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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1985-08-28, Page 18Students get first-hand accounts of dangers of alcohol abuse EDITOR'S NOTE: The following article is the first in a three part series on alcohol. "Do me this favor ... if you drink, don't drive, I've seen too many bodies that look Like water.'''' The strong statement didn't end there. "Don't take my wife or someone else in my family, go alone. If you must drink and drive don't take so- meone in the car with you." These off the cuff comments came from the police chief of Listowel, to a group of students at the local high school. He was part of a panel of profes- sionals the school's guidance depart- ment brought in during a two-week program on health and lifestyles in the 80's. However, he wasn't the only one to bring an important message to these impressionable teenagers. Some very powerful words were spoken by a young man who had come from within these students own ranks. He had been raised in the town and was very, popular as an athlete and eventually in his mid -twenties, he became coach of the town's Junior B hockey team. "Sporting activities are extremely important to me," said the young man who will remain nameless for this article. "I've done it all. I've been drinking with people in the car going 100 miles an hour." He recalled times spent drinking with friends, times that ended up be- ing all nighters. The young man car- ried this on from his high school days to his married days. "I've got a family," he says quiet- ly. "I want to make sure that everything goes well with that family." He eventually got caught and charged with impaired driving during his tenure as coach. The small town buzzed with the news. "What affected me was the tremen- dous amount of guilt and remorse." This young man openly admitted he Pension interest battle continues Exeter council won't "be making any contrinutions to three disaster fund committees in the province and they're going to continue their battle against a -ruling made regarding the past contributions to the municipal pension plan for two long-term, employees Finance committecchairman Gaylan Josephson said his committee members would take the latter issue up with the Association of Municipalities i AMO) and their MPP after being advised by the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement Board rOMERSI that the town would- be solely responsible for paying in- terest on the money for two long-term employees who were late in joining the pension scheme through advice received when they joined the town staff. When Glenn Kells and George Robertson were employed by the town, they were advised that they did not have to make contributions 10 the pension until they reached the age of 30. However, that information was in- correct and the two men have in- dicated their desire to pay their con- tributions for the time in which they were eligible but not enrolled. Council too have indicated They were prepared to pay the employer's share of the missed years, but then found the town would be responsible for making up the lost interest that would have accrued to the men's pen- sion funds. .losephson said the interest amounted to somewhere around $8,000 and he termed that "quite substantial". At Monday night's coucil session. Kells said in answer to a question that he had been advised by the clerk of the day that there would be no benefit to him to join the pension plan before he reached age 30. While the battle over the interest payment continues. no payment of the principal will be made as Josephson noted there was as yet no deadline in that regard. The requests for funds for the disaster relief came from the Sudbury Region Disaster Relief Fund Commit- tee and one in Central Ontario and Essex County. Social services committee chair- man Ben tloogenhoom said council simply didn't have any money to donate to the disaster relief funds. cannot.drink and admits the hardest thing for him is to be in control of what is happening while he is drink- ing. If he and some friends were con- sidering going to a neighboring town, the - call went out for beer - the response came that the beer was available and then it was okay to go to the town. Nothing could be done without alcohol. "Alcoholism is a disease of - the body, the mind. It destroys certain things," said this former coach who knew that alcohol was once important to him and others. "Nothing restricts me now, it's very important that you remember that." He asked the students to be aware of how damaging alcohol is to them. Another young man, a university student now, had grown up in the town and he too was respected as an athlete. At 17 he went to Ottawa to play hockey and at one point he was called to a tryout camp for the NHL hockey team the Pittsburgh Penguins. "Drinking hurt my chances to • mes Scums South Huron. North Middkw• August 28, 1985 make hockey my professional career," He wasn't alone however, there were others - his peers - who also lost chances at professional hockey careers because of booze. Drinking wasn't and isn't limited to the male domain. One young woman from Listowel who is now in univer- sity, she also carries the name of a prominent family in the town, said she felt a lot of pressure to drink in high school. "Vodka doesn't smell, so I drank a lot of orange juice," she said. She was involved in heavy drinking at the beginning of her university days, but after some personal, scary experiences, she has joined a club called BACCUS - Boost Alcohol Con- sciousness Concerning University Students. "I know now how to have fun without booze. Excessive drinking scares me." Nick Warus, one of the school's guidance personnel responsible for putting the program together said the comments made by the former students are fairly typical of what he calls small town Ontario. "These towns are loaded with kids that are bored. The bright lights of the city are appealing. The kids make their own excitement.- An xcitement." An employee from the detoxifica- tion centre in Kitchener said drinking has to be made socially unacceptable among teenagers. "Alcohol is a potential killer," he said. • Do you know what your children are doing? dvocate & Noah Uiwblon Since 3177, ..