Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1985-06-26, Page 17• Entertainment • Feetures • Religjon • Featly • More SECTION If you drop into the MacKay Centre for Seni you're likely to find a card game in progress. centrate on what they hope are winning cards. Seniors new to Goderich and interested in meeting new friends would do well to look into joining the MacKay Centre for Seniors On North Street. "It's the best way I know to get ac- quainted," said Russell Alton, president of the centre. "It's amazing the different peo- ple you meet. Everybody is so friendly and sociable here." Activities at the centre cater to the various interests of seniors in Goderich and community. With a membership of over 300 seniors (55 yrs and older), Alton said, "We have to have a variation of events because everybody has a different liking.", The MacKay Centre was officially opened fivt,years ago this October and the centre has become a popular meeting place for seniors in and around Gederich. On a daily basis, the centre is open for such afternoon activities as shuffleboard, billiards, and cards. Seniors gather there weekly for arts and crafts, fitness exercises and square dancing. MacKay Centre members pay a $3 yearly membership to take part in activities. An additional 25 cent user fee is paid for certain activities at the centre. Thirteen different committees made up of seniors are responsible for everything from finance to newsletters to program and entertainment. _ Special events are planned by various committees throughout the year such as pot luck suppers, variety concerts and dances. These activities are slowing down for the summer months but will be starting up again in the fall. The final variety concert for the year is tonight ( Wednesday ) at 6 p.m. Alton said the concert is generally the most well at- tended event at the centre as it is one of the activities that is open to the public. The public is invited to most functions at the cen- tre as the entertainment is not necessarily just for seniors. The centre holds an open house once a year to encourage new members to join and give the public a chance to see what goes on at the centre. The MacKayddtbristers, the 41 -member choir gets togarer U to 12 week aca- sions during the year. In the spring and fall, ors on North Street on a Tuesday afternoon Here Joan Huyck and Marcella Courtney con - Bill Caesar watches as Mel Ball eyes up the situation in a game of pool. Goderich seniors make use of the MacKay Centre year round for afternoon activities. 1 They are an active and vital part of the community Story and photos by Corrine Boyle the choir participates in concerts, competi- tions, and sing for other organizations in the area. Some of the MacKay seniors organized Square during the Festival Crafts each year. The MacKay Centre also Meals on Wheels program together to cater to lunches, banquets, and which provides home delivery of meals to 5.;Q:ial. anniversaries at the ee_ntre_ The5e_sentgs r. members also set up a food both on The Centfe members organized the Card of of Arts and sponsors the in Goderich , i" atei. 47 • Can seniors live with demdexin Life in Goderich, a program designed to give important information to anyone who is helping a senior in need, especially in emergency. If a senior is unable to com- municate, a card on the fridge, in a wallet, or on a car windshield will include the senior's identification, health condition, any medication, and next of kin. One afternoon each month• seniors can get the Card of Life at the centre. Alton has been a member of the MacKay Centre since it opened in 1980 and said he is looking forward to a special fifth anniver- sary celebration this October. Plans have not yet been made for the celebration but Alton hopes something will be "in the works" soon. The centre was funded by government grants, help from the town and township, and donations from various corporations, organizations at. .idlviduals. The town own:, the centre which was formerly a town building and Alton praised the help the town provides. For example the town clears the sidewalks in the winter and cuts the grass in the summer, The Recreation Department sponsors free taxi rides to the centre for certain events. Alton says help from the community makes the centre what it is - a great meeting place. Some other organizations make use of the MacKay Centre's facilities. The Rebekahs and Oddfellows are two of the groups which rent the hall for meetings. The Golden Gate Seniors Club uses the centre two nights a month for its meetings and although they are a separate club, about 60 'per cent of its 80 members are also members of the MacKay Centre for Seniors. Members of the two organizations join together for many activities, but Golden Gate members maintain their own identity as an established club. The Golden Gate Club is 40 years old and past president Per- cy Blundell said "a lot of seniors still cling to that fact." "We seem to be a thriving club," said Blundell. "We play euchre and 500 and enjoy very good recreational