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Times-Advocate, 1986-09-17, Page 4Page 4 Times -Advocate, September 17, 1986 Ames dvocate Published Each Wednesday Morning at Exeter, Ontario, NOM 150 Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386. Phone 519-235.1331 CNA ROSS HAUGH Assistant Editor LORNE EEDY Publisher JIM . BECKETT Advertising Manager BILL BATTEN Editor HARRY DEVRIES Composition Manager DICK IONGKIND Business Manager SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada: $25.00 Per year, U.S.A. $65.00 C.W.N.A., O.C.N.A. CLASS 'A' Serving South Huron, No Middlesex & North Lambton Since 1873 Published by J.W. Eedy Publications Limited Needs. top priority The battle to protect Lake Huron's shoreline from the unusually high water levels has prompted a new battle among cottage owners. They're now starting to battle each other as concern grows that steps taken by some to protect their banks from ero- sion through costly structures has actual- ly led to greater erosion problems for their neighbors. Caught in the middle of what is now clearly a "catch 22" situation for everyone involved, are the ministry of natural resouraces, municipal councils and the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority: Unfortunately, the lake and the nor- mally devastating fall and early winter storms, give no indication that they will wait for all the groups to come to grips with the problem nor provide unlimited time to explore the best methods of pro- viding protection for all landowners. Time is of the essence as some cot- tages are already precariously close to the brink of disaster and weather condi- tions will soon stall any immediate remedial steps. Obviously, the property owners need some urgent answers from their elected and appointed officials at all levels of government. It must be given priority. At the same time, those officials should be taking steps to ensure that habitation in the lakefront dwellings is safe under the current conditions and the periodic storms which will probably arise. The loss of a cottage is bad enough, but the situation must be monitored to en- sure there is no loss of human life. The property owners are in a very real and frightening battle, and while some are now finding there are new roadblocks to face in their struggle, all of them obviously need more positive responses to what can be done to protect their properties on a collective basis. That is not to suggest that their plight has been met indifferently to date; but to emphasize that the situation warrants some priority treatment as it escalates into a possible emergency. Some owners already feel it has reached that stage for them. Pour on gasoline The majority of people know you don't pour gasoline on a fire to quell it. However, that appears to be the solu- tion being attempted at the University of Western Ontario to curb drunken rowdyism at football games. To meet that challenge, it could be expected that officials would have en- forced the law which makes drinking in a stadium an offence. But no, the experiment will involve erecting a beer tent at the stadium to give the student fans a place to go and legal- ly drink one hour before and after the game and during half time. If it works, firemen should experi- ment with using gasoline instead of water to quell fires? Who started the Major insurance companies across Ontario have indicated the current insurance crisis is over for some groups. That of course, is welcome news but the reason for the positive announcement makes it somewhat suspect. The Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario came up with the good news at a time when there is a move by Ontario school boards to band together to establish a self-insurance system to combat the mounting premium costs they've been facing. The reality is that if a majori- ty of school boards join the plan which has been approved in prin- ciple by the provincial superintendent of insurance, the insurance companies stand to lose more than $6 million in premiums. It appears more than mere coincidence that the insurance crisis is declared over at the same time as the companies en- vision that $6 million crisis for themselves. Association president George McLean accused proponents of the school board plan of trying to "raise a spectre of fear and uncertainty that liability in- surance for school boards may not be available in the future, or that cost would be prohibitive". Obviously, those fears and con- cerns have been raised more by the action of the insurance in- dustry in the past couple of years . than anyone else. School boards, along with many other public and private groups, have had to curtailro- grams in the face of mounting premiums and lowered protec- tion. Many activities have ceas- ed entirely because of the inabili- ty of groups to secure insurance. Some of the industry have led people to believe that there was no immediate relief in sight and in fact forced groups to consider their own self-insurance systems or raised suggestions that the government should get into the insurance business. The Insurance Brokers Batt'n Around ...with The Editor Association will have a great deal of convincing to do to prove that the crisis reached a natural con- clusion rather than one precipitated by action that now creates an apparent crisis for them. • Now that the crackdown on drinking drivers has put a damper on fund-raising dances that were once the mainstay of some local organizations, it is ap- parent that consideration must be given to alternative methods of raising the necessary funds for those groups as well as the operators of the halls in which they were staged. Local groups and recreation of- ficials should keep their eye on a project being staged in St. Marys next month when a dinner theatre will be offered at the community centro. The popular Letter From Wingfield Farm, which delighted panic? • audiences at the Huron Country Playhouse this summer, will be presented by Itod Beattie after patrons enjoy a full course roast beef dinner. It's an innovative fund-raising effort and the price tag of 20 bucks a head is relatively cheap for a meal and a great night of entertainment. While diners will be able to en- joy a cocktail prior to the meal and probably some wine to com- pliment the beef, they'll have the duration of the show to get their alcohol levels back down to where they will get. safely past the breathaliler. While the declining popularity of dances has had serious reper- cussions for non-profit groups and those charged with generating revenue from public facilities, it is not enough for them to throw up their hands in despair and expect their bleak -financial status to be offest by most funds from the public purse. They're going to have to show some enthusiasm and imagina- tion to fill the void and there's no doubt people will support them in their efforts as they have in the past. After all, those people sitting at home on Friday and Saturday nights who used to enjoy going out to dances are looking for alternative forms of