HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Times Advocate, 2006-11-01, Page 66
Times -Advocate
Wednesday, November 1, 2006
Opinion Forum News
Seniors' perspective
Continued from page 5
kitchen sink is linked to our consumption of water.
In fact, the tap is a very important tool in the house; it
is used up to 45 times each day. Water is used to fill a
glass of water, or to fill a pot to prepare meals etc.
Because of its importance, it is recommended that the
sink be positioned in the centre of the kitchen or on the
counter opposite the cooking -surface. Placing most of
the available counter space between the cooking -sur-
face will also maximize efficiency. Kitchens are no
longer designed to be used by a single person; often,
many work areas are planned. Arranging an efficient
kitchen that allows two people to prepare meals is com-
bined with the installation of a double sink, which allows
more latitude.
As for materials, stainless steel is increasingly more
popular because it is durable, easy to maintain, and san-
itary. In addition, stainless steel never goes out of style;
it integrates itself perfectly in a contemporary kitchen
and compliments any decor.
You can choose a model with the drain set at the back
of the tub, which increases the storage space beneath
the sink. It is also recommended that you choose a
model with durable polished borders that prevent dis-
colouration over time.
In addition, coating the bottom of a stainless steel sink
will increase its sound absorption and heat retention.
For those who love coloured sinks, the choice is inter-
esting. Sinks made of silicon quartz and acrylic, soap-
stone, glass or resins are also resistant to heat, bangs
and scratches. Also it is just about impossible to scratch
the finish of enamel cast iron sinks.
Pigeon Drop:
Senior Fraud; An individual claims to have found a
large sum of money and offers to share it with you. You
are asked to withdraw "good faith" money from your
bank. The con artist may either request that you simply
show the money by placing it in a particular wallet, later
switching the wallet with one that does not have any
money in it, or the con artist takes your good faith
money and gives you a phony address where you are to
collect your share of the found money. Either way, the
end result is you lose your "good faith" money. Always
refuse to participate in any deal requiring you to demon-
strate your financial ability to a stranger.
Our NewVisitor:
A few years after I was born, my dad met a stranger
who was new to our small town. From the beginning,
Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer and
soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger
was quickly accepted and was around from then on. As
I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family. In
my young mind, he had a special niche. My parents
were complementary instructors: Mom taught me good
from evil, and Dad taught me to obey. But the
stranger...he was our storyteller. He would keep us
spellbound for hours on end with adventures, mysteries
and comedies. If I wanted to know anything about poli-
tics, history or science, he always knew the answers
about the past, understood the present and even seemed
able to predict the future! He took my family to the first
major league ball game. He made me laugh, and he
made me cry. The stranger never stopped talking, but
Dad didn't seem to mind. Sometimes, Mom would get
up quietly while the rest of us were shushing each other
to listen to what he had to say, and she would go to the
kitchen for peace and quiet (I wonder now if she ever
prayed for the stranger to leave). Dad ruled our house-
hold with certain moral convictions, but the stranger
never felt obligated to honor them. Profanity, for exam-
ple, was not allowed in our home... not from us, our
friends or any visitors. Our longtime visitor, however,
got away with four-letter words that burned my ears
and made my dad squirm and my mother blush. My dad
didn't permit the liberal use of alcohol, but the stranger
encouraged us to try it on a regular basis. He made cig-
arettes look cool, cigars manly and pipes distinguished.
He talked freely (much too freely!) about sex. His com-
ments were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive,
and generally embarrassing. I now know that my early
concepts about relationships were influenced strongly
by the stranger. Time after time, he opposed the values
of my parents, yet he was seldom rebuked... and NEVER
asked to leave and more than fifty years have passed
since the stranger moved in with our family. He has
blended right in and is not nearly as fascinating as he
was at first. Still, if you could walk into my parents' den
today, you would still find him sitting over in his corner,
waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him
draw his pictures. His name is? We just call him, "TV."
