Loading...
Clinton News-Record, 1987-02-18, Page 4Page 4—CLINTON NEWS -RECORD WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 18. 1987 The Clinton New -Record Is published each Wednesday al P.0. eon 39, Clinton, Ontario. Canada, NOM 110. Telt 082.3443. Subscription nate: Canada• 331.00 Sr. Citizen - 410.00 per year U.S.A. foreign 400.00 per year It It regletered as second clots moll by the post office under the permit number 0012. The Newsstlecord Incorporated In 1934 th�aHs• uron NevuRecord, founded In 1001, and The Clinton News Era. founded In 1009. Totalpress runs 3,100. ffnne Mar�jko Incorporating J THE BLYTH STANDARD) ANNE NAREJKO - Editor FREDA McLEOD - Office Manager SHELLEY McPHEE HAIST - Reporter DAVID EMSLIE - Reporter JANICE GIBSON • Advertising LAUREL MITCHELL - Circulation/Classified GARY HAIST - General Manager CCNA MEMBER BLUE RIBBON AWARD 1985 Display advertising rates available on request. Ask for Rate Card No. 19 effective Oc- tober1,1904, Everyone's a winner Only too often the youth of our communities get their names in papers, both weeklies and dailies, for wrong doings only. Those that put forth an extra effort to achieve in the acedemic field, sporting events or the theatre, often go unrecognized. This week the News -Record would like to change that. We'd like to give students of Central Huron Secondary School, F.E. Madill, Listowel District Secondary School and Seaforth District High School a pat on the back. Last Friday and Saturday, the Second Annual Central Huron School Drama Festival was held at the Blyth Memorial Hall. After much rehear- sing, the four schools mentioned above put on a "showcase of area talent." All plays performed were written by professional Canadian playwrights and featured talent from each school. And talented they were. I.istowel's performance of The Farm Show was selected as the best pro- duction, with each school also coming away with at least one award. Even if there were no prizes awarded, everyone who participated - right from the light and set managers to the actors, actresses and the au- dience - came out a winner. The drama festival not only gave the students a chance to show-off their talents, but it also allowed them to mingle with students with similar in- terests from other schools, gaining new ideas and fostering new friendships. And thanks to the dedication of Central Huron's drama teacher Stephen Oliver and the Blyth Festival's Artistic Director Katherine Kaszas, the student's had an opportunity to experience and learn from a drama festival. - by Anne Narejko Huronview employees offended by remarks made about absenteeism 1)ear Editor: Regarding the Wednesday, February 11 headlines about Huronview absenteeism - fhe nursing employees of Huronview feel all readers of these articles will have a wrong impression of the employees of Huronview. Therefore we would like to try to express our views. First, when Mr. i,ester stated women workers are "worn out" and more prone to ,41ckness than men, let me make it clear - there are nine males on the nursing staff hile there are 59 females ( full time) plus ;approximately 83 part time. If women are so prone to absenteeism, why keep hiring them? Why not hire menT Yet when it has been suggested to hire more men, the reply )las always been - women can do the job just ;is well, some even say they do the job better. 'Me stress of the job affects both men and \Alli nen. We deal with human lives. The other areas of the home are all as important for the smooth running of Huronview but as far as the stress factor, none is greater than when we Ileal with humans. The articles in the different papers, all tend to make it seem as though the poor, lit- tle. worn out wife works eight hours, goes home to look after the children, cooks, cleans, waits on her big "healthy'" husband hand and foot, and then slips into something glamorous and strives to be entertaining. This is not so, in most cases. When the wives work, husband and wives share the work load at home. Most men aren't asham- LattQrs ed to help prepare a meal, run a vacuum or help out where needed. They really ap- preciate their wives working and show it. We feel that the problem began when work habits were changed causing us to be unable to face each day without tension and stress which results in much absenteeism. Every employee, no mater how menial his or her task, needs to feel appreciated, that they belong and are part of Huronview. That, at one time, was the feeling - not now. This is the view of most of the employees of Huronview who are really upset with the articles in the February 11 papers. it makes the male employees appear to do nothing after work at. Huronview, but sit with their feet up, healthy as they are, and the husbands of the "worn out" female employees appear to be unfeeling, uncaring wimps. We hope that all the readers of the February 11 sensational articles on Huron - view absenteeism read this letter. If anyone wishes to learn more about this absenteeism problem, why not talk directly to the nurs- ing staff employees who work daily with the residents of Huronview? They will be glad to answer any questions. Concerned Nursing Employees of Huronview Job hunting In one short month, students will be put- ting their pens and notebooks down. Some will be heading to the sunny south with their parents while others will take the opportuni- ty to sleep in until noon. Ah, Spring Break. One week of freedom. No early alarm clocks, no rushing to beat the 9 a.m. bell, no clock watching around 