activities." The one common denominator with these t'o organizations is their goal - to provide a '.1ey for seniors tomix ccik.i enjoy each other's company within the community. Shouid Canadian seniors take cuts to help reduce federal deficit? BY SUSAN HUNDERTIvIARK With her Old Age Security pension and 40 per cent of her ex-husband's Canada Pen- sion, Jean Sinnamon, of Goderich, has a total of $500 to live on every month. After paying for her $184 rent, car upkeep and food, very little is left over for anything else. And, though she says she doesn't like tO grumble or complain, she'll have a terribly hard time if her pension is partially de - indexed as proposed in the recent federal budget. "Seniors are pretty proud; they don't like to tell other people about their troubles. But, I know seniors as a whole are really shook up about it. People in parliament have a lot of money to live off of and they don't seem to give a darn about those scratching for a liv- ing," she says. With careful budgeting, she manages to get her bills paid and goes on the occasional bus trip. But, she can't afford to eat meat everyday or shop for clothes too often. "It's just touch and go. A lot of things I have to do without. I can't buy the best of clothes and I'm lucky if I have one pair of shoes and another pair for good. But, I have lots of friends and that's important." "Why do they make the ones almost at poverty level give up some of their pensions when some don't even need the pensions?" she asks. Depending on their income level, Goderich seniors vary in their response to the proposed partial de -indexing. While those with comfortable pensions are not con- cerned, seniors living solely on the old age pension and the guaranteed income supple- ment are worried and angry. "I can't see cutting awn on senior's pen- sions when they members of parliament ) jacked up their uwn blame wages 15 per cent. We're barely getting by on what we have," says one widow of 15 years who ask- ed not to be named With Old Age Security Pension, Canada Pension and some interest she and her hus- band saved while farming, she says it's dif- ficult to keep her house. "I've been sick, I've got a home to keep up, I've got to pay people to have my snow shovelled arid my grass cut and sometime I wonder where it's going to come from. I haven't bought new clothes for two years and I have one pair of shoes," she says. Ted Hewitt, who is trying to start up a chapter of the Federal Superannuates Na- tional Association in Goderich, wants to fight de -indexing of all government pensions including the old age pension. The organization which was formed to protect the pensions of retired government employees, is presently attacking the pro- posed partial de -indexing of old age pen- sions since most of the members are seniors. "If they get away with de -indexing the old age pension, what's to say we won't be next?" says Bob Sage, the secretary - treasurer of the Bluewater Chapter. EINIIIIIMMINSIMMANIMPROWArlenli A postal worker who retired in 1981 at 55, Sage says he retired with the understanding his pension would be protected from infla- tion. Though he makes $14,000 a year with his pensions, he says he'd be making $15,000 if not for the six and five wage and price con- trols of the Trudeau government. "Now, they're threatening me with de - indexing. All indexing does is keep you on par with inflation. If you think you re going to live on pensions, you'll exist but you sure won't live," he says. Hewitt, who makes $13,000 a year with four pension cheques, says regulations sur- rounding pensions encourage people to live common law. If he and his common law wife get married, they'll lose $4,000 a year when the Canada Pension from her first husband is cut off. Murray Cardiff, MP for Huron -Bruce says his office received a total of 12 calls from pensioners about the proposed de -indexing, five in favor and seven against. "Seniors recognize that we have to take control of our deficit. And, there is protec- tion for those on just old age pensions with the guaranteed income supplement. We work assisting a lot of seniors. They can call our office and check if they're eligible for the supplement," he says. Cardiff says it's important to take some measures to reduce the deficit and many sectors oTher than seniors are being asked to take cuts. "Anyone Who is singled out says, 'Why me?"he says. He says he's often felt the situation is un- fair when an elderly husband dies and the wife is left with half the income to maintain their home. "It's often impossible for her to do but I don't see any help coming," he says. However, coming into effect in September is legislation which will make widows eligible for old age pensions at age 60. "I do everything I can to assist the seniors. They're an important part of our economy," he says. Every pensioner receives an old age pen- sion of $276.54 regardless of his income. When a single person's income is less than $7895.99 a year, he is eligible for the guaranteed income supplement. The lowest income possible