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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1985-01-16, Page 113 A Winter fun on a frozen pond Skaters and winter sport entusiasts of all ages were out in force Sunday as the Cana- dian Parents for French sponsored a skating and tobagganing party in Goderich Township . Bales of hay provided adequate seating for the youngsters while dutifail parents.' laced skates and children were delighted with a surprise visit from on Homnse,. (photos. by Dave Sykes) • Deputy -reeve Britnell :esi, ns from council Extended involvement as .a commission member on a Board of Public Inquiry has led Goderich deputy -reeve Jim Britnell to submit his resignation from town council. In .a letter to council Britnell explained that the work of the board requires him to travel extensively throughout the province and hearings, expected to end in 1984, will extendthrough March. "You will recall that I Wormed council some months ago that because of my in- volvement as a Commission Member. of a Board of Public Inquiry established to hold public hearings on thee regulations-- for. establishing mobile .facilities for the destruction of P.C.B.s (l'olythlorinated Biphenyls) that I would not be able to be present at all or even' many council meetings during November and December 1984. The work of the commission is not pro- ceeding as quickly as had been estimated and it now appears than the public par- ticipation anticipation phase of the hearings, that re- quire mean be in Toronto five days per week, will notbe completed until mid Mar- ch, 1985. It is for this reason that I feel I must, with regret, submit my resignation from council. I have enjoyed my two years serving as deputy. -reeve and wish council success in its deliberations." the letter read. _.At_its .next..xegular meeting, _Monday, January 21, council wall accept momma - tions for the position otdeputy-reeve ty-reeve from` within the council ranks. Then council will have the option of appointing a new member to fill the vacant council seat or calling an election. Britnell, the town's deputy -reeve far the past two years andon o e f council's Jim Britnell representatives on Huron County Council, has also acted as chairrnan of the works. and engineering committee. The former county - engineer also ran . for the Pro- gFeeetve ---- nservativesin-the last provin-- cial election -in the riding of 'Huron - Middlesex. Councillor Don Wheeler moved that the resignation be accepted "with regret" and thatthe appointment - of a new -deputy-.. reeve be tabled until !tomb -lotions are held ata pecial meeting of council Monday. Streetpr-oofing coue offered here by so�ity The figures have been repeated over. and over m the press. They tell a sad and startling story. Temper cent of Canadian familes will be confronted with sexual abuse. One out of every three females , will be sexually molested berfore age eighteen. One out of every nine boys will be sexual- ly molested berfore age eighteen. More than 85 per cent of abusers are known'to the victim. Ignorance is a large part of the problem. In most families, neither the parents nor the children have sufficient knowlegde about how to deal with and prevent sexual abuse. " In the interest of increasing awareness and protecting children from the dangers of abuse, the local Beta Sigma Phi sorority is sponsoring a free two-hour crash course on , "Streetproofing_ Your Children", featuring guest speaker, Holly Keil. The course will be held Tuesday, January 29, at 8 p.m., at Victoria Public School. All adults . are welcome. For further information on the course, call the Goderich Recreation Office, 524- 2125, or Barbara DesJardins, 524-2589. There are a number of ways parents can reduce the odds against their child being sexually abused, according to information provided ,i. .co-operation4with Health and ' Welfare Canada. An unattended child is a child at risk. Ar- range with your child an alternative place • to wait u you are delayed, especially in the darker .winter evening. Suggest a well -lit store or inside an arena or school. Always, --where poss le, -have children walk m pairs or grouPe. Children should always travel the swine way home. Use a family code. Children should never go with anyone, not even a close family friend, unless they are able to give the child the code. Once the code has been • used, it should be changed. Don't allow young' children to go to a public washroom unattended. Check your babysitter's credentials thoroughly. In your. absence, they are guardians of a priceless treasure. If you suspect that an abuse has taken place, encourage the child to talk about it. Establish in the child's mind that they are not to blame. Do not correct the. child's --story, •listen -to theoriginalwords, even those which are babyish, or family words. Do not suggest or modify what the child is trying to say. Your idea's might confuse the truth. . Do not show horror or anger, however, if caught by suprise and unable to control your emotions, b e clear that your angerls meant for the offender, not the child. When you are aware of an incident of sexual abuse, call the police immediately. .ensure-thateaeseeial-worker,a-policeofse.y ficer and someone supportive to the child' is present, when the evidence is given. taff beginsretrainingtt-een t -re While the former Bluewater Centre may not house young offenders for several mon- ths, 84 employees -are preparing for its con- version to a detention centre for young of- fenders. Carl DeGrandis, administrator of the juvenile detention centre, told a recent Rotary Club meeting that . 