The Goderich Signal-Star, 1986-08-13, Page 5Rpinion
luewater Centre neighbor f'ars for safety
community's children outside the fence
GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, WEDNESDAY, AUG LW 13, 1986—PAGE 5
Rebekahs and Oddfellows
of
Dear editor, -
In the light of a recent breakout at the cor
re Knal services institution in ug area a
LETTERS
week so ago and the ensuing/ public
meeting inviting neighbours to express their
concerns and recommendations I wish to lumiiiiiiawimiiiiiiid...-
submit the following information coming kitchen where tops in food is served that
out of this meeting that left an angry public
very, very perturbed and unsatisfied. would delight the palate of any of us who are
Children in the immediate area (and there unable to live as lavishly on fixed incomes.
are many) are now in constant fear of any This "club" is equipped with swimming
stranger and parents fear to allow their pools, playing fields and more modern
children the privileges of our lovely beaches sports facilities than our high school
that have always been the joy of children have at hand. Besides all this they
summertime. have access to a oo
program, complete complete th all grad teachers,
As the so-called "young offenders"have principal, even avice-principal, all drawing
beennon-young allowed offenders,
thed same beach thy privilegeso knows down top salaries. To top it all these "young
whom offenders, how are they to offenders" do not even HAVE to take advan-
ofwhom they can trust, especially in the light tage of this facility, at present there are only
the two inmates who escaped from just 53 or so enrolled.
such a beach party earlier this summer. some inmates 3orso arennot required to wear any
poseduoly, re nsAbeen) was inadequate to con -matter for an escapee to mingle with un-
Theretrol these privilegedeoffenders. suspecting youth on our sideroads and at the
When are several widows in the area. beach wherthey could suffer at the hands
defend themselves d agaas to inst st w hintrudere s may beach
of a "young offender". It is therefore MOST
were informed that one must not physically IMPERATIVE that the inclusion of rapists,
defend themselves, albeit he may be armed murderers and arsonists are NOT TO BE
with a baseball bat or a knife as the recent ALLOWED TO BE HOUSED IN THIS
INSTITUTION! ! !
escapees were known to have used in their AREAOur present most frightening concern is
recent escapade. the preparation of a new maximum security
One young mother oft smalle of there re- • wing that will house rapists, arsonists and
whose home was a target in tooklike off withea murderers, (all who because of their age'
motoret escapees wherenthey aa will be protected under the inadequate
bike, gas and a baseball bat, (later. Young Offenders Act.) We were informed
used on another unsuspecting victim of the these inmates not havenmore
escapade) now finds it impossible to obtain thataf nor stricter and would than the eem in -
re
of staying
gbaby-sittershawho will take a chance stmates, but they w uld be housed in cells in-
Ofof sf utm in on area at all
area stead of nice, sp cious, comfortable dor-
the utmost concern to all residents is mitories as the ggt�ent inmates enjoy,
devaluation of their property since the Theis as
h p these inmates
offenders would ob-
viously of this institution. My real estate defeat the purpose of the present in -
agent has advised me that I may have con-
siderable difficulty even renting my home stitution. It is thought that the purpose of a
se irate young offenders institutionwasto
let alone selling it. Our once valuable pro- p
perty, so carefully zoned "residential" and keep youth with so-called "minor offences'
idealistic country living is now reduced to a i.e. break-in, entry, armed robbery, etc.
potential escape route. In the few months apart from more dangerous criminals
Another disturbing factor brought kip, at
this institution has been in operation there this meeting is the proposed farming to be
have been eight escapees p. a. six asOVER the carried on, using inmates next year OUT -
another
two tworom a failedbeacparty, n welle ass SIDE the fenced area (apparently without
another who to return after a
weekend pass. (Not a very good record in further fencing to inhibit them at all.) If
guards cannot keep them inside the present
security!)
Why these young people would WANT to fence, how can they hope to do so out in the ' open fields?
• .
escape eludes me as they are housed in aout at this meeting,there are
"posh clubhouse" complete with attractive pointed
comfy lounge.rooms, projection TV; (a lux- not nearly sufficient OPPs available at the
Goderich detachment to be able to cope with
rooms where they can
try none of us can affordseparate coffee this added burden as it appears that once
make coffee and pop- tide the fence the OPP are to take
corn ai their leisure The elaborate, modern ou s
Dairy Bar correction
Dear editor,
May I make a few additions and correc-
tions regarding the Port Albert Dairy Bar.
' The Dairy Bar wog built, owned and
:prated by Mr. JosJ h'' 'hider, God itis
now inthis 90th year - also' Mabel Grey and
Evelyn Breckow were never employed
there
Thank you,
Katherine Nivins
Dying need a room
Dear editor,
Recently I was a patient in the Goderich
Hospital and they brought into my room a
dying person.
A new born babe has a special'room, the
delivery room. It would be an honour for the
hospital board of directors to look at this
Matter with great respect and concern. The
dying should have a special room too.
Evelyn Levey
Goderich
FLOWERS FOR TODAY
GIFTS. FOREVER ,
166 THE SQUARE, GODERICH PHONE
524-8761
Evenings and Sundays hone 529-7253
Filter
Queen
"In The Heart 01 Downtown Varna"
482-7103
responsibility for recapture. Indeed, we all
know that our OPPs have their hands full
OUTSIDE the fence, never mind having to
take on responsibility for "human error" as
was politely ascribed to the negligence
(unlocked doors etc.) which we were in-
formed was directly responsible for this
latest escapade. With all this money spent
for the comfort and entertainment of these
inmates, it is about high time our govern-
ment spent a little more in support of our
police force, who in turn should be sup-
ported by the law when they t lawbreair lives
kers
akers
in their hands to app
who make our once tranquil area a place of
tension and fear. One can no longer stroll
down a country road to visit a friend without
looking back and hoping one's home will be
all right till you return.