entertain- ment and recreation. The majori- ty still have as much income to dispose of in that pursuit. In short, all the players of the previous dance "game" still have the same needs; all they require is a new game. Surely local groups and rec officials are in- novative enough to come up with the necessary ideas to augment their coffers. You're Listening, says Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, is the act of hearing with thoughtful atten- tion. How many of us are good listeners? We all like to be listen- ed to, but we seldom" take the trouble to be on the active side of the game. I belong to those whose listen- ing skills could definitely be im- proved. Elizabeth would call this a flagrant understatement. Okay, I'm only an average listener..I admit that I do not always, when spoken to, absorb the complete information that the speaker is trying to convey. Am I being rude when I "don't listen"? That's not my intention. First of all,let me establish one thing: there is nothing wrong with my hearing. It's in the atten- tion department where I seem to fall short. There is always something else going on up there when a crucial message is being transmitted to me like: "We're invited to the the Hendersons this Saturday." A couple of days later, my casual question as to what we're going to do Saturday night will run into the surprising answer: "I told you we re goning to the Hender- sons, but as usual you didn't hear what I said." I'm sure I had heard, but my listening channel was turned off. I had probably been wondering about the state of my finances or something trivial like that. And so it goes... I've been thinking about this disability of mine for a while. In a world full of the most astoun- ding communication devices, man - I mean mankind - is still unable to cope with simple verbal messages transmitted at arms length, two at a time. First of all, I would like to in- vite human communication ex- perts to carry out some studies on this problem. What about "Observations on the Cause and not listening Effect of Non -Digital, Biological- ly Transferred Data Recieved by Preoccupied, Middle -Aged Sub- jects"? Maybe the government could establish a Royal Commis- sion on Listening- there seems to be one for just about everything else. Secondly, I offer some advice to my fellow disabled and their unfortunate respondents: Learn to realize that you are a poor listener or that you are married to (living with) a person whose abilities in the listening depart- ment are sub -standard. I know it's hard to take when all your life you thought you were getting on just fine, and suddenly - zap - you realize youre handicapped. Step one is for the talker to signal to the listener that an im- portant message is about to be sent. There is no point in wasting an entire sentence when there is a good chance that it won't register. So the talker should in- dicate: "Please pay atttention. I'm going to say something that matters, something that requires understanding." Until the listener acknowledges this signal, the talker should not go on. The signal ensures that both parties have their sets turn- ed on. Step two is to send one message at a time and wait for a response. Ask a question that can only be answered if the listener was tun- ed in. Then go on to the next seg- ment, and so on. In no time at all, even weak listeners like me will be forced to interrupt their other mental ac- tivity and to concentrate on the conversation. The method is easy, so elemen- tary that I can't understand why it isn't used routinely, by everyone. Including myself. When are we going to learn that our minds are not multi - channelled receivers? We can't ponder the outcome of the football game or the balance , (if any) in our bank aec�q�nt while listening to a report on how Dun- can fell down the stairs and bruis- ed his behind. Something will get garbled in the process: something will have to be filtered out. I'm no authority on the subject, of course. Somebody may prove that is is possible to comprehend two or three lines of though simultaneously. But I know I can't do it. So why don't I im- mediately turn off one channel when another is activated? For one thing, I may wish to finish the program I'm tuned in- to. So when my present thoughts are interrupted by Elizabeth speaking to me, I should do what I learned to do on the new-fangled office telephone: put my private thought -program on hold, ask Elizabeth to wait a second, finish my thoughton line one and get back on line two as soon as possible. - Advice to the talker: don't Ix offended if I put you on hold. I'll simply say to you: "Just one se cond. I'll be listening attentively as soon as I finish this thought. I'm willing to give this methoc a try. I'll report back to yot, within a few weeks. Maybe I car improve, even revolutionize my interpersonal relationships. Maybe I've stumbled across something really important here Maybe.... Sorry, I've got to put this on hold. Somebody is talking to mc on line two. Futures look good One of the excellent programs which the Ontario government has devised is called FUTURES, formerly known as the OCAP program. It is directed specifical-1 ly at young people from the ages of 17 to 22 and is meant to help them get practical experience on a job, hopefully one which they enjoy and would like to pursue in future years. The Futures people are very flexible in the types of jobs which a person might want. It could be something such as waitress, a custodian, a dental assistant. Actually the choice may be made by the young per- son as long as he/she can show • that some training will be done to upgrade one's skills. A Futures worker is allowed to come on a staff for 16 weeks dur- ing which time he is paid at the minimum wage. He is encourag- ed to seek permanent employ- ment during that four month period and is still paid even if he is off at a job interview. It is a one time shot for the young persons in that they are not allowed to go more than the sixteen weeks. Last year we hired four per- sohs at my school under this con- cept, three to help with the han- dicapped students and one to train as a computer technical By the Way by , Fletcher assistant. In all cases the young people proved to be willing and able workers who not only were of great assistance to our various programs but felt that they learn ed much during the time they were there. At the end of the training perioc I was able to give them a letter of recommendation which 1 arr sure will be of some help wher they go out toseek permanenr employment. Far better for then to say they have had some prac tical experience in a particular field than ttoust have paper academic qualifications whicl tell a prospective employer vert little about their personalities and capabilities when actually of a job. If you have a young person it your family who would benefi from Futures you should contac your local Manpower office of your closest community collegt (which handles the actual ad ministration of the program). am sure that they will be of hell to you.