HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1992-11-11, Page 4Page 4
Times -Advocate, November 11, 1992
Pubilsher: Jim Beckett
News Editor: Adrian Harte
Business Manager: Don Smith
Composition Manager: Deb Lord
Publications Melt Regtstretlon Number 0386
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TAKE TIME 1'0
El)1"FORl,�t.
Those who remember
ach passing year their numbers
grow a little fewer and the memories a
little fainter
This Remembrance Day. each and
every one of us should sake the time to
talk a -little with a veteran, or even with
one who remembers what it is to see a
whole world suffering at war.
Take time to discover once again the
incredible sacrifice of those who fought
for freedom but did not survive to en-
joy it.
There is more to Remembrance Day
than poems and flowers. The symbol -
sometimes mist over the hard reality that
entire nations of people endured and
struggled through for six years only a
half century ago.
Other wars also .need remembering.
One nearly.forgotten except for an elder-
ly handful; and others waged in once
far-off lands - ones governments now try
to forget
Get together with those who still re-
call, and remember not only the glories
and triumphs of war, but also its lessons.
Learn from history, so it need not be
repeateo
A.D.H.
Taking away municipal planning
0 n the surface it seemed innocu-
ous enough. The province's plan to al-
low .apartments in; houses even became
known as the "granny flat" law.
What could possibly be wrong with
allowing elderly family -members to
pass their days with _some :independent
dignity and yet close to their families?
We've all heard how such plans work
wonders in Europe.
In fact, an on the street survey by one
radio station found not one person op-
posed to the "granny flat" legislation.
Many of those people would no doubt
be puzzled as to -why many municipali-
ties opposed the legislation.
The reason is that the bill goes further
than just providing apartments for the
elderly. It _allows _apartment conver-
sions just about anywhere, regardless of
local planning department recommen-
-dations-
In virtually all cases, adding an apart-
ment to a single family home will not
pose much of a problem for those look-
ing tc responsibly make better use of
their properties. But what happens
when the house is sold, granny passes
on, or the family moves away? The
house will likely be put on the market as
an "investment property", not as a single
family home. September
4
"Men are never so likely
to settle a question rightly
as when they discuss it
freely."
... Thomas Macauley
Published Pooh Wednesday MotMeg at 424 Main St.,
Exeter, Ontario, NOM 1S6 by J.W. Petty Pvb6eM$ons Ltd.
Telephone 1-519.231-L3S1
O.S.T. Mt1o621e836
!hall D. " rMr t.
w�rr hi)'. , hay
thrr.r ti r, nt'. torr • flidgc lid ' - rookie.,
Na laughs for lice
1 received a letter to the editor
the other day, postmarked from
Huron Park, fmm a mother ex-
pressing desperation over her
constant battle against the head
lice her children were bringing
home tram school. She has had
to treat them four times since
Again, it's -nothing catastrophic, but Understandably, she did not
such 'prtaltettttiessa' 1Y ! . ',Cilia—ix
bourhood away from its intended focus' ; publish anonymous or unverifia
It ,won't be how the developer nhi I blc letters. However. her war
against the parasites prompted
me to look a little deeper into
her problem. Evidently she
knows how to get rid of the
pests. She speaks of purchasing
expensive shampoos at $40 a
bottle, thoroughly cleaning her
house and laundering virtually
everything, and cleaning all the
lice eggs (nits) out of her chil-
i diens' hair.
Despite her diligence. she
finds the battle begins all over
again in a few weeks when her
children Dome into contact with
lice -at school again. -The -con
flict is expensive. frustrating.
and as I gather from her letter,
emotionally upsetting.
I can't recall having had lice
myself. although 1 won't mention
some of the more hideous para-
sites we had to endure when my
family lived in Singapore those
few years. I also know how an-
noyingitcanbetotryandkeep
a dog free of fleas in the autumn
when the little pests are looking
tor somewhere .warm to spend
the winter.
