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-theHERALD- SECTION B Wednesday October 23 1991 E HILLS Region GDHS woodworking teacher creates through minds eye By USA The Herald Looking at the cherry wood TV and VCR cabinet being offered as first prize in Georgetown Distnct High School s Annual Craft Art and Antique show scheduled for this Saturday and Sunday it s ob vious a talented craftsman has been at work No one would ever guess the talented craftsman is totally blind Roger Moore of Acton is blind completely unable to see the lustrous sheen he given the polished wood or the attractive design of the swivel cabinet But he can feel it and through this sense knows how good it looks and it gives him a sense of pride and complishment Before he lost his sight Mr Moore was a horse farmer working with his dad on the family farm to raise and barrel race quarter hor ses He began working on the farm after graduating from Grade 8 at Stewarttown Middle School much to the dismay of his woodworking teacher Dave Lawrence who wan ted his student to stay in school The two had developed a relation ship while the young Roger was in his woodworking class a relation ship they rekindled four years ago when Mr Moore lost his sight Mr Moore blindness is the result of a disease he had since he was two- years- old diabetes When he was was 22 his doctor noticed the disease was affecting his eyes and within a year Mr Moore was completely blind He became one of approximately 400 Canadians who lose their sight to diabetes every year according to the Canadian National Institute for the Blind After I went blind I decided to call up my old teacher at his home said Mr Moore I knew he left Stewarttown and was teaching at C and he told me he was coming up to Georgetown Mr Lawrence is now the technical director at GDHS and he urged Mr Moore to call him back after he finished an independant living course at the in Toron to I was surprised when he called admits Mr Lawrence I never worked with a blind person before But he was eager to help Mr Moore and in Mr Moore signed up for the adult wood working class under the guidance of a teaching assistant Bob Gillett of Georgetown During the next three years he began to develop a talent he never explored before he lost his sight Mr Moore said having been sighted and knowing how the wood working machines look helped him a lot in his learning Anything I touch I have a pic ture of in my brain he said That definitely helps me Despite the danger for both sighted and blind of cutting oneself on the bladed woodworking machines Mr Moore said he was never afraid of injuring himself Not being afraid is the biggest reason I can still do things Other difficulties such as measurement he overcome by developing his own tools Since he cannot see a ruler Mr Moore created a sliding block ruler that clicks every sixteenth of an inch allowing him to count the clicks to determine a measurement Soon after graduating from the class Mr Moore took on another challenge He began teaching wood working to high school students Mr Lawrence explains We needed help with students in the classes and we knew Roger could do it So Mr Moore began working at the school five days a week In turn he earns high school credits while acting as a teaching assistant and is now only one credit shy of earning his Grade diploma But for Mr Moore the satisfac tioti of contributing to the students and the school is more important than the diploma I really enjoy it said Mr Moore I like giving back to this school because it gave so much to me I have fun with the kids because they don t look to me as a teacher they can relate to me Mr Lawrence said the kids basically love Roger They work very well with him They ve also learned to respect Mr Moore s guide dog Buddy and know not to touch him while he harness Both Mr Lawrence and Mr Moore hope to continue their association and with a teaching strategy that has benefitted not only themselves but the high school students as well Mr Moore will also continue to create cabinets hope chests and other wooden furniture at his own workshop at the family farm People can see his work at the Annual GDHS Craft Art and An tique Show at the school from 10 00 am to p Also on display will be his cherry cabinet complete with a inch color television which is first prize in the shows lucky draw Second prize is an IBM com patible computer donated by Logic Technologies and third prize is a framed limited edition print by John Harrington Mr Moore will be one of over 100 vendors at the show This beautiful cherry TV and VCR cabinet was made by Acton wood worker Roger Moore but he never see the craftsmanship of the cabinet because he s completely blind Mr Moore seen here with his guide dog Buddy lost his sight four years ago to diabetes but let his disability stop him from becoming a master craftsman and teaching assistant at Georgetown District High School Herald Photo ADULT LITERACY Adult tutors can open doors previously closed By HEATHER ANGUS Herald Special This the fourth or a four part series about tutorstudent sue ess stories at the North Hal ton Literacy Guild Oneonone tutor for any adult In Hills is free confidential and In Study here and when it suits you You can Tutor Irene Saunders your own tutor by catling Edinglon at the North Guild or Larry not his real name and his tutor Irene Saunders were matched by the North Literacy Guild in the spring of 1990 Larry s reasons for getting a tutor were to better myself at my job and to improve my self confidence I didn t want to feel unusual Larry who is a service representative for a railway sup plier needs reading and writing to find parts descriptions in manuals and to fill out invoices At his previous job as a mechanic he was forbidden by coworkers to answer the phone because he would take messages incorrectly That embarrassing experience motivated him to get help He joined a local literacy program while he was living in and then the North Literacy Guild when he moved to this area There were a lot of job op portunities I never tried for because they involved reading and writing Larry says That why 1 so good with my hands it was one of my ways of getting around Larry could not write but he was able to read However he never used to read much I d see all the words and think it s too much work he says Larry says he was put into a class for slow learners in Grade One and never bothered trying at school after that When I quit school they said I was at Grade level he recalls But I figure I was at less than Grade In high school two lun ches and four shop classes no English at all Larry says of his youth in a rural community in eastern Ontario Larry now enjoys learning about English spelling and gram mar with the help of his tutor 1 the kind of person who wants to go by rules tin language just like in math he says Having a tutor helps struc ture your learning and there is someone to answer your tions Larry attended community col lege classes about 10 years ago for upgrading in English and math He prefers the program at the North Literacy Guild because it is oneonone and there more time spent just on me Both Irene and Larry have full time day jobs so they meet one evening a week in the local library Their sessions sometimes include a game of rolling letter dice and making as many words as possible with them They also work on crossword puzzles together and Larry is reading a Farley Mowat novel Larry could not spell his wife s name until six months after meeting Irene As well Irene taught Larry to address a Christmas card to his parents something he had never done before Larrj says tutoring has also made a difference in his job per formance he now writes in voices rather than give them to secretaries He hopes to learn to use computers there is one in his home and his workplace may become computerized in the near future I think the computer is one of the best things for literacy Larry says It gives you typing English and composition skills The North Halton Literacy Guild has two computers that students may use at no cost Larry now reads bedtime stones to his two year old daughter but not as often as he d like Youd be surprised at how difficult children s stories can be he says When we first my wife t believe that I read or write Larry says At one time I couldn t even read the menu in restaurants Larry has come a long way in both his ability and attitude about literacy I m not really self conscious about it he says I know what I can do and I know my limits His advice to people who need help with literacy is to get a tutor or as a start to get a copy of the book Why Johnny Can Read to learn the rules Then get yourself a book on a subject that you like If something is in teresting you 1 learn it