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The Huron Expositor, 1980-08-14, Page 1• • I • • • • • • • • Yen!' • Vrii010 NO. 5860 • , • 1 „ 773.7•;:"...4717...TP:ein7,77•.")5•77,',,:7e...e.iTee7tyr,7`,',.Fe..7 • • ..1/,',;;.;,7,..,•leterr.q11.2,61.. t SEAFORTH, ONTARIO, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 1980 PAGES e $44 yearin Aditanco ..SIngle Copy 35 Cento' n to e second .••••.• ' , STEP DANCERS ENTERTAIN—Andrea Muir and Debbie Campbell picnic sponsored by the Kilbarchan home Tuesday. Approximately 25 entertain residents of the Kilbqrchan and Manor nursing homes at a lawn residents were In attendance from each home. Another photo on page 18. 444 INA study group .survey finds Average area Who shops in Seaforth? Why and how. often? What do they buy here and buy out of town? How many children do they have? What are the income and educational levels of people inside Seaforth's trading area? Those are some of -the questions that Ann Elliott, a Clinton area student em- ployed for the summer by Seaforth's Business Improvement Area Study Group, • set out to answer. Her findings, and the conclusions the study group is drawing from them about the future of Seaforth's downtown„will be presented at a meeting Monday, August 25 at the town hall. The response of local merchants and community members in general at that meeting could decide the future of down - 'Ran Seaforth. Miss Elliott actually did two- surveys, with the same 57 families. They were chosen as a scientific two percent sampling within each of the municipalities that form the tewn's trading area-. Thi$ included 17 families in Seaforth, 14 in Tuckersniith. .:nine in McKillop, seven in Hibbert, four in Hullett and two in each of Morris. Grey and Logan townships. All the individual questionnaire results will remain confi- dential, Miss Elliott says. - If the two percent sampling is represent- ative, more than 50percent of the families in Seeforth's trading area have incomes of over 510,000 a year, 26.3 percent earn from 510,000 to S14,999 and 24.6 percent earn more than S20,000 per year. 17.5 percent of the faTilies earn S7,000 to 59,000 per year and the same number earn from 515.000- 520,000. Sugt 14.3 percent of the families earn less than 57,000 a year. Average family income in Seaforth's trading area is 516,000 or higher Miss E-Illott says "since the actual income over 520,000 (reported by 14 families) is not known." WEU, OVER POVERTY This is well over the povert, level (57131 in rural areas) and, she says "means the majority of families are able to afford to do a fair amount of shopping besides the necessities." As well, Miss Elliott thinks "these families can afford, for the most .part, to travel to other towns and cities unless they find their own town more attractive, both physically and in fulfilling their needs." ' The largest group in the area is aged 26 to 55 (31.2 percent). followed by the 0-14 age group (28 percent). Those aged 56 to 65 make up 24.7 percent of the local population. Of these, most live in Seaforth and one third of the town's population is • income over 55 and 41.4 percent over 65. Of the 115 children in the 54 families, only 29 have left thelirea to live else(vhere. $1 "This is irends," 6,000 a reversal of previus national Miss Elliott says "which said Please turn to page 18 store BY HERB SHOVELLER Plans are in She works to bring a second grocery store to Seaforth, perhaps within the next two months. The new store, a Superior Market, will be supplied and services by Elliott Marr & Company, Ltd. of London, and will operate out of the old IGA building on Main St.,. which was vacated in early June. "We haven't signed a lease yet," said John Bright, general sales manager with the Marr Company, "but we have signed an agreement :to lease. "We're hoping to be moved in by the end of September," he added. "We're going t� attempt to start work on the building next Monday." There has only been one grocery store in Seaforth for the past two months since Seaforth IGA cloaed. "It's not that good to -just have one store In town," said Mr. Bright. "It's kind of nice to have competition in town. I think if you ask Mr. Roth (the ownernithe other grocery store, Roth's K Foods), he will tell you the same thing." While the plans for a second grocery store in town is no surprise, the choice of a building is unexpected. Shortly after the IGA vacated the Main St. premises, Robert Plumsteel, of Plumsteel Interiors announced plans to move his business ieto the,building. +t. At that time Mr. Plumsteel told the Expositor he hoped to start renovating the building in July before moving in some time in August. The