HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1999-04-21, Page 37Wednesday, April a1, 1999
Exeter Time. -Advocate
Community
Seniors reaches milestone
EXETER — The Exeter Country. would like to come out for Each week includes an
Dining Out Program of The dinners, which take the weekly dinner. informative speaker or
Town and Country place each Tuesday at Some volunteers have entertainment and sever -
Support Services turns 10 noon at the Exeter Lions been helping serve the al people stay for cards or
years old next week and Youth Centre, draw an meal since the program other games afterwards.
will suitably celebrate average of 40 people. began while others have
with a dinner on Tuesday. Attendance has "retired" and are now
The program started in remained constant and recipients of the program.
1989 because there was a with healthier seniors, Skinner said the dining
need for people in the diners are older than program is an important
community to come when the program first volunteer program
together for a delicious, began. Skinner says there because the volunteers
nutritious meal, said Faye is still room for the are helping people they
Skinner of Town and younger seniors who may not know.
No French immersion this fall
by Michele Greene
SEAFORTH - There will be no French
immersion in Avon Maitland District
School Board schools this fall.
Although trustees approved its imple-
mentation and over 400 students
expressed interest in enrolling, only 33
students actually did. It wasn't enough to
run the program in Bedford Public
School, Grey Central Public School and
Huron Centennial Public School.
Superintendent Marie Parsons said the
lack of transportation was the main rea-
son parents chose not to register their
children in French Immersion. It was
expected to be offered in Grades 1 and 4
this fall and expanded every year after
"Parents would like to see the students
transported door to door or a reasonable
distance," she said.
She said parents also requested that all
children from the same family be
switched to the school hosting the
French Immersion program, even if they
are in the English program.
"Asking for all students to be in one
school is logical. For a parent, it would
be a huge convenience," said trustee
Abby Armstrong.
Parsons said allowing transfers of
other members of the same family could
cause staffing complications. However,
the request will also be reconsidered
when the administration takes another
look at how it might be able to offer
transportation another year.
Although the program won't be imple-
mented this fall, Parsons said it may be
offered another year which parents rec-
ommended.
Former trust asks for financial review
by Michele Gree le
SEAFORTH - A former school board
trustee is calling for a financial review of
the Avon Maitland District School
Board's books by the province.
Last Tuesday night, Margaret Erb of
Stratford presented the board with a
550 -name petition which requests a
financial review of the board's financial
affairs. The petition will be sent to Perth
MPP, Bert Johnson,and Minister of
Education and Training Dave Johnson .
She said last year's sale of the board's
Stratford administrative building and
budget projections that don't match the
province's projections motivated her to
request the audit.
"We're hoping to have a review of
what's happening, to see if the spending
is the same as other boards. It shows the
people . are interested in how the money
is being spent," she said.
4-H club
holds
election
of officers
37
LUCAN - The first 4-H
meeting, Working with
Yarn was held April 10 at
leader Terry McTaggart's
home.
The meeting was
opened with the 4-11
pledge. A welcome was
extended to the members
and an introduction of the
club was given by the
leaders.
The next meeting will
be held on April 24 at
Marr's home.
An election of officers
was held. Jenni Noyes is
the President, Gemma
Vandenberg is Vice
President, Meghan
McTaggart will be the
secretary and press ,
reporter. ,The group dis
cussed the requirements
of the club, terms and
abbreviations, equipment
and the ply of various
yarns followed by learn-
ing to cast on stitches and
then to knit.
The President closed
the meeting with the 4-H
motto.
The Exeter United Church held its United Church Women Anniversary Service
on Sunday morning. From left, guest speaker Margaret l Hern, �awpresident of
e
Huron/Perth, Eleonor Clark, Doris Denham and Shirley
Precious
Blood CWL
plan draw
Kate's Canine Corner
The Times -Advocate is pleased to
offer an exciting new column: Kate's
Canine Corner. This is an opportunity
for our readers to have their questions
about dog behavior answered by a pro-
fessional dog trainer. •
How do 1 teach my dog to recog-
nize property boundaries?
Well this is one of the most com-
plex questions I have had so far.
First of all I wish 1 could give you
an easy answer but I can't. Every
dog is different and some respond to one method
and others to a different method.
All you can do is keep trying various ones until
one works.
