HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1979-04-05, Page 23sykes
Readers across the country have
been anxiously awaiting the arrival of
the morning daily with more an-
ticipation these days.
And its not to keep pace with the
doings of the major party leaders on
the campaign trail, the peace set-
tlement in the Mid -east or the ap-
peasement of a near atomic crisis in
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
No way.
Readers have been clutching the
pages of the favorite dailies to devour
every lurid detail unfolding in the
serialization of Margaret Trudeau's
autobiography, Beyond Reason.
The serialization began appearing
Monday and the hype and buildup of
the story was incredible. It was nearly
impossible to resist the six -part series.
The story is amazing in that it is front
page news every day. And simply
because she married a prime minister.
If Margaret Sinclair had married a
steel, worker from Hamilton would
1.� details of a sordid past be splashed
Dennis Roy of Varna has his vision tested by clerk technician Linda Splan at
a preschool clinic held by the Huron County Health Unit in Brucefield last
Thursday. Vision testing is given to students every four -years or sooner if a
. problem arises. (Photo by Joanne Buchanan)
Mark Predhomme of R.R: 3 Klppen gets a flouride treatment from dental
• assistant _Barb Doughertyat...a.-preschool clinic- held by the l°Htfron County
Health Unit last Thursday in Brucefield. Kindergarten to Grade 8 students
get this treatment once a year to harden their teeth enamel. (Photo by
Joanne Buchanan)
f
across the front pages of our
newspapers.
It would seem unlikely.
No one would gobble up the life story
of ` a Hamilton housewife. Rather
mundane wouldn't you think?
Well as Margaret laid bare her life
With hippies, drugs and politicians it
was apparent that her sensational
paragraphs have modestly sup-
plemented her income.
Newspapers undoubtedly paid a
handsome sum to run the six excerpts
which will surely draw readers into
buying the book. And there will likely
be a tidy sum from the movie rights
and bingo the lady is a millionaire.
But surely she has earned it.
Not that I'm expressing a tinge of
jealousy here or looking for instant
wealth \but Margaret's book has put
some thoughts in my head.
Would it not be possible that book
publishers and daily papers would be
clamoring for the life story of a small
town columnist with some added spicy
scenarios.
There is some definite potential
there.
Perhaps under this mild mannered
exterior ( purely a public image) lies a
tormented man whose twisted life,
seedy ideals and lack of moral fibre
once dominated his life.
Could this columnist have been a
raging passionate sex symbol or a
former body building champion of the
Mr. Universe variety?
Readers would certainly be anxious
to uncover the truth. about this
mysterious past in every detail.
But they will simply have to wait for
the book to be released or wait for the
newnspaper excerpts to be cer-
tain. Publishers across the country
have not given any definite word on the
first printing , but this columnist
suspects there is a bit of interest and
once the furor surrounding this
Trudeau thing dies down, well,I'm sore
there will be a few phone calls.
Not to mention the endless monetary
offers and contracts that will require
careful scrutiny by a team of high
priced lawyers.
It does look promising.
Now just to give readers a glirhpse of
the high value entertainment -and life-
long secrets that will -be divulged, a
segment of the autobiography will
unveil every detail of a grade 1
romance in a Preston elementary
school.
She even gave me a Valentine once
for heavens sake. Or the girl in grade
four, who I really didn't like, but you
know, she looked at me with those kind
of eyes.
It's disgusting, isn't it?
• In retrospect my life was full of those
kind of torrid affairs that would entice
readers to no end.
- Major publishing companies haven't
contacted this correspondent yet but,
perhaps the local cable television
station is interested.
A
AL.:Emn
132 YEAR -14
THURSDAY, APRIL 5, 1979
SECOND SECTION
Thanks to a team of county nurses...
BY JOANNE
BUCHANAN
• In the 1977' annual
report to the Huron
County Health Unit,
Catherine Walsh,
Director of Public Health
Nursing, describes the
public health nurse as the
skilled person in ,the
community who bridges
the gap between ,f roily,
hospital, school and
community in/an effort to
equip people to assume
more responsibility for
their health behaviour.
"The/ main function of
the„public health nurse
today is to promote
healthier lifestyles in all
age groups,” she.says. .
. At this time of year, the
public health nurses in
the county concentrate on
the preschool age group
and their parents. As part
of the kindergarten
registration program, the
health nurses travel to all
the elementary schools in
the county to conduct
various health sceening
'tests. These tests include
hearing and vision
screening, flouride ap-
plications and Denver
developmental
screening. The tests are
sometimes combined
with immunization
clinics as part of the
school's overall health
program; , -
Vision screening, which
tests for near sightedness
and lazy eyes (am-
blyopia) is given with the
aid of a special machine
to the children in
elementary schools every
four years. Therefore, the
children who are tested
during kindergarten
registration, are tested
again in Grade 3 or
sooner if • a pri blein
arises.
Screening for hearing
problems is also done
uron's future is healthy
with the aid of a special
machine which exposes
children to different
frequencies.
Aside from the. usual
health reasons, testing
children for vision and
,hearing problems before
they start school can save
them from a number of
academic frustrations
which they might en-
counter later on such as
not being able to hear the
teacher properly or not
being able to see the
blackboard:
Flouride applications
are given to children once
a year from kindergarten
to Grade 8. A special
flouride gel is applied to
the teeth to harden the
enamel. Ideally this
should be done .twice a
year starting at the age of
three, explains health
unit dental assistant Barb
Dougherty.