owner of the site for the new store, according to Mr. Bright, is Herman Lansink, of Lanco Developments in London. Neither Mr. Lansink nor Mr. Plumsteel could be reached for comment. The opening of the new store will mark the return of Superior Markets to Seaforth. "The Superior Store before was inde- pendently owned," said Mr. Bright. "But that was before my time." The last Superior Market to operate in Seaforth was owned by Doug Pruss. He ran - the store for three years before selling to Beckers. Mr. Pruss had purchased the Superior Market from WR. Smith ln 1971. cohol abuse hits one Huron family in 3 Im BEER ...Atm out f 'ever), three homes in Huron County rs, -affected by alcohol abuse, said Grant Ellison, chairman of The Committee for Action on Alcohol and Other Drugs in Huron County. "Approximately 900 people were treated In Huron County for alcohol abuse," he said. "About 350 of those were treated as in -patients and in psychiatric care at Goderich hospital." . Reflecting upon hii experience working with younger childron, Mr. Ellison said children as young as 11 and 12 yearof age. are now experimenting with alcohol. "Alcohol is the number one drug of preference between the ages of 14 and 18. That is followed by tobacco .and then marijuana." According to Mr. Ellison. children as young as 13 and 15 are coming out to one of the 15 Hurrm Qiunty AA centres for counselling and help. "Within the last five years. there have been more people under the age of 35 attending than there have been over the age of 35. This, added Mr. Ellison, is good because it means people., have become awlare of the problems. and are "no longer waiting until they're 50 and their lives are half ruined to get help." One reason for alcohol abuse in Huron County may be the gradual transition of township from dry to wet (making alcohol legal) over the past few years. "Most of Huron County was dry for a long time and like a child deprived of his all day sucker, when they got it, they went hairy," he said. S 0 CIAL ACCEPTANCE Adding to the problem is the drinking age, alcohol advertisements and the social acceptance of alcohol in gene al, said Mr. Allison. "Alcohol has taken a moopen stand ~/ the community. It is even Iound at chureh functions now." , Parent, -qt,hough the cannot control their children totally, shod be able to set a good example, said Mr. 11ison. Inside this wee " 411tt.' , Looking over If you've ever wondered what Seaforth might look like from the air, new is your chance. Last Friday Huron Expositor photo-' grapher Paul Ellis joined Ross Smith of R.R. 1, ittai Mitchell for a flight in his Seaforth 1946 Fleet Canuck. Look for the picture pg. 3 Dublin champs Thtse Dublin girls have done it again: This time they have captured the ,South Perth Bantam Girl's inamaassammame- "However, they are not toally to blamit." "The whole 41iing bas,to be researelsa we, have to begin to understand the problems," he said. "It is a general coecern, to most parents, bur they don't know which way to turn." Mr. Ellison said he does not believe a lack of activities and boredom drives Huron County youth to drink. "There are lots of programs available. but younger people just don't want to take part," he said. "Most say if they had mother outlet. they would use it, but I don't believe that is true." GENERAL ACCEPTANCE Chris Martin, a full time court worker for Family and Children's Services in Goderich. said on of the biggest contributors to the Huron ,County alcohol problem is area residents' general acceptance. "We have accepted the way things are, there is not enough of a push to enforce the law and in a way that is condoping the problem," said Mr. Martin, who previous to his appointment as court worker was a social workee involved exclusively with "The sum total of things to do for kids here, if they're not into roller skating, ia to go on gravel runs," he said. Drugs arq, just as serious, said Mr. Martin: adding however, harder drugs are no longer being used in as great numbers as five -years ago. "It used to be one or the other (alcohol or drugs). Now, it is both." "We of the adult population arc respon- sible for that," he said, adding adults are not setting a good example. - "Adults need to set a far better eXample than they have been doing," said Mr. Martin. "You can't try to solve your problems with alcohol and expect your kids Please turn to page 18 -- LEARNING ENGLISH—A special summer school program was held in CI -ISS this summer for refugees wanting to learn English. The refugees are from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodiaand have taken up residence under the sponsorship of people from