He has a younger sister now. We call her "Computer"!
Kimberley Payne United Way Goderich
You Can Never RelaxWhen it Comes to
Food Safety:
The recent E. coli outbreak in bagged fresh spinach
should be a reminder to consumers that eating is a risky
business. It always has been, and always will be. The
biggest danger lurks in consumers' kitchens.
Mishandling of food at home is the leading cause of the
two million cases of food poisoning (and 30 deaths)
which occur in Canada each year.
Of course, individual cases of food poisoning don't usu-
ally generate the headlines like we've seen with the con-
taminated spinach incident - which reportedly killed one
person and sickened nearly 200 others.
That is why this incident should be a reminder that
every stakeholder in the food chain needs to be con-
stantly reviewing and improving their food safety proce-
dures.
While pinpointing the exact source of the E coli conta-
mination in the California spinach industry has proven
difficult, there's no doubt that many food -poisoning out-
breaks in produce stem from handling problems on the
farm. Every produce grower should be taking a critical
look at areas such as irrigation and produce handling
and asking how they can make improvements.
This incident also illustrates how modern marketing
methods are making the task of food safety more diffi-
cult. Consumers' love of convenience has spurred the
entire food industry to adopt innovative processing and
packaging methods. Sales of fresh produce in North
America reached an unprecedented $65 billion last
year, thanks in large part to pre -washed, pre-cut and
ingeniously packaged products.
But this time -saving convenience for shoppers has
made life more complicated for retailers, distributors
and wholesalers, who must devote more effort to check
for and remove bagged produce which has reached its
expiration date. Outbreaks like the spinach contamina-
tion will only prompt retailers to demand others in the
food chain - processors and farmers - to do more to
improve their food safety standards. Fortunately, there
are many actions which can be taken to meet these
demands, from better HACCP training to adoption of
new anti -microbial technology.
The one strategic option that should not be considered
at this point is inaction. Sylvain Charlebois, a professor
of international marketing at the University of Regina's
Faculty of Business
Solutions -`Grow the Pie'
Did you know that the agri-food industry is among the
largest in Ontario, but the sector receives only 0.7 per
cent of the entire provincial budget? This chronic
under -funding has led to many problems in other areas
of agriculture. Farmers hi Ontario are working together
to increase the funding of ALL of agriculture to 'grow
the pie' to 1.4 per cent of the provincial budget.
Remember to salute our farmers and Farmers Feed
Cities.
A man was telling his neighbor in Trailer E states, "I
just bought a new hearing aid. It cost me four thousand
dollars, but it is state of the art. It is perfect."
"Really," answered the neighbor "What kind is it?"
"Twelve thirty."
A little old man shuffled slowly into the "Orange
Dipper", an ice cream parlor in Trailer Estates, and
pulled himself slowly, painfully, up onto a stool. After
catching his breath he ordered a banana split.
The waitress asked kindly, "Crushed nuts?" "No," he
replied, "arthritis!" Contributed by Bill Tinney
Time is Money:
A feisty 70 -year-old woman had to call a furnace
repairman. After a quick inspection the man put some
oil into the motor and handed her a $70 bill for labor.
"Labor charges!" she exclaimed. "It only took you five
minutes." The repairman explained that his company
had a minimum one-hour charge on every house call.
"Well, I want my remaining 55 minutes of labour," the
lady responded, and she handed him a rake. The
repairman spent the next 55 minutes in her yard bag-
ging leaves.
Don't mess with the old ladies!
Principal's message
EXETER — If you have a son or daughter attending
South Huron, you may be aware of the community forum
we have scheduled for this Thursday night at 7 p.m. in
the school library.
The topic for this forum is one that should be of major
interest and concern to all parents, and everyone in the
community for that matter — crystal meth, per-
haps the most dangerous illegal drug on the streets
of Ontario.