Denver developmental
screening involves the
testing of a child's social
skills, language skills,
fine motor skills (such as
use of the hand muscles)
and gross motor skills_
(such as the ability to
keep balance). The
health nurse fills out a
form for each child
stating the outcome of his
or her screening test. She
also finds out about any
health problems the child
may have and the child's
nutritional habits. She
acts as a -resource person
for ,the parents,
recomending speech
therapists or further
testing if needed and
telling them what
imunization shots their
children need and where
to get them.
During the Denver.
developmental „agre.e.n.ing_
the preschoolers are
asked to copy the
drawings of a circle, a
square and a cross. They
are asked to print ti eii•
names (although they are
not really expected to
know this). They are'
asked•to' Craw a picture of
their mothers.
The preschoolers are
asked what their favorite
foods and. activities are.
They are asked to
identify certain colors
and to build a tower out of
building blocks. They are.
asked to stand on one
foot, hop on one foot, walk
forwards and backwards
in a straight line and to._
'catch a ball. They are
asked to.. , distinguish
between three lines as to
the shortest and longest.
They are asked to
pronounce certain letters
of the alphabet and to tell
what materials certain
things are inade of (such
as a door is made of
wood.).They...LLar
about opposites such' as
fire is hot, ice is cold:
All of these questions
and exercises help to
show the' child's overall
progress and. develop-
ment up to , that .age.
Perception, balance,
nutrition, social,
pronunciation arrd
psychological problems
can very often be
detected by health nurses
doing the screening. The
tsting .-..._31s_o_...__gives
teachers an idea of which
problems might be en-
countered with certain
children and what to
watch for.
Preschool.. testing.
just one of the many
areas. of health service
offered through public
health nurses. Senior
Nurse, Mrs. Liz McHugh,
explains that health
nurses co-ordinate all the
health services in the
countx, andt__as__
resource persons who
Turn to page 3A_ •
Shirley Steepe, Huron County Pu
tests the hearing of preschooler
Eginonville while baby brother
Grace look on. Hearing tests are
blit Health Nurse,
Debra Coleman of
Darren and mom
just one part of the
preschool clinics given by the county's health
• nurses during the kindergarten'registratlon time of
year. (Photo by Joanne Buchanan)
There's a million stories in the Motor
City, this is just one of them.
My buddy and, I were cruising
through Detroit on a trip to the' mid-
west. We had no plans to stop in the city
preferring to put it behind us before
lunch. Nothing against Detroit but we
didn't want to face any kind of heavy
traffic on the throughway.
Our plans went astray when a faulty
transmission forced some time con-
suming repair work. Rather than stop
near the busy border crossing we
headed for the outskirts of the city until
we spotted the Golden Horsehoe. We
figured Ronald could whip us up
something fast and we could get right
back on the road.
How were we to know McDonalds
was the centre of a fence ring. You go
to McDonalds for quick and semi -tasty
food not to barter on stolen mer-
chandise.'
Not necessarily in Detroit.
Just as we're climbing back in the
eat
truck to head out this black dude
cruises up in a Toyota and waves for
me to come over to his car. Reassured
with my buddy's warning not to get
shot I walk over. I figured there was no
way this guy.was going to gun me down
like the rest of those poor slobs you
hear about on the news so I walk over.
The guy asks me fi' I'm interested in a
good deal and reaches down on his seat
for a paper bag. The bag was bulky at
the bottom and came up into a perfect
handle. The'first thing I thought was
that the bag- contained a gun and the
handle was the barrel. I started looking
for a bush to jump behind.
Before I could react the guy pulls a
small plastic box out of the bag and
tells me to <take a look at its contents.
He tells me he's on his lunch and that
his boss was having a few problems at
the store he worked at. He says
something about an inventory at the
store claiming his boss can afford to
dump some stuff cheap.NesmogimpounimeI
rmitow
He pulls a larger box out of another
bag and says I should take a look at its
contents. He tells me 1 may never get
another opportunity for a deal like he
can make me.
The first box holds a digital watth. A
price tag indicates it 'retai_ls.. for $200.
The second box holds a ladies' diamond
ring with a $936 price tag, two men's
diamond rings worth $800 apiece and a
men's ruby ring worth about seven
bills.
The guy tells me' he can make me a
deal ,. for the works. He's willing .to
dump it all for $300.
Not wanting to be rude or risk getting,
my face torn off I signal my buddy to
come over. I show him the stuff and tell -
him the cost.,
We haven't got $300 cash I tell this
guy. Besides we could get into a lot of
trouble trying to get the stuff acrosrs the
border.. If we get caught with it we may
never be heard from again and we're
certainty not going to claim it.
A
er
I figure that's an iron clad excuse
apart from asking if the guy will take a
cheque. But this dude's a salesman. He
claims we can wear the watch and ring
and stuff the lady's ring in a sock to
cross the border.
"Tell you what," he says. "You take
it all and give me $150."
I'm out of excuses but my buddy's
been thinking. He tells the guy we need
our cash but if the guy still wants to do
business he can take the stuff across
the border Sunday night and we'll meet
him on our way back and do business.
The guy buys it. He sets up the time
and place and drives awhy. We can't
see any thugs or cops and figure we're
out of what may have been a jam. The
only problem was when we got back to
the border Sunday night it turned out
we probably could have paid the guy,
not had the loss of cash affect the
weekend, and got it all across the
border. And that was sure a nice watch.
jerr-
Seddon