Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1994-05-25, Page 1444-7 aE Huron • F xpoSltOrE.S.T. ) 416 RLMEMBRANCE Two local veterans recall D -Day, the'' largest seaborne invasion in the history of war. see page two. Briefly 11 Water testing information nights If you use well water your family depends upon its safety. Does your well water pass the test? Rural residents can attend one of three 'water testing informa- tion nights' in the area. The meetings are: •Hensall Arena, Monday, May 30, 7-9 p.m. • Brussels, Morris & Grey Com- munity Centre, Monday, June 6, 7-9 p.m. • Benmiller, Monday, June 13, Forester's Hall, 7-9 p.m. A public health inspector will provide information about the different types of water supplies, the tests which are available and how to test your supply. Free testing will be offered for bacteria, nitrates, fluoride, sodium and calcium. Anyone requiring information about the water testing informa- tion nights or water testing in general are invited to call the Huron County Health Unit at 482-3416 or 1-800-265-5184. Nursing student captures award A nursing graduate who did her consolidation at Seaforth Community Hospital captured the Student's Council Award at the Stratford Nursing Pinning Ceremony on May 14. Teresa Underhill, of Southampton, did her consolida- tion in Seaforth from Jan. 28 to April 28 of this year. She won her award for exceptional ability in bedside nursing and active involvement in student activities. There were many local mem- bers of the 1994 graduating class from Conestoga College - Stratford Health Sciences. Graduates included Bev Stevenson, of Walton; Tracy Talbot, of Varna; Jean Locking, of Brussels; Karen McCullough, of Clinton; Kerry Cox, of Clinton; Barb Bernard, of Clinton; Mike Jutte, of Mitchell; and Krista Pannabecker, of Goderich. Vanastra to slow down Vanastra residents may have to drive a little slower through some streets of the community. Tuckersmith Council passed a bylaw to make speed limits consistent throughout the built- up area of the township. The new policy would revert to the old Highway Traffic Act which sets the speed limits within Vanastra at 50 km/hour. Before the bylaw the speed was as high as 60 km/h on some streets. MILTON J. DIETZ LIMITED SEAFORTH 522-0608 • Pesticides & Custom Spraying • Spraying Equipment & Parts • Nutrite Premium Fertilizer • Ventilation & Livestock Equipment 1�l [6PURINA FEEDS _11 & PET FOODS HURON EXPOSITOR, WEDNESDAY MAY 25 1 HISTORY What do you know about Hay township history? A new book is in the works to tell you more... here's a sneak preview. see page three. Your Full Line Dealer FORD MERCURY Sales - Service - Selection HART FORD MERCURY USED CARS i.r• r 1 a►xlowootonwooto J 'The Friendly Dealer With The Big Heart' STORY -TIME - There was such beaatituut•weather on Friday that Seaforth librarian Trudy Broome held the children's story hour LOCAL HERO Barbara Alkemade continues to - impress as a ,competitive and endurance horse rider. see page five. No action on Harpurhey streetlights BY TIM CUMMING Expositor Editor The prospect of more street lights in Harpurhey may still depend on the submission of a two-thirds majority petition to Tuckersmith Township Council. Coun. Larry McGrath suggested on May 17 that council could move unilaterally to put the lights in un "The only way street lights will be in is if we say they're going in," he said. McGrath asked if the town- ship could carry a debenture for the work. The township's clerk -treasurer said a small debenture would be expensive and cautioned coundl against making commitments past its term of office. The township could put a few lights in at this time, he said. Councillors Rob McLeod and Bill DeJong said they wanted to see a petition to show that residents wanted the new service. Reeve Bill Carnochan said he DAVID scar[ r PHOTO would like to see lights in the com- '-buttide. There was a good turnout for the weekly event. Children - munity. "-" ' went inside after the story to make puppets for their weekly craft. In discussion, councillors said many Harpurhey residents might want the service but didn't want to pay the almost -$200 start-up cost all at once. Violent attitudes must change BY SHELLEY MCPHEE HAIST It's happening in the com- munities that we call home. It's happening in our schools. It's happening to our children. It's violence and sexual aggres- sion, and it's not just a large urban phenomena, says Dr. Fred Matthews. Dr. Matthews, a community psychologist from Toronto, has spent his career studying violence and sexual aggression, from the North West Territories to South America. In the last decade he has seen the patterns of violence move from large urban centres to small communities, from remote northern seulements to downtown Toronto. Dr. Matthews was in Clinton on May 18 to lead a workshop on Sexual Assault - A Community Issue. The seminar was sponsored by 'Stop Woman Abuse Now' (SWAN), and the Ontario Women's Directorate. It was held to bring educators, parents, teenagers, social workers, counsellors and community representatives together to talk about sexual violence in the local community, and particularly in the schools. "There's a lot of sexual assault going on in the schools and we're not talking about it," Dr. Mat- thews said. Statistics Canada reports that youth violence and the seriousness of offenses is increasing. There are more incidents involving knives, homemade weapons, more group sexual assaults and racial violence. "There are enough red flags to show that the seriousness has es- calated," Dr. Matthews said. BOY'S PLAY It begins in part with the mes- sage that young boys learn - the message about women, about sex, about what they can get away with. Dr. Matthews said that we must move beyond the "boys will be boys" explanation of youth actions. The typical sexual offender commits an average of 360 offen- ses in his lifetime. Often these offenses begin around the age of 10 or 11. Twenty-five per cent of the sexual offenders in Canada are teenagers. "We can't prosecute kids under the age of 12 even though a great deal of sexual offenses are hap- pening in schools. We minimize these kind of offenses. "They commit this violence because they think they can get