for a single senior to make with both the old age pension and the supplement is $6,636.96 a year. Mar- ried pensioners making less than $10,319.99 a year are also eligible for the supplement. While he agrees that the de -indexing of pensions will make things tough for seniors strictly on the old age pensions, Percy Blundell, of Goderich says 90 per cent of seniors in Huron County are well off. "A large percentage of seniors understand things have to tighten up. A lot never had as much money in their life as they have now," he says. "If they don't save money for their old age, why shoulJ they ex - Tura to page 2A • POSTSCRIPT By Susan Hundertmark My desk's a nuclear free zone Officially, as of today (Wednesday, June 26, 1985), my- desk becomes a nuclear free zone. On its three foot by four foot surface, all forms of nuclear weapons are banned. Nuclear weapons calm& be manufactured, stored, tested, launched or sold on my desk. I may even get a sign to advertise the fact. Sounds a bit ridiculous eh? I must ad- mit it's almost impossible that my desk will ever be in the proximity of a nuclear weapon but it's the principle of the thing. After all, every great idea starts small. Witness New Zealand, a country which started out as a bunch of small nuclear free municipalities before the whole ,country supported the idea. I'm sure it's an idea that's bound to catch on here with a little momentum. The idea is not an original one. In fact, I know of at least one village in Huron County (Hensall) that became a nuclear free zone. And, it's just one of the great ideas I heard) on Saturda3k at Huron County's first Peace Fair at Camp Menesetung, three miles north of Goderich. More than 60 people with an over- whelming belief in the future of humani- ty gathered from across Ontario (despite the rain) to discuss the threat of nuclear war and the possibility of peaceful alter- natives. Peaceful alternative Though the topic was potentially terri- fying, the day was far from gloomy. Songs, games, nature hikes, discussions and films were participated in by children, parents and grandparents. The occasional squeal of a toddler during a workshop on the non-proliferation treaty or the comprehensive test ban was easily tolerated. After all, children and their futures are one ofthe main reasons most people attended. After reading frightening facts about the 50,000 nuclear -weapons in the world today and Canada's possible involve- ment in Star Wars, U.S. President Reagan's space defence plan which will probably only speed up the arms race, it's easy to, feel overwhelmed and helpless over the whole situation. But, the feeling that came out of the Peace Fair was one of action and therefore hope. As Metta Spencer, an editor of Peace Magazine, said, many small steps are necessary to keep the planet alive for the next couple of years while we prepare for significant long range goals such as world law to solve global disputes without war. Spread awareness One of the small steps includes making people aware of things they don't want to know. Standing at a bus stop, sitting at the hairdresser's, shopping for. groceries, people can spread information about the nuclear arms race. Through a full education about the arms race, people can change their way of looking at the world and gain a deeper understanding of what it will mean for the earth to survive. The idea of small nuclear free zones growing into larger ones is another small Step. Starting with a.. neighborhood and growing to a province or country, a nuclear free zone clears a patch of earth of a grave danger. She admits the idea would have great opposition from the_ United States since it goes against NORAD North American Air Defence). A shadow Ministry of Defence is _another _plamArnenever the Ministry of Defence makes a decision, the peace movement should hold a press con- ference and suggest an alternative rather than solely criticizing it. Children's future "We can't fire the military so we should become committed to defensive defence and use the military only to (le - fend Canada so it cannot be invaded rather than invading other countries. We'd be keeping up our military com- mitments without scaring anybody," she said. • We should also explode the myth of war solving economic problems. Spending the same amount of money on anything else other than war would create just as many or more jobs since the military employs a handful of highly -paid people, she said. Talking to politicians about short run goals such as a non-proliferation treaty to stop the artns build-up and a com- prehensive test ban to monitor countries to ensure the treaty is being upheld might keep , humanity around long enough to start envisioning means to reach a peaceful society. Most importantly, rather than. wring- ing our hands in dismay or completely ig- noring the arms race in hopes it will go away, we must act. It's definitely a tall order to stop war, an activity that's been going on for at least 6000 years, but it must be attempted. I don't think there is an alternative. "4"