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Need foster care These kids are our future by Diana Waltroann The Children a Aid Society CAS had their probl ems with the media There are stories cropping up in the news such as dying mother denied access to child and child killed after CAS returned her to abusive parents There are also the on the foster care program Who needs it we are asked The tele vision commercial has caused a stir inside and out of the agency I asked my kids what they thought of It says Valeric Casey a local foster parent and one says ma Andlthinkthlskidisgolngtomakeit We were told the commercial was a total failure says Barry Heath Heath Is with the alternate care department of the Halton Children Aid and a foster parent Mrs Casey along with husband Roger Is a footer parent and housewife mother and part time university student Despite the problems so far with media coverage Heath says the CAS is taking the plunge Into a massive recruitment campaign next month There are foster parents in Halton a sur prisingly low number for one of the most heavily populated areas in Canada Yet 15 of those live in or near Acton a town with population of only about Beit response Its peculiar says Heath There arent as many services or recreation facilities here yet this area has the best response But he added there is always a need for more Hence the campaign Its one thing to recruit foster parents he says Its them Why docs anyone become a foster parent shrugs Mrs Casey You cant put the feelings Into words future of the World Our decision to become foster parents evolved We talked about it talked to other foster parents talked to the agency It was an Intelligent decision The run a group home for teenagers in They have cared tor eight or rune children over the four years theyve been foster parents They take In what Is called long term children crown wards that could stay as long as well forever The longest term so far has been four years The Caseys have taken In mostly girls These kids have emotional problems she says Some suffer from culture shock Host of them have spent 10 or 12 or 14 years in nonstructured Lie Learn to cope A parent has to cope with their own feelings That something Ive recently learned to do You have to realize you cant teach a child In six months whats right You cant attach your feelings of success or failure with the kids If a child does something stupid and you know he or she can do better you cant feel like a failure Once a foster parent always a foster parent states Heath He said even if a couple doesnt have child at the moment they are still foster parents In Acton most foster parents are older couples with older children And they last One family Ann and Horace Blyth have been Involved in foster care for years taking care of about children Children placed In Acton homes Heath continues can bo from anywhere in the region He said a placement of a child depends on his or her problems age and the special qualities of the parents Foster parents have different personalities Heath says and different values Some become totally involved with the agency while others care only about the children Wed love to be absolutely choosey we are any way but we have the best group of parents here Feci Isolated But adds Mrs parents in Acton small rural areas and Georgetown often feel isolated because CAS Is a centralized in Oakvllle We have the feeling of neglect she said You might want to call but long distance and youre the money So Halton CAS and foster parents In Acton and area set up an extended family group They meet bi weekly along with their social worker to discuss problems give each other moral and emotional support and add insight We let off says Mrs Casey The extended family has taken hold up here she adds for survival reasons They dont have the me access to the agency or social workers Involved as parents closer to Oakvllle CAS has other programs besides extended family Heath says social workers are going into homes to teach families how to cope so children dont need to be removed He said for every child token out of a home there ore three left with their families But always says Heath the child comes first We attempt to invest in the child and not In the Foster parents do not make money on the deal The agency pays them room and board depending on the age of the child and for certain medical reasons It makes you reset all your priorities says Mrs but It doesn have to be expensive You can get by on what the agency gives you But you go around asking yourself if you really need that new car The agency she Hays is In a tight position for money I feel the government is unfair to youth All the money that goes towards unemployment insurance and welfare might be better channelled Besides monetary problems foster kids foster parents and the entire program is facing prejudices What the gravel sounding bigot in the television says is exactly what the children must face I always find myself defending the kids says Mrs Casey I always called down to the school If there Is a group of kids in volved the foster child is the one singled out because heor she is foster child The agency is terrific she continued Probably the best Children Aid group in the country It about time they got some good publicity You know the agency is behind you and will support you If you feel there is something really important they will somehow come up with the money And if you disagree with the agency you can work it out Roger Casey Is a volunteer director on CAS board Valeric Casey is working towards her Masters in social work Besides foster parents the have three children of their own I do a lot of driving she says She says her children have learned a lot from foster care experience Her daughters have become tolerant and giving They appreciate what they have because they have been exposed to the other side They learn to share their feelings and possess ions My kids are less materialistic Mrs Casey says It s mode them better people An Inland Community Newspaper One Hundred and Sixth Year No 6 ACTON ONTARIO WEDNESDAY AUGUST 20 Twenty Two Pages Twenty Cents School funding case to province Vince head of the St Josephs Parents Association HaltonBurhngton MPP Julian Reed and a delegation of Halton Separate School Board officials hope to meet next month with Ontario Education Minister Stephenson to plead the case for funding of a new Catholic school in Acton This plan of action was approved by the board at a special meeting last Tuesday night but trustees rejected the parents call for the board to go to the province and ask that money allocated for a new separate school be spent in Acton instead- Friday parents who have been fighting for changes because they only rent It from the public several weeks now to have the provinces funding decision reversed received a letter from the board announcing the plan to go see Stephenson hopefully In early September to request additional funding so a new school can be built here Board meet here The letter from the board which was something of a letter of intent to build a new school here also revealed the next board meeting will be held at Robert Little School In Acton beside St Joseph a on August If the meeting with Stephenson Isnt successful then the minister will be Invited to come to Acton Josephs first hand McMahon described the boards letter as en The board decided not to ask the province to switch Its funding to Acton McMahon said because if Acton was the only priority then woudnt get any money this year The province has severe restraints on