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Home My WebLink AboutTimes Advocate, 1992-11-25, Page 4Pepe 4 Time -Advocate, November 25, 1992 PI blIgle rr: gm gaskstt Nogg 3IUNor: moan mate filiegger: Don semi Coutlpeu1Mon NUN Mer. Deb Lord ltrblbauon•Mall a tpsu non Number 0306 EUBSIBlenabliallithanit i101N1In 40 aver.. (ss kat.) _idiso sed bwaRlMl.rerinMafatwaa.'00:00pIas $2.10 SSA. O.IIMa 40 idles (til ion.) or any latter settler address *10.00 iIna $2L00 (total MOM * 3.05 AST. enteld• Maid, MAO 1111.1 (\ I 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