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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2004-01-21, Page 2?A� linos Ouf. SNOWMOBILES ACCESSORIES SALES & SERVICE 1 POOLS & SPORTS 234 Main St., Seaforth L 527-0104 J Your ARCM' or Sledquarters Snowmobiles & ATVs Sales & Service Parts & Accessories ARC►rcur What SnowmobNk g's An About.'v PERTH COUNTY LINE 44 LBNOWMOBILE COUNTRY_A r •YAMAHA maxaNor 1 FOR ALL YOUR SNOWMOBILE NEEDS! X598 Lorne Ave. E., Stratford 271 -01 153 2–THS HURON 'EXPOSITOR, Jan. 21, 2004 When It Comes To Protecting Your Assets.... ibm to the Professionals at GRAY INSURANCE BROKERS INC. Asn, a R Specializing in • Farm — Commercial — Auto — Property ' 5 MAIN STREET, SOUTH SEAFORTH, ON (519)627-2500 Opus Monday to Frtdsy 6430 am. - 5:00 µm. - OR by sopoM msn( b flooded •:'�:.•. "Want REE oil chang Join the TMP Oil Cange Club! Buy 3 oil changes and you'll get the 4th oil change Free! With each service 011 Change Club Members also receive... FREE 25 Point Inspection FREE Exterior Wash FREE Interior Vacuum Nsir OIL CHANGE CLUB Pv1EP.1BERS OIL CHANGE $24 95* Includes chassis lube, oil replacement with up to 5 litres of Quaker State 10W30 premium motor oil, oil filter replacement. *For most domestic cars and light trucks (excludes diesel engines) UMITED TIME OFFER News Alzheimer Society willing to begin new support group in Seaforth From Page 1 remember who lived here," she says. •Next, Doreen began describing people standing outside her window who weren't there and complaining that the clock didn't. keep time. When Pam checked the clock, it was working but her mother could no longer read the numbers. Then, even though Doreen had been an avid knitter all her life, she asked for new glasses because she couldn't read the pattern. However, Doreen's eyes were fine - because of the Alzheimer's,-afe'd forgotten how to cast on stitches and knit. "I couldn't believe it was happening to her," says Pam. "I got frustrated at times with the one-sided conversations but I'd feel guily if I didn't go to visit. She looked after me as a child and it was pay -up time." As the disease continued, Doreen had other losses, including the ability to button her clothes, tie her shoes and feed herself. "It even became too hard to take her for a drive in the car because she seemed to forget how to bend down and get into the car," remembers Pam. The most difficult day came when Doreen looked at her daughter and couldn't recognize her. "She would look at me and say, 'Who are you? Go away.' She called me her mother, her sister and even introduced me as her husband once." Pam says caring for someone with Alzheimer disease is very stressful, especially because the patient's body continues to live on long after the disease has robbed her of her mind and personality. "I wanted to scream sometimes because I would wonder if I could visit my mother one more time. On bad days, I'd wonder how much longer could this go on. But, it's okay to be angry - it doesn't mean you don't love your family member with Alzheimer's," she says. Once, Pam took her mother to the bathroom mirror and asked her to tell her who she saw. But, Doreen could not even recognize herself. LOWER MONTHLY PAYMENTS 1st & 2nd Mortgages $25,000. - $190.80/mth $50,000. - $381.61/mth $100,000. - $763.21/mth Call 1-866667-5643 Far -Mor Mortgage Funding Mortgages Bought, Sold A NEW APPROACH TO TRAIL SIGNS by Craig Nicholson (4)2003 by Craig Nicholson. All rights reserved.) If it comes to a choice between a groomed trail and good signagc, Fd choose signs. Think about it. Would you rather ride a humpy trail to a known destination, or a smooth one to nowhere — if you don't run out of gas first. But signs are a two-edged sword and their placement can come back to haunt us. All riders must clearly understand that thc presence of signs is a convenience grovided to those who arc snowmobiling safely and prudently, but cannot b 'taken to mean that any part of the signs. trail or other infras- tructure is up to highway standards. If it were. it would he a road, not a trail. So remember that snowmobiling is an off-road experience in which each rider engages at his or her own risk, signs or no signs. Some snowmobilers, whose own actions have got them into trouble, arc suing snowmobile associations based on an unfair expectation of highway standards. So some organizations, including the Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs, arc changing their signing protocols. This transfom►a- tion is premised on a series of basic assumptions about the responsibilities and obligations of operating a snowmobile that all riders should know before riding,. They arc also based on signing to support what is legal in that jurisdiction. So for instance, if thc approved speed limit is 50 