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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1984-06-27, Page 4F'TtnS?` , • i i?. Il !MY9: hi l 2* thea ,r' 44 11011 *nil • i 14iiit Yy!f1• Tot!! (TIILBLYTII STANDARD) Jo HOWARD AITKEN - Publisher SHELLEY Mc?44EE a Editor GARY WAIST - Advertising Manager MARY ANN HOLLENDECK - Office Manager • A MEMBER MEMBER Mahar otir*rNslnl retro *,t*IIubIe on nonoind. Ask for Mot* Curd. No. 1A effective October 1, 1999. Housing for -the. elderly We're Living longer than ever before and the increases in our aging population , is beginning to strain the seams of our communities. Locally, at the provincial and federal levels of government, the needs of the elderly are outweighing the available accommodation and services. The Canada Pension Plan is nearly 'exhausted, hospitals are being overloaded with the elderly, nursing homes are full and housing accommodations aren't large enough to meet the waiting lists of people. A group of Clinton residents has recognized the problem locally and for the past year have been working to develop a local senior citizens' housing complex. The Clinton Christian Retirement Community, is headed by a committee from the Clinton Christian Reformed Church. They ore working with the federal government Central Housing Mortgage Corporation and consulting firm, Shelter Care, in an attempt to provide additional seniors' housing in this area. By 1985 they hope to make their dream a reality - construct a 25 -apartment unit, one storey building that would provide; housing exclusively designed for senior citizens. The complex will have rent geared to the area market and 25 per cent will be low rental housing. Initial response to theproposal, from the community and the government, has been favorable. However, additional public support is essential before further progress tan be made. Committee members Jack Roorda and Dr. Brian Baker explain that in order to prove the need of the complex, the committee needs support from 70 area peo- ple. Of that, the committee requires "positive reponse” from 40. people who agree to take up residence in the Retirement Community within three years. 'We can't progress beyond phase one until we have the responses. in,'' Dr. Baker noted,. Already 40 people have supported the proposal and 15 have given their positive response" to rent. Whine many people are wary of supporting an unsure thing, or an idea, the Clinton 'Christian Retirement Community proposal does not obligate or deceive' people who sign. Those who sign are simply showing their support of the need for additional seniors' housing in this area and their interest in using the housing in the future. While initiated by the Clinton Christian Reformed Church, the housing proposal is interdenominational and would be managed on a volunteer basis by the board of governors. • The committee, including Mr. Roorda, Dr. Baker, Albert Valkenburg, Leida Gerrits, John Kassies and Kees Dykstra has foreseen the need of additional hous- ing requirements for'our local senior citizens. If you are 55 -years or older and support this cause, please take time to contact one of the committee members. -by S. McPhee - Behind The Scenes Only in th By Keith Roulston e movies A How cum in those movie chase scenes peo- ple, can jump cars over entire rivers without. bridges, land on the other side with hardly a hair out of place, and leave the stupid villains ( who often are also police it seems) fuming on the other side with a quick getaway in a car that works perfectly? Meanwhile, if. I drive over a deep pot hole I have to take my car in for $250 worth of repairs. How cum in movies everybody lives in marvellously interesting apartments? Nearly everybody I know who lives in a city apartment lives in one of those boring high- rise boxes so similar they look like they were stamped out with a cookie cutter in their similarity: Cities are filled with thousands of buildings of these places where people are stacked like hens in a cage -layer operation yet nobody in the movies ever seems to live in one. People in the movies' usually live in pen- thouses with wonderful views of the city. ( You neversee a parking lot from their balcony. Come to think of it, they don't have balconies, they have terraces.) How people can afford to live in these placet4hat must cost what most of us make in a year for a month's rent is beyond me but everybody seems to have one. They have sunken liv- uigrooms or balconies leading upstairs to the bedrooms and acres of glass overlooking the lights of the city. Even people who don't live in penthouses live in interesting older places like converted factory lofts. And not one ever has a cockroach. People who write columns for newspapers are often accused of having all the answers. I just have questions, lots of them. I want to know how cum in the movies peo- ple never seem to have any visible means of support? (And I don't just mean some of the scantily -clad well -endowed ladies.) I mean, everybody I know has to work at least. eight. hours a day just to put bread on the table. But in the movies, people never seem to have to take time out from car chases or