capital projects and Acton doesnt meet its criteria so for the board It Is a case of getting funding for the new school or getting nothing However McMahon noted the board hasnt dis counted the need for new separate school in Acton and Acton remains a priority project Some changes in school Parents will see few changes in the school a board official said letter which Whelan received John the boards plant manager says some minor changes recommended In a report by Hills Fire Prevention Officer Larry Brass ard can be met but most of the changes he com merited on cant be done because it would require tearing down the building and starting over He noted the separate board cant make many school board possible to update Birett said it wouldnt be practical to update the old building to meet the present building code stand It would be extremely expensive and the money would be better spent on a new school Most improvements are impossible with the existing building He is going to ask Ontario Hydro to come In and do Josephs though he expects they will report there are no problems Birett also says be can see no reason why the refuse container cant be moved to another location and thermal detectors would be worthwhile in the single storage room and In the storage closet The board official Is upset that Brassard said in his report the flre alarm system may have been improperly Installed Birett says the system must either be proper or not proper The total system was checked out less than two years ago has been tested during fire drills and was operational when the school closed for the summer In June He wonders why Brassard didnt test the system him self All that can be done with the system and smoke detectors is to check the batteries he said Board of Education the landlord for St Josephs school has a preventative maintenance program for heating systems and regularly has fire extinguishers checked He has contacted the public board and been told St JosephsheatingBystemand fire extinguishers are checked Many of Brassards comments relate to the building not meeting the Ontario Building Code Birett said He agrees the building doesnt meet the building code standards but notes few built before do Left to right are Darren Judy leader Carole Saxon play- summer on their overnight stays at Blue Scout Reserve Here leaders ground supervisor Kerry Butler Kim Guilts Brian and leader-ln- campers from Acton are busy letting up a tent and building a camp tire training Kim Heaps by MURRAY Haltons reserve funds may trim region deficit 60 Department heads throughout are going to have to go through their budgets with a fine tooth comb as the region scrambles to cover its unex pected 1900 deficit The regions Administration and Finance com mittee agreed last week to take out of reserve funds to cover part of the now deficit The two reserve funds that provided money to offset part of the deficit were for working funds and road construction The balance the shortfall will have to come from the 1B80 operating budgets of the various regional departments I think council should move now to tighten up on expenditures even before they know the entire pic ture said the regions Chief Administrative Officer Ernie Reid At last weeks Administration committee meeting Burlington mayor Bird said regional depart ment heads should start analyzing their budgets immediately looking for spending that can be delayed until next year If enough money cant be found that way he added then council will have to start making cuts Deputy treasurer Jim Stewart said it would take about four weeks for the department heads to examine their budgets and make firm rccom about possible savings According to a report presented to the committee by slightly less than half of the regions total operating budget has been spent to date A total of million was budgeted and million has been Coroners inquest for Rockwood drowning Acton Free Press Publisher Don McDonald left was In Edmonton bit week to receive four awards this news paper won En the Canadlaij Community Newspaper Associations Better Newspapers Competition for IS7S The Free Press woo first place In lis class for Its front page third place for editorial page third for ports and third best overall Joining Don here are publisher of two Free Press sister papers Ken Bellamy The Georgetown Independent and Milton Canadian Champions Herb Crowtber A coroners inquest Into a drowning earlier in August at Conservation Area will be held next month Walter Scott coroner for area five Waterloo- Wellington said an Inquest will be held September IS at 10 am into the drowning death of Dercck Liu The location of the hearing hasnt been set as yet On August Liu a yearold drowned around pm in approximately feet of water while swimming within the buoys Guelph statements regarding the drowning initially indicated there would be no Inquest and Scott noted at first he didnt think an inquest was necessary but has since changed his mind He said be has discussed the incident with both the regional coroner and the crown attorney Last week Dr Scott inspected the scene of the drowning for about two hours and said he felt an inquest was necessary because of the large number of swimmers using Conservation Area on warm weekends I definitely think they should have lifeguards Scott said After the drowning Guelph OPP said two lifeguards were on the scene but there were really just two members of the beach patrol The coroner said he has talked with the police officer who investigated the drowning as well as the assistant supervisor of Rockwood Conservation area while gathering evidence for the hearing I think some Improvements could be msdo there the swimming area for the protection of public Scott stated Exhaustive efforts were made to save the young man and ho was brought to shore fairly quickly after swimmers saw him bobbing up and down In the water Liu was part of a large group of Asians holding a social event at the park Spectators believed a prayer meeting was being held under the trees prior to the drowning The Halton Regional Police the report revealed have the greatest current surplus in their budget largely because they have not hired as many new policemen as they had planned to The force currently has an unspent balance of The Health Unit has an unspent balance of and the regionally operated home for the aged In Milton is currently under budget As committee members scanned the report accounts Coun Carol Gooding warned that they should not expect all the figures they saw to be firm to the end of the year Regional chairman Jack Raftis also suggested that the financial systems of the region should be changed to give councillors belter Information about the progress of the budget There should be some kind of ongoing procedure so that this doesnt happen again he said Steward suggested that each of the departments should report on the status of its budget on a monthly basis to its standing committee Quarterly reports should then be made to the Administration and Finance Committee He also suggested that from September to the end of the year the monthly reports should Include projections to the end of Tentative pact made A tentative oneyear contract agreement between Elementary Teachers Association and the Board of Education was announced by the board yesterday Details of the pact will be made public after September 12 when both parties are expected to ratify tho agreement inside Youll find Profiles on page editorials col umns and Our Readers Write on page News Digest Is on page page has Chamber Happen ings and Digest la on page 10