away with it. "Boys under the age of 12 get a clear message about the accep- tability of sexual assault," Dr. Matthews said. It often begins with sexual harassment - teasing a girl about her looks, or snapping her bra strap. There's sexing, or rushing, where a group of boys will move in on a girl as a group and touch her body. Often these actions are called kids' play, Dr. Matthews said, and the pattern for violence continues. He asked the audience how they would like to go to work each day and face that kind of sexual harassment to have to pay somebody a dollar to use the bathroom, to hear comments about your body, to know that the per- son sitting next to you carries a knife? "As adults we'd go to our boss and want action, but kids are scared to talk, and they don't know who to go to," Dr. Mat- thews said. Tu,,,,_c,,,,ke,r,s„nlith telephone has new manager Th8 fie* Manager of the Tuckersmith Telephone Sys- tem, Alar Korgemets. BY DON JACKSON , The Tuckersmith— Municipal Telephone System has a new manager who has enough changes and challenges to deal with to keep him busy for quite a while. Alar Korgemets started at the Tuckersmith office on May 2, following a long and colorful career in telecommunications. He possesses a degree in en- gineering from University of Waterloo and a diploma in finan- cing and accounting, which he received in a New Zealand univer- sity. After working with Bell Canada and Rogers Cable TV in Calgary, Korgemets and his wife travelled to New Zealand, where he took a job in finance and sales for the elecbm company in New Zealand. He went on to work at a Christian radio network, where he 0 was in charge of promotions and human relations. The couple moved to Kitchener. Ontario, following their return from New Zealand and chanced to read the London Free Press, while visitin? friends in London. In the advertisements was a help wanted ad for the manager's position with Tuckersmith Telephone. "We called and there were a series of interviews and, in the end, they went with me," said Korgemets. Presently, there are many con- cerns and challenges facing in- dependently owned telephone companies, like TaFkersmi Tuckersmith Telephone created in 1909 and is owned the subscribers. Aside from the new negotladons that will have to be made for other long distance companies now that there is equal access, Korgemets said that a recent Supreme Court of Canada decision could also complicate his job. The court ruled that the federal Cana- dian Radio and Telecommunica- tions Commission (CRTC) has jurisdiction over independent telephone companies in the role of reator. HHee said that previously, 'The Ontario Telephone Services Com- mission were our regulators. Now that the CRTC's taken over, they could be redundant." The rapid advancements in the area of telecommunications are another faek% K.ofgemets has to consider. "My challenge isettin up to speed with the technology., While he doesn't think fibre optics will be coating to this area l be scrambnet ling when he ttbeeyy do He cited a survey of 850 students - only 30 per cent said that they feel safe in their school sometimes or never. Seventy per cent reported a moderate amount of violence, and 50 per cent of the offenses are not reported. At one time, Dr. Matthews said, educators often claimed that there was no violence in their schools, but now they're seeing the statis- tics and they are aware. "As adults we get preoccupied with paying the bills and looking after the administration and we lose our perception about the world of young kids," Dr. Mat- thews said. "Young kids' lives are being shaped and molded and we're not paying enough attention to it." It is a community issue, he says. It means that educators must be pro -active in addressing the problems, parents must take a role, police must be involved, victims must be heard, and offen- ses must be dealt with seriously. While many education systems, including the Huron County Board of Education, have introduced conflict resolution programs, Dr. Matthews said that these only address part of the problem. see Better, page three ••• When should Tuckersmith Town- ship give contracts for work when their own roads machines are in use? Coun. Larry McGrath startled that debate at the May 17 of Tuckersmith Township "In my opinion we're spending ratepayers' money foolishly," he said, referring to the removal of gravel and stone from an area prop- erty using an outside contractor. He said the township could have waited to do the work and use its own roads equipment. INDEX Entertainment... pages 13, 14. Sports...pages 7, 8. Lifestyle...page five. "Your community newspaper since 1 860...serving Seaforth, Dublin, Hensall, Walton, Brussels and surrounding communities." Steckle supports right to owng uns government needs to make sure prosecutors do not plea-bargain away long sentences in gun -related crimes and that the courts issue the toughest sentence possible under the law." Law-abiding citizens who own guns for recreational or sporting purposes are not a danger to society, stated Steckle. "We need to deter crime by other means. Criminals do not purchase guns through legitimate means; therefore, will not be affected by further gun control." Steckle said that under no circumstance does he advocate taking the law into one's own hands. "I encourage constituents to write to me on their views and concerns on gun control and I will forward your comments to the Honourable Allan Rock, Justice Minister," said Steckle. In an interview with The Globe and Mail newspaper Paul Steckle, Member of Parliament for Huron - Bruce, defended the ability of rural Ontario constituents to own guns. Steckle made it clear that as a Liberal Member of Parliament he would fight for those rights, and if need be vote against any new legislation. "We don't need more laws on guns; what we need is tough enforcement of the ones we have," said Steckle. Expending further on his comments Steckle said the laws and regulations already in place are sufficient to do the job. He was referring to Bill C-17 which he feels has gone far enough with respect to gun control. problem with the law today is that it is not being enforced against criminals by the justice system," continued Steckle, "the