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Clinton News-Record, 1983-11-16, Page 2PAGE 2 —CLINTON NEWS -RECORD, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 1983 QW Pare ts conce WINGHAM - Day care centres in small municipalities across Ontario will close unless the provincial government changes its mind about requiring them to raise their fees to cover actual operating costs. And, if they close, the social and economic costs to families, children and society as a whole will be very high. Those twin messages were delivered loud- ly and clearly last week by a large group of parents and day care workers to provincial representatives attending a special meeting at Wingham. But, although the represen- tatives promised to relay the concerns to of- ficials higher up in the Ministry of Com- munity and Social Services, there were no assurances it would make any difference. The ministry's chief spokesman at the meeting, Ellen Mills, appointed in January as day care coordinator, said she thinks it unlikely the ministry will change the policy requiring those deemed able to afford it to pay the full cost of day care for their children, since such a change would have implications for other social welfare pro- grams. Though the policy apparently has been in place for some time, the ministry has an- nounced it will start enforcing it in 1986, and Ms. Mills said that to date only three or four centres are "complaining loudly". However at the close of the meeting she appeared to leave open the possibility that the government might be persuaded to find a way to accommodate smaller centres, saying she is sure it does not intend to see them closed. She told the meeting it is a myth that On- tario has a policy of supporting public day care for everyone, although it does license and oversee public day care centres and subsidizes the cost of day care for needy families. "You do not have a government that sup- ports day care as a program," she said, claiming that while such a statement might be unpopular at the meeting it reflects the Weather NOVEMBER 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 1983 1982 15 3 11 -1 16 6 7 1 15 5 5 1 8 2 14 3 0 5 13 2 1 7 4 •2 3 5 0 3 Rai1118mm Rain 29mm Snow 4 cm Snow 2 cm Filter Queen "IN THE HEART OF DOWNTOWN VARNA" 482-7103 lack of consensus both at Queen's Park and in society generally that day care is a good thing for all children. However she had difficulty answering questions about why the government had been so willing - some said eager - to pro- vide funding to build new day care centres during the past dozen years, or how it has been possible for many centres to provide subsidized day care in apparent violation of ministry rules. Among the nearly 100 people, mostly young mothers with a sprinkling of day care workers and municipal representatives, who crowded into the Wingham Day Care Centre for the meeting, there appeared to be no such doubts that day care is a good thing. The crowd included representatives from perhaps half a dozen neighboring centres in- cluding Listowel, Tuckersmith, Walkerton and Hanover, but most of those who spoke were from the Wingham area and they were unanimous in praise of their local centre and in opposition to anything that might threaten it. People had shown up prepared to argue their case and demand answers, and in some cases their frustration showed as they were forced to settle for a sympathetic hear- ing from Ms. Mills and Mark Roberts, a day care program coordinator from the ministry's London regional office, both of whom said they personally support day care but are powerless to change policy. In addition to the questions, the represen- tatives heard severed prepared statements opposing the change, including a fiery state- ment from Wingham's deputy reeve, Patricia Bailey,•who declared the policy en- courages families to go on welfare, will forever eliminate affordable day care for the children of middle class working parents, jeopardizes the safety of children who will be left unattended and is a direct in- sult to women. "Tile families of Ontario will fight for the rights of their children," she declared, say- ing she personally is prepared to travel across the province in the next election cam- paigning against a government policy which would harm children. They also heard other arguments, in- cluding that the policy will harm local business and industry by forcing skilled workers to stay home with their children and that day care is being used as a scapegoat by a government desperate to save money somewhere. A Blyth -area woman, Valerie Bolton, said the whole idea. of including day care in the welfare system is ridiculous, and it should be supported through taxes rather than user PETS FOR SALE CUTE N' CUDDLY Orders now being accepted for Persian and Himalayan Kittens small deposit will hold until Christmas. PHONE 524-9819 To Cloy Bircham cunten Valerie Van Riesen Clinton Andrew Walker canton Gregory Roy Clinton Thomas Trick Clinton Linda Van Spengen cunten Adam Kiss cunten Gregory Johnston canton Sheehan Carter Clinton Scott Reid Hensel) Jeffrey Reid Henn Jennifer Slotegroaf cunten Michelle Carter canton Davin Doherty cunten Stephen Vandendool Clinton On Nov. 16 Nov. 17 Nov. 18 Nov. 18 Nov. 18 Nov. 18 Nov. 19 Nov. 20 Nov. 21 Nov. 21 Nov. 21 Nov. 22 Nov. 22 Nov. 22 Nov. 22 A PLACE 44zio 