12 and 3:30 p.m. Just rest and relaxation. Well, for some any way. For others, the week off school in March provides an excellent opportunity to start the difficult task of hunting for a summer job. They say that job hunting is a full time job. A person should get up early and be prepared to spend the entire day setting up a resume, knocking on doors and attending interviews. As in the past, the government is once again trying to help students find jobs by of- fering employers incentives to hire specific age groups this year. Examples of such incentives are pro- grams entitled Ontario Summer Employ- ment and Sumner Experience '87. The On- tario Summer Employment program offers a "qualifying" employer $1.25 an hour towards an employee's salary and runs from April 13 to October 17. Applicants must be between the ages of 15 and 24. The Summer Experience '87 program starts on May 4 and finishes September 11. This program attempts to match a person's interests with a job, providing job training skills. Another program the government is offer- ing this year is called Start -Up. (Now, before applying for this one, make sure you have a great idea and lots of ambition to back it up.) Start -Up could provide a full time student (who will be returning full time in the fall) who is over 15 -years -old, with a $3,000 in- terest free loan. The program starts on April 1 and runs until October 1. At this clos- ing date, the money must be paid back. Now this sounds like an intriguing idea - working for yourself all summer. I guess to earn the $3,000 which you must pay back and then earn enough money to live on over the summer requires a bit more imagination than setting up a refreshment stand along Highway 8. A business raking leaves won't work either because they don't start to fall until September or so. I guess if you bought enough lawn mowers, hired a few people and cut half the lawns in town at a fairly high rate, you could make a living. Painting houses would bring in a good buck if you could convince enough people to hire you and your crew. If you live in a town with lots of pools, and you had the knowledge, pool cleaning could he a possibility. A craftsperson may be able to use the $3,000 to buy materials, set up shop and try toi intrigue the local people as well as tourists with their work. For those who want a little more adven- ture and have more ambition and imagina- tion, they could invent some "space age" gadget that will save farm workers hours and hours of work or a special tonic to rid every lawn in town of weeds. The possibilities are endless. They say it's never to early to start look- ing for a summer job, and with the govern- ment offering incentives to potential employers, the earlier they apply, the better their chances are of getting into the pro- grams. That means the students will have a better chance of getting a summer job to help them pay their way through college or buy new clothing to start the school year in the fall. Statement provides bad image of women Dear Editor: An article titled Women Workers Are Worn Out does great harm to the public's percep- tion of women in the workplace. it implies that working women ( as opposed to men) avoid their full share of the work load, fre- quently book off sick, shirk responsibility and do not have a total commitment to their job. Stress, poor moral, lack of autonomy — all contribute to high absenteeism in both female and male workers. Since Mr. Lester feels the women working on his staff are "worn out," can we assume that he is doing something to alleviate that problems! We believe that absenteeism rates at Huronview are higher than the pro- vincial average for similiar institutions, and this suggests that the working conditions at Huronview are less than ideal. Employees who work in "Homes" that care for the old, the chronically ill, and the dying work under extra stress. They need support programs in place to help them cope with that stress. In -services to help them develop coping mechanisms; on-going education to develop pride and profes- sionalism; supervisors with whom they can discuss their work and any problems resulting from that work. Does Huronview have adequate staffing patterns? Do they have reasonable work loads? Are staff allowed input into their jobs and into administrative decisions? Mr. Lester should be aware that ad- ministrations which encourage staff input are far more effective that innuendo in the local newspaper. Although in fairness to Mr. Lester, I might say that the local newspaper is guilty of shoddy attention getting "headlines." I would also agree with Mr. Lester that it would be helpful if married women with children (or without children 1 could count on a 50-50 work sharing in the home, so that they are not employed in the work place, and also carrying the bulk of the housework and child care responsibilities. it would also be a great step forward if institu- tions such as Huronview who employ a large percentage of women, would' provide "In House" child care facilities. Women will continue to contribute to the workplace. Society and management must surely recognize this, and develop the necessary attitudes and working conditions to make it a sucess all round, both for the woman worker and for the employer. Yours truly, Pat Brown Shelley MCPhQQ 1aist Under the gun "You had better sit 20 feet back there tonight," Reeve Dave .Johnston said, poin- ting to an area in the far reaches of the room. "I'm not feeling particularly happy with the press tonight." Such was my