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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1985-02-13, Page 4rh: V. 4.7 • Whether or not yea have chuldrep or even pounds fier shin had .1 if you, dislike this llttl� creatures,use l would colour becaq .:.. suggest it was impossible not to be drawn to blood.. : • dr of yo Lindsay'Eberhardt. he:: .. �;�: ,, , , tit le Toronto g►.ri w io ...ales. i or life cal a. ,'fit' +took a tear. new liver' houu'a to,contlete tt .x .... 4�... ....- ,•r-- ,-*,.,.:::,134-1444,q41$443t04�tt — Lindsay's story is a co npe lwg andheart-:` • The Eberhardt s young MR, titer,';, wrenching one. Itis the story of a youngster,making re> aarlkable progress in; hos..i ,. barely,, .• three years of . age and and her condition •has . been" upgru nt that also left.•h#s wifedin: hospital underdeveloped because of a faulty liveralthough she is" Still'required to stay in the +'hit t serlQus 1191$1100,nother young Chid that caused I bile "to build up in her' ,,. intensive care uiit. �, , "would a *ow certain death. And still bloodstream. She was given six months to No doubt the'�ordeat has' eri anremotional ,.' aitiOg live without the transplant. roller coaster for the"young ., arnily and while: . The story at,least made me look inward. I Her parents had to suffer throtigh the their daughter's progress is. reason .for . wonder if I couldhave grade that decision if agony of waiting for a donor, waiting optimism they have never known,the r my own,•,ohild, was facing death. No doubt ostensibly, for some other child to die, so transplant was also bittersweetfar" the one is so consumed by personal grief in that couple. A young girl, three-year old Melissa situation that it would take great strength 1.0 yeflOEW gree cool b drip :in, herr esply, t ea they, i afinoi sat" f0 '" ipeir ,tion alt oston's h k s unset ids ve Who e fret 'lava ?sent.o.. ,consented to donaM .. sliver, just minutes of� 1', i'tilru1r fie. But Why. s yputig e fatal their daughter would have a renewed chance at life.. Certainly, there were no guarantees -but options simply weren't available. • Although little Lindsay was nearly three - years old, she could not walk, she spoke only a few words and weighed less than 25 Carigg, died of head injuries suffered in a and tutegrity to respond in a .positive car crash with her mother and her, father , •m gr• made the quick and unselfish decision, to The story at least serves to reinforce the offer his daughter's liver to Lindsay. , value of organ donations. If yen ;step and The Eberhardt's say they never realty think about it in light of the Eberhardt story, wanted another young child to die sotheir's your authorization can mean the gift of life. THE NEWS PORT FOR GODERICH & DISTRICT SINCE 1848 Founded in 1849 and published every Wednesday at Ooderich, Ontario. Member of the CCNA and OCNA. Subscriptions payable in advance '20.95, (Senior Citizens '17.95 privilege card number required) in Canada,'55. to U.S.A., 455. to ail other countries, Bingle copies 50¢. Display, National and Classified sdvertleing rates available on request. Plewa eek for Rate Card No. 15 effective October 1, 1904. Advertleing 1. accepted on the condition that in the event of a typographical error, the advertising, apace occupied by the erroneous item, together with reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for but that balance of the advertisement will be, paid for at the applicable rate. In the event of a typographical error edvarti.Ing goods or services et e wrong price, goods or services may not be sold. Advertising is merely an offer to salt, and may be withdrawn et any time. The. Signal -Star is not responsible for the loss or damage of uneolioited manuscript., photos or other materials used for reproducing purposes. PUBLISHED BY: SIGNAL -STAR PUBLISHING LIMITED ROBERT G. SHRIER — President -and -Publisher DON HUBICK - Advertising Manager DAVE SYKES - Editor P.O. BOX 280 HUCKINS BT. INDUSTRIAL PARK OOOERICH, ONT. N7A 4E6 5 • the oaev �� CCNA Second class mail registration number 0716 FOR BUSINESS OR EDITORIAL OFFICES...please phone (519)5,24-261,4 Lelid helping hand It's easily discernible from the number of requests a person gets to contribute to a wor- thwhile cause or sponsor an individual participating in a than of sortie description, that.. there.are.a numbei;,of worthy causes being supported by the people of this town. No doubt, you have been approached on at least one occasion to sponsor an enthusiastic individual participating in a walk-a-thon or a ski-a-thon or a bowl-a-thon. While those requests seem to be made with increasing regularity and at a time when your available funds seeem to be non-existent, your contributions help to support a number of organizations and research programs. Over the past few months, many service clubs and organizations have been staging various sporting events to raise,money f or _charities, internal programs and research ef- forts. Recently the Benmiller Foresters staged its annual snowmobile marathon and riders from the region again responded by raising over $5,000 in pledges, half of which is com- , mitted to cancer research. ' The Kinette and Kinsmen groups of