making love to go to a hum -drum nine -to - five job. Where do they get the money to put ' gas in the car at 48.9 cents a litre to get in - those car chases? • Where do they get the money to buy satin sheets for the waterbed? How cum, for instance, when detectives in movies or television take a case, they always end up not getting any payment for it? They always get embroiled accidentally or they take a case as a favor to some ir- resistible tale by a pretty lady and they end up not getting a cent out of it. And yet they can always drive Porsches or Corvettes. How cum people in those beer commer- cials can always be sippingand looking hap- py while I get gas and get miserable from one glass? And how come those smiling, gorgeous young people can drink all that beer and still expertly ride surf boards or pilot hot air balloons. I can't even do it when I'm cold sober. How cum in movies and books people become a man (or woman) in one blaze of glory when they first have sex? Does that mean that someone who's celebate still hasn't grown up when they're 82? Lack of rural day. care. issue facing women. Women in Rural Life - the Changing Scene, a report recently released by the On- tario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, identified lack of rural daycare services as one of the key issues facing the active farm woman. The Federated Women's Institutes of On- tario have taken the initiative in addressing this issue under the leadership of their Pro- vincial Secretary, Mrs, Marcie Johnston. They have launched a pilot project in Bruce County, a part of the province where the plight of the farm woman was highlighted a Critical eye agar and Spice by Shelley McPhee A long, cold winter It's been a long, cold winter and spring, and my heart is still sore. But the tulips are bursting and the sun is shining, and the kind- ness of people keep the spirit alive. There's a tendency to sleep in, and stay up until the last late movie is over, and to exist on frozen chicken pies. But I can't do it. The phone keeps ringing. Old friends drop in. People bring me gifts. Naturally, the phone rings when I'm on the john 'or in the bathtub. I think I'll have it removed. Not the bathtub, blit the phone. Gifts? A daffodil in January. A pot of 'mums (I can't spell the whole word) in February. A chicken pie and butter tarts in March. An Easter lily from dear Julie at Easter. Cooked goodies from Evelyn, my cleaning lady. Three pounds of California dates from my old roommate at college., (Whatdoes one to with three pounds of dates?) Letters still come from all over the conti- nent. Some of them make me weep, as they try to condole -and comfort. I'll never get around to answering all of them, but thanks, thanks, especially to those who know me on- ly through this column. Good friends drop in to make sure I'm not going down the drain. Old friends have writ- ten: Gene Macdonald, Per Vidsten, Kay f )111s, and many others. You'll probably get my answers before Christmas. Other friends drag me out to dinner and force me to be genial, if not jovial. It's dif- ficult, but not impossible. The local golf club says I'll be fined if I don't pay up before a certain date. The in- surance company has already nailed me for year ago in a study conducted by' the Con- cerned Farm Women. The summer project is funded by a Canada's Summer Works Grant and will provide employment for four students - of early childhood education from the Univer- sity of Guelph. They will provide daycare services in the farm home to 20 families by rotating one day per week to each of the five families. The mother will be able to par- ticipate fully in farm activities during the period knowing that her children are safe and well cared for. S`, • By Bill Smiley being late in payment. I missed the date for one Visa card payment and been fined. Some guy from Avis in Florida tells me there was body damage to the car I hired, and was I in an accident. No. I don't think I'll even answer him. That's some of the good news and some of the bad. To the bad, I'm fairly impertur- bable. To the good, I'm grateful. More good news. My neighbours are as staunch as Scottish clansmen. They don't in- terfere. They don't pry. But when you need help, they're right there. Jim came over and tried to get my lawnmower going. He did, but it would stop., Finally I realized he'd been trying. to fix my old lawnmower, which the dopey kid I'd hired last year had put in the tool -shed, instead of leaving it out for the dump, as I'd intended. As Jim started . back to his workshop to have another go, I spotted the brand-new lawnmower at the back of the tool -shed. We hauled out a broken bicycle, sundry doors and screens, and pulled out the new one. It started like a jet fighter. He charged me nothing, even though I was the dunce.' And his wife invited me to coffee. More good news, I got a kid to cut my lawn and other dreary duties, and the manor looks half -decent. He was a goad lad, work- ed hard, and was honest, if taciturn. "Good"; that's OK.; Good," was all he said, but he worked. An old friend died while I was away, and I'm sorry I was not there for her funeral. She had devoted her life