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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 1999-07-07, Page 44—TMti HURON EXPOSITOR, July 7, 1909 Your Community Newspaper Since 1860 Terri -Lynn Hart - Publisher Scots Hilgendorff • Editor Susan Hundertmark - Reporter %Bowes Publishers Limited Larry Dalrymple - Sales Pot Armes - Office Manager Dianne McGrath - Subscriptions/Classifieds s.rd,..t d S. Mob. G7.ie.. - A Quarts, C..$.y E-mail us at SeaforthObowesnet.com SUBSCRIPTION RATES LOCAL - 32.50 o year, in odvonce, plus 2.28 G S T ,SENIORS - 30.00 o year, in odvonce, plus 2 10 G S T USA & Foreign 28.44 o year in advance, plus 178 00 postage, G.5 T. exempt UBSCRIPTION RATES Published weekly by Signal -Star Publishing at 100 Main 5t , 5eo1orth. Publication moil registration No 0696 held at Seaforth, Ontario. Advertising is accepted on condition that in the went of a typographical error, the advertising space occupied by the erroneous.item, together with o reasonable allowance fpr signature, will not be charged, but the balance of the odvertisement will be pod for of the applicable rate. In the went of o typographical error, advertising goods or services at o wrong price, goods or services may not be sold. Advertising is merely an Mee to soli and may be withdrawn at any time The Huron Expositor is not responsible for the loss or damoge of unsolicited manuscripts, photos or other materials used for reproduction purposes Chonges of address, orders for subscriptions and undeliv- erable copies ore to be sent ta The Huron Expositor Wednesday, July 7, 1999 lditerlel ..d 6.sl.su Offices - 100 Mel. ihwl.,fe.ferfh T.I.Misewe (519) 327.0240 less (319) 527.2056 M.11ie6 Address - P.O. he 69, heferlb, Otsterie, NOK 1 WO Member of the Canodion Community Newspaper 41' Association, Ontario Community Newspapers Association Publication Mail Registration No. 07605 • Editorial Museum sign of what's yet to come The Seaforth and Area Museum Committee needs to be congratulated on a job well done. While it may have taken a few years for the idea to grow, the museum blossomed in the past year as approvals, grants and support from the community came together at the same time the Frank Silts family donated a huge collection of artifacts. Those artifacts have become the foundation for the museum ranging from musical instruments to postcards, all depicting some aspect of more than 100 years of the town's history. While the museum lets people take a look backward, it's a huge step forward for the town as many plans begin to unfold to improve and revitalize the downtown and whole community. Much hard work went into getting the opening ready and organizers were thrilled to see about 200 people come for the official opening and ribbon cutting. There wasn'tenough room for everyone in the council chambers where organizers had expected to find plenty of space. It's a good sign there is community support for the museum and with the town and community preparing for a Trillium Foundation grant application, there could be even 'more financial support to help the blossoming museum grow and develop into a solid tourist attraction for the community. Coupled with other improvements such as the planned murals on area buildings, the town's first bed and breakfast now open and plenty more ideas beginning to circulate and grow, there could soon be many reasons for visitors to stop and stay in Seaforth. STH - B Opinion letter Rent hike at Adult Day Centre receives strong obiection To the Editor: I strongly object to the extremely high hike in the rent that Huron Adult Day Centre (Jacob Memorial Building) must now pay. The Huron County Administration should never have increased the rent five times the original $17,000 / year to $85,000/year (only Scrooge would have tried to pull this off!) The former Huron County Administration Board was quite satisfied with the Adult Day Centre paying the $17,000/year in rent. Why the sudden change of heart, with a new administration? Increasing one's rent five times the original is both unfair and cruel. In the long run it will ultimately affect the users with Alzheimers and the frail, elderly, as well as the physically and mentally challenged clients who are- in dire need of the programs offered at the Day Centre. These elderly Huron County residents who worked their "fingers to the bone" so that their children and their children's children could live in a better county should not be penalized in this way. The Day Centre which is funded by the Huron United Way and through charitable fundraising, is operating well within its budget. Where is the extra $65,000 for the rent to come from? The Day Centre programs are affordable to the average senior living on a fixed income, to increase the fees would only see a large number of these clients drop out of the program and become homebound which in turn would lead to acute depression and eventually institutionalization. I have been