84 former Bluewater Centre employees are now on retraining courses in preparation for the conversion. Thirty-five employees were given temporary employment with other ministries and the remaining 49 began the retraining process December 31, 1984. Given that centre on Highway 21 south has undergone.:numerous,changes since its opening, and that the surrounding, Com- mu/titles are rife with speculation on the operation of the new detention facility, DelGrandishopes to disseminate as much information on the facility as possible. A spirited meeting held by the Ministry Of Correctional -Services, the ministry responsible for the operation of the facili- ty, in Goderich Township in October solicited a number of views, questions and e ilcerns, I hope the centre will hbt be a & uree of mystery and anxiety," DelGrandis said. "The ministry has an enviable reputation for involving the community and asking it to participate in making this a vialbe in- Bluewater won't be ready to reopen ,Iuntil 1986 • stitution accepted by the community. Having worked in 11 institutions in the past 16 years, Del Grandis recognizes the importance of nurturing a healthy rela- tionship between community and in- stitution. "This is not a public relations ex- ercise but an attempt to- share with the community where we're at," he explained. 'Mee were shine 'incisive and real quest tions at the previous meeting arid we decided to address these questions in the community. - The Bluewater Centre for the Developmentally Handicapped was closed • by the Ministry of Community and Social Services in November 1983 and it was subsequently annoupced that the centre would become a regional detention centre to house youn offenders, The Young Offenders Act, was proclaim- ed by the federal government April 1, 1984, replacing the former Juvenile Delinquent Act. Ostensibly, the YOA redefined the juvenile as anyone under 18 years of age and established regional centres to house the offenders. While the provisions of the act become law April 1, most provinces will not be able to house the 16 and 17 year- old juveniles until 1986: And the situation at this centre is really no .different. Approximately --$1.0 million will he spent`on renovations to the centre to convert it to a. detention facility .and DelGrandis assured it would not be operating to capacity until -1986. An interim program will be im- plemented at the centre beginning April 1 but it will at least a year before the renoav- tion work is complete. w The Bluewater C etre. will basically house young offenders from the Southwestern Ontario having a catchment area from Windor to Guelph and north to Owen Sound. . _ As many as 120 males and 12 females will occupy the' facility, at one time" and DelGrandis said statistics indicate the average length of stay will be in the nine to o e;ton hal off, nit frm9,30 to 11 1,3Oto ',p.m gin motion f ive committ i f`or'th@ openl: bend at 3.30p..m.nuta oioni : 1 Beads toes dtheo ep ells to 9 p.m. `bras endorsed During . the" open house, wee will;, be served and councillors have been asked to be resent to answer questions of the public. Also, ..a video tape en local govern- ment and the towai's tourist and industrial video'will be shown. Committee chairman Bill Clifford ad- mitted that while council was aware of Local Government Week well in advance, the date t* the committee by surprise. "We felt that we should do something to promote. total Government Week and we. thought the best we could do was to have an open house," he explained. "People can come through town hall, see displays, view fihiis and councillors can answer ques- tions. It was a matter of timing." Councillor Don Wheeler suggested coun- cil- "should make citizens aware we have open house the first hr-ee" Mondays of every month through the year." Coun- cil meets at 7.30 p.rfa. on the first three Mondays of each month. Everyone is invited to attend the open house at town hall Friday in celebration of Local Government Week. Will limit 1985 increase to four per cent Four per cent will be the 1985 budget in- crease guide for the Huron County Board of Education. At its first meeting of the new year, the school board set the guidelines, so work can get started on the 1985 budget. The board noted that if there are pro- posals calling for more than a four per cent increased "there has to- be -a -corresponding- cutback elsewhere in the budget. Similar action was taken .Past year to limit spending. Some of the pihtjects to be considered in budget deliberations include French Im- mersion, cornputeAs, the implementation of further technical education, extending music instruction at both elementary and secondary .schools and extending family studies and industrial arts to all elemen- tary schools. . INSIDE THE SIGNAL STAR 12 month range the . maximum sentence for a juvenile is two years while conviction of multiple offences could net a juvenile a three-year incarceration period. The centre's annual budget will ap- proach $8 million but that figure is con- tingent upon the Huron County Board of Education implementing and maintaining responsibility for a school curriculum. Ex- ploratory meetings and negotiations between the board' and the ministry have been ongoing. and Del Grandis was confi- dent that a settlement could be reached. In response to a question about facility - residents being released within the com- munity on day passes or that'sort of thieg, Del Grandis explained that since the of- iienders would-be Close to their- own com- munity, re-entry would be more suitlable in those locations. "The theory is that it's important to get- people, when they are ready, back into the comm ty. Outp`rograi.lnust be geared to mg their return to the community and making sure it's problem free," he said. "I would hope they would return to their own community, where they will be living when they are released." While- statistics suggest the centre's.." population will be in the 130 range, only four of the eight existing living units at the centre will be used. It leaves room for ex- pansion if required. Figure skating The Goderich Skating club held a test and trophy day at the local arena on Satur- day. Members from Novice age on up com- peted for trophies in various categories. Story and photos in our Recreation section. Hockey Visitors Goderich hosted a group of minor hoc=key tetarerfronrPort Huron, Michigan, on the weekend, for an annual two -game series between -Port Huron and Guderich minor hockey B teams. Details and pic- tures in Recreation, page 2. Basketball resumes The GDCI Viking basketball teams were back in action this week. Goderich hosted 'both -Stratford Central Rams and Norwell Redmen at the Senior, Yunlor and Midget boys levels. Story arid photo in Recreation.