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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1985-11-27, Page 1ENCOR yOR, ATI TH STANDARD -THE BAY NO. -48 120TH YEAR WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 27,1985 50 CENTS` Bluewater Centre forYoung Offenders officially opened By Anne Narejko GQDERICH TOWNSHIP - "This occasion marks a milestone in the development of Ontario's program for young offenders, which is designed to meet the spirit and._ intent of the Young Offenders Act." These words were spoken by Ken Keyes, Minister of Correctional Services. and Solicitor General of Ontario, during the official opening , of phase one of the Bluewater Centre for Young Offenders on November 22. Mr. Keyes was one of several dignitaries who opened the ministry's first secure custody facility established under the Young Offenders Act. The building which houses 16 and 17 -year- old offenders was formerly used for the developmentally handicapped. It has undergone renovations costing $680,000 and by the time the renovations are complete, the project is estimated to cost $10.4 million. "The interim renovations have involved 50,000 square feet. The long range plans for the permanent program will cover 120,000 square feet, costing multi -millions," . said Bluewater Superintendent Carl DeGrandis. The complete program, or phase two, is expected to be finished by April 1, 1987: When the announcement to convert the Bluewater Centre for 'the Developmentally ndicapped into the Bluewater Centre for ung, Offenders was made in 1983, ministry officials said present employees would, be retrained. According to Vic Crew, Regional Director for the 'Western Division of Ministry of Correctional. Services, this has been done. "Eighty-four people were offered jobs when the switch -over was made. Of those, 77 accepted and were 'retrained," .he said, adding that some received more in-depth training than others. "Retraining began on December 17 with classroom work and .placement in .other institutions. Some retraining lasted until August (when the first resident arrived). Others finished earlier." Presently 102 people are employed at the Centre which currently houses 44 residents. When the permanent program is in place, the staff will number 150, with 121 residents. Operating costs for the.1986.,'87 fiscal year are estimated at $5.5 to $6-r'lilion, There. are no females residents in the centre at this point; but one unit (16 beds ) could eventually become co-ed. "They would mix during the day and in the evening, but not at night," said Mr. DeGrandis. At present, young female offenders are placed in a centre in Brampton. Secondary School Within the high 'wire fence that surrounds the Bluewater Centre is a secondary school, staffed and maintained by the Huron County Board of Education. The Bluewater Secon- dary School offers a regular academic cur- riculurn that allows residents to continue 1 their education under the credit system. "The school has its own . principal and staff," said Mr. DeGrandis. "It's in their (board of education's( hands...The right hands. "The Centre signs a contract that says what surroundings and ' equipment are I available and the ministry r of education) ;says what type of education they can J, provide," Mr. DeGrandis said. 1 The school is funded through 'a special ministry of education grant and has 20 dents in Grades 9. 10, 11, and one student' rade 12. Features Upon entering the Bluewater ('entre, a new resident is photographed and individual The Bluewater Centre for Young Offenders was officially opened on Ncitlernber 22 with jack ,Riddell, (left) Huron -Middlesex MPP and Minister of Agriculture'and Food, and Ken Keyes, Minister Of Correctional Services and Solicitor General of Ontario present. A plaque and a picture of the Huron County Court House and the park were unveiled. Representatives from other local municipalities were also present. (Anne Narejko photo) • property is tagged and placed in a sealed bag- assigned specifically to them., • The resident is taken.on a full tour of the facility and placed in a specific unit. During its interim phase, the Centre has been divided into two, residential units .- Ontario House and Huron House. Each unit provides 36 beds, a day room, activity area, small kitchen and laundry facilities. A house manager, 14 youth officer complement, social porker and psychologist work in each unit. All meals at the Centre are prepared by the Food Services Department and are served in alarge cafeteria. The overall physical programming of the residents is the responsibility of two recreation officers and a recreation co- ordinator. These three people are responsible for providing regular gym classes during school and organizing a physical fitness club, trampoline club and indoor and outdoor sports. They also co- ordinate weekend activities and special events such as winter carnivals and leisure activities, 'I'o ensure the health of the residents, a health care centre is located on the premises. It consists of a nursing co- ordinator and five registered nurses who provide daily medical ...services. Two physicians also visit the Centre on a regular basis.' Opening Ceremonies • The opening ceremonies on November 22 . were held in the auditorium with prominent citizens from the surrounding municipalities present. Also present for the official opening was Jack' Riddell, Huron -Middlesex MPP and Minister of 'Agriculture and Food, who felt the Bluewater Centre will be as valuable as it was in the past. "The Centre will serve as great a need as it ever has in its other two 'roles," he said, hornmenting on the building's original use as a psychiatric facility' in 1962 and its use for the deyelopmentally handicapped. Mr. Keyes feels, '.