providing foot care to the clients of the Day Centre since 1997 and I truly enjoy working there. My observations of the staff are that they are kind, caring and go out of their way to make sure that each client's physical, emotional and social needs are met. One client in particular was extremely shy 'and retiring when she entered the program, now you would not know that this was the same person since the staff took time to draw this person out of her shell. Yes the program is extremely- beneficial xtremelybeneficial and, at this point. affordable. Perhaps the Huron County administration wants the Day Centre to relocate, hence the grossly unfair rent hike. If they do want the Day Centre to relocate why did they try so hard in the first place to keep the Day Centre in. the old Huronview building when they (the county) were demolishing the building? • Please persuade the Huron County administration board to reconsider not raising the rent for the Huron Adult Day Centre. Margaret Lee Seaforth Copies of this letter were sent to the following: Carol Mitchell (County Warden). Lin Steffler. (committee member representing Seatorth ). Helen Johns MPP. Earth Friendly Gardens program continues through the summer The Ministry of Health has announced that the Earth Friendly Gardens program has received -a grant of $2,500 to celebrate the International Year of the Older Person. The money will be used to recruit, train and assist seniors and retired persons who volunteer to go into the schools with lesson plans and ideas to share with the students. The goal of Earth Friendly Gardens is to create an organic vegetable garden in each elementary school in Huron and Perth County by the spring of 2001. Lori Stanley of Children's children maintaining the their participation. Aid of Huron, the project's vegetables. In the fall. the Huron lead agency, says "These Lynda Rotteau„project . County Food Advisors gardens are not possible coordinator is pleased attend the schools to instruct without the assistance of another partner has been the students in processing_ volunteers who attend the added to the list to ensure and preserving methods to schools on a weekly basis that all children in the area extend the harvest. from January to June". have the chance to learn Last year the participating During the 98/99 school how to grow food and the pilot schools consumed their year. 20 gardens were .importance of vegetables in produce by making created .with another 47 a healthy diet. re -getable soup for the planned during the next two The gardens are cared for 'whole school, served years. in the summer months by watermelon at lunch and The volunteers participate volunteer families, who take took home tomatoes for the in training sessions and co- one week -each, to water and families' supper. ordinate activities with weed the. gardens. While "We look forward to a participating children, their most vegetables planted are bumper crop again this families and teachers. When geared to a fall harvest, any year." says Rotteau. the gardens are planted the ripe produce is offered to volunteers work with the the helpers as a reward for Foster Parents' need for support is ongoing Canadians are no strangers to the plight of the homeless. More than ever, homeless men, women, children and families find themselves without shelter in a harsh and unforgiving environment. Sadly. homelessness is even more common in other parts of the world.. In the slums of Kenya, in East Africa, young children, often orphaned or abandoned. live on the street, surrounded by poverty, danger and abuse. Joseph. a nine-year-old boy from Embu. Kenya, was one such child. Each day, he would beg and perform somersaults and other tricks on the street to earn money for his family, despite the abuse he often suffered at home. Joseph was found on the street and brought to St. Stephen's Children's Home which is supported by Foster Parents Plan of Canada. And that is where his new life began. "For Joseph,St. Stephen's was the first safe place he had known,” says Carol Wilding, National Director, Foster Parents Plan. "It's a place where street children have their basic Beds met, and where they can become tart of a loving family. The children harvest and prepare their food, attend school and learn valuable life skills to help them become self-sufficient and stay off the streets." With the help of St. Stephen's, Joseph has learned to read and write, and with his new skills and self-confidence, he recently recited a poem he wrote about street children at a United Nations conference: When you talk When you talk about, When you discuss about. Did you consult me? Shelter no. Clean water no, Food no, Sanitation no, Did you consult me? Let's reason together, Let's work together. Let's think together. Let's live together. Providing street children with food, clothing and education are among the many activities supported by Foster Parents Plan in Kenya and 40 other developing