I was strolling up the courthouse walk
last month when two OPP officers came out
of the courthouse with the recent escapees
between them. Immediately they stepped
outside, one culprit bolted, flew around the
courthouse and away, crossed the street to
the screeching of brakes and up North
Street. He was eventually d ptucaptured
d d after
OOa
hectic chase by police
yes, he was handcuffed (to himself), ap-
parently one must treat these culprits gent-
ly regardiess of their defiance in the face of ' blaming
the law. And we residents St
have been told by op aii.iiig
authorities at aoths we are thatt if one a d B1L1eW a V er
geared at our door, we are not to lay Oland
on them, regardless of what they rbay be
prepared to sdop ctus, says reader
A sad prospect for we, seniors. Myhas
band spent 28 years in the Armed Forces
abroad and in Canada defending his country
and is not allowed to defend his own proper-
ty. Something is amiss! "We want more
protection". "Close the centre" cried an
angry public. Why wait till someone is
seriously injured or criminally assaulted?
This present facility was originally
designed as a Psychiatric Institution, which
purposes it served well and adequately.
However, this was abandoned at great ex-
pense to the taxpayer and the unfortunate
folk were more or less "farmed out" to dif-
ferent institutions and areas.
Then at a great deal more expense the
place was transformed into a home for the
retarded, which also served its purpose
well. But all those poor retarded children
and young folk have been ousted, and taking
more or less "leftovers" in society while
youth who offend society are housed in
quarters designed for the former purposes.
Once again thousands and thousands of
dollars have been spent remodelling, the
quarters, which authorities at the Young Of-
fenders Centre admit propose problems by
their very structure, i.e. many corners, etc.
which would not normally have been in a
proper penal institution. Where is the logic?
Why not revert this facility to its original
purpose?
While the above concerns may appear
that I am simply "sounding off" (which in-
deed I am) I would like to add that I am not
a "young people -hater". I have worked with
children and young people all my life and
am deeply concerned with their welfare.
I do appreciate what the modern penal
system is trying to achieve by all this inside
attention and opportunity, however, itap-
pears that it is little deterrent as indicated
by the desire to escape. It should not be'such
a horrible prospect to have to be returned to
such an up-to-date comfortable existence!
I am deeply concerned for the safety and
well-being of our children in our community
OUTSIDE the fence also. The abolishment
of capital punishment apparently is not the
answer in deterring murder. Likewise, it
just may be necessary to revert to punish-
ment for young offenders rather than
coddling!!!
A deeply concerned area citizen.
ROBERT Mc.INTYRE
reg. O.H.A.A.
hearing aid specialist
will be holding a
HEARING. AID.
SERVICE CENTRE
at 74 The Square. Goderich
on WED.. AUGUST .20 from 1:30 p.m. to
5:00 p.m. If your present hearing old•re-
quires servicing or 0 you're thinking of
purchasing a hearing aid...please call
524-7661 for an appointment.
MCI-NTRYE HEARING
AID SERVICE
275 Huron St.. Stratford
' Serving
Huron & Perth
Since 1972
PRO -AM
CYCLING - RACE
SUNDAY, AUGUST 24, 1986
10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Town Hall, 57 West St., Goderich
Recreation Department
For more information
call the Recreation Department
524-2125
FREE
HORSE DRAWN
WAGON RIDES
Saturday, August 16
5:00.7:00 P.M.
Harbour Park
Goderich -
• from page 4 ,
may be an extra one or two cases in a year.
There is hardly a day where a bank is not
robbed, stores are not robbed, houses or
businesses are not broken into, and so on.
Are we going to make fuss rather than to ac-
cept the realities of life?
Mr. Carl DeGrandis, the superintendent
of the Centre, has come out to assure the
people o€.the steps he has taken and further
steps he is proposing to take in future. I have
nothing but praise and he deserves full co-
operation and understanding as well as our
trust.
Lastly, the people should not forget that
the•centre has brought a lot of benefits to the
town and the country. It is important to
understand that crimes in every city happen
every day but at the centre once in a blue
moon. Let us stop over reaction and act
positively.
(Dr.) Saidullah-Kh
• Chief Psychologist
Goderich
Thank You
The C.P. & T. Committee of the
local Oddfellow and 'Rebekah
Lodges report a very suc-
cessful tag day and wish to
thank the citizens for their sup-
port of this annual event. Also
the workers and the "Taggers",
winners of the taggers were:
Chris Bechard - 1st Prize $5.00
Ken Jennan - 2nd Prize $3.00
John Wain - 3rd Prize $2.00
Humanitarian
Services Committee
r
INTO A
rl .001
Home A noes
br;
HUTCHINSON
APPLIANCE SERVICE
308 Huron Rd.
Goderich 524-7831
BEST RATES
FINANCIAL CENTRE, GODERICH
524-2773 1-800.265.5503
.1
ood news
and
more good news
THE GOOD NEWS!
Home team won, but
what a mess.
MORE GOOD NEWS!
Plenty of hot water.
electrically.
UPTO
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That's right! No matter how big the mess,
an electric water heater stores enough for the whole team
(and their uniforms!).
Why wait an hour or more
for other water heaters to re -heat
when you can have the convenience of
large storage • electric water heating.
With up to 40 % more storage than other water heaters,
you'll have plenty of hot water.
Convenient, worry -free rental water heaters available
at the Clinton Ontario Hydro Office.,
For more information
GODERICH PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION CLINTON-AREA ONTARIO HYDRO
CUSTOMERS CALL YOUR CUSTOMERS PLEASE CALL
LOCAL DEALER 482-3483 or Zenith 28220
a
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