`It's an excellent facility to work with...The presence of the high school adds to it." Before concluding, Mr. Keyes added,' "The task of. administering society's • sanctions against lawbreakers is a difficult one at the best of times." School gives offenders hope BY SHARON DIETZ Editor's note: The names 'of the young offenders interviewed for this story have been changed to protect their identity. Derek and Matt are among the first residents to serVe time in Ontario's first secure custody facility for young of- fenders. Convicted on charges of break, enter and theft, theft under $200 or theft over $200, they received secure custody sentences after their third or fourth of- • fence. Derek says it wasn't so much the kids he hangs around with, but his lack of interest in school, his frustration with the system elhis parents' rules plus a need for rey that led to his brush with the law.' 'He finds school frustrating. He gets along well during the first term in a school year but as the year progresses, and he is . responsible for remembering more work, his ability to do well on exams decreases and by the end of the year, he is failing. He needs to be able to accomplish things faster and a school year is too long to wait for achievement. He wants to get his Grade 12 and find a job and earn some money so he can be on his own. Things aren't coming together fast enough. While serving his time at the Bluewater Centre for Young Offenders, Derek finds he' can earn his school credits faster. Because the classes are so much smaller, the teachers have time to spend with him and he feels he's getting the attention he needs. 'He's studying physical education, Man in Society, English and math. Time goes inuch faster at the Bluewater Centre. He stiyed two weeks at a detention centre ' before coming to the Goderich facility. "Two weeks in the, detention centre felt like two months where here two months feels like two weeks," he says. ' In the detention centre'there was nothing to do but sit in a room all day and he was permitted only 40 minutes of recreation. At the Bluewater Centre the day is busy with school classes, recreational activities, jobs to do and cleaning' the dormitories. Matt stayed six days in a detention cen- tre before coming to Bluewater and he remembers he couldn't wait to get out of there. Studying English, math, Consumer Studies, physical education and law in the accredited high school at the centre, he hopes to have five credits by the time he finishes his sentence. For Matt, who had a fulltime job two summers ago, break and enter was "something to do." He couldn't find a Sum - Mer job and after having one the previous seunmer, he missed the money and the purpose to his days. His parents would have given him the money for the things he wanted, but he doesn't like to be dependant on other peo- ple for his spending money, when he can earn it himself if he has work. He resents some people's desire to find a reason for what he did. "There isn't a reason for every action," he says. Matt gets along well with his parents and they visit regularly and support him. They have participated in family counselling sessions. He's determined that when he has served his time, he will put this behind him, finish school and find work. For Derekthe return to his home com- munity isn't going to be easy, He's two years away from finishing his Grade 12. He doesn't want to live at home because his parents haven't given him any freedom or space since he was charged, but he has no income and can't be independent without money. He has to live at home if he's going to finish school and he doesn't know how he will manage when he returns home. In the meantime, he's just waiting to get out and hoping he will be able to get his Grade 12 and find a job. Getting credits while he waits has helped and he hopes to be released early so he can enroll in a semester program which will enable him to be more succesful at school. The establishment of an accredited high school at the centre -has really put an an- chor to the whole program, according to the centre's superintendent, Carl DeGran dis. A characteristic of offenders, even adult offenders, is the need for immediate ac- complishment, he says. Quarter credits in School would satisfy the need of some students who require a sense of ac- complishment immediately. The student would not have to wait a whole school year to achieve a credit which can be lost because you have one bad term. After 52 years, Frank Van Altena is retiring from the barbering business. The shop on Rattenbury St. is opening for the last time on November 30. Mr. Van Altena says he's go- ing to miss the chats with all the regular customer he's come to know over the years. Here, he gives a haircut to long time customer Norman Baird. ( Alan Rivett photo) Barbed retires after 52 years CLINTON - One by one,the regulars filter in to take their place in the barber's chair to have a little off the top. In ,the process, there's always the "inevitable chats about everything from politics. to fruit flies: For Frank Van Altena, -it's the barbershop conversations which -have made barbering worthwhile. It's also something he's going to miss. On November 30, Frank's Barber -Shop, the little shop on Rattenbury Street, will be opened for thelast time. After 52 years in the barbering business, Mr. Van Altena is retiring: "How I stayed for 52 years behind the barber's chair 1 don't know. Buf, I did it anyways," said the diminuitive hair cutter. He'll surely be missed by his "regulars", two of .which came in recently 'before the shop's closing. Lloyd Stewart of Clinton has been a faithful patron of Mr. Van Altena's 'for the past 27 years. "You get a good haircut and I've known Frank for years," . said Mr. Stewart, reflecting on his long time association with the shop while waiting for a haircut. "He'll have to cut his own hair now," said Mr. Van Altena, while working on Norman Baird, a regular for the past 35 years. The moving process has already 'begun, says Mr. Van Altena, who belies his 65 years of age. The flowers which have always been part of the shop's decor have been moved to his Dunlop Street home.. The other items will he moved after the November closing. Mr. Van Altena, an