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The Times Advocate, 2005-10-19, Page 66 Exeter Times–Advocate Wednesday, October 19, 2005 Opinion Forum News Seniors' perspective Continued from page 5 errors and wiser judgments. They don't hit the "wrong buttons" So there is really no legitimate basis for job dis- crimination. False Myth: Intelligence declines as one gets older. Fact: On untimed mental ability tests, the majority of older people maintain or improve mental performances as they grow older, even after age eighty. Only 5% show serious mental impairment – a percentage not all that much higher than the general population. It has been pointed out that a healthy -aged brain is as active and efficient as the health young brain." False Myth: Seniors have trouble managing their own affairs, drift into second childhood and become senile. Fact: "Senility" affects only a small fraction of even the very elderly. Many alleged cases of senility turn out upon expert medical examination to be malnutrition or other conditions that can be remedied. In public nursing homes apparent senility cases often result from over- medication. So there is no justification for taking away their rights through such maneuvers as "guardian- ships." False Myth: Seniors are usually financially impover- ished. Fact: There are some older people below the poverty line. Yet, on average, they have more discretionary income than any other age group. Older persons aid younger relatives financially four times as often as youngsters who help older relatives. Those over fifty make up one-quarter of our total population, but own over three-fourths of all financial assets. This is why the swindlers swarm around them. False Myth: Most seniors are frail and in chronic ill health. Fact: Only around 20 percent are debilitated by health problems—at most, twice the rate for the general popu- lation. They have some aches and pains, but then almost everyone does. Most seniors report feeling quite well, usually. Only 5% are in nursing homes. In a survey, held recently, over half of those seventy-five and older declared themselves to be in excellent or good health. The very real medical complaints of seniors (especially women) are however, dismissed as "just old age." They are sometimes victimized by unnecessary surgeries and health care scams. False Myth: Seniors are over the hill romantically and sexually. Fact: The majority of surveys show seniors remain romantically interested and sexually active. As with all age groups, there's a great deal of variation in sexual activity and interest. Many seniors report their lovemak- ing is better than it used to be, and a third report that they enjoy experimentation. But this continuing interest can leave them vulnerable to "charming" swindlers. False Myth: Seniors are set in their ways and con- formist, and they shun the new. Fact: Teenagers conform the most to social peer pres- sure and older people the least. Many seniors start new businesses and careers, get advanced degrees, get in shape physically, become celebrities, plunge into whirl- wind romances, and recover from major illnesses and traumas. False Myth: Seniors are a sad and lonely lot. Fact: Some are. But no age group has a monopoly on loneliness or depression. A study found that people over sixty-five were on the average the happiest age group. When asked the question, "Would you like to be twenty again?" Some said yes, but only if they could keep their current knowledge and resources too. Others said, "I'd love to." And some said something like, "Hell, no! I was miserable and crazy as a loon at that age." Negative myths like these are fading now as the true evidence accumulates and as seniors provide living proof that these myths are false. But the stereotypes are still far too often held by family, acquaintances, health care professionals—and criminals. One way or another, negative myths are used against us. Thanks for supporting men's health dinner Dear Editor: On behalf of the Canadian Cancer Society's Huron -Perth Unit, I would like to express our thanks to everyone who attended and supported our first Huron County men's health dinner, held Oct. 12 at the White Carnation Banquet Hall in Holmesville. The event, inspired by Prostate Cancer Awareness Week, was a great success. We'd like to thank our speaker, Dr. Bukala for sharing his time and knowledge. His talk focused on prostate cancer and laparoscopic prostatectomy and was greatly appreciated by the 55 people in attendance. So too was the time Dr. Bukala spent answering questions. Thanks also go to Rebacca Poff who entertained the audience with songs from her new CD "A Glimpse of You", from which 50 per cent of the proceeds go to the CanadianCancer We'd also like to thankSociety. the White Carnation Banquet Hallfor its superb meal and support of the event as well as Nifty Korners, C.A.W. Local 4551, and Rebecca Poff for donating door prizes. Because the event was such a success, we plan on making a Huron County men's dinner an annual event. Please contact us if you are willing to help organize next year's dinner. Letters The Society organizes functions such as the men's 4 tO the health dinner to raise awareness about cancer and ways to reduce our risk of developing cancer. The Ed1tO.r Canadian Cancer Society's mission is to eradicate cancer and the enhancement of the quality of life of people living with cancer. The Society achieves its mis- sion through research, education, patient services and advo- cacy for healthy public policy. RAY MCNICHOL Listowel Branch President., Huron Perth Unit, Canadian Cancer Society BILL McNICHOL Community Outreach Chair, Huron Perth Unit, Canadian Cancer Society Need public involvement As a local resident concerned about job retention and economic development for South Huron and Huron County, I've been doing some research into how other munic- ipalities are prospering through proper economic planning. I spoke with Norfolk County economic development officials and discovered they have formed a tourism and economic development advisory board which consists of local residents with agriculture, arts, education, financial services, health care, indus- trial/ commercial development, journalism, labour, manufacturing, restaurants, retail, small business and tourism backgrounds. I was told the main reason for forming this committee was to enhance their