Canada are committed to raising funds for cystic fibrosis research and in the past 20 years more than $4 million has been donated by the service clubs. The success of that commitment can be seen at the local level as both the Dungannon Kinettes and their counterparts in Goderich raised needed funds for the bat- tle against the inherited, life-threatening•disease. Local bowlers and Kinettes helped out by soliciting more than $1,300 in pledges for the one -day event at Little Bowl. This past Sunday, over 20 cross-country ski enthusiasts and three walkers helped raise an additional $1,300 as the .Goderich Kinsmen and Kinettes held the annual ski and walk-a-thon. The proceeds from the event will be used for cystic fibrosis research. Over the weekend, the North Huron Big Brother Association participated in the parent -organization's annual Bowl for Millions campaign. Again local bowlers and donors responded by coming through with $3,500 in pledges. The largest percentage of the funds will stay with the local- organization for summer activities. The response to any one of these events is not overwhelming in the sense that hundreds of people physically participate. That's just not the case. • But each year, for each one of these fund-raising events, there is a small core of par- ticipants who make the personal sacrifice to gather pledges and participate. Their ef- forts are certainly commendable. The donors, however, play an equally important role in the scheme of things and should.be congratulatedfor their contributions, regardless of amount. It is .through that sacrifice and generosity that many noble'deeds are aid-witl'be--a-c- complished. The same applies to the many volunteers who take the time to canvass for March of Dimes or the Heart and Stroke Foundation and other organizations committed to bi ttling crippling and life-threatening diseases -.- To those who ride, or ski, or walk, or bowl or simply sponsor, you can feel proud for participating and playing a small part in a noble cause. D.S. The scenic trail • By. Dave Sykes POSTSCRIPT JOANNE BUCHANAN IBM I detest my glasses. I. always have and I always will-Glasses•-are=one-big-pain-inthe, anatomy and I'm sure most of you who wear them will agree. These of you who - don't wear them, can count yourselves lucky. Perhaps if I'd been wearing glasses. since I was a kid, I'd be used to them by now. But I've only been wearing them since my col- lege days. A friend noticed that I washunch • ed over in a chair with my homework about an inch away from my face. "I think you need glasses," she kindly .suggested. "No I don't. I just feel comfortable sitting this way," I lied. "Well, look up and tell me what time that clock on the wall says over there," she pointed. I squinted at the clock and couldn't read a single number on it. I couldn't even see the hands. "I rest my case," said my friend. I had to admit she was right. I made an eye appoint- ment that afternoon. The day I got my first pair of glasses, I was absolutely amazed. "I can see! I can see," I ran around excitedly telling total strangers all day long. I remember sitting up in the stands at a hocitey garbs -diet evehing: i could actually see the players' faces and I could also see the score board and the clock. Before I had otten my glasses, everything at such a stance -had been one bi uir But it wasn't long before the joy of my new-found ability to see was replaced by my annoyance ano resentment at the inconve- ni€nce:of _having to depend_en glasses. began to wish I had eaten more carrots when I was younger. Although I've been wearing glasses for' several years now, I still only put them on when absolutely necessary (i.e. when I desperately need to see something). And when I am wearing them, I am forever clunking them on things. I answer the phone and bang the receiver into the side of my glasses. I open my mail box and hit myself in the glasses with the lid. I have also sat on my glasses, dropped my glasses, lost my glasses and fallen asleep with my glasses on, only to wake up and find that the arm of them has been imbedded in- to the side of my head. Winter is a particularly tough season on people who wear glasses. If you spend any length of time outside where it's cold, your glasses steam up the minute you step inside where it's warm. You stumble around until they become unfogged. If you try to wipe them off, they become smeared and smudg- ed. I am finding that my exercise class also poses a glass -wearing problem. I need to wear my glasses so I can see the routines our instructor is showing us. But the minute I start fogging or -jumping up and down, - glasses threaten to fall off my face. This problem is compounded when I work up a sweat. At this point, my glasses slide down my nose-and--again-threaten-to fall off -my face. So I usually end up ripping them off in disgust and fake the routines the instructor is demonstrating (and my fellow exercisers, thought I. just couldn't do the steps because I wasunco-ordinated! ). It is dangerous being around children if you wear glasses. Sometimes, my friends' kids will hop up onto my knee and acciden- tally bang into my glasses, crashing them painfully into my nose and causing me to see stars. Glasses particularly fascinate younger children. If you ever hold a young child too close to your face, your glasses are the fust thing he or she will grab for (unless you are wearing pierced earrings). Sometimes when I'm not wearing my glasses, I make a real fool of myself with people. 