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THE WEEKEND OUTLOOK 1W1 Seniors Invitation to join TV production Montreal March 1989 A widespread power failure affects thousands of Montrealarea residents during a spell of record low cold temperatures Among those affected are three elderly sisters sharing an apartment The only source of heat in the apartment is a gas stove in the kitchen Other than the stove there is no heat light or hot water and all the elevators have ceased working The temperature in the sisters apartment is 15 degrees The power failure in the building lasts for 25 hours If you are a senior would you have been prepared for such an emergency Aside from power failures Emergency Preparedness Canada the agency responsible for coordinating federal civil emergency planning has calculated that more than 60 types of emergencies can and do happen in Canada The one com mon denominator in all these emergencies is that the first line of defence is always the in dividual and seniors are no ex ception Seniors are an independent resourceful group who to a large extent can look after themselves In fact according to Statistics Canada 91 per cent of the 24 million Canadians aged or over live at home This is not to deny that some seniors do have handicaps and need special help but no more than other segments of our population such as the visual or hearing impaired the handicapped or those with severe physical disabilities The key to emergen cy preparedness for seniors is to ensure that they have a voice in identifying their own needs and play a part in planning the ser vices needed to cater to those needs Emergency preparedness for seniors also calls for com munities to be aware and respon sive to those needs SELFHELP FOR SENIORS Like other Canadians there are a number of precautions seniors can take to ensure their wellbeing and to help others in an emergency Always keep a batterypowered radio flashlight and spare bat teries on hand In many emergen cies telephone lines and power may bo the first thing to go and a radio will be your only link with the outside world Make sure that you know how and where to turn off your utilities eg gas water elec tricity If you use medication or specialized medical equipment eg inhalers eyeglasses hear ing aid batteries etc make sure you have an extra supply on hand at all times Always keep on hand an emergency survival kit contain ing food sleeping bags medica tion firstaid kit and bottled water Rotate food and water to ensure freshness Keep a list of emergency telephone numbers eg fire police ambulance poison control etc posted in a prominent place Take a firstaid course either through the Red Cross or St John Ambulance If you ever have to evacuate your home make sure you have an evacuation kit containing a flashlight radio and batteries important papers identification and cash medication mobility aids clothes sleeping bag and food In an emergency use the telephone only if absolutely necessary Chances are emergency crews will need all available lines IF YOU LIVE ON YOUR OWN Get to know your neighbors Explain that in an emergencvy you may not be able to get out of your house or attend to your medical needs Get someone to check on you during an emergency Ideally you should make these ar rangements with more than one neighbor so that there is always someone available night or day to check on you should an emergency occur If you are stillworking or you do some form of volunteer work familiarize yourself with your employers or your volunteer agencys emergency plan Make arrangements with coworkers for any special help you may need If you have impaired mobility bearing or vision the above ad vice is doubly important Seniors who would like more selfhelp advice what to do to prepare for emergencies or who would like to play a more active part in community emergency planning are advised to contact their provincial emergency measures organization or municipal emergency planning officer for further information Seniors should prepare for worst By FLORENCE WILKINSON It has been some time since I wrote about what goes on in a group to which I belong Seniors TV Productions Recent ly one of our cameramen and I taped an interview with Mr Richard Marshall and Mrs Betty Logan on the subject of Grand- time Seniors in Halton Board of Education Schools Mr Marshall works regularly in a school in and Mrs Logan is the Facilitator for the program This program Grandtime has been on the books of the Board for a couple of years but so far is not that wide spread in usage The interview which was done will appear on our program which will be on Cable the se cond and third Wednesdays of January Our usual time is the first and third but owing to holi day programming will be chang ed for January only Besides meeting the two people who are involved in the program we also had the use of a tape to in clude in the interview Any group which wishes to know about the program may contact Mrs Logan at and she will arrange for a time that a presentation may be made The presentation is usually in the form of viewing the tape and then a panel of people who have been involved in the program who will answer questions from the au dience There is a brochure with in formation and volunteer applica tion forma at the Recreation and Parks Department of the Civic Centre for any who would like to sign up right away I think the forms are selfexplanatory However you would get a lot of information watching our TV program as well One of the remarks which I found interesting was from Mr Marshall You just invite us to your Centre whenever you want us to come I had to explain to him that Georgetown did not have a centre we have quite a few seniors groups but so far no centre through which all may be coordinated The first step in getting such a program going in the town is for seniors to register Then the Facilitator has names to offers to the schools Since this a pro gram under the Board of Educa tion one realizes that the primary purpose is for aid to children but there are lots of other benefits from it as well This is the kind of information which a presentation would bring to your group As far as the senior goes he or she says what time what place what skill he or she is able to offer all this is on the volunteer application form Our group Seniors TV Productions is always looking for interested members There is a chance to use the cameras to do interviews to give the news or just give ideas and advice about what programs seniors might like to view We meet the first Tuesday of the month at Acton Social Services and the third Tuesday of the month at the Trafalgar Road offices of Halton Hills at am I look forward to meeting some of you who may accept this open invitation and do hope that there are those who might like to become part of the Grandtime program A COMEDY BY RAY COONEY JANUARY 10 11 12 1617 AT THE JOHN ELLIOTT THEATRE GEORGETOWN TICKETS FOR TICKET INFORMATION PLEASE CALL TICKETS ALSO AVAILABLE AT OXBOW BOOK STORE MAIN ST GEORGETOWN GEORGETOWN FOOD MARKET MOORE PARK PLAZA Pleasure To Serve You STORE Monday to urn in HOURS CLOSED SUNDAY A KNECHTEL SUPER SPECIAL CONNOISSEUR SOUP Tomato Chicken Noodle TOMATO SOIP 4 for 99 CASE 284 ml 1 1200 vahn I