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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Times Advocate, 2006-02-08, Page 66 Exeter Times -Advocate Wednesday, February 8, 2006 Seniors' perspective Continued from page 5 • Family Services Perth -Huron 1-800-268-0903 • Huron -Perth Centre for Children & Youth 1-866-207-5552 (519) 482-3931 • Huron -Perth Children's Aid Society 1-800-265-5198 • Renascence Group Counseling for Women 1-866-207-5552 • Group Delta for Men Group Counseling for Men 1-866-207-5552 • Kids Help Phone 1-800-668-6868 • Women Today 1-888-547-3478 What you have to do every year to live healthy with diabetes: • Visit your podiatrist to have a full check up of your feet and prevent any problems. He/she will evaluate your feet to assess the risk for complications like nerve damage and vascular problems. A foot examination con- sists of checking your pulses, sensation, evaluating the general structure of your feet, and evaluating the pres- ence of abnormalities in your skin and nails This helps the podiatrist determine your risk for developing compli- cations in your feet. Learn about how to take care of your feet. • Visit your ophthalmologist for a full retina exam in search of any signs of retinopathy and stop any problem timely. High blood glucose levels can damage the blood vessels in the retina, in the back of the eye, which are thinner than a hair. The doctor will evaluate the deep of your eyes in search of signs of diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma or cataracts. • Have a microalbuminuria or urine protein test. Millions of small blood vessels in the kidneys are in charge of cleaning your blood from waste and toxic sub- stances. These tiny vessels, much smaller in diameter than a hair, are damaged by high blood glucose levels, which affect the filtering capacity of the kidneys and increase the risk for developing kidney failure, for which dialysis or kidney transplantation are the only treat- ment. When the kidneys are not filtering well, as they should, small amounts of the protein albumin pass through the urine. This condition is called microalbu- minuria and to detect it on time you should have a microalbuminuria test every year. Visit your dentist twice a year for a check up and a dental cleaning. You must be aware of the signs of any oral infection since it can hinder your blood glucose con- trol. • Have a flu and pneumonia shot. Flu shots may help reduce your risk of catching the flu for about 6 months. Also, it is recommended that people with diabetes get a pneumonia shot. Although for most people one shot is enough protection for a lifetime, you must ask your doc- tor about getting another shot 5-10 years after their first one. • Have an electrocardiogram (ECG). This test mea- sures the activity of the heart and will tell your doctor if you heart is working fine. You should have an electro- cardiogram when you are diagnosed with type -2 dia- betes or once a year if you already have a diagnosis of type -1 or type 2 -diabetes. • if you are a woman, get a mammography and a pap smear. If you are a man get your prostate checked. • Finally, have a general physical examination once a year. An annual exam is a chance to detect other condi- tions, such as cancer, eye, kidney and heart diseases. One dark night outside a small town, a fire started inside the local chemical plant. Before long it exploded into flames and an alarm went out to fire departments from miles around. After fighting the fire for over an hour, the chemical company president approached the fire chief and said, "All of our secret formulas are in the vault in the centre of the plant. They must be saved! I will give $50,000 to the engine company that brings them out safely!" As soon as the chief heard this, he ordered the fire- men to strengthen their attack on the blaze. After two more hours of attacking the fire, president of the com- pany offered $100,000 to the engine company that could bring out the company's secret files. From the distance a long siren was heard and anoth- er fire truck came into sight. It was a local volunteer fire company composed entirely of men over 65. To every- one's amazement the little fire engine raced through the chemical plant gates and drove straight into the middle of the inferno. In the distance the other firemen watched as the old timers hopped off of their rig and began to fight the fire with an effort that they had never seen before. After an hour of intense fighting the volunteer compa- ny had extinguished the fire and saved the secret formu- las. Joyous the chemical company president announced that he would double the reward to $200,000 and walked over to personally thank each of the volunteers. After thanking each of the old men individually the president asked the group what they intended to do with the reward money. The fire truck driver looked him right in the eye and said, "The first thing we're going to do is fix the durn brakes on that truck!" Tips on Using Candles Safely In the last five years, there have been 1,400 candle fires in Ontario homes that have caused 20 fatalities and 187 injuries. Too often fires are ignited when candles are left unattended. "Use Candles with Care: When you go out, blow out!" was the theme for this recent Fire Prevention Week. Candle fires are largely preventable and to reduce your chances of a candle fire occurring in