to teaching and helping others, and about three generations aI�idoscopQ Dear Editor, ' There is a campaign mounted ip Canada by a syndicated medical columnist, Dr. W., Gifford -Jones, to have heroin legalized for use as a pain killer for terminally ill cancer patients. He claims that heroin is two and one half times stronger than morphine. He argues that "37 other mations use heroin for " medical purposes. England bas used heroin for over 80 years to treat severely burned children, heart attack victims and women in difficult labours. Can the doctors in all these countries be wrong?" Europe also gave the world thalidomide; can other nations and doctors be wrong in their judgment? Politicians have shown that they seldom tell the complete truth about an if sue; are doctors any less human? Granted, to ease the suffering . of these people is very humane. However, the ques- tion arises as to how carefully this dangerous and addictive narcotic can be controlled in this use? One only has to read the newspapers to see how carefully the drug digoxin was con- trolled by the hospital staff at the Sick Children's Hospital in Toronto; or to see that vallum is one of the most abused tran- quilizers used by the medical profession. Would heroin be any different? In these 37 nations what are the statistics on the abuse of heroin and the crime rate involving heroin? interestingly these statistics are not mentioned in this campaign. It is unfortunate when a fellow human be- ing suffers,., but the cancer did not occur overnight. There are always some warning signs. Undoubtedly the doctor(s) would have performed a myriad of tests, perhaps performed surgery, used chemo or- radia- tion therapy in an attempt to cure the pa- tient: When all this fails, do the medical peo- ple now wish to ease their victim's (pa- tient's) suffering by using heroin? Eventually, the patient will succumb to nature and the doctors can now bury one more of their failures. No other profession in our society is granted this privilege. Should a policeman make an error in judgment and kill, or let be killed, a criminal, then society rantsand raves. Not so with the medical profession. We accept their mistakes by saying that they did the best they could, or that the cancer was incurable. All the while we continue to give millions upon millions of dollars to research in the hope that the elusive `cure' will be found. Pain is nature's way of telling an in- dividual that something is wrong with his body. It has been said that "Sickness is ig- norance: your own." Ignorance of the basic natural laws governing all things. The use of heroin will certainly ease the consequences of one's ignorance, but it definitely will not cure it. An alternative to having to resort to the use of heroin would be to educate people of these basic laws so that they will not get sick in the first place. Of course, the one disadvantage of this is that healthy people do not require doctors. We couldn't have that, now could we? J.P. Maxwell, Saskatoon. of students respected and loved her. She was the sort who sent flowers to my kids when they won at a music festival. Speaking of which, a scholarship in music was established in my wife's name, and she'd have been delighted to know that one of her favorite students had won it. She had not taught him, but spotted him as a winner several years ago. I'm trying to brace myelf for two weeks of . my grandb6ys early in July. It, was tough enough when their Gran was here to bawl them out for all sorts of . sundry misbehavior. If this column ceases to ap- pear about mid-July, send my mail to the local Medical Health Centre. They'll be going to a day camp, where they're supposed to tire themselves out with swimming and running and stuff. But they come home at 4:30, want to play soccer or to go to the beach, and are still' going at a 500 - watt clip. Then they want to stay up until midnight, watching TV. Oh, well, I'll pro- bably survive, and if I don't, so be it. , My big social event of the next while is the high school commencement, a long, often boring, and usually very hot evening. But I think I'll go. There's something awfully sweet about the girls ( who wore jeans all year) in their long dresses, and something pathetic in the graduating boys, strangely pathetic in real suits and choking to death in ties. • Otherwise, my busted shoulder is coming along, and I'rm going to try to swing a golf club, do some swimming, and get cracking on a book. "School's out for summer, school's out forever....." I remember singing out that Alice Cooper tune over a decade ago (Gawd can it be that long)! Don't know what kids are singing these days, probably some Duran, Duran number but I bet they still feel the same excitment, relief and joy that you and I did when summer vacation began. Vacation time is summer fun time and there's excitment in the air for the hundreds of public and high school students who finally feel free from the confines of the classroom. "No more pencils, no more books, no more teacher's dirty looks...." Clgoper sang. For the kids, summer is the best time of their lives, for parents and teachers its not so good. At local schools