Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1993-09-15, Page 4Page 4 Times -Advocate, September 15,1993 Publisher: Jim Beckett News Editor: Adrian Nage Bosiosss Monson Don Smith Composition Manger: Deb Lord Publications Mali Registration Number 0386 suacr.RlPTIQN RATES: CJIMAQA Within 40 stiles (65 kra.) addresssd to non Istt., oanOer addresses 530.00 piss 52.10 O.S.T. . Outside 40 riles (65 km.) or say letter Darter mess 530.00 piss $30.00/total 60.00) + 4.2013.S.T. Outside Canada 566.00 • z • Pt til RIBBON AWA"P Ideas welcome for library future aution is the word over the Exeter Library's future. The county doesn't seem eager to get involved with the school board, and the high school isn't likely to welcome the town interfering with their building. Some patrons have already voiced their opposition to the idea of moving the library from the town's peak inter- section to the school, a few blocks away. Then again, if the library had always been on Gidley St. West, someone would be bound to complain about moving it to a busy downtown inter- section where there's no parking. Facing the facts, we have a nice li- brary building on a picturesque corner with flower beds and trees. Built through the generosity of Andrew Carnegie, it has some heritage value. But itis literally crumbling away. The bits of brick that fall off it could be handed out as bookmarks. The building is also too small and crowded to house a collection large enough for Exeter's population. The biggest problem is a complete lack of access for the handicapped. If a ramp could be added, it would take up even more valuable floor space. : Since the town owns the building, council has to consider its options carefully. First, they could do nothing, soldiering on with the building's limita- tions and patching up the cracks. They could level it and start again, which might be cheaper than trying to renovate what they already have. Or a new building might be found to become a library (dare we point out a police sta- ' tion next door will soon be empty, al- though that would need renovation too). And, of course, there is the notion of working out an agreement with the high school, perhaps to help fund an expan- sion of that library with a separate out- side entrance. Staffing might be coordi- nated between the school and library boards so it could be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. for both students and public alike. There would be more books and more parking. Those who fear teenagers may not like the overall concept, but there is perhaps some merit to the notion that opening up part of the school to young children, adults and seniors might have a "stabi- lizing" influence on the overall atmos- phere. The idea may not work at all, but it is worth considering. It wasn't out of line for town council to toss it out to see if it will fly. We don't need studies, commit- tees, amid consultations at this point; we . need.ideas. Wilt's why we have local government 's in the first place. ADJI. "Men are never so likely to settle a question rightly as when they discuss it freely." ... Thomas Macauley Published Each Wednesday Moth M 424 Math St., Exeter, Ontario, NOM 116 by J,W. Eedy Publications Ltd. Telephone 1.519-23551331 e.s.T. M108210835 Child abuse prevention Educational meetings for youth group leaders Dear Editor. On August 13,1993 Mr. Donald Wright of Clinton pleaded guilty to three counts of sexually assaulting children while volunteering as a cub scout leader. This reprehensible crime by a youth worker in our community hightens awareness of the need for child abuse prevention action. The Huron County Community Child Abuse Co- ordinating Committee (CCACC) works in our com- munity to increase awareness of the issue of child abuse and to provide programs to prevent child abuse. The committee has discussed and analyzed the Wright case in depth and decided that a multi - pronged approach is necessary. A letter has been sent to Mr. Justice Chester Misener expressing com- munity outrage related to the sentence which Mr. Wright received. Perhaps, more importantly, the awareness of the issue in the community needs to be increased in order to prevent abuse and also to rec- ognize and report abuse when it occurs. Over the past few years the CCACC has provided educational evenings for adults who volunteer as • youth group leaders. The goal of these meetings is to increase awareness of child abuse in order to pre- vent it from occurring or to recognize and report it to the Children's Aid Society when it unfortunately occurs. The committee will hold such an educational eve- ning for leaders of youth groups on October 9, 1993 in Clinton. We would invite and encourage all adults who volunteer their time to work with chil- dren and youth to attend this event. For more details or to register please contact the CCACC at 524- 5461. The Huron County Community Child Abuse Co- ordinating Committee also provides programs to children so that they will not become victims of abuse. These include the Kids on the Block program which is provided in the schools, theiSafe Child program for preschool age children and the Can You Baby Sit Tonight? program. Child Abuse is a crime and to prevent it requires a concerted effort by all of us in the community. Sincerely, Diane Petrie, President Peter's Point • 13y Peter Vessel I was sitting downstairs in the den, quietly reading Headhunter by Timothy Findley. I had just come to the part where Austin Purvis, one of the neurotic psychiatrists, is about to blow the top of his head off. I was waiting for his brain to splatter all over the wallpaper in his of- fice, when suddenly I heard a series of blood- curdling screams that seemed to be coming from upstairs. 