With this in mind the•very first thing to do is go to
some kind of dog obedience classes in your area. It
doesn't necessarily have to be my classes as long as
it is a course that 'will teach you how to train your
dog in the basics Sit Down, Stay and Come.
Most dogs once they ha basic understanding
of whatiyou expect from theei will obey you when
you ask their' to "Come" or "Leave It".
The next kepis to take your dog on a loose leash
to the boundaries of the area you want your dog to
stay within. I would also recommend that if you
have two acres of land, you don't have to walk the
entire area with your dog. I have six acres,but all I
want is my dogs to stay on the top part of my front
lawn , and side lawn, I don't want my dogs on the
driveway so I have taught my dogs the boundary is
the lawn areas only.
When you walk your dog on the loose leash and
they wander over the boundary you have decided
on, say "NO" in a firm voice and give a gentle, but
firm jerk on the leash to pull your dog back over,
then,praise and reward your dog. If your dog has-
n't stepped over the boundary but is thinking about
it, "Say "NO" and "LEAVE IT". Then when your
dog turns back towards you, then praise . right
, away.
The one thing to' remember is that the only time
)our dog is to go, off the boundary •area is on a
leash with you, NEVER on its, own. ' So once you
' have set the boundaries and you forget and letyour
dog get away with going over them with no correc-
tion or just playing with the kids etc., you will then
have to start the training process all over again.
You must be consistent when ever you train' your
dog, whether it is "Sit Stays" or "Boundary train-
ing". Now that your dog understands the bound-
aries test your dog by putting him/her on a loose
leash and have a friend try to entice your dug over
the boundary ,either with food, another dog or cat
make sure the other animal is well controlled at all
times incase your dog misbehaves.
If your dog stays put, make sure, you praise him
immediately. If he/her makes a mistake, correct
your dog and c'o the test again. Repeat this test
often to make sure your dog understands what is
expected, always remember to praise and reward
your dog immediately for good behavior.
Now the only problem with boundary training is
that a dog is an individual and has its own mind,
and even the best trained dog in the world, can
cross a boundaryif there issomething really entic-
ing on the other side i.e. children playing ball, a
rabbit, cat etc.
OCHER
KATE'S CANINE
CORNER
EXETER - On April 13 a
meeting of the Precious.
Blood CWL was held at
Trivitt Hall following Mass
by Father Paul. President
Cecilia Mittelholtz chaired
the meeting. Jan
Ducharme introduced the
guest speaker, Alma
Langfot'd who spoke
about "Positive Thinking"
using the power of laugh-
ter.
Gerry Gregus, Annette
Denomme and Aggie
Groenewegen are orga-
nizing a spring draw to be
held on Mother's Day,
May 9. Prizes consist of a
bicycle, blue jeans, snug-
gle quilt, several designer
bird houses and potted
plants. • • ,
A banner bearing the
name of the church will
be made for the interfaith
church service to be held
at the Zurich arona dur-
ing the International
' Plowing Match , in
September.
Two representatives will
be sent to the CWL
Diocesan Convention in
Windsor near the end of
April. •
The door prize was won
by Mary Dietrich. The
meeting closed with a
prayer for vocations.
•
The only sure way you can keep your dog on your
property is by putting up fencing, either the tradi-
tional kind or underground fencing that no one can
see. The advantage to under ground fencing is it is
not unsightly, but the disadvantage is that your dog
must wear a collar that gives theffi a warning that
they are getting too close to the underground fence
boundary and it is up to the dog to turn around or
get a mild shock if they try to cross it. The shock is
mild and does work as a deterrent and I know
many people that are using -this system.
As I said it is all up to the dog which method will
work the best for both of you. What I tell my stu-
dents is to go step by step, starting with obedience
training until you find the method that works for
your dog and you feel comfortable with. •
Mail, fax. deliver or e-mail, (kmonk@ta. eedy. com)
your questions to Kate Monk at the Times -
Advocate. Please include your name and phone
number. Your name will be kept confidential.
Kate Fletcher has been the head instructor and owner of
the South Huron Dog Obedience School for nine years.
She is the owner of Buil Lovers Kennels near Exeter and
breeds bull terriers. Kate shows dogs competitively inboth
confirmation and obedience
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