But this woman's letter is a cry
for help. It doesn't help to reas-
sure her that lice aren't molly a
health hazard. They don't spread
disease or germs. Their only
problem is that they can some-
times cause infected sores from
the scratching.
It also doesn't help to point out
that those large ruffled collars
sioned it; it won't be how the-
department
he-department outlined it; it won • ► how
the neighbours expected it, bu ' ' was all
made possible with a stroke of a pen in
Queen's Park by a government looking
to create low-cost rental .properties in a
province going into debt . at nearly the
rate of a billion dollars a month.
If a kindhearted "granny flat" provi-
sion was needed in Ontario, then the
Ministry of Municipal Affairs should
have helped municipalities to adjust
_heir planning,and-Ton ng_Jaws.ucord
ingly. The province should really not
have interfered with the way in which
municipalities plan their own develop
ment - it sets a most unwelcome prece-
dent.
A.D.H
From Broadway to backyard
I hadn't seen New York in
many years, and Elizabeth had
never been there. So instead of
buying her crystal for our anni-
versary, I broke the piggybank
and bought two plane tickets.
1 smashed another piggy bank
to pay for the hotel room, an-
other for the restaurant food,
and another for cab fare. Every-
thing else 1 put on American Ex-
press.
New York has a very bad rep-
utation. Everybody gave to
well-meaning advice before we
left; stay out .of Central Ptak.
don't forget to .barricade the
door and the windows, hold on
to your handbag, hold your nos
es, and don't walk a single block
without a body guard, not even
in broad daylight....
Well, . we're back safe and
sound. We did walk 'in Central
Park - in the daytime. We did
We also went window-shopping
on ritzy Fifth Avenue and on
57th Street.
We saw a Broadway play in-
the
nthe Plymouth Theatre. and The
Fantastics (In its 32nd year) at
the Sullivan Playhouse in
Greenwich Village... We heard
Puccini's Madama Butterfly in
Peter's
Point
Beteg ll wet
the Metropolitan Opera. All.per-
fonnanees were completely sold
out, but we were lucky: some-
one had returned their front row
centre tickets. (It was the most
money 1 ever paid for entertain -
sec som@onc (a man7) sleeping ment of -any kind, but worth cvc-
on a bench, completely wrapped ry penny of it).
in old blankets. But for the most We walked to the Empire
part, people were having fun State Building - one of ihc..mod-
lugging, bicycling . and having..,acn_Wonders of 3he,.11iodd._We
buggy rides. We couldn't afford took one of 76 elevators to the
the Plaza Hotel, but we exam- observation deck on the 116th
ined its slendidly restored lobby floor, to marvel at Wiliam City
beluw.
We walked to Rockefeljer
Centre to see the "Golden Pro-
metheus" and the famous skat-
ing rink -- adll without ice. We
decided against an hour's wait at
the police barricades to catch a
glimpse of Frank Sinatra, ex -
pected to come out of Radio
City Music Hall.
We had some hair-raising
rides in rickety yellow cabs
(gone are the Checkers, though.
dnven by nervous, frustrated.
hour -happy, suicidal Hispanics
from •Martinique. There was one
exception: one driver, also His-
panic, was courteous, drove de -
fensively. didn't lean on the
bum, and waved thanks to a
truck driver who -- also politely
- had allowed him to tum a cor-
ner first.
In the Metnopolitan Museum
of An, we walked through the
Egyptian, Greek and Roman
halls, enjoyed a special Magriue
exhibition, and ended up brows-
ing in die cavernous gift shops.
.Titaness .seven a separate chil-
dren's gift shop. Hera~ we bought
some litte_t Ings for Alex, Dun
tratintit ped un page
that were fashionable in Shake-
speare's day were wom mainly
to keep the lice from falling
down the neck.
No, lice aren't any laughing
matter. Parasites have no
friends.
Hold that
thought ...