prospects for federal and provincial funding by demonstrating strong community input in grant applications. This strategy has in turn led to the creation of a new municipal position - revenue enhancement officer. To quote information from their website: "The Advisory Board is mandated to advise Norfolk County council on issues pertaining to tourism and economic development. It also actively develops affiances between businesses, organizations and government to advance the county's strategic plans. It also provides a forum for co-ordination of ini- tiatives with other community groups and agencies." I also had a look at the Township of North Huron website and discovered the follow- ing from the minutes of their February 2005 Economic Development Committee meeting: "Clerk Stewart outlined a proposal for a revised Economic Development Committee. He stated that the committee would continue to have council representa- tion, but would also include interested individuals from various sectors and could include the following: industry, retail, service, agriculture, tourism, education and youth." It is also interesting to note that the Township of North Huron owns and operates a municipal airport. Ratepayers of South Huron funded a study which council stated (although they won't produce a copy) determined the municipality should not own or operate an airport. I would like to suggest the Municipality of South Huron examine the benefits of form- ing such an Economic Development Advisory Board. It is obvious to me that other municipalities see the benefit of public involvement in this area. The committee would also allow area ratepayers to have some influence into where their taxes are invested. (WALLY) PETER FYDENCHUK, Crediton Interim progress report is "snapshot" of your student's progress EXETER — On Friday of last week we mailed home an interim progress report to parents to report infor- mally on student achievement so far this school year. The format for this report was developed by the Avon Maitland District School Board and is being used in all our secondary schools this month. The purpose of this report is to provide a "snapshot" of student progress and to highlight any concerns teachers may have. We encourage parents to make appointments to meet with their son or daughter's teachers on Thursday to find out more about their child's progress or to discuss any concerns they may have. Interview appointments need to be arranged between the student and the teachers, and inter- views will be held hi the large gym. Each appoint- ment is scheduled for 10 minutes: parents and teachers are asked to try to keep to these time- lines so parents may meet with all the teachers they wish to see. Additional interviews may be arranged if the allotted time of 10 minutes is insufficient. The interviews will be held from 3:30 to 5 p.m. and 6:30 to 8 p.m. Any parents unable to attend Thursday may make alternate arrangements for interviews by contacting their son or daughter's teachers, either by phoning the school or by e-mail (teacher e-mail addresses are avail- able on our school web page.) While parents are at the school for interviews, we encourage them to check out the book fair that will take place in the school library Thursday and Friday of this week, including Thursday evening. There will be an excellent assortment of fiction and non-fiction books available, with proceeds going toward the purchase of additional resources hi the library. As I mentioned earlier, the report issued last week is an informal report: the first official report of the year will be issued Nov. 9 as a mid-term report for Semester 1 courses. The first official report for year-long classes will be issued Dec. 7. Throughout this year we will be reporting semestered courses separately from year- long courses and as a result, parents of students in Grades 9 and 10 will receive report cards six times this year. The dates for these reports can be found in the student planners. Last week's bus cancellations due to fog served as a timely notice that we need to remind parents and students of our proce- dures for inclement weather. Bus cancellation information will be sent to AM 980 in London and FM 102 in Wingham. Other media outlets will also pick up the information and it will be posted on the Avon Maitland District School Board website: www.your schools.ca. If fog prevents the buses from running, we usually begin with a two-hour delay in hopes the fog will lift. If it does not lift, then a bus cancellation will occur: it is important therefore, that parents and stu- dents continue to listen for updates during fog delays. Once we get into the winter weather the decision- making becomes more difficult as the weather can change suddenly, either for better or for worse. We endeavour to make cancellation decisions by no later JEFF REA PRINCI MESSA BURN PAL'S GE than 7 a.m. This enables parents and guardians to make any necessary arrangements. Unfortunately, we have to change the decision some- times because a change in the weather has made it too dangerous to send the buses out. In all cases we make the decision with the safety of students and staff in mind. In the event a storm develops during the school day, we do not send the buses out unless it is safe to do so. If the students are at school already, then we will keep them here where they are safe and sound. If road clo- sures occur, we will not send the buses out, and we prefer parents not risk their lives or the lives of the stu- dents by coming in to get them. It may mean we have to delay sending the buses out for a while, but we will always make a decision with the safety of the students in mind. Again, we appreciate parental support in this matter. By the way, when we do miss a day of school due to weather, we carry on with our daily schedule as if that day had occurred. For example, last Friday was a Day 3 in our timetable. On Monday we continued on with Day 4, even though there were no classes on Friday. Bus cancellation information is posted on our school website as well as the board's website. All pertinent information is forwarded to various radio stations and to the A Channel website. While we cannot guarantee the information always gets posted on the external websites or gets announced on the radio in a timely manner, we do our best to send them the information as soon as we possibly can.