HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1992-11-25, Page 4Pepe 4 Time -Advocate, November 25, 1992
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Coutlpeu1Mon NUN Mer. Deb Lord
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Parents have cause for concern
hursday evening may have
brought some 'omforting news to those
who feare.'' .. .it ARC Industries work-
shop was doomed to closure pending
ministry cutbacks. Those at the meet-
ing were clearly promised there are no
immediate plans to eliminate the shel-
tered workshops which provide mean-
ingful employment and activity for
thousands of developmentally handi-
capped adults across the province.
However, Community Living South
Huron received a letter from social ser-
vices minister Marion Boyd that was
equally as clear in its statement that
sheltered workshops "are to be phased
out". She has also made similar state-
ments to the press, although saying
there is no deadline for such a phase
out, and speaks of the need to put "oth-
er programs" in place beforehand.
But Boyd's letter, when presented to
the senior policy advisor who attended
the community meeting, evidently rep-
resented something of an embarrass-
ment. No wonder then that some par-
ents and board directors were calling
for an equally clear retraction of that
blanket statement from the minister.
Yes, there are hopes that someday in
the future sheltered workshops will be
thing of the past. Current thinking,
which is always subject to change, pre-
dicts that most of handicapped will be
able to function more competitively in
the regular workplace. But does such a
comment belong in a letter explaining
present budget cuts and concerns over
•the viability of the workshops in the
next few months and years.
Either way, the contradiction between
the minister and the policy advisor illu-
minates some of the imprecise thinking
and overall confusion within the minis-
try. Faced with soaring deficits, slump-
ing revenues, the need to cut govern-
ment spending, and yet balancing all
that with the burning desire of a new
government to re -write all the rules,
Queen's Park appears to be robbing Pe-
ter to pay Paul - cutting existing pro-
grams to offer experimental new ones.
Those at Community Living South Hu-
ron and other advocates for the develop-
mentally handicapped doubt whether the
limited benefits of the new employment
programs will outweigh the damage
done by the cutbacks.
And whether or not the government ac-
tually expects to eliminate sheltered
workshops within the next decade, there
exists the fear they may trigger their col-
lapse anyway.
As described to those present ire Dash-
wootl Thursday, AR( Industries is so
carefully balanced between revenues
and subsidies that should any govern-
ment funding be cut at all, it could trig-
ger a downward spiral of revenues and
services that it would cease to be viable.
As explained, that is a worst-case sce-
nario, but with a ministry clearly uncom-
mitted to the future of sheltered work=
shops, how can the parents or clients
expect to see any protection from such a
decline?
This scenario also exposes a common
weakness in the entire social service sys-
tem: its inflexibility. The board admit-
ted that it would take at least a year to
find new ways to sustain its services
with less funding. The ministry is
equally inflexible by not allowing local
boards to reallocate funds to the pro-
grams where they do the most good.
Organizations such as Community Liv-
ing South Huron and ARC Industries are
rightly proud of their record for meeting
the needs of the developmentally handi-
capped. Parents and' clients still have
cause to be concerned that much of that
work will come undone in coming years
unless the ministry can come to terms
with the fact that not all governments
and agencies operated in the dark ages
before the NDP took office. Many pro-
grams do work well - maybe not with
top efficiency - but they needn't all be
cast aside to make way for the new
wave.
t to -it t', ..tlrtl�
Thanks from MS
Dear Adrian:
In the 1991 Grand Bend to Lon-
don 150 Bike Tour August 10, 11,
the Multiple Scleroais Society
Southwestern Ontario office raised
$110.000.00.
The second annual Zehrs Grand
Bead 150 Bike Tour August 8, 9,
1992 was such a success that we
introduced yet another tour in
Southwestern Ontario: Woodstock
to Waterloo August 15, 16, 1992.
We ale pleased to report
that we raised
over
5225.000.00.
We contribute
a tremendous
amount of our suc-
cess to you! and
your newspaper.
In 1991 wee ranked 2nd behind
Toronto's press coverage but this
year I want you to know that you
i t .1 ,, ref •
A.D.H.
put Southwestern Ontario in the # 1
position with over 22 newspapers
producing over 40 articles before,
during and after our event.
On behalf of the Multiple Sclero-
sis Society of Canada I would
again like to. thank you for your
contribution to this worthwhile
cause.
Planning for the future,
Kevin, H. Smith
Special Events Manager
4-H has more than farm focus
Doer Ediaor:
Think you for providing news -
d
papet og ition of the event, 4-
}i
award, Frieods . of 441 Certifi-
cate.
However. I would like to correct
• a quote attibuted to me in the last
a sSence.rofkthag to "farm clubs".
These are the �c�x1e?r's words -
n ot spine. I std -that *Dave Moore
Fuels Ltd. bdmconed ''the 4H
Wealiron 00anoi 1 way over
taebs Orthe o lulu",t
▪ 1.
lied not tree that lean.
2. Tbs: erm "farm chubs".perpet-
�o
nates the perception that
the 441 pro-
gram
only tbe uadi-
arpro• jicts. Nwlt-
mild be
fa�tther abrom the
nth. I have enclosed a lint of 441
ptoJccsa that aro sty s
a 4H sc a amino. You
Jin •10041mt lbw prkjsOls covara
wide apse o( k*srttttta sad trier
3. Thele is oatDave
their M emus me Fatisr �dtmw a
generous ,
was to be used only for agricultural
4-H projects. That was certainly
not the case and the money re-
ceived'will benefit the entire range
of 441 activities in Middlesex
County.