km, then all trail signage would assume that each rider is obeying that law, and a corner would be marked for safe passage at that speed, not more. The new protocols also mean new signs for trails, ones that do not dupli- cate official highway signs. This change is intended to send a clear reminder to snowmobilers that trail signs are different, because this off- road experience is not intended to replicate driving on a road or its highly designed and maintained infrastructure. Nor is a snowmobile trail intended to be driven the same way one would operate a car on a highway. In the unpredictable, uncontrollable natural setting where snowmobile trails occur, that would be foolish and dangerous. One good example is the replacement of highway -style chevron signs at trail comers with a "SLOW" sign prior to the bend, followed by a simple arrow indicating the direction of the upcoming tum. In this way, snowmo- bilers know that there is an alteration in the trail ahead that requires them to take preparatory action, and which direction they should slow to be pre- pared to tum. No familiar highway sign lulls them into thinking that the turn ahead is an engineered, measured, graded and uniform corner. For snowmobilers, this change means less signage confusion. If a sign hu a red background, regardless of its specific message, that means the preparatory action should involve stopping. If a sign has a yellow back- ground, it means that the rider should prepare to accommodate a variation in the trail ahead. A sign with any other colour background is strictly infor- mational, relating to destinations, services or items of interest. The bottom line of this alternative approach to trail signing is that the onus for safe riding is on the snowmobiler whose thumb is on the throttle, not on anyone else. Snowmobilers use the trails at their own risk and, dur- ' ing each minute of riding, make the personal choices that will determine their own safe survival. No one else can or should takc that responsibility. No rider should expect to transfer that responsibility to a third party. So when as this new signagc protocol is adopted, snowmobilers have to decide whether they want to ride within the safety envelop defined by Ontario's snowmobile laws and supported by OFSC trail signs, or not. If not, then the snowmobiler has no one else to blame but him or herself when things go wrong. Until next time remember that snowmobilers care about the environment too. 0 Craig Nicholson is a contributor to Snow Goer, Canada's Snowmobiling Magazine. The opinions expressed are solely thou of the author. USE TRAIL AT YOUR OWN RISK I I ,Ill, c, 5E Ca*.a 00 EVERYBODY'S DOIN' IT B aMd��ibn Engineered For The Way You Ride •SALES •SERVICE •ACCESSORIES 1 1/4 Miles North of Seaforth 527-0120 However, going through a photo album once, Doreen recognized herself as a 17 -year-old bridesmaid in a photo at her sister's wedding. "She didn't say anything but she held that picture in her hands and started to cry," says Pam. One Pam realized that her mother's most lasting memories were of herself as a teenager during the Second World War in England; Pam began playing the music of Vera Lynn, which'her mother found very soothing. "She would be slumped over in her chair with her head down but as soon as Vera Lynn starting singing the old war tunes, she would sit up and turn her head to the music." Another thing Doreen loved was to have her hands rubbed and Pam would spend hours rubbing lotion into them. "My mother didn't know who I was but she knew I was there and that I cared about her," she says. And, even when Doreen stopped speaking and conversation was no longer possible, Pam would pull out a book of short stories and read them to her mother. Doreen also seemed to come to life everytime Pam brought her three-year-old granddaughter for a visit and the two would take "old great granny" for a walk in her wheelchair. "Pam learned about the disease, embraced the disease and was able to care for her mom in a positive way," says Ritsema. The night her mother died, Pam and her daugher Cathy took turns sitting for 12 hour shifts, playing Vera Lynn and rubbing her with lavender lotion. "I don't think anyone should die alone," says Pam. A new six-week program called Living Well with Memory Loss for those with the early stages of Alzheimer disease will begin Jan. 27 at the Betty Cardno Centre in Clinton. Ritsema adds that anyone who needs support with the disease should call the Alzheimer Society at 482-1482. "We are also willing to start up another support group in Seaforth if people want one," she says. Snowmobilers asked to lobby Tourism Ministry From Pogo 1 president, in a recent press release. "These benefits are in serious jeopardy if insurance premiums continue to escalate or even