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Home My WebLink AboutThe Citizen, 2000-09-27, Page 26PAGE 26. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2000. Untrained babysitters put children at risk child safety. In spite of this concern, 59 per cent of parents with children under five and 60 per cent of those Recent findings from the DirectProtect Personal Safety Index reveal that 65 per cent of Canadians Shaking things up There is a lively new spin on the Brussels Fall Fair when viewed from the Scrambler. Young and old line up for the fast-paced fun at the midway each year. Babysitting Tips for Parents Before leaving the babysitter alone with the children, ensure he or she is familiar with your home, your expectations, and all emergency procedures. Below is a set of guidelines to follow: • Show the babysitter where the first aid kit and fire extinguisher are located. • Make sure the babysitter knows how to use the fire extinguisher. • Explain your family’s fire escape procedure. • Give the babysitter all emergency phone numbers, and indicate the appropriate times to use them. • Explain how to reach you while you are out, and who to contact if they cannot reach you. • Explain important medical information to the babysitter, such as aller gies to medications. • Review the address and phone number of the home. • Walk the babysitter through your home, explaining what areas are dangerous and therefore off-limits to the children. • Review how appliances work if they are going to be used. • Explain bath and bedtime procedures, as well as other relevant house rules. • Remind the babysitter that he or she must be present while young-chil dren are being bathed. • Tell the babysitter what time you can be expected home, and that you will call if that time changes. Poverty a reality for 1 in 10 Huron families Eye-opening figures released Sept. 7 by the County of Huron’s Pathways to Self-Sufficiency pro gram show that more and more peo ple are finding it hard to raise a fam ily on today’s wages, making com munity supports even more impor tant. Having a job doesn’t mean local families are safe from poverty. According to the data released in the report, while many individuals and families in Huron County work Food poisoning linked to cider Outbreaks of food poisoning are increasingly linked to a wider variety of products. No longer the domain of undercooked meat and seafood, or mayo salads left too long on the buf fet, people are learning that there are other potential sources of harmful bacteria. Unpasteurized apple cider, apple juice and orange juice are products we now know have a chance of being contaminated by harmful bacteria, including E.coli O157.H7 and Salmonella. “The probability of getting food poisoning as a result of consuming unpasteurized juice or cider is low,” said Helen Couture, acting chief of the Evaluation Division, Bureau of Microbial Hazards, Health Canada. “But although the incident rate is low, the potential health conse quences are extremely high, espe cially for high risk groups which include young children, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems.” Most juices and ciders sold in Canada are pasteurized, meaning they have been heated at high tem peratures for a defined period of time or undergone an equivalent process. These products are safe to drink because if harmful bacteria had con taminated the product, they would have been killed by the pasteuriza tion process. Health Canada has developed a policy on unpasteurized juice and cider, encouraging producers to fol low a Code of Practice using hygien ic methods of processing and to label their products as unpasteurized. The full-time, they still have a difficult time making ends meet. Single parent families are espe cially hard hit. Consider a single mother with an 11 -year-old son, who works full-time as a cashier, earning minimum wage ($l,022/month after taxes). A two-bedroom apartment in Huron County costs $749.60/month for rent and utilities. The family does not have a car. They do not have a telephone. They do not have cable television. policy also includes a consumer edu cation campaign about the risks of unpasteurized juice and cider. Research Institutions in Canada and the U.S. are continuing to review how juices and cider become con taminated with bacteria and are developing procedures to ensure product safety. Unpasteurized juice and cider are commonly sold at roadside stands, country fairs, juice bars, sometimes in refrigerated grocery store display cases and on ice in the produce department. Although most people can drink these beverages without risk of serious harm, people in vul nerable groups are advised to drink pasteurized juice and cider or bring unpasteurized juice and cider to a boil before consuming it. For more information visit Health Canada’s web site at wwww.hc- sc.gc.ca/food-ailment or contact your