I hope ilia you will review .this
miner with your reporlar and that
in /wire be will choose his words
rnore Should y�oy io till
,further f can be res d at 227-
4508.
for Jrpyt Attention,
I am yours in 4-H
�Phrlhs
.OTieil
1mI ..dont • Middleaex.4-H
Association
rt
- _ A_I••••••••IM.A▪ 6.1••••••....1111.1.6.11.111.1d110211111.1111k Ala
"Men are never so likely
to settle a question righty
as when they tilsCuss It
freely."
... Thomas Macaulay
Publicised Egon Wednesday Memlne at 424 Mie at.,
Exeter. Ostend, NOM 106 by J.W. Ededdyy Mife.floee Ltd.
ToNpbooe 1419123542a'
..s,. Qtieal1Oat1
Chopin and shortbread
Elizabeth nas beer, fretting for
weeks now about bet- C'nr5strrias
baking Stu Is leading a '.i:::;,'
lite, and so ani i. i wanted to tell
her: "Let's go to a bake sale".
there we could have bought an
ample supply of cookies and
cakes (all home -baked in some-
one else's home).
But I do realize that baking is
a very personal activity. Getting
others to do -your Christmas bak-
ing would be like paying others
to hug your children for you.
Even in this age of delegation,
there are some things we still
have to do ourselves.
This November happened to
be an extremely busy month for'
Elizabeth. Just like .all the -other
eleven months. I didn't think
that baking was such a big deal,
and I said to her: "All it takes is
a couple of evenings."
"Why don't you do it? Why
should I always be the one to
feel guilty?"
"Would it make you feel bet-
ter if I . shared the guilt with
you?"
"No, I'd feel better if you did
the Christmas baking." I knew
she was joking. She knew that I
had never baked anything in my
life. But was baking really such
a big deal? After all, you just
had to follow the recipe, mix
some ingredients, shove the
stutf into the oven at the right
temperature, and get it Our at the
nght time.
Why not uy it? 'lake the pres-
sure off Elizabeth, and at the
sank time prove to her that I
.may not be totally useless after
all
Laura Secord's Canadian
Cook Book is one of Elizabeth's
favourites. I decided to pick
something easy for starters.
Shortbread. Hove the stuff. And
as the name implies. n shouldn
take very' Fong to
:;:udisc: 411r recirx 1w;: the
strange feeling that was step-
ping into a room where I didn't
Peter's
Point
•
Peter Hessel
belong - like the ladies' wash-
room. "Shortbread recipes are
handed down from mother to
daughter..." Why not from fa-
ther to son? I wasn't going to let
Laura Secord intimidate me.
I preheated the oven and
measured out 1 cup of butter. I
was supposed to cream the but-
ter. The recipe didn't say what
kind of cream or how much. So
1 mixed the butte! with table
crearn, the only variety 1 could
find. Then I blended in 2/3 cup
of brown sugar as required. I
beat the mixture until it was
light and fluffy. I tracked down
some all-purpose flour and
stirred in 2 1/4 cups.
Now for the kneading. 1 had
seen people knead dough be-
fore, so it was no problem.
While the stuff chilled for 30
minutes, I listened to a record in
the living room.
'I hen I went back to the kitch-
en to roll out the dough. Baking
was easier than I had thought. I
was gaining confidence. 1 was
practically done, and I was en-
joying every minute. Baking
shortbread was a piece of cake!
I found my dough a bit runnier
than it should be. So I added a
&midge of flour. It stuck to the
Letter to Editor
roller, so I sprayed the roller
with • Pam. 1 rolled the sough a'
fe . times, cut It into ' faIlCy
shapes and picked holes into
each shape with a fork.
I laid my cookies on a baking
sheet and stuck them in the
oven. They required 18-20 min-
utes - just long enough to listen
to some more music in the living -
room. I picked the B -flat minor
by Chopin. So soothing.
Suddenly the smoke detector
went off. I noticed a strong
smell. I also realized that the
needle was grinding on the
record. Not to panic! First I
checked the fire extinguisher. It
was fully charged. Then I
grabbed two pot holders. .I
opened the oven door and real-
ized that I had lost my cookies.
However, there was no major
fire. I went back to the living
room to tum the stereo off. Then
I carried my shortbread ashes
outside, dumped them into a gar-
bage can, and laid an old news-
paper over them. I opened all
doors and windows in the house
and tumed the fan on over the
stove. Because it was minus ter
outside. with a brisk northerl)
wind, the house was cleared o:
smoke within 15 minutes.
I put on my parka and hood u
clean the dishes. utensils an/
counter tops. I scrubbed the over
(I wasn't brave.enough to use th
self-cleaning feature). At Iasi
not a uacc of my activities re
mained.
The morning was gone. S,
were my ingredients. And m
enthusiasm for baking.
I think my shortbread cookie
would have been excellent, had
not dozed off. It was all Chopin
fault. 'The next time I bake shot,
bread, I'll play Vivaldi's Fot.
Seasons.
Seeking Thompson relatives
Dear Editor:
I am appealing to .any fatilily
members of the late Frances
Thompson boo January
.�12. 1942.1
0 Aso.
write me.
Frances Thompson was my
great-grandmother. She married
James KennedvCrockett.
We arc seeking
information for •
Sorbeelogy ear-
poses
ung
d AfilAn.diasura-
a
whoas iii
we
are .buried in the
Exeter area.
You can write to eithe
J.L. Crocker
253 Auburn Wi
San Jose Glifarnia 951:
M.E. Marstu
3 L.00gbeoch Dri• -
N8H 41
1