remain at current levels." The OFSC have launched a new campaign, SOS (Save Ontario Snowmobiling), to encourage snowmobilers to express their insurance concerns by contacting their MPP and the Minister of Tourism Jim Bradley. "Other tourism and recreation sectors are also suffering the hardship of unaffordable or unavailable liability insurance coverage," stated Burns. "If this crisis is not addressed immediately by the province, it will hurt not only recreational snowmobiling, but also many rural municipalities and small tourism operators." Snowmobilers can send an SOS to their MPP online at the www.ofsc.on.ca. "We are counting on the individual snowmobilers, who are also taxpayers and voters, to rally behind SOS and to help us deliver an unequivocal message that organized snowmobiling needs help now," said Burns. Influenza A outbreaks over at Huron long-term facilities From Pogo 1 Other stay healthy tips include frequent hand Maitland District School Board. washing and not sharing eating utensils, glasses, towels or personal items. Adults are also being encouraged to stay And, it's still not to late to get a flu shot, home if they are sick. Stobo said. Vaccinations are still available "Do not visit friends or relatives in hospitals from family doctors or during intake sessions and long-term care facilities if you are sick," from 1:15-4 p.m. at the health unit in Clinton. Stobo said. "You're really not doing anyone a "The next few weeks will tell us if things are favour by going out. In fact you're putting settling down or there's still another peak to others at risk. You need to take care of yourself get through." first." Huron -Bruce MPP eager to begin promoting energy conservation Huron -Bruce MPP Carol Mitchell is delighted with the provincial government's recent decision to form a conservation action team and said the initiative is "long overdue." "Conservation has taken a back seat position for a number of years," she said on Monday from her Toronto office. "In order to begin meeting the demands on hydro we need to take a two -prong approach, one that not only focuses on increasing production, but also on conservation." As parliamentary assistant to Minister of Agriculture Steve Peters, Mitchell was appointed to the Ontario conservation action team last week. The parliamentary assistants from eight other ministries will also be sitting on the committee. Mitchell said the variety of ministries participating will make the team stronger. "Having so many different individuals involved goes a long way in overcoming the barriers that stand in the way of conservation," she said. "And there are barriers like education curriculum and building codes. We'll look into changing them to make conservation more of a priority." • Led by Donna Cansfield, parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Energy, the action team will engage stakeholders from a variety of sectors across the province to seek out and promote the best in conservation ideas and practices. "It's really about changing the thinking of Ontario to focus Huron East Chamber of Commerce An information reception and meeting hosted by the Business Growth and Economic Development Committee will be held Wednesday, January 28, 2004 4:00 pm to 7:30 pm at the Huron Business Centre, 138 Main St South, Seaforth for all businesses and residents of the Municipality of Huron East interested in forming La Chamber of Commerce. For further Information, contact: Ralph Lavlolette, Business Development Seaforth 519-527-0305 Brussels 519-887-8813 more on the conservation of energy," Mitchell explained, adding the team's initiatives will help people cope with the elimination of the hydro price cap. "We'll make recommendations to reform to create a conservative culture in Ontario." However, Mitchell stressed the government wouldn't just be asking home and business owners to conserve energy. "We'll be looking at our own buildings as well," she said. "For this to be successful it needs to be a concentrated effort." The action team will look at a number of options associated with conservation and demand- side management initiatives and develop and action plan to help the government meet its conservation target of five per cent by 2007. Mitchell said things are moving quickly regarding the conservation team, with the first meeting scheduled for Jan. 21. As Peters' parliamentary assistant, Mitchell hopes to bring information regarding renewable energies such as ethanol and biodiesel to her fellow team members. Other ministries represented on Ontario's conservation action team include education, environment, municipal affairs, training colleges • and universities, management board of cabinet, northern development and mines and public infrastructure renewal.. By Jennifer Hubbard +tr •