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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Times Advocate, 2004-03-24, Page 10Crossroads 10 Wednesday, March 24, 2004 Exeter Times -Advocate ABCA honours Conservationist of the Year By Mary Simmons TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF EXETER — At a special presentation March 18 the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA) handed out its annual Conservationist of the Year and Years of Service awards at the Ironwood Golf Clubhouse. This year's Conservationist of the Year award was present- ed to Ray Letheren of the Friends of the Bayfield River. "Letheren has been an energetic vol- unteer with a passionate vision for a clean envi- ronment," said ABCA General Manager Tom Prout. In 1999, Letheren formed the Friends of the Bayfield River with the purpose of improving the quality of the Bayfield River water- shed. Since then the organi- zation has presented educational sympo- siums, conducted tours, attended classrooms to talk with students and spoke to municipal councils encouraging people to conserve and preserve. "The Friends of the Bayfield River are well informed about the dis- tinctions of the water- shed and have routinely volunteered as inter- preters for the annual fall hike at Bannockburn Wildlife Area," said Prout. Working with local landowners, Letheren and the Friends of the Bayfield River are action - oriented towards finding solutions for improving water quality. Volunteers have planted more than 600 trees beside tribu- taries of the Bayfield River. Letheren also represent- ed the province at the national Leading Edge Conference on Stewardship in British Columbia last year and Prout told the crowd he was a witness to the fact that Letheren represented the community well. Letheren said he want- ed to give his heartfelt thanks to staff members at the ABCA for their help on projects his group has been working on. He also took the oppor- tunity to let members of Bluewater council pre- sent at the meeting know that his group intends to pursue mak- ing up an environmen- tal commit- tee for coun- cil. On behalf of the Friends of the Bayfield River Letheren was presented with a Conservation Edition framed print entitled "The Glance — Northern Shoveler's" by artist Patrick Wolput. A tree will also be planted in their name at an Ausable Bayfield Commemorative Woods site of their choice. Years of Service awards were presented to ABCA board of directors Darren Stevenson representative for Central Huron and Bill Weber representative for Lambton Shores and Warwick for three years, Bob Norris representative for West Perth and Teresa Ondrejicka repre- sentative for Lucan Biddulph for six years and Bill Dowson repre- sentative for Bluewater and Gord Strang repre- sentative for Perth South and South Huron for nine years. Marketing and corpo- rate services co-ordinator Judith Parker was also honoured for having worked for the conserva- tion authority for the past 15 years. "Letheren has been an energetic volunteer with a passionate vision for a clean environment." ABCA GENERAL MANAGER TOM PROUT ABCA Chairperson Teresa Ondrejicka presents Ray Letheren of the Friends of the Bayfield River with a Conservation Edition framed print entitled "The Glance — Northern Shoveler's" by artist Patrick Wolput. at a presentation at Ironwood Gold Clubhouse March 18 where Letheren was recognized as the ABCA Conservationist of the Year. Below are Years of Service recipients Bill Weber, Bob Norris, Gord Strang, Bill Dowson,Teresa Ondrejicka and Judith Parker.Absent is Darren Stevenson. (photos/Mary Simmons) Funding runs out for Rural Response for Healthy Children programs By Mary Simmons TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF CLINTON — Funding is running out for three area programs run by the Huron County Child Abuse Prevention Committee (HCCAPC) and Rural Response for Healthy Children (RRHC). Dad and Me, School's Cool and THE Bus are three of the organiza- tion's programs which received funding from the Early Years Challenges Funds grant. This was a one-time grant and by mid-June the funds will run out. In order to keep the programs running, RRHC is asking individuals and businesses to consider donating funds. The Dad and Me pro- gram was launched in the county in March 2002 to increase awareness of the importance of father involvement in the lives of their children through home visits, educational workshops and one-on- one parent support. Dads and children can participate in the free program the first Saturday of the month at the Clinton Early Years Centre and every Monday night at Suncoast Mall in Goderich. School's Cool is a six- week program offered in the summer to children ages three to six. Its purpose is to accli- mate children to a school setting so they will feel more comfortable when they start school. Children spend four hours a day, four days a week in a classroom set- ting getting accustomed to routines such as sitting in a circle, listening, shar- ing ideas, interacting with other children and using pencils, scissors and glue. In the past the program has been offered free at a variety of public schools across the county, but if funding is not available, it may only be available at two schools or parents will be required to pay a $90 fee per child. THE Bus is a mobile lending service which makes its way across the county offering toys, resources, information, playgroups and support to families. While the program is not at jeopardy of losing funding for use during regular business hours, funding will run out on extended hours during evenings and weekends. Many of the members who use the services dur- ing these hours, would no longer be able to continue if reduced to business hours. For more information contact RRHC at 482- 8777 or 1-800-479-0716 or visit the Web site www. rncc. on. ca.