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The Wingham Advance-Times, 1983-03-30, Page 1Blyth Branoh Litvary Box 2(12 Blyth , ®tato 14014 UN , Jail o 4 WHITE CLOUDS—Floating across the ice in their wispy white dresses were Amy Wilhelm, Krista Metcalfe, Helen Deyell, Kelly McKague, Angie Kamrath and Shannon McBurney, among the younger members to skate weekend. Preliminary approval received at the Belniore Skating Carnival last r • p home for mentally retard UIdbaopeffiIIflghese A group home for the mentally retarded could be operating in Wingham by as early as this fall, according to the leader of a local group involved in planning for such a facility. Chris, Dickson, an in- structor at the Jack Reavie Opportunity Workshop in Wingham, reported last week that a major hurdle has been cleared in the attempt to start a group home, raising hopes that one could be formed in the near future. The group got word that Form 2 has been approved by the provincial govern- ment, she said, meaning that it will be getting the necessary funding to set up and operate a home. "Form 2 is very difficult to get passed," she noted. "Once you get it, you're really on the road." However she said she could not give any in- formation about possible locations for the home just yet, since it still must win approval from the town council and obtain the proper zoning. "We hope by fall to have a group home operating in Wingham." Mrs. Dickson, who has been in charge of planning for the home, with support from several other members of the local association for the mentally retarded, ex- plained that a group home allows mentally retarded adults to become more autonomous. While there is always someone on staff at the home to provide any necessary support, the idea is to duplicate a normal lifestyle as nearly as possible. "It's your home and your life — do your own thing." The alternative is to continue living at home with parents or in an institution, and for people who are capable of more self-reliance it can be tremendously frustrating, she said. A group home offers them the opportunity to exercise in- dependence and make their own decisions. "I have yet to hear of a case of someone who has ... gone into a group home who doesn't love it." She said she has discussed the possibility with some of the workshop clients, "and they think it's a pretty nice idea." The committee is planning for a home for eight people. Since the iMinistry of Community and Social Services, which provides funding, requires that at least half the residents must be taken from an institution such as a nursing home or the Bluewater Centre (which has been slated for closing), that would leave room for four from the local com- munity. There shouldn't be any problem filling the places, Mrs. Dickson said, since there are six or seven people at the Reavie Workshop al- ready who meet the eligibility criteria. To get into a group home, a person must meet certain requirements, she ex- plained. He (or she) must be able to look after himself, possessing at least basic self- care skills such as being able to wash, dress and feed himself. He also must be enrolled in a day program, such as the one offered at the Reavie Workshop, to provide em- ployment during the day. Generally there would be two staff members at the home over the supper hour and on evenings and weekends, and a full-time director would be there during the day. The staff would help -get the residents off to the workshop in the morning and would be there to welcome them in the af- ternoon. Residents are encouraged to help with things such as meal planning and shopping, she said. At a group home now operating in Listowel, "They do everything — their own garden, laundry, banking and meals. Before, everything was done for them." The homes are funded by the residents through their government disability pensions and by the ministry, which provides funding to set up the home and picks up shortfalls in the operating budget. There has never been a group home in Wingham, but a number are operating in other communities around this area, Mrs. Dickson noted. Walkerton has two or three, as does Exeter, and Goderich, Listowel and Hanover each have one. The Walkerton AMR foresaw the need for such homes 10 or 15 FOR SERVICES RENDERED—Bill Kerr (right) of Wingham received a special award during the recent Midget hockey tournament here. John Gross, head of the Western Ontario Athletic Association, presented Mr. Kerr with a plaque in recognition of his outstanding contributions to minor hockey in Wingham. years ago, she said, and has really done well with them. In general, group homes have been accepted very well by the communities, she said. The local committee has been working toward a group home for about a year now, she reported, and she volunteered to head the effort because she is par- ticularly interested in that aspect of working with the handicapped and could really see a need here. She started working with the mentally retarded as a volunteer at age 14, following in the footsteps of her mother, she explained. She enjoyed it, and when it came to choosing a career she decided to go on. "I enjoy it. It's challenging. You never know what a day is going to bring. "You can either work with the handicapped or you can't," she said, adding, "If you can work with people, you can work with han- dicapped people. "It's not an awful lot different from working with people in other jobs. It does take a bit more patience." Staffing discussed by board Huron County Board of Education, at its March meeting, approved 239 sec- ondary school teaching posi- tions for the 1983-84 school year. This figure includes 6.5 special education positions. The total represents a de- cline from the present 243.7 teaching positions in Huron secondary schools. If the hiring of two addi- tional teachers — one for student services and the other for Central Huron Sec- ondary School in Clinton — is 'approved during budget de- liberations, the total teach- ing positions 'for secondary schools would be 241. A few teaching positions will be eliminated this com- ing year as 2.16 teaching positions were approved on a temporary basis last year to enable students to finish pro- grams in Spanish and Latin. Surplus teachers are ex- pected to be taken care of through attrition. Workers accept contract, end strike at Stanley Doors Workers at the Stanley Door Systems Ltd. Wingham plant voted Monday to ac- cept a new contract with the company and end their three-day strike. The