immigrant from holland• learned the barbering trade in 1933 at age 13 in Amsterdam. He attended night school five days a week for four years. He recalled working at the school on Saturday evenings doing shaves. After learning the trade he -won kid in a shop in his hometown of Haar Le'n. The work at the shop also inclucPd IP king wigs and applying make-up for a l,ic.il ticatre company. When the war broke out in 1935, he joined the army. Throughout the war, his barbering skills were useful in earning some pocket money. After the day's army duty ended, he would give haircuts for 10 cents a ,cut, he says. After the end of the war, he barbered in' Den Haig and Haar Lem for a few years before moving with his wife Anna Marie to Canada. After . ' running ' barbershops in the basement of the old Cloud Nine Lounge, the Vanastra airbase, and on King Street, he eventually settled into his present shop in 1975. . Mr. Van.Altena, recently defeated in his bid for the reeve's position of Clinton in the municipal election, says he will have lots to do in his retirement. Besides working on the • house, he plans to spend time doing his favorite activity - planting flowers. He's philosophical about the shop's closing. He simply ,says, "my time's up." However, the conversation -filled days are ' going to be missed. I'm going to to miss people coming in to have a talk. 1 always liked that," he said. Subdivision plans halted CLINTON - After several years of waiting and wondering,' council here finally has an answer regarding the plans for a proposed subdivision development in town. . Council has learned from William Kotar that his plans to build a housing subdivision on Bayfield Road have been shelved. In a letter to Council, Mr. Kotar said that he would no longer be proceeding with th, plan "due to circurnstances beyond my con - trot" Clinton Council had given Mr. Kotar until March 1986 to give Some indication that he • would be proceeding with the subdivision work. The final'extension was approved th fall with the understanding that it WO be the final one given. R . ' causes problems Crops and lots of rainfall are usually a winning combination but the steady rainfall through the month of November' has been anything but good news. Not only has the rain put some farmers behind in the corn harvest but - it has -also brought on a variety of negative side effects. • According to Brian Hall, a representative of the Ontario Ministry of 'Agriculture in Clinton, most of the corn has been harvested but'the rain has delayed the crop by as much as two weeks in some parts of Huron County, and may result in a low yield this year. "It has certainly hurt the yield by delaying the corn harvest. The delay could knock the yield down by five to 10 per cent. "It's certainly a lot more stressful for the farmer with all the corn crop still in the field trying to get it in before the( snow flies. Some people have been working all hight to get it off," said Mr. Hall. The wet weather, reported to be nearly double the rainfall experienced in November of 1984, is also causing mold to develop on the corn which is especially bad • news for farmers using corn for livestock feed., "it's going to he of great concern to poultry and, swine producers. The mold produces toxins in the corn which could result in feed refusal and a few other problems with poultry and swine," he said. Mr. Hall said this year is a bad year for mold with the toxicology lab at the University of Guelph being swamped with corn samples to be analyzed to see if it can he fed safely to livestock. The incidence of corn mold varies widely from field to field, he said, b'ut the longer the corn is left in the field the greater the chance there is of mold. The fall plowing has also hindered by the rain delayed harvest and the snowfall that has hit the area. "if the weather doesn't improve, some farmers may forego fall plowing. Some may keep going until the weather says you can't plow anymore," he said. Bev Hill, owner of Hill and Hill Farms near Varna, estimates he's a week behind in his corn harvest due to the higher than normal rainfall in the area in November. He says he might have finished on time, usually around the middle of November, but was more concerned with the soy Kean harvest. "It hasn't been a big problem. I'm not sure that we're behind that much," he said. Mr. Hill estimates he has 300 acres of corn yet to har , est but says it will only take a few days to be finished. The fall plowing should be completed shortly after the harvest. "Our plow is fairly close to the combine. We're certainly going to get it done, always have," said Mr. Hill. As for mold on the corn, Mr. Hill says it is presenting a problem. How much of a problem is still yet to be determined. "it's going to take time to determine the extent of the problem, but there is more mold than normal," he said, adding that a portion of his corn crop will go towards livestock feed. Mr, Hill says he hasn't experienced any problem with corn having excessive moisture levels. Most of the corn harvested is testing between 22 to 25 per cent moisture with " a few isolated cases" where the corn has tested over 30 per cent. Wayne t'antelon, another Clinton area farmer, says the poor field conditions coupled with the increased need to get the soy bean harvest finished has put him behind in the corn harvest. Mr. ('antelon says he has started the corn harvest on October 22 but was forced to stop soon after to finish the soy bean harvest. He has 176 acres of corn left to harvest but is not worried about prospects of a late harvest. "You can take it off sometime," he said. He says fall plowing will depend on the weather in the next few weeks. However, he doesn't foresee any problems. "Lot's of times we've plowed in i)ecember, he said. , Bill Fleming, owner of Fleming Feed Mills in Clinton, says the corn 4arvest in the area is mostly off with approximately 10 per cent of the crop left to come off, mostly on the wet land around Clinton, Turn to page 3