4. :414S4� .: KIDS •at e•��t� t 1 Games That Make Sense (Tot -of -touch This game can he played by two or more peo- ple One person wraps up assorted things tea. coffee. rice. marbles. pennies. a ball. a bracelet. etc in a piece of cloth The other person or persons. try to guess the contents of each pack- age by touching them once The smell game This game can he played by two or more peo- ple One person puts in bowls things that smell. such as lemons. cloves. coffee, soap. perfume or apples The other players try to guess what is in each bowl. by smell alone They can either close their eyes or be blind -folded Ont -of -sight game This game can be played by two or more peo- ple One person -hides' small objects. like pen- cils. spools of thread. thimbles. pennies. etc . by placing them in plain sight but near something the same colour A thimble would, for example. be put on a doorknob, a penny could be placed against a wooden background of the same shade of brown The other players try to find the well disguised objects The game is over when all objects are discovered DeWbood by Cd, W'rds Fsaiu-, Ssrv,ca L.m,rsd i' 1063 MacKay Fair4s1d 1 i yearei fees. She said she does not understand why parents should pay the whole cost when society as a whole benefits from day care, and she urged parents to "channel your anger constructively" by writing letters to the minister, Frank Drea, as well as to pro- vincial and federal representatives. Noel Bird, a Morris Township hog farmer, told the meeting the issue is not a babysit- ting service but the whole concept of early childhood education. He used to be a high school teacher, but quit because he was getting students in Grade 9 who were "totally turned off the educational system," he said. "I get more response from the pigs!" He asked where the myth ever started that parents can provide all the early educa- tion their child needs, or that a child only needs trained teachers from age six on- ward. "If small children don't get the early education they need, they have a 50 per cent chance of coming into Grade 9 totally turned off, " he claimed, adding that parents must be prepared to march on Queen's Park if necessary. "You're going to have to fight for the education of your children - or wish you did!" Though Ms. Mills pointed out that public day care centres are just one form of day care and there are also private centres or babysitters, several mothers expressed reservations about private sitters. While public centres are licensed and inspected, there are no such regulations for private sit- ters, one mother noted, and when she spends 40 hours a week at work how is she to know what kind of care her child is getting? There are some excellent privbte sitters, but others are not, she said, and what is the potential cost to children left with a sitter because parents cannot afford day care? Another woman reported later that her grandchild had been left with a sitter who, it was discovered, was locking the two-year- old alone in a room. The problem was discovered after the child stopped talking, and only since being in the company of other children at the day care centre has the child started to talk again. A number of parents paid tribute to the ex- cellent education their preschoolers have received at the centre. Murray Elston, Liberal MPP from Huron - Bruce, offered his services to convince Mr. Drea to modify the fee proposal, but said he cannot believe the government is not aware of the consequences the proposal may have for smaller centres, such as this one. In addition to the fee increase, he noted, a plan by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing to cut unconditional grants to municipalities "probably means the centres will close unless there is more help from the Ministry of Community and Social Ser- vices." At the heart of the problem 'is,an agree- ment between the provincial and federal governments, which currently fund the bulk of public day care costs, that subsidy dollars Qt ere ses are to be used only for children of families whose parents have passed a needs test similar to that used for welfare. When this policy is implemented, which Ontario has said it will do starting in January, 19+:.s, it means that only those children will continue to receive day care at below cost, while fees for all other children will have to be raised to reflect actual costs. Until now, the centres have been allowed to claim a subsidy for , ;I per cent of the costs for all children, and Ms. Mills said this will continue until 1986, although centres are be- ing urged to phase in fee increases gradual- ly over the next two years. Parents have been warned that when the policy is in force, the fee for day care for families which do not qualify for the subsidy will rise to between $20 and $25 per day for each child, which few working parents will be able to afford. Ms. Mills argued the needs test is suffi- ciently flexible to accommodate many working parents who coul?not afford the full fee, but her argument did not appear to convince anyone. One mother, a nurse, suggested the cur- rent fee of $8.50 per day is perhaps too low, noting she paid more than that for a teenage babysitter to come in and play with her children while she is at work. Why should taxpayers be asked to pay for looking after her children because she chooses to work, she asked. However