn their
welfare cheques," said Johns.
Noting the benefits to people on
One of the goals of all police
services is to protect life and
property.
Traffic collisions are perhaps the
major contributing factor to loss of
life, serious injury and damage to
property. To achieve their goal of
protecting life and property, police
have developed several provincial
initiatives with that aim in mind.
These initiatives' include the
Aggressive Driving Campaign,
which was introduced four years
ago and focuses on speeding,
following too closely, unsafe lane
changes, and disobeying traffic
controls and signs. The goal of the
campaign is to change drivers'
attitudes and hopefully reduce the
number of collisions and the
seriousness of collisions.
The slogan for this year's
campaign is "Aggressive Driving
Stops You Dead!" Aggressive
drivers create hazardous driving
conditions as a result of speeding,
following too closely, driving while
impaired, failing to yield the right-
of-way, making improper lane
changes, improper passing and
disobeying traffic signs and signals.
Any one of these actions can lead
to collisions involving serious
personal injury, fatalities and
property damage.
The statistics tell a tragic story:
on average someone in Ontario is
injured in a traffic crash every six
welfare such as acquiring skills,
self-confidence and contacts, Johns
also said participation in the pro-
gram will benefit the county.
"Huron County can make a real
difference in how the program is
set up. Rural counties have very
different needs (when involved in
the program), such as transporta-
tion and it is important Huron
makes a strong stand for those rural
aspects."
Johns suggests Ontario Works is
"not the solution to all the problems
of the welfare system, but it will be
a starting point, an important first
step in helping people break
through the cycle of dependency."
Workfare is also seen as a benefit
to the community, enabling im-
provements to be completed which
might not have otherwise occurred.
Johns said no paid jobs will be
lost due to work-for-welfare.
Seniors and people with disabili-
ties will be exempt from the pro-
gram, becoming involved on a
volunteer basis. Single parents will
be required to work, unless the
children are young.
minutes and someone is killed
every nine hours. The social costs
of collisions are estimated at $9
billion every year. The human costs
are incalculable.
The objectives of this year's
campaign are to raise awareness
about the nature of aggressive
driving behaviour and link that
behaviour with the enormous
emotional and social costs of
preventable collisions. The key
message of the campaign is that
road safety is an individual
responsibility and a growing
community concern across the
province. Drivers can make a
difference to reduce the number of
needless deaths and injuries on our
roads by slowing down and staying
in control when behind the wheel.
The Insurance Bureau of Canada
(IBC) is a sponsor of the 1996
Aggressive Driving Campaign and
is a long time advocate of road
safety promoting seat belt use, anti-
drinking and driving and
championing Graduated licensing
across Canada.
Ontario's police along with the
emergency and medical services
personnel are the frontline workers
on the accident scene. They see
first hand the pain, anguish and
damage that aggressive driving can
inflict. Where our job ends
however, the property and casualty
Continued on page 6
OPP launch
driving drive