greeting from the reeve when I attended the Bayfield Council meeting on Monday night. The reeve had a cold. He was feeling par- ticularly bad. His temper was short wicked and in no uncertain terms he let me know just that. What had`i done to deserve such a warn- ing from the reeve? What dastardly report,, what blunder had I made in our newspaper to cause the reeve such discomfort? i knew that the answers to my questions would be forthcoming before the end of the meeting. The reeve would keep me in suspense, finally dealing me his last blow towards the end of the meeting when he made his report and comments to council. I had an inkling what was burning Reeve .Johnston - the stories written in that day's London Free Press by Nick Martin. The reports covered two -and -a -half pages and -dealt with the controversies surrounding the Huron County Council, the county clerk Bill Hanly, newspaper columnist Elsa Hayden, the resignation of chief librarian Bill Par- tridge, medical officer Dr. Marry Cieslar and the county engineer Bob Dempsey. My suspicions were right. It came time for the reeve to make his report and as I guessed his criticisms of the press were geared towards the Free Press articles. He said that the reports were one sided, that the reporter in question had conducted interviews, then only used portions of the material he had gathered. The reeve further said that the reporter had misused and misinterpreted the information. "The writer is lying," the reeve fired at me. ' "That article has done a tremendous amount of damage to the staff of the coun- ty," he said. The reeve said that the controversy and criticisms surrounding the recent personnel changes within the county administration levels has caused a great deal of harm and a great deal of uncertainty amongst the county's taxpaying public. Further to Nick Martin's Free Pree reports, Reeve Johnston stressed, "That's the last interview I give with the newspapers that won't be taped. From now on anything I say will have to be tape recorded." Can I quote you on this?" I asked. "i don't have a tape recorder with me." The reeve said that I could, but noted that it would be the last time that any member of the press, including reporters from the News -Record, would be allowed to quote him without having his comments recorded on cassette tape. Reeve Johnston went on to say that it is improper journalism to only represent one side of a story, "and your newspaper is no exception," he shot at me. The reeve was specifically referring to an incident at the last county council meeting. He said that a letter from the ministry of health had been read aloud. This letter stated that contrary to recent criticisms, the public health services in Huron County are functioning normally and are adequately meeting the needs of the people. Reeve Johnston said that a copy of the let- ter was sent to local newspapers and none of the editors choose to publish it. I claimed innocence, saying that I knew nothing of the letter as it was reported to county council, or its submission to the newspaper. "Don't take this personally," the reeve told me. Sorry, Mr. Johnston but I do take this per- sonally. How could I do otherwise when your barbs and criticisms were directed point blank in my direc'tlon? When it comes to the county council con- troversy, I am like the average reader, I on- ly know what I read in the newspapers. I am not directly involved in the reporting of that municipal group and I can only trust that the reporter who does cover 'that beat for this newspaper does so in a fair, sensible fashion. Like others, I read the London Free Press reports written by Nick Martin. What I read is all i know. i cannot be held responsible for that reporter and the claims made against him by Reeve Johnston. if Dave Johnston has a problem with the London Free Press he should be addressing his concerns to the editorial department of that newspaper, not to me. I make my own share of mistakes, and, I take my blows accordingly, but I should not be held accountable for Dave Johnston's criticisms with another reporter from another newspaper. It's like calling down all mechanics because one made a goof on your last car repair. It's like refusing to deal with all mer- chants because one short changed you on your last purchase. You cannot logically, lump all people together under an umbrella of criticism because you're unhappy with the actions of one individual. The best I can do as a journalist is to live up to my own code of conduct - to present an unbiased version of the news as humanly possible, to be fair, accurate, sensible and sensitive. I do not claim a 100 per cent suc- cess rate, no newspaper on earth can boast that. Yesterday morning 1 followed up on Reeve Johnston's complaint of the News - Record, regarding the letter that was read at county council. I found that no copy of the letter had directly crossed our editor's desk, however a news story had been written by the Goderich Signal -Star on the subject. That story will appear in this week's News - Record. In the meantime, I will do my job to the best of my ability. I am certain that Reeve Dave Johnston will continue to do the same. I don't think there are bad feelings bet- ween the reeve and myself. As usual I will be attending another hayfield Council meeting in two weeks and I will be reporting on that meeting. I will not be taking a tape recorder. if Reeve Dave Johnston wants to be quoted in the News -Record, he will have to trust my experience and good judgement as a reporter.