local public health unit. & ‘Doe for Steve “Stnetd" Kolkman & Vicki Williams Saturday, September 30, 2000 Blyth Arena Music by D.J. • Dancing 9-1 Tickets: $5.00 per person Age of Majority Required Lunch Provided all of the babysitters they use have taken a babysitting course. “These findings are a serious con cern because they indicate children could be put at risk,” said Paul Moran, DirectProtect safety spokesperson. “Adolescents often earn extra money by babysitting; yet without the proper training to deal with problems that may arise, injury and even death may occur since To feed themselves properly, they need at least $214.92 a month, or $53.73 per week for groceries. This does not include personal and house hold items such as soap, laundry detergent and toothpaste. After paying for their food and liv ing arrangements, the family has only $57.48 left. This leaves little room for things that many of us take for granted, such as toilet paper, shampoo, band-aids, and other items, hair cuts, transportation, babysitters, children’s activities, such as hockey and school field trips, birthday and Christmas pres ents. Even two incomes are not always enough. The Pathways report highlighted that even when two parents are working and earning low wages they often struggle with paying the bills. For Tim, Janet and their two children only $296.75 remains after paying for their food and rent. Again, this must stretch for the family’s trans portation, clothing, child care, per sonal and household items, and even a telephone. The report says that for these fam ilies, putting money aside for emer gency savings is often impossible. When an unexpected situation arises, the family is often faced with serious problems that could lead to job loss, BUCK iDOE for ,J j Cheryl Stephenson ; 7 & j )' Rein (Harv) VandenHeuvel \ September 30, 2000 9 ~ 1 a.m. J Seaforth Arena Music by D.J. \ Lunch Provided For tix or busing info ? > call Rob 887-9852 1 Angie 522-2026 emergencies can happen at any time.” Parents can limit the risk of unsafe care by insisting all babysitters they hire complete a babysitting course that teaches proper childcare and basic first aid. Courses are offered by a variety of credible sources, includ ing Canadian Red Cross, Canada Safety Council, St. John Ambulance Canada, school boards, childcare serious health problems, or even forced homelessness. These are the realities of daily life for more than one in 10 families in Huron County, the report says. According to Kelly McManus, co ordinator for the Pathways to Self- Sufficiency program, “while poverty isn’t always visible in Huron County like it is in large cities, our neigh bours and friends - even our family members - struggle with these issues every day.” Want to make a difference for local families and their children? The Pathways report shows that it is becoming harder for many fami lies across Huron County to make ends meet on their own. We are all responsible for supporting local fam ilies and children by building a sup portive and healthy community for everyone. Through its new Pathways to Self- Sufficiency program, the County of Huron is committed to working with other community partners to ensure that ail families across Huron County are able to make ends meet. Get involved! In the weeks to come, look for ways that we can all work together to support families in Huron County. For more information call 482-3416. ftappif (LnitiiivuMij, OPEN RECEPTION Clinton Legion on Sept 30th, 8:30 - 1 p.m. Best Wishes Only centers, city recreation departments, community safety councils, student employment centers and community lighthouse programs. “Excellent babysitting courses are available,” said Moran. “As part of DirectProtect’s commitment to gen erating safety awareness among Canadians, we urge parents to hire only those babysitters with the appropriate training.” The DirectProtect continuing safe ty education campaign is based on 2,110 telephone interviews conduct ed among a random sample of adult Canadians during 2000. A sample of this size produces national results that can be considered accurate to within 2.2 percentage points or bet ter, 95 per cent of the time. COM PAS Inc., an independent, Canadian public opinion/market survey research firm, conducted the research. g g g g g g g g g g g Jtappy- 9CtH fBbttHday- The family of Jim Mair invites you to a come & go luncheon Sunday, Oct. 1, 2000 1:00 to 3:30 p.m. 3 9 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3Huronlea, Brussels ZSeaf wishes only, please g Krista Van Soest and Mike McNichol are to be wed September 30, 2000 at an intimate family gathering and would like you to take this as an invitation to their open reception to be held at the B.M.G. Community Centre in Brussels at 8:00 p.m. Please dress casually. floppy 40li!SMlday Julie (Campbell) Stratton on Sept 27th Love, Steve, Mom, Laurie, Debbie & boys