Goderich, Blyth, Clinton, Seaforth and Mitchell. The classes were held two hours every day for a month al CHSS i'n Clinton (Photo by Diane van Dooren) English only at refugee class for Huron BY DIANE VAN DOOREN It's 9 a.m. on a hot and humid August morning. Clinton's Central Huron Second- ary School is a place far from the thoughts League championship. In order to gain the title. the girls had to win tourn- aments held in New Ham- burg and in Wellesley pg. 5 Play review T4 Life That Jack Built is a collective production opening at the Blyth Sum- mer Festival last Tuesday. About the life ef local artist and author Jack McLaren', the 'iitay focuses on his life during the first world war. Herb Shoveller's' reviewis on ' pg. 6 Good Brothers great A good crowd, a good show and all and all a good evening was had by all at the Good Brothers concert Friday. Sponsored by the Lion's Club. the concert held at the Seaforth Arena attracted a large local audi- ence . pg. 13 of students who are lazing away the heat in bed or at work. But these people are not your average high school students. They are refugees from Asian countries striving to learn Englisb—a language that is as foreign to them as the new customs .they are experiencing. It is their last day of English classes and they haye come a long way. The people in the classes sponsored by the Huron Board of Education are from Vietnam. Laos, Cambodia -and one from Austria. Their ages range from six to 49 years. Their backgrounds are different: their languages are different; their customs are different but they all have one thing in common. a desire to learn the language of their new home. The classes run every morning from 9 till 11 a.m. for one month. Students come from Seaforth, Blyth, Mitchell, Goderich, Clin- tab' and other area towns. In class only one language is spoken. English. 'The,teachers cannot speak any of the refugees lan- guages so they insist that their students speak only English for the two hOurs of class every morning. There are two classes, one for the people who have little command of the English language and one for those who can speak some English. The first class is taught by Sheila lankOwski2-She speaks very slowly to the students and enunciates every word. Her directions are simple and basic. Her students catch on fast. The students in her class have an age range of 40 years but they all do thesame work.. . At the final class each student had to stand up and speak in English for half a minute about themselves. They spoke quite slowly and tried to pronounce the words correctly. Quite often it took careful. listening to understand all that was said. The other class; for those who are more advanced. use books put out by the Ministry of Education. They wort mare on sentence structure and grammar. This class is faught by Lynn Sanders. Both of the teachers feel it's hest that they do not know any of the languiges their students speak. They try to help their students lose their inhibitions and make mistakes. That way. they said. the students will learn faster. In schools in their old countries, teachers were strict and the students were disciplined. Here the y have to learn that it is o.k. to make a mistake. In a way the scene is similar to an average classroom. You have your late students with outrageous excuses and your class Clowns. The jokes on the teacher are truly on the teacher, for she cannot understand their language. The smaller ones do not have to recite or read from books. They learn from just listening. A TRADE TO CONTINUE Some young men and women from the Asian countriesare particularly eager to learn English because they have a trade or profession they want to continue 'in Canada. One of the classes includes a mechanic, and a director of education. All of the refugees under 16 will have to enter the educational system in Canada according to the law here. The older ones who choose not to further their, schooling will have to find jobs once their sponsors cannot sponsor them any more. Both teachers said it would be very diffictilt for the refugees to enter a normal school. They fejt that ally will be very fir_ telinsIL and are hoping that an English workshop will be considered in some schools for these students. It was not compulsory that they attend these English classes, and -some students dropped out. The ones who stayed have learned a lot in the short month they were at school, say both teachers. It's a new ,country and a new culture for people who were thrown out of their home country. Now they must learn a whole new way of life. The first step is the language. • '1 — let-Z4X.ALIE",111,._ k— , „", , :"kik 7.• ' '