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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1985-03-27, Page 1fi iT ?% rs� ;ie '.7717 GPDEPRA ONTARIO, WEDNESDAY, MARCRZ7 *9'. 50 CENTS PER COPY ionai centre wi Young Offenders will tbvt:h9used hete The former Bluewater Centre for the Developmentally Handicapped is slowly being transformed into a regional deten- tion centre for young offenders. The transformation, while not visible from the outside; has been ongoing for the past few weeks as interior walls fall victim to sledge and air hammers while others are replastered in preparation for the ae- ceptance.of residents. Administrator Carl DeGrandis estimates that up to $'/i million will be spent transforming one wing of the centre into adequate living quarters for the first residents, expected to arrive in July. The interior construction is only part of an interim phase initiated to accom- modate the mode to a juvenile detention centre this year. While young offenders will be moved into one wing of the facility gradually over the latter half of the calen- dar year, construction of the permanent facility will take place in preparation for the 1986 opening. The Young Offenders Act, proclaimed by the federal government April 1, 1984 replaced the former Juvenile Delinquent Act. ,_The Act, basically, redefined the juvenile as anyone under 18 years -of age and established regional centres to house the offenders. While most of the provisions of the new act become law April 1, most provinces will not be in a position to operatesuch regional centres until 1986. The. case is not much different here. While interim measures are, being com- pleted ompleted to have the regional centre opera- tional by July, it will not operate at capaci- ty until 1986. As much as $10 million will be spent on renovations to the centre to convert the facility to a detention centre. The centre will house offenders from Southwestern Ontario in an areabounded by Windsor, Guelph and Owen Sound to the north. in July Former employees of the Bluewater Centre for the Developm ly Handicapped have been participating in a retraining pro sponsored by the Ministry of Correctional Services at the cl While the centre will start receiving residents in July, DeGrandis expects to reach 100 by September. When the centre is operating at peak capacity, the ad- ministrator estimates it would house as many as 120 males and about 12 female of- fenders. During the preliminary stage; the centre will not house any female offenders. In preparation for the opening, staff nom- The regional detention centre for young offenders is scheduled to ram open in July. As many as 84 former employees will be employed $t the detention centre. (photo by Dave Sykes) have been involved in ongoing training and into the centre's staff closer to the startup placement programs with the Ministry of date. Coqrrr�ectional Servie s.ygat .y.eight:for a„ a former Bluewater, Centre was. clos► Bluewater Centre employees have been in- ed by the Ministry in November 1983 and volved in training; programs for youth then Secretary of State Gordon Walker an- nounced plans to convert the facility to a regional centre for young offenders. While DeGrandis has taken the initiative Turn to page 2 • supervisors who will provide direct care to residents. An additional 36 former employees are still on the employment rolls of the Ministry of Community and Social Services and will be incorporated Nuclear war is number one health hazard BY SUSAN HUNDERTMARK Along with the literature on heart disease, cancer and diabetes, pamphlets discussing a greater threat to mankind can be found in the office of Goderich doctor, Jim Hollingworth. Information on nuclear war and disarmament as well as a petition which collected close to 150 signatures in two weeks for Peace Caravan, point to the quiet conviction held by Dr. Hollingworth that the build-up of nuclear arms is today's greatest health hazard. "An increasing part of a doctor's work is advising patients about hazardous lifestyles •and nothing comes nearer the threat to life than nuclear war," he says. "My stand against nuclear war is in the same preventative mode as telling a workman to wear boots and a hardhat but it's at a planetary level for the whole of mankind." Dr. Hollingworth is a member of Physicians for Social Responsibility, an international organization for doctorS, which is committed to the' preservation of health and life for all and therefore opposes the production, testing and deployment of nuclear weapons and their delivery systems. He and several other Goderich-area doctors including Dr. C.W. Chan and Dr. David Walker are members and they often discuss the issue at meetings of the hospital staff of Alexandra Marine and General Hospital. Although he says that taking part in peace marches increases the awareness of the problem, Dr. Hollingworth has chosen a quieter route to protest. Without pushing his opinion, he will speak to anyone who brings ,.up the ,ssubfect. He also . writes letters to newspapers and politicians and supports organizations such as Operation Dismantle and Project Ploughshares. "Patients are more, likely to say they agree with me than disagree but I have had quite a few, comments that they're glad the pamphlets are available. Patients have also said they're glad I speak out saying, `Somebody needs to do it./' While the idea of mutual assured destruction (MAD) was bad enough, the more recent idea that a "limited" nuclear war could be won (called nuclear use theorists or NUTS) is even more dangerous, says Dr. Hollingworth. . In nations directly attacked, tens to hundreds of millions ofpeople would be killed instantly while those surviving the initial blast would face the prolonged agony and " "slow death of radiation, starvation and epidemics. Hospitals would be destroyed, doctors and nurses would be killed and those health professionals surviving would come no where close to providing adequate medical treatment. "How