__......... PagelA writs Y 3?E0.1 VON or 0 1014111.6. Is COM L&NOws 111* re nt�T >f M* MOMTA .1 ** t i P dim 1 • ON SONSHINE ISLAND — Sarah Hodge, Matt and Jo -Dee Regier and David Robertson are shown on Sonshine Island during this week's Vacation Bible School at the Crediton United Church. Local companies involved in Camp London campaign The Hensall-based Pineridge Barbecue Company will be par- ticipating in the Ethiopia -London Cares program to raise money to send a Camp London Medical Relief Team to Ethiopia on September 3. The recently formed catering com- pany headed by Julian Bayley and Bill Taylor will be preparing take -out - lunch bags, each containing a half chicken, a roll and a fork, to be sold at two London locations on August 27 and again on.August 30. The company expects to cook 3.000 chicken halves each time. The rolls will come from the Zurich Tasty Nu Bakery. Both mobile barbecue units will he in use. one at the corner of Wharn- cliffe and Baseline. the other at Cheapside and flighbury. The lunches will be available at both locations on both days from 11:00 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. Customers need not even get out of their cars; volunteers from Pineridgo.and the London Kinsmen and Kineltes will provide curb service. The lunches will be supplied to the Camp London organizers at a rate lower than what Pineridge Barbecue Co. usually charges. and the company is waiving the normal serving charge. as their contribution to the fund- raising event. The project to send medical help to Ethiopia was begun by the Kingston Kinsmen Clubs in November 1984. By February 1985 they had assembled a medical and nursing team of 15, plus a support group, and had raised $1 million in drug supplies and camp equipment. The first team left by Canadian Forces jet on February 15 and stayed three months in Camp Bete, 260 km northwest of Addis Ababa. Since then, three more medical teams from the Kingston and Ottawa areas have kept the Kinsmen African Relief project at full strength. Camp Bete has $50 hospital beds. two daily clinics and an isolation area. and facilities for some surgical procedures. More than 4,000 refugees live in the camp at one time, and the four teams who(tave gone so far have administered more than 30,0110 treatments. Employees of Victoria Hospital in- vited the first team to visit London in June in the hope the tream required for September to December might be recruited from London health-care peronnel. On July 11 the Kinsmen African Medical Relief directors an- nounced their selection of six nurses. a doctor and a team administrator from among those who volunteered to help. The London team leaves for Ethiopia on September 3. Two or more teams will follow in October if funding can be arranged. Each three-month stint costs approx- imately $70,000 divided roughly equal- ly among costs for travel, food and medical supplies. The volunteers. who arc given leaves of absence by their employers, receive no compenstion. All proceeds from the barbecue lun- ches and other Camp London projects will be turned over to the Kinsmen African Medical Relief organization. CEMETERY DECORATION SERVICE — Shown prior to Sunday's decoration service at Exeter Cemetery are Exeter Legion president Paul McKnight, chairman Eldon Heywood, parade marshall Percy Noels and Exeter Oddfellows Noble Grand Norm Wilson. T -A photo Two local men to Riddell staff Two Huron County men have been added to the staff of Jack Riddell, the Province's new Minister of Agriculture and Food. Earl Datars of Dashwood and Jim Fitzgerald of Clinton join Riddell, who has been the MPP for Huron - Middlesex for the past 12 years. By MRS. STAN PRESZCATOR Sunday services at Zion United Church were taken from Jeremiah 23: 23-32 Luke 12: 54-59 and the ser- mon was "How do you know it's wrong". There are laws to tell you what is right and what is wrong and your conscience will also tell you. Bible school finished on Friday and thanks to all who helped in many ways. Mr. and Mrs. James Barnes and Jenna, Parkhill and Mrs. Dave Isaac and Tasha, Exeter visited Sunday with Mr. and Mrs. Stan Preszcator and Brenda Glanville. Congratulations to Cheryl Payne, Crediton, and Robert Dunnell, Parkhill, who were married Saturday at Zion United Church; also to Susan Handerer and Calvin Preszcator who were married Saturday at Zion United Church. Mr. and Mrs. David Isaac and Tasba Exeter were Sunday supper guests with Mr. and Mrs. Andre Ducharme entertained relatives and neighbors to a tupperware party Sun- day evening. Water games were held at Crediton ball park on Sunday. Firemen com- peted from Exeter, Dashwood and Ailsa Craig. Afterwards a delicious smorgasbord beef barbecue was held. Exeter 4-H Horse, Pony Club Members of the Exeter 441 horse and pony Club met at leader, Adriaan Brand's this week. They were quizz- ed in preparation for the exam and covered the last lesson on horse judging. Members had the opportunity to judge some of Mr. Brand's horses and give reasons. This gave the club some extra practice before the Robert Graham Memorial Judging Competi- tion at the Royal Winter Fair. This is the season for fairs and the Seaforth Fair is coming up soon. The horse show will be September 20. The Exeter Fair horse show and 4-11 Achievement day will be September 21. Datars, who is a Dashwood native, will act as driver/atteddant to Rid- dell. Well-known to area residents as the former owner of Datars Sunoco Service of Grand Bend from 1952 to 1970. Datars has, in recent years, been involved in the construction in- dustry as a supervisor, working on large projects in Sarnia and Alberta. Datars, 54, will be responsible for en- suring Mr. Riddell is kept on time for his verybusy schedule in his new portfolio. Fitzgerald, 38, who has lived in Clinton for 13 years, was editor of the Clinton News -Record for 10 years, and for the last three years, has own- ed and operated his own photography and custom framing business. A native of London, Fitzgerald was ap- pointed by Riddell to the post of Ex- ecutive Assistant and will be in charge of the day-to-day operations of the Minister's office, as well as help- ing advise Riddell on communications • and constituency matters. Married to the former Lois Illman of Monkton in Perth County, the Fit- zgerald's have three children. Piano results The following young people were among those who were successful in taking piano examinations during the 1985 season. Royal Conservatory of Music - Karen Hoffmann, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Claire Hoffmann, Exeter Grade six Honours: Kimberly . Lingard, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Russell Lingard, Grand Bend Grade five Honours; David O'Connor, son of Dr. W.F. O'Connor, Grand Bend, Grade three Honours and Western Conservatory of Music - Chrystal Jones, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Grant Jones. Hensall (.rade six Honours. . SALESMEN — Jack Coleman (left) and Allan Hayter sell some white beans during their stint behind the Ontario Bean Producers Marketing Board booth at the Zurich Bean Festival. loaf 79 ♦- Labor Day Specials Tasty Nu white or brown Bread Fresh Baked, doz. DUTCH APPLE COUNTRY BAKED .99 PIES. 2.49 each MEDIUM CHEESE CHEDDAR 3.09 Ib. CURDS 3.19 lb. 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