teachers are still hard at it. Over at the Clinton and District Christian School I found principal Ralph Schuurman orchestrating a moving crew. Teachers were lugging desks and drawers, boxes and bags from room to room. At St. Joseph's Separate School principal Ed Cappelli had his head buried in a bag of loose papers and at Hohnesville Public School Ron McKay's office was stacked with By Shelley McPhee boxes, in preparation for his move to Clinton Public School. At CHSS principal. Joe Wooden is tidying up loose ends and preparing to further his education at a special summer school course. In the homes, moms and dads are readying themselves for another long, hot summer. Someone should write a song about their vacation time dilemmas! +++' Yes, summer is officially here and by the look of the July and August calender, it's going to be busy season. Last weekend Blyth kicked off summer and the 10th season of the Summer'Festival with festive birthday party. This weekend the Bayfield Bicentennial events get underway and in Hensall all systems are go for the village's 100th birthday celebration. You can find a etaile t st of the events elsewhere in t p Also of spe lal . ' s ' ; upc, ing Dog Show, sponsored by the ; .water Kennel Club. The event will take place in the Blyth Community Centre on July 3 and 4, from 9 a.m to 4 p.m. The canine showing includes•entries from across Canada and the Women's pensions Dear Editor, If any progress is to be made in eliminating the high incidence of poverty among elderly women, Larry Grossman, the Ontario Treasurer, should reconsider a number of his proposals on pensions before he begins a series of meetings with other. provincial ministers this month'. Quite simply, the positions in these pro- posals are not in the best interests of Cana- dian women. Two areas in particular highlight Mr. Grossman's lack of understanding about the realities of life for the majority of women. Mr. Grossman has decided not to support . an increase of the current level of benefits under the Canada Pension -Plan. Although he has agreed to improve some aspects of employer pension plans, this will not help the majority of women earners. Most womerrare not enrolled in employer pension plans, or their work patterns and low earn- ings rule them out of adequate pensions under such plans. Only, through increases in the Canada Pension Plan can most women hope to achieve better pension coverage. Another area of concern has to do with Mr. Grossman's emphasis on increased sur- vivors' benefits as a way of improving pen- sions for older women. Rising divorce rates make any proposal based on a marriage. relationship increasingly irrelevant. Addi- tionally, because survivor benefits are bas- ed on a percentage of the husband's earn- ings, such a proposal clearly would benefit the wives of upper income spouses the most. As an alternative to increased survivors' benefits, we are urging provincial ministers to support the recommendations of the re- cent Parliamentary Task Force on Pension Reform. We urge that homemakers .with a spouse, or dependent children or relatives, receive direct coverage under the Canada Pension Plan. Under such a plan, pensions would be based on an estimated 'value of homemaking rather than on the income of the spouse. The homemakers' pension would be paid for mair4 by the spouse receiving the service, with the exception of low income earners. The cost of the homemakers' pension to„ the system would consequently not be great, and would con- tinue to decrease as more and more women enter or remain in the workforce. Most im- portant of all, a homemakers' pension would ensure that increased pension coverage goes to the women most in need. Later this year the Federal government will call together provincial ministers to discuss pension reform. The women of Canada must ensure that their provincial representatives at these discussions take their interests into account. Yours truly, Chaviva Hosek, President, National Action Committee on the Status of Women. Susan Kilburn, President, Y.W.C.A. of Metropolitan Toronto. Elizabeth Neville, Vice -President, Ontario Business,and Professional Women's Olub. United States and is really fun to watch. Remember too, that this weekend is one of those holiday times when we're all reminded to take extra caution, care and responsibility with drinking and driving. Have,fun, but be safe. + + + Clinton LACAC needs some information regarding the PUC Pump House on Park Lane. Local historians believed that the pump house served another purpose before 1909. Does anyone know what it might be? Contact Jo Winter, Paul Hartman' or Heather Hunter. +++ Blanche Deeves called to say that if you have time this summer, be sure to visit the Milton Agricultural Museum and the Halton Radial Railway Museum. Area residents recently joined the Goderich Township Enterprising Seniors on a bus trip tour of the museums and everyone was enthused about the displays. Of particular interest were the more than 100 Ontario Bicentennial quilts on display at Milton. Dorothy Bushell of Winghaln -won the Stitch In Time contest and her prize winning quilt will be presented to Queen Elizabeth.