HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1980-04-30, Page 31Children's writer Bev Allinson answers a question during her presentation
at Victoria Public .School on April 24. Allinson was commissioned to write a
book for the Year of the Child and complied a story called "All Aboard"
which is about a little girl's trip across Canada by train. She travels around
to various schools and tells children how she wrote the book and took the
pictures. (photo by Cath Wooden)
G.D.C.I
The students of GD•CI
will hold- another jog -a-
dieu On Monday, May 12
GOP E.RECH SIGNAL -STAR, WEI) E$D.Ai,
stdents to ruri for athletic field
to raise money for the'
athletic field adjacent to
the school:
The student body has
been diligently working
to raise money for -the
track facility for several the field was drained and
years. With money from an asphalt track and
jog-a-thons anal grpnts,, tennis court • was laid,
Work is also ongoing to
complete a Mall diamond
on the 10 -acre parcel of
land and it is expected to
be in use this summer.
The second phase of the
project, which is to in-
clude the application of a
synthetic surface on the
track, is expected to be
completed in 1981. That
will require an additional
$75,000 with grants
covering a good portion of
the total.
April 25 was declared. Author Day at Victoria
Public School to honor visiting author Bev Allinson,
writer of several children's books, including "All
Aboard." Students planned, did math, painted,
researched, and entered a special All Aboard
contest sponsored by Via Rail. Winners of cer-
tificates were, front row from left, Eddie Peterson,
Susan Bell, and Lonnie Rumlg, In the flack row is
Bev Allinson, Elizabeth McAdam, Mary Ann Lit-
tlechild, and Jeff Scott. (photo by Cath Wooden)
AA myths must be destroyed
BY JOANNE
BUCHANAN
The word alcoholic for
many people conjures up
images of red -nosed,
slovenly old men who
hang around wine stores
and cheap hotels. While it
is tru-e that many
alcoholics do fit this
description, there are
many others who do not.
Some alcoholics come
from good homes, dress
well and work in dignified
professions such as law
and medecine. Some
drink in bars and some
drink at home. Some are'
young and some are old.
Some are men and some
are women. 'd
thing that all alcoholics
have in common is the
disease of alcoholism.
Just as people have
many preconceived
notions.. about the
alcoholic, they also carry
around many myths
about 'Alcoholics
Anonymous, a fellowship
of ,men and women who
share their experiences,
strengths and hopes with
each other so that they
may solve their common
problem and help others
to recover from
alcoholism. One AA
member himself ad-
mitted that before he
joined the grolp, he
imagined the members
all wearing bags over
alcoholics they come into
the contact with. The
press representative was
there for. the purpose of
writing this story.
Despite the small at-
tendance of "outsiders",
the AA group hopes to
hold more public in-
formation meetings in e
near future. The Me
bers want to -inform the
public so that they are
better able to inform
others whom they come
into contact with.
At Tuesday evening's
meeting, two alcoholics
gave personal accounts of
their' struggles with
alcohol and the new,,hope
and new lives they,,.found-.
e on a er ec omi
of AA.
Members of . AA .in-
troduce themselves by
saying^their first names
only and by then claiming
to be alcoholics. They do
not use the past tengeN
They say "I AM an
alcoholic" not "I WAS an
alcdhoijc" because they
have come to the
realization that they will
always be alcoholics.
This does not mean,
however, that they
cannot achieve sobriety..,
AA, though not af-
filiated with any other
organization, 'wishes to
co-operate in any way
possible with other
organizations to help
problem drinkers lead
new, happy and useful
lives. The group's
primary purpose is to aid
these people through a
program of attraction
rather than promotion.
Alcoholism is a disease
their heads to remain
anonymous like the Klu
Klux Klan.
In order to dispel some
of these myths and allow
the public in Goderich to
gain a better knowledge
of the disease of
alcoholism and what AA
has done to overcome one
of society's greatest
social problems, a public
information meeting was
held in the board room of
the Assessment Office in
Goderich last Tuesday
evening. Besides the AA
members themselves,
there was one doctor, one
minister, one social
worker and one member
of the press present. The
first three were there
because they were in-
terested in what they
could ' do to help the
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according to the medical
profession and those in
AA have found a program
that works to combat this
disease. If- you' know
someone who has gone to
AA and is still drinking,
chances are that very
little effort was put into
working the program. AA
has many members who
have not had a drink • in
five, ten, 20 or 30 or more
years. The surprising
fact is that these people,
before joining AA, could
not stay sober.
AA is not a religious
program nor is it allied
with any sect,
denomination, political
party, organization or
ins' 1 u ion. nei 3"
endorses nor opposes any
causes. It is a .program
for all faiths and no
faiths, for men and
women of all ages. There
are no dues or fees for
membership in .the AA
program. The group is
self-supporting through
its'own contributions.
• The only requirement
for membership is 'a,
desire to stop drinking.
The AA group's primary
purpose is to stay sober
and help o,ther"alcoholics
achieve s•e br• iety`....-Its
program is one of support
from fellow alcoholics
and learning to live one
day at a.time--without•-a
drink: Those in AA ask
other alcoholics to try the
progratri fur 90-d"aysnaiid
if it doesn't •work, they
offer to refund their
misery.
The first thing an
alcoholic must be willing
to do before starting on
the road to a better life is
to admit he or she is
powerless over alcohol.
Honesty with oneself and
with others isa very
basic part of the AA
program. The "out-
siders" at the meeting
last Tuesday were told
that the best way to deal
with alcoholics is to be
honest with them. They
were told that there is
nothing wrong with
suggesting the- AA
program to an alcoholic.
AA meetings in
Godet9 i are held every
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Enjoy a
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WEDNESDAY, MAY 7 th.,
8:00 P.M.
G.D.C.I. WEST GYM
Music by: The
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SING OUT CHOIR
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ADULTS
STUDENTS
CHILDREN
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help raise
of loving.
ss
Show then, how mud) you care. Hug them. Iake
then) to the park. Enjoy thcni.Ttko more time for them.
1 lave a nice talk incl listen a lot. Call them up.
If you start in \lav,,vou can reap the henelit all
car 1onc4..incl so a ill •our farilih•.
May is Family Unity Month in Ontario.
Margaret Birch,
Provincial Secretary
for Social Development
William Davis, Premier
Ontario