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(Ot»R«r.V*7lVAiA/« y y V cV i Z^7 ix ..X A Pi-lj l-d-SJ l|Cv< CL M A A n tï>/ /p r<\ <V(NX/' t<ï* A, u: u.V- ?WV ; v V ><> | Wednesday, November 4, 1998 COMMUNITY CALENDAR • LIFESTYLES • SPORTS • COMMUNITY CORRESPONDENCE • TV LISTINGS "Mom" Whyte is Still Helping Others by H. Jill Booker Staff Writer As a teenager, she decided to dedicate her life to helping people. Today, at the age of 83, Bertha "Mom" Whyte shows no signs of slowing slowing down. "The prime reason for living is to love and help each other," Ms Whyte said. She was back in Bowmanville recently from Mission, Texas, where she is currently helping to house and feed Mexican families. While in Bowmanville, she spoke of her life as a missionary during chapel for the senior senior students at Knox Christian School. . So many students were inspired by her that she is planning on returning in May of 1999 to talk to them again. Bertha Whyte is perhaps perhaps best remembered for the foster home she and her husband, Robert, ran from their Bowmanville farm in the 1950s. Over the years they housed a total of 1400 children, often caring for 150 at one time. In June of 1960, Bertha Whyte boarded a plane for Africa where she spent 13 years in Nigeria. "That was faith, let me tell you," Mrs. Whyte said. "It was a 15-hour flight. I was going to a country where I knew no one, and I was without my husband for the first nine months. That was faith." While in Nigeria, she helped teach English and agriculture to the 10,000 people in the village where she lived. She also shared the village with spitting cobras and mambas that would take up residence in the palm frond roof of her home. Both are extremely poisonous snakes. "When I went to bed one night, I discovered a 60-inch mamba under my pillow," Mrs. Whyte remembered. Upon returning home to Canada, Mrs. Whyte and her husband settled in Nelson, British Columbia, where they operated an antique shop called Yesterday's Treasures from 1978 to 1990. Like many Canadians, the Whytes spent their winters in Florida. One year, they decided to go to Texas instead. And that decision led to a new mission mission for the Whytes. During one of their winter stays, the plight of Mexican families living in Texas was brought to their attention. Mexican families who cross the U.S.-Mexico border struggle to make ends meet. A Texan landowner will sell a one half acre lot to a family for a down payment of $100, then have them sign a contract which forces them to pay $ 134 a month for the next 24 years. An average Mexican's salary is $2 an hour. "When they come across the border, they have nothing. They've never had anything," Ms Whyte said. "Three families families have had to start paying paying the landowner all over again because they missed one monthly payment. payment. What they had paid up to that one missed payment was erased." The mission began one winter when Ms Whyte heard about a Mexican family whose trailer had burned to the ground, leaving them with nothing. nothing. Neither the Red Cross or Salvation Army were available, so she borrowed a mobile home to help the family out. "After that," Ms Whyte said, "the donations donations came pouring in." Soon after, Ms Whyte began organizing volunteers volunteers to build houses for the Mexican families. Over the past several years, hundreds of volunteers volunteers from across the United States have built ::'U m - -3 K' I- PARTNERS FOR LIFE --Bertha "Mom" Whyte is pictured with her husband, Robert, fondly nick-named "Bert." The Whytes have been helping people in need for over 40 years. WORK IN PROGRESS --One of the houses being built by volunteers for a Mexican family is about halfway complete. complete. The houses come complete with a water tank, a septic system and all basic necessities for life. dozens of houses. The mission has proven so successful, it led to the formation of His Hands Ministries on April 24, 1996. His Hands Ministries oversees oversees the volunteer work being done for the 1400 Mexicans under its care. • This past year, Mrs. Whyte set up a food pantry which helps feed 150 Mexican families, including 500 children who were otherwise going hungry. • Ms Whyte's next mission mission will be the acquisition acquisition of sonie land on which a training centre for Mexican youth will be opened. Some of the subjects to be offered include furniture-building, furniture-building, homemaking, carpentry, carpentry, auto mechanics, agriculture, plumbing, typing, computer skills and electrical. The students will receive six months of training, then enter into an apprenticeship. It is hoped that Canadians who winter in Texas, and know a trade, will volunteer volunteer to be teachers at the planned training centre. Mrs. Whyte's tireless efforts over the years earned her the Texas Department of Human Services' Humanitarian Award for Volunteer Work in 1996. During chapel at Knox Christian School, Ms Whyte asked the students to donate clothes and other items to the Mexican families for Christmas. A pen pal program program is being planned between the Mexican children and Canadian students. Ms Whyte returned to Texas last Friday to continue continue her life's work helping helping others. Judging by her accomplishments over the years, it is work that's far from over. Sixteen Hour Day for Foster Mother FOSTER PARENT - This photo from 1955 shows Bertha Whyte caring for some of the children in her foster home. z - : "N Time to Check the Chimney by Jennifer Stone Staff Writer If you're planning to curl up by the fire this winter, now is the time to ensure your chimney is clean and safe, Clarington fire prevention officer Randy Rcincrt says the new fire code requires all chimneys to be inspected , at least once per year. It also states the need for chimneys to be cleaned as often as necessary. "If the chimney is obstructed, there's no way for the carbon dioxide to exit the house," says Rcincrt, "They say having creosote that's a quarter of an eighth of an inch thick can start a chimney fire." Even newer, prefabricated metal chimneys should be inspected annually annually to check for premature corrosion, Rcincrt says. "There have been instances where metal chimneys have corroded from the inside. It's very important that they're checked," preferably by someone with W.E.T.T. (Wood Energy Technical Training) certification, certification, he reminds home owners. W.E.T.T. certified technicians receive 80 weeks of field training, followed by rigourous classroom instruction, A number of local businesses, including Magic Touch Chimney Sweeps, offer W.E.T.T. certified inspections and chimney cleaning. Mark Aube of Magic Touch agrees with Rcincrt that chimney maintenance maintenance is important, "They should at least be inspected annually, even if you don't use the fireplace," says Aube. Chimneys which are not in use must, under the fire code, be sealed in a way preventing preventing the passage of fire or smoke. Chimneys being used on a daily basis through the winter months should be cleaned monthly, says Aube. When a technician from Aube's company is called to a home, they first do an inspection of the condition of the chimney. Fireplace chimneys arc then cleaned top to bottom using a brush and vacuum system. The entire process costs $75. When a chimney fire starts, there is often little warning, other than, on occasion, a loud cracking noise in the pipes, says Rcincrt. The house rarely fills with smoke as a result of a chimney chimney lire. "The scary thing is they can lead to a structure lire," says Rcincrt. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY -- Head technician Phil Aube, of Magic Touch Chimney Sweeps, shows part of a chimney recently removed from a Clarington home. According to Clarington's lire prevention officer, even unused chimneys should he checked annually,