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Page Tilt HERALD Wednesday 17 Contact Cenire offers help to widows group MAGGIE HANNAH If group Is formed to help recently widowed women In need of support thote doing the contacting would be more than welcome train with volun teers or the Contact Centre according to a member of the executive Speaking to a meeting of members of Ihe Georgetown Contacts for he Widowed Rev Waller Ridley said that if the form some type of contact group Id help newly on he first things these contact people will need to is how to listen not to said but the silent between the words Since this is also volunteers manning the phones at Centre he ell that contact people for Ihe widows group might from the raining given if the widow becomes a reality Itev no advice on how the group should go about reaching out lo new widows In ihe community since each person is an dual and Ihcir reaction may be different While one widow may appreciate a telephone call of fering to be a haul cur because t drive another might want tn stand on her own and would resent intrusion Into her life Just how Ihe Initial made would be of importance he but the members group would have figure out how to do Iheirown He also warned the group that gelling known around the com would lima and once he group Kiel up mem- ben mustnt gel discouraged if they dont get many calls When the Contact Centre first opened in November 1973 it was receiv ing only two or three calls a day The centre now handles about TOO calls a He suggested that toe clergymen funeral dir ector to hat couia men lion their to new wid ows and thus give them the opportunity of reaching out to he group if hey felt be need for support He noted that being a teers offers rewards to the volunteer The need to be needed is one or he basic human needs he said and thus the volunteers dont need to feel guilty if they find Ihey get satisfaction out of being able to help So what if ibey suddenly realize ihey arent doing It out of dedication to people he said If they rcaliie why they were doing it Id bo Inclined to wonder If they should be Rev Ridley said that the Contact Centre has recently set up a support committee to help the volunteers who are getting upset or discouraged Volun An overview of Hydro hearing The Arena booster club may never be the same after enduring eight days of testimony during the Ontario Municipal Boards hearings considering Ontario Hydros application to put a hydro corridor through town The banquet hall bar alop Ihe Alcott arena was turned into a witness nail back on January and was used by the OMB until the hearings wrapped up Thursday The only interruption of their weekday hearings was on January when the was thrown out in the afternoon so the welcome mat could be thrown out for the visiting Austrian National hockey team And no Ihe werent asked lor l heir noughts on MO volt hydro towers VISITOR As a sporadic visitor lo the I a distinct change in atmosphere in the banquet hall as Ihe hearings dragged on When Ihe hearings opened the room was charged with all he anticipation or a crowd baton a championship sporting event Newspaper people Jockeyed for best spots to witness the proceedings interested citizens packed the hall and the lawyers took great delight In playing to the crowd But by the end of he crowd had thinned many newspapers including toe and Man had dropped out covering the event and only the lawyers still seemed up for the even And why shouldnt they when they re getting paid more than an hour When the hearings opened things were a lot more folks as many farmers and casually clad members of the public sat in on meetings NO WORK BOOTS But as things wrapped up on Thursday he jeans and work boots had all but been eliminated and the three piece suits ruled the fashion roost The pin stripe has been replaced by hounds tooth and tweed The laywers are on throughout hearings even when t addressing the hearing officers Its clear that the even have a studied way of silting They make a point silling with an earnest righteous look on their faces on the chance a hearing officer might cast a glance their May and realize that God is on that lawyers side I sat in on some of Thursdays closing session and took in the summary remarks from the lawyers as they wrapped up their cases Politeness Is a The lawyers must express no overt distaste or ridicule tor the opposite side Instead they and subtly Iry to make their associates sound like idiots as they restate to the opposing sides detriment points they have made during ihe hearings AIR There were times during the hearings when the lawyers sounded like air traffic controllers as they guided listeners through reports guiding them to a point on page section A subsection Overseeing all of this were the hearing officers Henry Stewart and William Dyer These men have no in their faces make no expressions Throughout the eight days neither man smiled laughed frowned or got angry I dont think they are allowed 1 think it s in their job description KNOWING Every day of the bearing the two men loomed all knowing over the hearings looking as though they were taking in every word and every statistic uttered for their benefit I dont for a minute believe the hearing officers retain even halt of Ihe Information no one could handle as many facts and figures as they are fed during an information overdose Thais why ihey cant have expression on their faces might smile while someone is describing how the wires will fry low flying Canada geese or look stern while someone Is making a joke Its safer to have no expression and look like you are retaining everything WERE ROUGHER The hearings were rougher tor some than others No smoking was allowed In the hearing room and periodically a lawjeror reporter would run out Ihe back door screaming I can take II anymore only to return a quick smoke In Ihe foyer lawyer from Ihe Ministry of Energy seemed lo have the best handle on the whole affair She did throughout the hearings While she had enough time to knit a living room rug she made Raggedy Ann pillow covers instead J Kohari DT J Novak Georgetown STREET on Highway Post Denture therapy Clinic Phone 8778974 7912314 leers may get just as upset en having no calls come in while they re on duty as they will Over having a suicide call that re quires great lact several hours of effort to be able to help BASIC PRINCIPLES Tbe three basic principles followed at the Contact Centre Rev Ridley said were Ing strict confidentiality not judging caUcrs and not calling back even it a callers telephone number If available Not only arc the callers identities and the subject the colls kept strictly confidential tbe Identity of the people who nun the centre phones is also not revealed When people want to talk to someone they might be afraid to make the call if they thought a neighbour was going to answer the phone lev Ridley said therefore only the few people who have held execu tive positions with the Centre ever reveal their names to the public The volunteer Is not there to give advice be said They dont Judge the person who calls They simply accent ihe situation as it is and o help the caller to work through his problem to his own solution Rev Ridley also said that the volunteers often wish they knew the result of the calls and the solutions he callers work out They never call back however Weve discussed calling back he said and a lot of people think we should But so far we don It a touchy thing Today Ihey may need you but tomorrow they to stand on heir own feel Its almost as important to know when not to help as when to help Although they dont call the does call a handful elderly area residents who have no one tokcop in regular contact with them This arrangement is usually worked out with Health Unit Al We call them once or twice a day to make sure theyre all right he said Then if we dont tut an Answer we call a neighbor or someone else who go over and check that iheyro not sick The centre also acts as an answering service for other organizations such as Big Bro thers and Alcoholics Anonymous and pass on the callers number and message to someone in the organization who wlf then re turn the call This would also be a way of passing messages to a support group for widows If one is set up he suggested REV WALTER RIDLEY MICHAEL BOYNTON STUDIO is OFFERING a 5 Week Course DiscoBallroom Dancing for only 25 per person beginning Sunday Jan 21 pm 330 pm at North Htriton Golf Country Open to Members and Red or Golden Delicious Apples CANADA Northland