By
Adrian Harte
So I called up the Huron
County Health Unit to get some
advice for this woman and oth-
ers like her. Diane Petrie told
me that while head lice are more
a nuisance than a health prob-
lem. they do cause a lot of un-
pleasantness. legitimate furan
cial concerns. and potential
emotional problems.
Lice are ail exclusively hutilan
problem. They only feed on the
human head (which is why if
you seal up non -washable items
in a bag for a month. all the lice
and eggs will die). and yes,
schools are the most common
stomping ground for the para-
sites to proliferate.
Most Huron Schools send
home letters cautioning parents
to be on the -watch for the crit-
ters, but Petrie concedes many
parents don't know what to
watch for. Apparently, the head
louse is only 3mni long, and
camouflages itaelf to hair col-
our.
The other grim tact is sonic
parents just don't care - there's
always a few in each school; I
guess. Petrie said some Huron
schools, when lice arc discov
ered on a student, send a letter
home for the parent and require
Letter til Edit,
it be sent back with the label of
the product used in treatment.
Other schools have even put
together teams of volunteer par-
ents to conduct periodic inspec-
tions for lice, I'm told - but the
fact remains that it is up to the
parents to see that their child is
treated.
. And .that. moment _can' ex-
pensive and.a,lot,ofhard walk.
Like the mother who wrote in,
large families require a lot of
the expensive shampoo. Petrie
agrees there ought to be better
access for families to the pesti-
cide shampoos. Those on wel-
fare can receive it for free, but
that doesn't help those on low
incomes. Laundry and cleaning
costs can add up too.
The Health Unit has, on occa-
sion. intervened in some cases
and' actually provided shampoo
to an entire Godench school and
had the building sprayed on the
weekend, but that was an excep-
tional case.
My advice to the distraught
mother would be to discretely
talk with the teacher if the lice
breakout.~ keep recurring. Lice
cannot fly or jump, so perhaps
the teacher Cali suggest ways of
keeping their spread down. Get
the children to put their coats on
the backs of their chairs for a
while, instead of hanging up be-
side each other where the lice
can crawl. I'm sure the teacher
would be the most likely person
to take an interest in stamping
out the parasites in the clam -
room.
But most of all, from what I
can tell about the problem, is
that it is important not to take it
personally. The head louse does
not discriminate and a problem
is not a measurc,of cleanliness.
In fact, from what I've read, lice
actually prefer cleaner scalps.
Best of luck out there.
Cuts to *ndlngfsr disabled
Dear Editor:
In lune of this year the Minister
of Community and Social Servic-
es, The Honourable .Marion Boyd,
announced a cut back to the fund-
ing for sheltered workshops of 5
million dollars with 2 million to be
flowed to Supported Employment
Services in Ontario.
For the Suuth Huron area this
will mean that Cuminunity Living
• South Huron will be faced with a
cut of up to S40.000.
While the cuts arc aimed at the
sheltered workshop systarrt, Jlie se-
duction in resources makes it ex-
tremely difficult to curiae to de-
velop supports to assist people to,
find and retain rsjtiw
work in our
community.
There has
been no com-
munity consulta-
tion with . our
Agency prior W
making tlaeac cuts and we fuel tic
Minister has grossly undurstimat
ed the detrimental effect it will
have on the support we arc able to
provide to people.
The agency is in .the process of
rejecting the -impact of -be a0-
rxwrtccrncnt 1 his could mean tic
clpwn-sizing of Ito workshop pro-
gram and the potential increase in
demand fur residential supports.
The Board of Directors furwardsd
their concerns to Marion Bo 1n
mid September and have just rp-
ceived aonse. In light of this,
the Board of Djrovuxs (gas invited
Paul Klopp MPP Huron County to
a meeting to discuss the matter fur-
ther. The meeting is scheduled fpr
November 19. Pending the oyt-
winc of this meeting, a gene*
meeting will be scheduled upon to
the public to provide Grittier infor-
mation.
John Slue -cagy
Executive Director
Conutiunity Living - South Ilurpn