Mr. Elston responded that, while she might be able to afford it, "a fee of $25 a day takes the option right away from some who don't make as much." Jim Barnes, chairman of the Wingham Day Care Board, summed up the frustration at the meeting in his closing remarks. He said that when he came, he honestly did not believe the provincial government knew what its policy would do to small centres. Anyone who thinks there will be a day care centre in Wingham once the fee goes to $25,$20 or even $15 is mistaken. Families will not be able to afford to send children and the centre will close. He said he cannot praise highly enough the program his children attended, "and Frank Drea is telling me that program will no longer exist." He realizes there are problems in Toronto, where the children of welfare families are being crowded out of day care, he said, but the way to alleviate those problems is not to close day care in the smaller centres. In effect the policy is saying that if a s''e- cond parent is working for $200 a week, that parent might as well stay home, he pointed out, since that is what it would cost to keep two children in day care. The reason more centres are not pro- testing is they have not yet realized what will happen in two years time, he suggested. "I don't think the government will get the message until we close the Wingham Day Care Centre on Jan. I, 1986." Ms. Mills promised to convey the message to senior management, but said she could not promise anything. Legion gets name change By Cliff Parker CLINTON - On Nov. 8 there were 14 tables of Euchre in play at the Clinton Legion. High scorer was Bill Grigg with 89, Bob McNeil had the lone hands score of 5 and low scorer was Doug McDonald with 48. On Nov. 10 in darts, the high couple was Rosemary Armstrong and Terry Holl- ingshead. With 99 Madelon Yeats had the ladies high score and Jerry Cook had the men's high score with 132. The low couple was Brenda Atkinson and Bonnie Vanpract. 1e name change of the Legion was received and effective Oct. 3, 1983, the Branch became , The Harry B. Miner V.C., C.G., (Ont. No. 140) Branch, a plaque containing the details is mounted in the Legion. A Seminar for Public Relations Officers, will be held in Durham on Nov. 27. On Nov. 26 the Cl Zone Darts Tournament will be held in Wingham, single anddoubles will play 12 noon sharp. The Legion would like to extend their ap- preciation to all those who attended the Ser- vice at the Baptist Church on Nov. 6, the Nov. 11 Service in the Legion, laying of the Wreaths, Service at the Graveyard and Bayfield service on Nov. 13. The Executive will meet on Nov. 21. Shirley Burma has been wanting to open her own hairdressing salon for years now and she says she has finally reached her goal. The Cutting Edge opened its doors in Clinton on November 1 and according to Shirley she already has a lot of bookings. Previously of Les Ciseaux, Shirley said that her clients include those she serviced before and new ones "who either saw my ad or heard by word of mouth." She has two other employees, Astrid Plasschaert, a licensed hair stylist and Stacey Plant, who is completing her ap- prenticeship. (Wendy Somerville photo) Goderich may use fire dispatch, Clinton says By Shelley McPhee CLINTON - Clinton Council has no ob- jection to Goderich's proposal to put their fire calls on the central police dispatch system. Mayor, Chester Archibald reported to Clinton Council that he had attended a meeting in Goderich with representatives from Seaforth, Wingham and Exeter to discuss the proposal. They met to discuss Goderich's proposal to include town fire calls on the central police dispatch radio system .that currently services the five main towns in the county. Goderich is the first county municipality to propose including fire calls on the system. Mayor Archibald told council that he and several other representatives were originally opposed to the plan. They learned however that Goderich would pay for the additional use and the head dispatcher reported that the addition wouldn't change the system or require alterations. Goderich will be paying $2,000 for the year to place fire calls on the system. The amount is based on the number of fire calls in 1982. The amount and the pilot project will be reviewed at the end of a year and other municipalities will also be given the option to join. In explaining Goderich's decision to use the police radio for fire calls, Mayor Archibald said, "Presently the Goderich fire call system is poor. Calls only go to several firemen. They advertised for' a dispatcher but found no, suitable choice." . The mayor said that Clinton is serviced by a excellent dispatch system. The Clinton Area Fire Board pays $5,000 a year to a dispatcher who guarantees service 24 hours a days, seven days a week, 12 months a year. "Our system is still better than the central dispatch," Mayor Archibald told council. "However I didn't totally oppose the central dispatch in case Clinton may need to join the service someday." Clerk Cam Proctor questioned how, central dispatchers would know what fire departments to alert in the event that all Huron towns were operating on the police radio system. He noted that some fire area boundaries are easily confused. Mayor Archibald replied, "These are professional dispatchers. 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