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The Times Advocate, 2008-09-10, Page 66 Times -Advocate Wednesday, September 10, 2008 Opinion Forum News Program makes a real difference My son has been involved in the in -school mentoring program now for three years with Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Huron. My son and his mentor meet once a week for one hour. It is amazing to see the effect the program has had on my son. Before he was accepted to the program he had very low self-esteem, he didn't want anything to do with school and school activities, and he was having problems with other children teasing him. Since he has been in the program and involved with his mentor he is like a whole different child. He enjoys going to school and doing schoolwork — well, as much as any other kid does anyway. He has no more problems being teased, his self-esteem is nothing but positive now. We have had teachers in the school comment to us on how much he had changed just in the first year. My son and his mentor have a lot of fun doing in -school activities as well as the fun stuff like playing sports games in the gym and doing the bowl-a-thon. My son looks forward each week to when he and his big brother get to meet again. If you asked him if there was anything he would change about the program or his mentor he would tell you, "no way!" Having more time with his big brother would be the only thing he would change. It is a great program and there are a lot more children out there who need that friendship and help in school. Please consider becoming a Big Brother or Big Sister for in -school mentoring or out of school. It's great to see smiles on our children's faces. COLLEEN REYMER Parent to a `Little' Letters to the Editor 7 Central Huron Swine Club holds last meeting By ShannonRyan HENSALL - On August 27, the 4-H Club had our last 4-H meeting at Thompson's in Hensall, before the Seaforth Fair. Jesse opened the meeting. After the 4-H pledge, the leaders talked about the achieve- ment day and what everyone should bring and expect. The show was on Fri., Sept. 5, located at the Seaforth Fairgrounds. The leaders also told us to be pre- pared for the test. We then finished the last two lessons in our book; Feeders, waterers and lighting. Once we were done in our books, the leaders made a special presen- tation. The club had purchased shirts for the fair day from Huron County Pork Producers and Hensall Co-op donated canes to all the members for the 4-H achievement day. After a group picture we fmished with snacks. Men's charity breakfast Sept. 20 CENTRALIA — There are many rea- sons why people take the time and spend the necessary dollars to restore an object to original beauty or function. To George Burgin of Kirkton, the rea- son for the restoration of a Cockshutt Tobacco Stalk Chopper was to gain experience. This machine is not an his- torically significant machine, but it is a machine not seen in Perth County because of the absence of tobacco. Its small size meant that the workshop could accommodate the storage of parts and its simplicity meant that the restoration could be done in a relatively short period of time. So the disassembly began. The chopper was found in a used equipment dealership near Alliston. It had been sitting outside for many years, and the entire surface was rust coated. Experience number one was learning the knack of sandblasting. This turned out to be a seemingly never-ending job as the compressor was much too small and the pressure dropped rapidly. Numerous bags of blasting sand later, the rust was removed and undercoating with primer paint began. The compres- sor did a better job of maintaining pressure during the spray painting operation, and experience number two proceeded without a hitch. Of all the challenges in this restora- tion, the replacing of the chopper assembly bearings proved to be the greatest. The bearings were not the regular ball bearing type but were made from two hardwood blocks. Turning them on a lathe to a round shape would have been easy, but the bearing support was not round but hexagonal. This shape is an easy shape to make as all that is necessary is to start with an accurately sized square piece of wood and plane off the four corners to make six uniformly -sized flat surfaces to fit the inside of the bearing casting that is about four inches long. The next step was to drill a hole through each block the size of the assembly shafts. Working to the close tolerances that was necessary to make the parts all fit was a valuable experience. Spray painting the red finish coating was done in two stages. The individual pieces were sprayed and hung up to dry, something like clothes on a clothesline. After the paint was dry, the pieces were assembled and the whole machine was repainted to cover scuff marks and tattered nut and bold heads. Even though this is a field working machine, every effort was made to apply the paint run -free, a real chal- lenge and a valuable experience. For a delicious taste experience, we extend an open invitation to men of all ages to come to the "We Care" Men's Charity breakfast Sept. 20 at the Malibu Restaurant south of Exeter near Centralia. Breakfast starts at 8:30 a.m., and we encourage everyone to con- tribute more than just the meal cost as a donation to the Canadian Food Grains Bank. Our discussion after the meal will be on our understanding of Heaven. For more information, call George Burgin (229-8833) or Dave Hern (229-6339). — article submitted 4-H club meets - At a recent meeting, members of the Central Huron Swine Club received special gifts to use at its achievement program. The club would like to thank Hensall District Co-op for its generous donation of canes which mem- bers will use for showing. The club also purchased shirts, for the show from Huron County Pork Producers. Back row, left to right: Darrell Bergsma (leader), Murray Dale, Lauren Poppe, Jesse Walton, Shannon Ryan, Shawn Ryan, Don Dodds (leader) Front row, left to right: Zach Drost, Matthew Swart, Ryan Baan and Adam Baan. Absent: Leanne Ryan and Barb Storey (leader). (photo/submitted) Kirkton Fall Fair this weekend KIRKTON — September means it's time once again for the Kirkton Fall Fair, which kicks off Friday and runs until Sunday at the Kirkton-Woodham Community Centre. Things start Friday with entries received between 8:30 a.m. and noon. Doors are open to the public Friday night to view exhibits from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. °V Most of the activities take place Saturday, with the parade starting at 11 a.m., followed by the popular pet show. The baby show will start at 12:30 p.m. The day also features children's entertainment and (c.ir;Di games, including the pedal tractor pull, which starts at 2 p.m. Contestants can also test their creativity with a scare- crow building contest. General admission for both Friday and Saturday is $5, but those who go Friday receive a free pass for Saturday. The demolition derby is Sunday at 1 p.m. General admis- sion is $7, but kids 12 and under are free if accompanied by an adult. Exeter Bridge Club Above average scores from Sept. Barb and Dave Cooper .535, Carole 3 - Pam and Jim Rabb .595, Nick and Dennis Hockey .511 Nosko and Robert Drummond .577, COl'reCt1O11 Lambton OPP start blitz tomorrow Incorrect information appeared on page 12 in last week's T -A of an Aug. 31 acci- dent at Huron Street East and Morrison Line. The information with the photos should have read that a Hyundai travelling south on Morrison failed to stop for a sign and hit a Chevy pickup travelling westbound on Huron. The T -A apologizes for the error. LAMBTON — The "Operation Corridor 48 hour Enforcement Blitz" starts tomorrow, running until Friday. Lambton County OPP has a dedicated number officers who will be targeting all provincial highways, county roads and municipal streets in the Lambton Detachment area. Officers will watch for aggressive dri- vers. These actions could include speeding, following too closely, making unsafe lane changes and any other driving behaviours that would endanger the public. If you are identified as an aggressive driver, you could face charges under the Highway Traffic Act, the Liquor Licence Act, the Compulsory Automobile Insurance Act and/or the Criminal Code of Canada.