your home, follow these tips: • Always stay in the room where candles are being used. • Extinguish all candles when leaving the room or when going to sleep. • Keep lit candles well away from anything that can burn. • Keep candles, matches and lighters out of reach of children and pets. • Use sturdy candleholders that won't tip or burn. Those with glass shades or chimneys are safer. • Extinguish candles when they burn within five cm. (two inches) of their holder. IF MY BODYWEREA CAR If my body were a car, this is the time I would be thinking about trading it in for a newer model. I've got bumps and dents and scratches in my finish and my paint job is getting a little dull, but that's not the worst of it. My fenders are too wide to be considered stylish. They were once as sleek as a little MG; now they look more like an old Buick. My seat cushions have split open at the seams. My seats are sagging. Seat belts? I gave up all belts when a local coffee shop opened a place in my neighborhood! Air bags? Forget it. The only bags I have these days are under my eyes. Not counting the saddlebags, of course. I have s000000 many miles on my odometer. Sure, I've been many places and seen many things, but when's the last time an appraiser factored life experi- ences against depreciation? My headlights are out of focus and it's especially hard to see things up close. My traction is not as graceful as it once was. I slip and slide and skid and bump into things even in the best of conditions. My whitewalls are stained with varicose veins. It takes me hours to reach my maximum speed. My fuel rate burns inefficiently. But here's the worst of it - almost every time I sneeze, cough or sputter...either my radia- tor leaks or my exhaust backfires. Treat women with respect In my experience, being the only female candidate in this past election, women are not truly respected in politics in this riding. One of the candidates was patronizing, which can cause women to feel like second class citizens. Two candidates felt they could interrupt me and talk exces- sively and would dominate the debate disrespectfully. One of the candidates would always say that women should stay home with their children. This is bla- tantly rude. I hope in the future more women can be involved in politics, for we need to ensure we are treated respectfully without being patronized, interrupted or belit- tled. I could hardly believe the prejudiced and derogatory comments I heard from some of the candidates. We need more women involved in the community, and more men who are willing to ensure the equal treatment of women in the political arena. VICTORIA SERDA Huron -Bruce Green Party candidate 2006 Alzheimer Society says `thanks' Great community spirit was shown Jan. 28 when eager participants came out to support the Alzheimer Society of Huron County's llth annual Walk for Memories. The Exeter walk raised $6,700 to assist peo- ple living with Alzheimer's disease. This amount, added to the other four county wide LetterS Pr - walks, brings the total money raised in Huron County to an impressive $24,500. '� tO the This walk could not have been possible F'dit°i' without the support of local corporate spon- sorship and those residents and businesses that reached into their pockets and pledged a walker. Your generousity is very much appreci- ated. On behalf of The Alzheimer Society of Huron County, I thank you for being part of the team that is giving "Help for Today and Hope for tomorrow". CATHY RITSEMA, Executive Director Alzheimer Society of Huron County Panther Profile EXETER — Exams are over and I'm a much happier man because of it. I said earlier that they were enjoyable, but that was one big lie. They really weren't that fun. There was a brief moment when I thought I might enjoy my three-hour long English exam, but then I started writing it. Now the new semester has started. I have nothing terribly exciting to talk to you about (not much has happened since the last week of first semester), so I'll leave you with a reminder from the office. There is an immunization clinic for MenC coming up. Forms for this are to be returned to Jean in the office. Free immu- nization is pretty awesome. Just like my new haircut is pretty awesome. Even more awesome are these upcoming events: Feb. 8 — Senior Reach for the Top tournament, Clinton — Blood donor clinic, 2:30 - 8:30 p.m., small gym — Grad photo retakes — Senior boys basketball, St. Mike's, bus leaves at 1:15 p.m. Feb. 8-9 — Girls hockey tournament, North York Feb. 9 — MuchMusic dance Feb. 10 — Midget boys basketball, 11:30 a.m., 2 p.m., small gym Feb. 13 — Grade 8 welcome week MATTHEW MINER PANTHER PROFILE POLICE BRIEFS Hockey equipment theft in Zurich ZURICH — On Jan. 22 a bag of hockey equipment was stolen. The equip- ment was located on the front porch of a residence on Goshen Street in Zurich. Stolen were goalie pads, Cooper 32" blue and white pants, Supra's black shoulder pads, a Vaughn one piece upper body protector gloves, a Vaughn with cheater black, blocker, Bauer rector skates, Bauer size 10 goalie bag and an I -tech black. Value of equipment stolen estimates at $2,000. Stereo theft in Ilderton ILDERTON — On Feb. 1 a rear driver's side window in a GrandAm was smashed on Mill Street in Ilderton. A stereo was stolen. Also on Feb. 1 on Robert Street in Ilderton a side window of a pick-up truck was broken and a stereo was stolen.