1 either say an overly -friendly hello to total strangers because I think I recognize them or I don't bother to speak at all to someone I know well. Without my glasses, I am always trying to guess who people are as they approach me and sometimes I ,ars wrong. So, if I 'know you and happen not to speak to you, it's not that I'm being a snob. It's just that I don't know, who you are until you're about an inch away from my face. Presently I am really worried because ' I think my eyes have deteriorated again. --Even-with--my-glasses-on; -I-have-a tendency to squint at the television set: But I'm afraid to make an appointment with my op- tometrist in case he recommends a seeing eye- dog—this--time. -All--wigs considered, though, a dog might be a heck of a lot easier for me to look after than my glasses... Yes, the town council had to appoint a council member to fill the vacancy created when the deputy -reeve resigned recently. No, the town council did not have to appoint a runner-up in the 1982 municipal election, to replace the councillor who had been chosen to the position of the deputy -reeve. No, the council could not have lived with the vacancy until the fall election. There seems to be some public misunderstanding of the procedures and policies for filling mid-term vacancies on municipal councils. The Goderich town council has had two such vacancies during the current term, both resulting from resignations for personal reasons. The coun- cil not only filled the positions properly, as can be expected, but did it well and with good reasoning. Bound by the Municipal Act, a council cannot appoint an "outsider" to the office of mayor, reeve or deputy -reeve ; only a coup- • til member is eligible. To fill the subsequent vacancy of a coun- cillor, the council is at liberty to appoint any person who is qualified to be an elector in the municipality, under the Municipal Elec- tions Act. It speaks favourably of the town council that by advertising the position it gave all interested citizens an opportunity to apply and to be considered. The council also had an option to pass a '-squieing an elecc(ion to be held to fill 4 the vacancy, but this rather costly under- taking was no serious consideration at this stage. This special election option disappears where a vacancy occurs after the 31st of March of an election year. After that date the council "shall" fill the vacancy by ap- pointment. The vacancy need not be filled where it occurs ".less than forty-six days prior to n rnination day for the election to be held in that year." This is the election year. November 12 is the day. Since nine people had entered their names for the recent council vacancy, it in- dicates considerable interest in municipal government participation - and that is a very good thing. It is to be hoped that the in- terest will continue and increase and that there Will be a wide variety of candidates in the fall. Among the recent candidates there were several persons who have attended council meetings and worked on boards and com- mittees. This was ' a consideration - and rightly so - in. the selection of the two coun- cillors who have been appointed during the council's lifetime. They have shown their in- terest in municipal workings realistically; they have demcinstrated their reasoning and judgment in related situations. While I always encourage more people to run in elections, there is one type of can- didate wham I fail to understand. It is the person who runs for council without ever having shown the slightest spark of interest in its work, without attending any meetings, studying a report or glancing at an agenda. Such a person strikes me as someone who has no idea of the scope and character of the scenario he or she would be entering, the pressures he would be facing, the fair and informed judgment the public interest would demand at all limes, the sheer E volume of work to be done. To be sure you can do it better - or even just as well - you must know first what is being done. Far from discouraging anyone from runn- ing for elected office in the fall, I am inviting the future candidates, in their own interest and for public benefit, to gain at least some modest degree of understanding of the down-to-earth workings and potential of the position, whether on the municipal council, board of education or public utilities com- mission. There is enough time left -to put positive thought and definite effort into the intentions, in order to be regarded as a wor- thwhile candidate in the fall. If you carry the burden oi' a grudge, try, to leave the useless load by the wayside. If you are a single -issue promoter, make an ef- fort to broaden your scope in the meantime. Plan to come to us, the public, with a - positively prepared serious offering of con- structive ideas, info -fined proposals and a fair and open mind. Nothing less will do. Imimmunel ELSA HAYDON