Unfortunately, the speaker we have lined up for
the presentation, Jeff Walraven of the Ontario
Provincial Police, was involved in a serious car acci-
dent last week and will not be able to make the pre-
sentation. We have asked the Huron Detachment of
the OPP if an alternate speaker will be able to
attend, but as of press time, we do not have confir-
mation on this. If no presenter is available, we will
have to re -schedule the forum and will announce
this to the students as soon as we know. Please
feel free to call the school for an update on the sta-
tus of the forum.
In the meantime, I thought I would share with you some
information on crystal meth to explain why this is such a
crucial issue for all of us. The information that follows is
from the websites of "CBC News" and "The Fifth Estate."
The full name of crystal meth is "methamphetamine
hydrochloride," but it is known on the street as "ice, crys-
tal, glass, or tina," and probably several other names as
well. It has been a serious problem for several years now
in Western Canada, particularly Alberta and B.C., and in
the mid -west of the U.S.; in the last couple of years it has
made its way eastward. In fact, Perth County has become
notorious as perhaps the leading source of crystal meth in
Canada, and just over a year ago a number of individuals
were charged with trafficking in crystal meth and cocaine
right here in Huron County.
There are several reasons why we should be concerned
about the presence of this drug in our community and in
our schools. First off, it is highly addictive: some people
become hooked after their first experience with it.
Secondly, it is cheap to produce and this makes it afford-
able to our young people. An investment of $150 can pro-
duce $10,000 worth of the drug, making it lucrative for
the dealers who prey on our children. It is produced from
chemicals readily available in our communities
and it can be produced in a relatively short period
of time.
Crystal meth is in the "speed" family and pro-
duces a rush of energy and euphoria, producing a
high that can last a long time. However, it can also
cause irritability, insomnia, hallucinations, anxi-
ety, paranoia and increased aggression. It increas-
es the user's heart rate and blood pressure,
which can cause cardiovascular damage, strokes,
brain damage and even death.
In addition to its addictiveness and damaging
effects, crystal meth is also dangerous to produce,
often causing explosions, fires and severe chemi-
cal burns to its producers.
Obviously, we should be concerned about the growing
presence of this drug in our communities. Two years ago
the Ontario Student Drug Use Survey suggested that two
per cent of Ontario students were using this drug and the
percentage has certainly grown since then. At the risk of
sounding alarmist, I suggest that every parent should be
concerned about this drug and I encourage everyone to
become more informed about this menace. The informa-
tion I have provided here barely scratches the surface of
this topic and there is much more we need to learn about
crystal meth.
If we are unable to hold our community forum this week,
we will certainly re -schedule it and I will announce the
new date as soon as I can.
JEFF
REAB
PRINCIP
MESSAG
URN
AL'S
E
Children of
Chernobyl
info meeting
Are you a family looking for an amazing expe-
rience next summer?
Huron County for Children of Chernobyl is
looking for loving families to host a child from
Belarus in the summer of 2007.
Our charitable group was formed in 1998 for
the purpose of bringing children here to Canada
for a respite visit. They are still suffering from
the effects of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in
1986. Their homeland is affected by the toxic
pollution found in the soil, plants, food, air and
water. Our fresh air and nutritious food helps to
improve their immune system and reverse the
ill effects of radioactive contaminants they are
exposed to on a daily basis. Our tender loving
care gives them a reason to smile and a fighting
chance.
We fund raise as a group to cover all travel
expenses to bring the children to Canada.
There are many benefits and rewards to be
gained from hosting a child and it is a wonderful
learning experience for our own children.
Host families may request a child, boy or girl,
who they think would be best suited to fit in eas-
ily with their family life. They are invited to
attend an information meeting Thursday (Nov. 2
at 7:30 p.m. at Central Huron Secondary School
library in Clinton to learn more about the pro-
gram.
For more information call Lynn Dawe at 527-
2060 or Jack Bender at 565-2243.
LYNN DAwE M, Chairperson
Huron County for Children of Chernobyl