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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Times Advocate, 2005-03-09, Page 66 Exeter Times -Advocate Wednesday, March 9, 2005 Opinion Forum News Seniors' perspective Continued from page 5 to register. Small fee charged for this program. 238- 5555. March 20: 2005 Skating Carnival. Bluewater Zurich Skating Club presents 'Home Ice' 2 p.m. Bluewater Community Complex. March 22: Managing Your Diabetes Program 9 a.m. Grand Bend Area Community Health Centre. Call Aileen to register 238-1556 ext. 4. Everyone welcome! March 23: Huron Country Playhouse Guild luncheon meeting 12:30 p.m. at Lakeview Cafe, 85 Main St. E., Grand Bend. Guests welcome. Call Mary Cardiff 238- 5640. March 24: Grand Bend Diabetes Support Program at 11 a.m. Grand Bend CHC. Everyone welcome. March 24: VON Bereavement Support Program. Please join Kim Winbow for this 10 -week program held from 1:30 to 4 p.m. at the Grand Bend Area CHC. Call Cindy to register at 238-1556 ext. 6 or Kim at 235-2510. March 21: Grand Bend Horticultural Society at 7:30 Grand Bend Legion. Speaker is Frances Thorn "Seeds of Diversity, the Heritage Seed Program." New members welcome! April 1: Chronic Pain Management Program. This eight-week program is designed for the pain sufferer and for family members. It will include an exercise por- tion, speakers and a group self help discussion each week. The program is open to everyone. Individuals who are not our CHC patients must be assessed by us before participating in the exercise portion or have approval from their family physician. Program runs 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. Fridays. Grand Bend CHC is offering a four-part series on Learning About Elder Abuse April 7, 14, 21, 28, from 2:30 to 4 p.m. or 7 to 8:30 p.m. Call 238-1556 ext. 6 for details. Legion News D.V.A. Counselor, Deanna Golsselin and Service Officer Norm Eveland will be at the R.E. Pooley Branch 167 on March 27, 2005. Veterans, Spouses of Veterans and Peace Keepers may visit them between 1 and 4 p.m. Winter Blues: By the first part of March, we all get the winter blues. Come out and join us with our dances. March 19 Don Harvey will be playing. Times are 8 p.m. to 12 a.m.; April 16 John and Geneva Heaman will be playing. Both dances are $10 admission and lunch is provided. 60th anniversary of V.E. Day coming up: This year marks the 60th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day. The actual date is May 8. The end of the hostilities occurred for the Canadian Forces on May 4 when General Cerar, the commander of all Canadian Forces told his commanders to cease attacking. The German surrender became effective at 8 a.m. the following morning May 5. Thus ended a period of vicious fighting and a long, drawn-out battle which started almost 11 months earlier on D -Day June 6. Generals Foulkes and Simonds, the two Canadian Corps Generals, accepted the surrender of Germany in their sector. One German general was shaken at the youthful age of his opponents and was further shocked to learn that Brigidier J.A. Roberts of the 8th Canadian Infantry Brigade was not a regular soldier having been in the manufacturing busi- ness before the war. Indeed the Canadian Army began as a group of ama- teurs who became highly skilled and professional in the crucible of war. They fought and defeated tough, skilled and experienced German regulars. But the price of their learning came high. From D -Day to VE Day, Canadians suffered around 48,000 casualties including 12,570 dead. It has been calculated that during the period 1944 to 1945 an infantry battalion suffered an average rate of 175 per month. For comparison during the First World War the average was 100. The little-known fact illus- trates the intensity of the battles fought during that peri- od. It was of course the Canadians who were largely responsible for driving the Germans out of Holland. The Dutch people suffered terribly at the hands of the occu- pying forces and there developed a great affinity between the Dutch and Canadian. To this day this exists and it is natural that both countries would celebrate their freedom. This will be done in Huron County this year with several events taking place in early May. Look for details in the local press and in this column, Seniors' Perspective. Next Week: Lest We Forget Series, Sydney West, World War I. Things you might not have known: • Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite. • Rubber bands last longer when they are refrigerated. • "Stewardesses" is the longest word typed with only the left hand and "lollipop" with your right. • The average person's left hand does 56 per cent of the typing. • The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket. • The sentence: 'The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog' uses every letter of the alphabet • The winter of 1932 was so cold that Niagara Falls froze completely solid. • The words `racecar,' `kayak' and `level' are the same whether they are read left to right or right to left (palin- dromes). • There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar. • There are only four words in the English language, which ends in "does": tremendous, horrendous, stupen- dous, and hazardous. • There's no Betty Rubble in the Flintstones Chewables Vitamins. • Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur. • TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of the keyboard. • Winston Churchill was born in a ladies room during a dance. • Women blink nearly twice as much as men. CHEESE ANSWER! 