contract, hammered out during a meeting bet- ween union and manage- ment officials on Friday, provides for a general wage increase of $1.75 per how over three years, retroactive to June 1, 1982. By the end of the contract period, May 31, 1985, this will bring the average wage at the plant to about $9.00 an hour. Brian Hallman, shop steward, said the contract is not all the workers had been hoping for, "But, all things considered, we felt it was the best we could do." It is an improvement on the company's previous offer of 80 cents an hour over a two-year contract, he noted, aril! the union also won some changes in the contract language, aimed at creating a Smoother working atmos- phere within the plant. He said the contract does not include any increase in benefits. The ratification vote, held Monday morning, produced a majority in favor of ac- cepting the new offer, ,although some employees were not completely happy with Ache agreement, Mr. r�ailr� said: ,_Y.._.... - Tle workers, members of Teamsters Local 879, walked out last Thursday after failing to reach agreement with the company on a new contract to replace the one which expired at the end of last May. Mr. Hallman said the union had tried to hold negotiating meetings and the strike was called in an effort to force the company back to. the negotiating table. Between 1972 and 1976, he said, workers at Stanley were,the best -paid industrial workers in Wingham, but since that time wage set- tlements have slipped to the point where they were the worst -paid. He said they had just been accepting whatever the company of- fered in order to keep on working. One worker reported they had only had a 25 -cent -an - hour raise„in the past' two years. Employment at the fac- tory, which produces steel garage doors, has fluctuated over the past several years with the drop in new housing starts. At the time of the walkout, there were 42 hourly paid workers on the payroll. The strike was ac- companied by a rumor that the company might close this plant and move production elsewhere, but Mr. Hallman said that rumor has cir- culated every time the contract has come up for negotiation. He said the union has been given no assurances that the Receives royal award A former Wingham man was among the recipients of gold award certificates of achievement from the Duke of Edinburgh during the royal visit to Vancouver recently. Lieut. Randall Wingfield, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ron Wingfield of RR 3, Wingham, was invited aboard Her Majesty's Yacht Britannia to receive the award, which recognizes achievement in activities including com- munity service, hobbies and physical fitness. Lieut. Wingfield is training officer for 848 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Cadets, at the Royal Roads Military College on Vancouver Island. His parents were in Van- couver for the occasion and attended the ceremony. vows, join United Church Eleven young people became members of the Wingham United Church on Sunday morning . when special Palm Sunday ser- vices were conducted by Rev. J. Rea Grant. Pledging to witness to the faith they were professing, the com- municants knelt before Mr. Grant as parents and friends who had influenced the young peoples' spiritual lives participated in a meaningful laying -on -of -hands cere- mony. Mrs. Jack Reavie, clerk of session, presented. the new members with certi- ficates and welcomed !them into the congregation. Those joining the church were Julie Cameron, Michael Cameron, Michelle Cameron, Monique Camer- on, Bill Davidson, Brenda Gaunt, Jeff Layton, Brian Mill, Rhonda Rathburn, Heidi Strong and Cheryl Willis. Following the service, a reception was held for the new members and their families. They will par- ticipate in their first service of Holy Communion on Maundy Thursday evening. plant will not be closed, but the workers have no desire to be the cause of making it uneconomical to operate and that is why they accepted the latest offer. "They need us just as much as we need them.” He said that following the settlement the workers would be back at their jobs at 7 a.m. Tuesday morning. LIEUT. RANDALL WINGFIELD, formerly of Wingham, was invited aboard HMY Britannia during the Queen's visit to Vancouver earlier this month, where he received a gold award certificate of achievement from the Duke of Edinburgh. The award recognizes people over the age of 16 who have excelled in activities, including community service hobbies and physical fitness. Lieut. Wingfield, 24, is training officer for 848 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Cadets, at the Royal Roads Military College on Vancouver Island. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs.. Ron Wingfield of RR 3, Wingham. Two are appointed to housing authority Two area residents have been appointed to the Huron County Housing Authority. Barry Reid, a chartered accountant, and Harold Robinson, an insurance agent with Howick Mutual Insurance Co. and past warden of Huron County, will serve on the seven- ANOTHERONE'BITES THE DUST Alfred Street was closed for a few hours Friday morning as the Wingham works department felled a large Maple tree near the Leopold Street corner. The town's tree -cutting program has slowed since council's works committee decided to bring in a tree expert'to do Mn assessment of the aging giants. • member Authority which. manages Ontario Housing Corporation's 415 assisted housing units in the Huron County area. They receive no renumeration for their services. Federal, provincial and municipal governments are invited to nominate in- dividuals for appointment to the Housing Authority by provincial order -in -council. The province appoints the Housing Authority chair- man. Commenting on the ap- pointment, OHC chairman Allan Moses said the day-to- day management of all of OHC's 94,000 housing units is carried out by local housing authorities, although the primary responsibility for assisted housing remains with OHC. "By' volunteering their time to serve on the local housing Authority, private citizens like Mr. Reid and Mr. Robinson are helping to ensure that Ontario's assisted housing program is sensitive and can respond to the needs of the many com- munities it serves," Mr. Moses said. The Huron County Housing Authority manages 331 senior citizen assisted hous- ing units and 84 units for low- income families. .. The Authority also pro- vides housing for physically - disabled and mentally re- tarded persons who are cap- able of living on their own. 6+