1 didn't react immediately. 1 expected that this characterjolted out of page 283 of Findley's � invaded the tranquility of our home to do his terminal screaming right here. But then Duncan came running ning down the stairs, yelling: • "Dad! Stephanie is bleeding!. Come quick!" "Come quickly!" I cannot stop myself from objecting to incorrect language, even in crisis situations. 1 took two steps at a time. The screams were coming from the kids' bathroom. What I wit- nessed there is almost too horrible to describe. Stephanie had her face in the sink, with the cold water running. The sink was filled with blood - or soft .,eemed. The walls, the floor, several towels, ,ler clothes were either spattered or drenched. '.y{ h. R •.•.. fl�... r .P4#4.w It's bad enough when it's free I think you all know by now how much I hate junk mail. It's tnie that a large part of my mail goes unopened, dropped uncere- moniously into the bin the Post Office thankfully provides at the end of the counter. I get annoyed at having to ex- tract a squashed envelope or magazine from a mailbox tight- ly packed with flyers from low - budget London department stores I never visit, or huge en- velopes on which is written my name and "congratulations you have won". I thought I'd seen it all until Chuck Doyle of RR 1 Dashwood brought in an envelope he'd re- ceived in the mail a couple of weeks ago. • Actually no, what he received was a notice from the Post Of- fice that there was an envelope, sent Without stifficient postage, waiting for him. Doyle was to discover the let- ter had come from Kansas City, Missouri with only a 29 cent (U.S.) stamp on it. He had to pay for 22 cents of Canadian stamps, plus two cents GST be- fore he got his envelope and could open it. All that was inside was four photocopies of an advertisement for used tractor parts - junk mail. This fellow actually had to pay to get his junk mail. To be fair, the Post Office had no way of knowing what was in the envelope, and neither did he. The real fault is with the tractor part people in Missouri who mailed the junk in the first place, but it's not worth calling or writing them to complain about 24 cents. Why was it mailed in the first place? It seems Doyle enjoys restoring old tractors, and his name must have ended up on some mailing list when he bought something else, or was sold to interested businesses when he joined an association of like-minded hobbyists. It's a bit ironic, don't you think, that we live in a province with a Freedom of Information and Privacy Act where public agency records are guarded with all the zeal of official secrets, yet names and addresses are bought and sold for mailing lists without our knowledge. A press release came through from the province a few months ago, proudly announcing the ap- pointment of a local person to an important office. It included a detailed biography of the ap- pointee. I said "terrific, let's call her uplor an interview". So I called the agency to find out her address or phone number. No dice - private information. Names, press releases, and biog- raphies are fine, but addresses or phone numbers are secret. Unless you're a company tak- ing down a customer's name, and are free to sell it to a mail- ing list so that person can be barraged with all kinds of spe- cial offers, book, tape, video -of - the -month -clubs, or whatever else you aren't the slighted bit interested in. Doesn't seem fair does it? In this age of high-speed com- puter transfer of information, we need better regulations otj,what can be bought and sold without our knowledge. We need Our public agencies to cough up what we really need to know, arid we need to be rest assured when we buy a magazine sub- scription that isn't an invitation to cram our mailboxes with junk. It was nothing, just epistaxis "What happened!" I inquired. Stephanie couldn't speak because she was too busy screaming. But Duncan, who had fol- lowed me, explained: "She is having a nosebleed." "is that all?" I said. I knew the moment the words came out that I shouldn't have said that. Stephanie raised her head by just a few inch- es, interrupted her screams and yelled: '1 might be bleeding to death, you know!" I said: "You should stop screaming. A nosebleed doesn't usually hurt." "It doesn't hurt," she spurted blood while say- ing it, "But I can't stop bleeding." Scream!! • Why do these things always happen when our resident registered nurse is not in residence?" Duncan said: "She is doing what she's supposed to do, bending her head forward and pinching her nose." "How do you know that's what you're sup- posed to do? I never did that!" "We both just learned it in our babysitting course." I looked it up in one of Elizabeth's nursing textbooks. Nosebleed - sec epistaxis. What? 1 I" • Continued on page 5