could I treat you? I may not even be here; I may be a victim myself," says the doctor. Radioactive contamination would spread to vast areas and pollute the biosphere threatening all' forms of life including the human species. "The idea of a limited nuclear war is ridiculous and physicians have to point out the loopholes in it," says Dr. Hollingworth. Turn to page 2 • Beer drinkers flock to stock up as month-long drought ended Monday Beer is back — at least for now. With the opening of Brewers Retail outlets Monday morning, beer drinkers were able to replenish their depleted stocks for the first time since a lockout by Ontario's breweries forced the closureoof the stores on February 26. Local residents wasted no time stocking up. Pat Osborn, manager of the Goderich Brewers Retail said they opened the doors a half-hour before the normal 10 a.m. open- ing, because thirsty locals were already ., lining up outside. "The parking lot was starting to fill up," said Osborn. Business was steady all day Monday and, Tuesday; as threat of a resumption of the lockout hinged on a contract vote at the London Labatt's brewery, scheduled for Tuesday. Osborn said he had heard nothing official on a resuntption of the lockout, as of Tuesday afternoon, but said his superiors in Stratford called the possiblity of further lockouts, "just • rumors". Osborn said Monday was 'extra busy at the beer store because people were return- ing large caches of empty bottles, saved up' from before the strike. Prior to Monday's opening, no Canadian - brewed beer had been available here since the lockout began. Last Thursday however, the local Liquor store received a supply of American beer, which was distributed among area LCBO licenced establishments. Most local drinking establishments began serving American beer as soon as their stocks of domestic brew were depleted, shortly after the strike began. The province's three Largest breweries and Brewers' Warehousing Co. Ltd., which operates beer outlets, ended a lockout of 3,600 workers late Sunday. The lockout was instituted in response to a contract dispute between breweries and workers. The central. issue in the dispute was the effect of the introduction of canned beer on job security. Empty beer bottles have been collecting dust around manyOntario homes since a lockout by the province's major breweries and Brewers' Warehouseing Co. Ltd. forced the closure of Brewer's Retail outlets, February 26. These folks were part of a parade of local residents who sieged the local beer store early Monday morning, returning their empties in exchange for boxes of cold brew. (photo by Patrick Raftis ) C7b a; i#R . has. at uleast one "MP t:log%for a smoke dete ctoscallesif�efax aln upgraded version wit bye abtic escape light, the public le to provide their homes with smoke '° d ectors. Any family that can't afford one) w have one donated and installed by the` Rotary club. "We want to emphasize that we're sum', lying the smoke detectors at a loss. This is ,a commtuuty project, not a money- raisingeffort and we think it will be a good thing for the townspeople," says Rotarian, Ken McGee. The number of deaths and the thousands of dollars of property loss attributed to the lack of smoke detectors reported in the media recently led to the project, says Mr. McGee. He says club members are interested in. taiking to both homeowners and apart- ment building owners. Apartment dwellers should speak to their landlords about buying smoke detectors for their apartments. Thesmoke detectors available frim the Rotary Club will beep for 30 days when their batteries are wearing down. Also, the strobe light which blinks once a minute on the $20 model will grow fainter when the batteries are wearing down. Mr. McGee says the Rotary Club may remind the public in one year to check their batteries in the smoke detectors. The canvass will be held in early April. Call 524-7385 with pledge s Tune into CKNX this Sunday, Mar. 31 from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. when the Goderich Lions Club will be taking part in the Easter Seal Telethon fund-raising project. Huron County children who are being helped by the Easter Seal Society will be appearing on the program. The Society hopes to raise $10,000,000 in Ontario in 1985. These donations are used to provide summer, camps for physically handicapped children, to assist parents in purchasing artificial limbs, braces and wheelchairs, to hire nurses who visit the homes and work with the children and to continue research into physical disorders, preventative measures and new treatment techniques. Last year., the Goderich Lions collected $5300 from the Telethon and $4000 from the pink envelope campaign. The money was used to provide braces, walkers, lifts, chairs and limbs for 10 children from the Goderich area. The .Lionswillbe waiting • for you to telephone 524-7385 on Sunday. You can go to the Standard Trust on The Square next week to pay your pledge. INSIDE THE SIGNAL -STAR Sap is running It's maple syrup time again. As the sap begins to run, area students have been making their annual trek to the sugar bush to learn about the making of the annual spring treat. Story and photos inside this section. Rec League finals The Goderich Recreational Hockey League has reached the final stage of their ,playoffs, with the Bedford Flyers and Sunset Golfers set to square off in the championship series. Sunset won the first game Monday night, with the next game set`for tonight. Final standings, statistics, and a playoff update are included on Page A2. Positive stress Stress is something we all have to deal with, no matter what our occupations. Dr. Richard Earle, an expert on the subject of handlingstress claims that stress does not have to be a negative thing, and thatpro- perly handled, stress can make anyone more effective, in dealing with day-to-day living. A series of workshops on stress is being held in t'-' • area, and details of the latest workshop are inside this section.