8 CANADIAN POUNDS OF MILK TO MAKE 1 POUND OF CHEESE. Event raises $3,240 Dear Editor: A big congratulations is in order to the following church groups: St James Anglican, Holy Trinity Anglican and Lucan United for their amazing work at Big Brothers Big Sisters South Huron's 25th annual Bowl for Kids. The churches were involved in a friendly competition on Sunday to raise money for BBBSSH's Bowl for Kids. Bowl for Kids is the mainstay of financial support for the agency's services. St. James Anglican Church leads the competi- tion with $1,848, Holy Trinity Anglican holds sec- ond place with $571, followed closely by Lucan United with $317. Together the churches raised over $2,700 with some outstanding pledges still to be collected. The first annual BBBSSH bowling trophy will be awarded to the church that raised the highest amount of pledges at the Big Brothers Big A Sisters South Huron's awards ceremony sched- uled for May 2005. A special thank you goes out to Ken Whiting for his amazing leadership and hard work in orga- nizing the churches to make the day such a suc- cess. The day raised a total of $3,240, which is just the beginning of the Bowl for Kids campaign. Sun., March 6 the Zurich Bowl for Kids takes place and promises to be a big success! The $25,000 goal is one step closer for BBBSSH. For those who are unable to bowl or pledge, dona- tions can be made to Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Huron, Box 113, Exeter, ON NOM 1S6. Thank you to those who came out to bowl, fundraise for a worthy cause and have some fun! THE BOARD AND STAFF OF BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS OF SOUTH HURON Thanks for taking a leap Dear Editor: It has been a little over a year now since the Childhood Learning Centre has opened its doors. What a year it has been! My family and I have been very pleased and proud with the centre and would like to thank each and every person who has taken care of our three children, Aveleigh, Neilla and Maddox. From the cleaning staff and the person who provides the fantastic meals for them (puts us to shame sometimes) and especially to the caring, nurturing childcare providers who help our chil- dren learn and develop as they have fun. Even my seven year old looks forward to PA days so she can spend the day at the centre. There are 82 children currently enrolled in the centre. This is higher than expected for this point in the centre's existence and continues to increase every month. Most importantly, both the infant and toddler rooms are the most popular. This shows the confidence people have placed in the centre and the fact that the centre will be around for years to come. The centre has even had an expansion already - they have added a before and after school program to facilitate the growing number of fam- ilies that require care for their children during these times. The centre is also trying to convey to people that there are many forms of government assistance to those that may need it in order to take advantage of what the centre has to offer. The income thresholds may be high- er than you think It never hurts to apply! What does this child care centre mean for South Huron? Families are STAYING in the Municipality for their child care instead of bringing them to Clinton, Seaforth, London and even Stratford. Many families who use the day-care centre live outside of the municipality. These parents have time to get groceries, pick up din- ner, or even go downtown to shop before they go home - before or after they pick up their children. It also pro- vides employment for the many skilled and talented child-care workers in our community. It has lessened the strain on the many high-quality private childcare workers in South Huron. But most importantly, it gives our children a safe place to learn and to have fun. We should be proud of this facility. Speaking with London Bridge, who operates the facility and has invested a large amount into the facility, they continue to marvel at the support ireceives from parents, the commu- nity, the Municipality and the County. They use the Centre as an example to government and other municipalities of how cooperation and partnership with the municipality is a very success- ful model that could be used elsewhere. South Huron is a LEADER in this respect. In summary, I wish to thank South Huron council, especially Pete Armstrong, for their leadership and hard work in making this project work. I want to thank the steering committee for their many hours of dedication. Lastly, I wish to thank London Bridge Childcare Services for taking a "leap" and having faith that this is a good thing for them and for South Huron. I am very proud to be a room sponsor and a supporter of this great facility. THANK YOU SOUTH HURON! ! ! ! Letters _wow to the Editor JEFF KEI I FR Exeter Come to the tourism event of the year EXETER — On Wed., April 6, South Huron Recreation Centre will be the site of the Huron Tourism Association's 16th Annual Tourism Event and Brochure Swap. The afternoon event will feature a representative from the Ministry of Tourism and Recreation who will be present to discuss the ministry's marketing plans and provincial perspective. Themes for the other professional guest speakers will be `Running the Market Race' and 'What Makes You Stand Out'. As with other years, a major component of the day will be the brochure swap; this provides registrants with the opportunity to distribute their promotional literature to other businesses and promoters. Don't miss this exciting opportunity to distribute and collect material, not to mention networking with other businesses. The new 2005 Huron County Travel Guide will be available for pickup that day along with the new Fishing and Huron Perth Food Producers pap and current Hiking, Heritage and Culture brochures. These Huron County publications will be available to registrants in large quantities in order that they will have literature to hand-out to visiting tourists. Tourism development is essential to the growth and survival of Huron County. It represents one of the largest economic generators in the area. The mandate of the Huron Tourism Association is to develop and target cost-effective and result -oriented tourism strategies within Huron County. Being a membership -based action organization members have equal input into association business and can voice their ideas and concerns at monthly meetings. These meetings are usually held the first Thursday of the month at various members' estab- lishments. The registration fee for the 16th Annual Tourism Event and Brochure Swap is $40 prior to March 11 and $45 after March 11. Final registration deadline is March 23, 2005. Registration includes a morning bus tour of South Huron and North Middlesex, a hot buffet lunch, seminars, table space for registrants, displays and brochures, and refreshments. The public is welcome to drop in between 4 and 5 p.m. to partic- ipate in the brochure swap (no charge). If you have not already received an invitation brochure to this exciting event, or would like addi- tional information on either this event or the Huron Tourism Association, please contact either Marie McGuire or Cindy Fisher at the Huron County Planning and Development Department (519) 524- 2188 or Duncan Jewell at 524-8558.