HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1989-01-31, Page 17•
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best meets local REl
Private home day care (PHDC) is
the program that could best meet
local needs, concludes a just
released report on day care needs in
Huron County.
The report, compiled by Beth
Fulton and sponsored by Women
Today, was funded by the Secretary
of State.
"While more daycare centres,
nursery schools, And, before -and -
after -school care programs are
needed, the most desired and, in-
deed, the program that could best
meet the many local needs is private
home day care," the report states.
According to the report,
"Childcare Needs in Huron County",
the majority of the 125 who
responded to a survey distributed by
Women Today in
ferred PHD-C to
childcare options pr
The Women Toda
arty 1988 pre -
'eight other
sented.
comes
ep
on the heels of recent attention to
county council's rejection in June
1988, of a social servicesllepartment
proposal for private home day care.
The Community Child Abuse Co-
ordinating Committee (CCACC) has
questioned county council's decision
to reject the proposal and requested
local residents to make known their
fgdillg§lor or againstrtkprotO041.
• Of thoseorponding toile vrowir
Today Survey, C *I
saw PHDC as very useful, while only
five per cent felt it would be "not at
,all useful".
The next most preferred option
among those presented in the survey
was a half-day nursery school
program which would operate a few
days a• week.
That option was seen as very
useful by 42 per cent of the
• •
•
respondents, while 14 per cent saw it
as not at all useful.
Survey respondents were drawn
from across the county, rep-
resenting residents from villages,
farms, non-farm rural properties,
and the county's five towns.
Among the farm families who
described their current childcare
arrangements in the survey, the
majority reported they -take their
children with them when doing farm
work.
This was recently raised as a
concern of the CCACC which said
private home day care could prevent
farm accidents involving children
which occur when families find it
necessary to bring children along
while doing farm work.
The most common form of
childcare reported by respondents
who worked off the farm or away
om the home is to leave children at
the higne of family members.
The report also concludes there is
a much larger need for quality
childcare — not just babysitting —
•
than the present services can offer.
In addition, it states that parents
who choose to stay home during
their children's preschool yearsalso
feel the need for support services.
While Women Today states it is
not within its mandate to provide
childcare services, it is within ith.
mandate to help facilitate com-
munity action and provide resources
,forgrOUPS and individuals iflvolved
• in this issue.
As a first step in this direction,
Women Today representatives say
they are awaiting funding from the
Secretary of State for a follow-up
project which would organize and
assist local groups and individuals to
create better childcare in the county
and to raise local awareness of
available childcare resources.
When Today also hopes to est-
ablish at least two working groups to
advocate 'for better childcare ser-
vices and to create a system
whereby information on childcare
and children's services is accessible
to the general public.
Dinner will honor volunteers
The Wingham and District Hos-
pital will pay tribute to its yolun-
teera-'-thia:1YO_At. *01 a special
luncheon to be held- otr-calada---
Hearth Day; Friday, May 12.
News of the event was announced
in the regular monthly report of the
public -relations committee
k:resented to the January meeting of
the hospital's board of governors by
Board Chairman Mary Lou
Thompson.
With as many as 160 who could
attend the affair, the board spent
some time discussing the size of
facilities available in Wingham.
Hospital Auxiliary, President
MOO she *wood
:=19fierofftintki :111#0.41terto•
stfWVOtiritiii!447.:***101' to
accroliMtdate such alit& 'crowd,
"The thing is, we don't want to
miss anyone," Executive Director
Norm Hayes said. "It's better to to
go outside town than .to miss
someone."
The committee also hopes to bring
in a guest speaker, perhaps from the
Ontario Hospital Association, Mrs.
Thompson said.
01!
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44
' GUIDE ENROLLMENT -- Becky Van Camp, centre, was enrolled as the ',ewes; member of the Be/grave
Girl Guides last weekend by Leader Vicky Piluke. Leader Mary Vair also is shotw.
ot:r1Jiralt7'
ALLEN BALSER of Wingham found some bargains at bet
weekend's' Friends of the Library book sale at the. Wingham Library.
Auditor general's claim
result of misunderstanding
There is no skullduggery involved
between hospital foundations and
hospitals when it comes to the 'trans-
fer of funds from one to the other,
members of the -Wingham and Dis-
trict Hospital's board of governors*
were told last Thitriday evening.
During his report to the board's
regular January meeting, hospital
Executive Director Norm Hayes
was critical of recent statements
made by the provincial auditor
gelvfglvggain,04:11r919*enC'Cin
newspapers, 4141 'broadcast atm!
ProgrArns acro*St10 Province.
The auditor general was criti-
cizing hospitals for "hiding" operat-
ing capital within the umbrella of
their foundations.
He reasons that since the
provincial government funds hos-
pitals, any year-end surpluses
should be used for reducing
operating costs rather than set aside
for capital purposes by transferring
the funds to the foundation.
"First of all, the government
really Only funds the hospitals 80 per
cent," Mr. Hayes said. The other 20
per cent is raised by the hospital
itself."
There are very strict rules
governing foundations and how they
are allowed to'reteive and admini-
ster ftinds;Mr. Hayes added.
"I don't , think that the auditor,
general, when he arrived on the;
scene, had any :clue ,ahotit how hos-
pital's go about getting , their -
money," Board -Chairman Mary Lou
-
Thompson said.
However, she, added that the
auditor ittneratitimit,the,ohlik ohs'
&NOW aboutthelegialatiOC
"There's a- great, misconception
across the Province as to foun-
dations" she said. "I mean, even
among (hospital) board people."
Wingham representative Ross
Davies pointed out that people who
donate money to the foundation for
capital purposes would be upset if
they were to find out their gifts were
going for operating purposes only.
"It's not skullduggery, merely a
misunderstanding on the part of the
auditor general," Mr. Hayes said.
"In any event, feel comfortable that
we're not playing any games."
SVCA program brings
safety message to schools
The watereOUrses and ponds
which beautify'ba*yards and local
parks ean..alsO: represent a real
danger, sayg- the Saugeen Vlley
Conservation Authority
Spring rains, and melting snow
and ice can quickly change familiar
summer streams into life-
threatening torrents.
To remind students to stay away
from, waterways in spring, the SVCA
and local offices of the Ontario
Provincial Police and the Canadian
Red Cross Society are taking their
"Flood Waters and You" safety
program into the classroom again
this year.
The locally dekrtoped program is
being offered to more than 40 schools
in the SVCA area during the months
of January and February.
Through group discussions, films
and experiments, the program
sponsors hope that students will be
able to recognize the dangerous side
of a watercourse.
The activities will highlight how
floods develop, local danger spots,
safety and rescue skill.s, as well as
the flood -related interests or the /pending.
thive agencies. Judge Carter granted ad -
ken Westman, SVCA general journrnent until Wednesday, March
manager, says that although there 22.
has been tremendous support for the
program from area school boards
and teachers, the flood safety
message has to be echoed at home.
Henschel case
is adjourned
until March
/he casovagainst former Brussels
Stockyards owner Klatis Henschel
and his wife Kristin has been ad-
journed until March.
The Henschels made a brief ap-
pearance in provincial court,
Wingham, last Wednesday.
They are charged jointly with 10
counts of theft over $1,000 and nine
counts of fraud over $1,000. The
charges stem from the Henschels'
disappearance last fall and sub-
sequent bankruptcy of the
stockyards operation.
Duty Counsel Alan Mill, acting on
behalf of the Henschels' lawyers,
requested that Judge R. G. E.
Hunter grant the adjournment as
new charges against the couple are •