countries around the world. To fulfill its mission of achieving lasting improvements in the quality of life of deprived children in developing countries. Foster -Parents Plan provides support' and relief programs in health care. housing and economic development. Canadians play a leading role in supporting Foster Parents Plan activities. sponsoring almost 100.000 of the more than 1.1 million children aided by the international' organization. Through projects like St. Stephen's Children's Home. literacy centres. skills training programs. ",ell'and bridge construction and health climes. the number of people Who benefit indirectl from Canadian support is estimated at 11 million. But the need for support continues. Therc arc many store children like Joseph who need help in lea%ing thelonely life of a street child behind them for good. ' If you would like to become a Foster Parent or find out more about Foster Parents Plan and its programs. please call 1-800-387-1418 or visit the website at www.fosterparentsplan.ca. eginning each day in prayer can help us face the day's challenesg eye. stomach. spleen and liver problems. No matter how busy we are, we must never become too busy to pray. It is our prayer life that gives lasting meaning to everything else we' undertake. Often in the Gospels we can read of Jesus going to the temple. Luke's Gospel tells us that Jesus "went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was His custom." The four words "As was His custom" are striking words and they occur twice in Luke's Gospel. The other one comes near the end of Jesus' life, when He "went, as was His custom, to the Mount of Olives." Both times the custom had to do with prayer. Instinctively and habitually Jesus prayed, not only when He was alone, but also in public worship with Many people revere St. Francis -of Assisi, the 13th century saint known for his very 'simple lifestyle and deep love of the poor. He founded the Franciscan order, restored numerous dilapidated Italian chapels and helped countless needy people. What most people don't know, however, is that Francis spent most of his life not in doing good works, but in prayer. St. Bonaventure wrote about him, "Whether walking or sitting, within doors or without, at toil or at leisure, he was so absprbed in prayer that he seemed to have devoted not only his whole heart and body, .but also his whole heart and time." Francis regularly set aside hours throughout the day which he called "appointments with God", and he never missed one, even though he had serious Ministerial study By Rev. R. Hiscox St. Thomas' Anglican Church God's people. To put this in modern terms, Jesus made a practice of going to church. Why did Jesus do this? Well perhaps' He recognized that there were associations of time and place which made the approach of God more sure. Many in our society claim that they do not need to go to church because God can be worshiped anywhere. Why can't He be found just as much under the open skies, on the hills, in, the fields, in one's living room? Why can't He be found where people are working or playing, as well as when they are going to church? Well, theoretically, He can be. Jesus, of all people, knew in shining reality that God is everywhere. Jesus did find God in the beauty of the Galilean lilies and under the silence of the stars. But He knew God in those places because He knew Him from the place where He had been going `ince He was a little boy. Jesus knew God from the house of worship consecrated to His presence, He knew Him from the synagogue. Also, the synagogue symbolized fellowship, and it is in fellowship that the fire of the spirit can be kindled best. When a soul is in isolation, the fire may die, as the fire dies out in a coal that is removed from the fire and set off by itself. Just as coals; each partially glowing. turn into a flame when brought together; so do the souls of all of God's children when they are brought together in worship attain the glowing heat of the Spirit which one by one they might have lost in. isolation. The actions of Jesus Himself, readily support going to worship and praying with others. There was always more that Jesus could have been doing. There was always more people that needed to be healed, comforted, instructed, etc. There was always more work to be done. But Jesus put alt things on hold so that He could spend time in prayer and in worship of His Heavenly Father. It was through such times of prayer and worship that Jesus could meet all of His daily challenges in a confident and faithful way. How is your prayer life! Where does worship fit in? It's amazing how we can shuffle God off to the periphery of our daily lives as we get caught up in the more "urgent" matters. Beginning each day in prayer can give us the strength we necd to meet the challenges that each day brings. I'll always remember reading a plaque on a wall which stated: "Life is fragile, handle with Prayer". How true!