The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

A4 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday March 15, 2000 P rogram helps families deal w ith gam blers By Kathryn Dunmore SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Problem gam blers aren't the only ones w ho suffer because o f their dis ease. A G am bling Partner's Group for friends, fam ily and partners o f problem Home Show April 7,8,9, 2000 G l e n A b b e y R e c r e a t i o n C e n t r e , O a k v i l l e , 1 4 1 5 T h i r d L in e j u s t n o r t h o f t h e Q E W Limited exhibit space is still available. Please call jenkins Show Productions at (905) 827-4632 1 " *"^1 f Ih B k i yJS ! J_ f JLV rA f <f 1 FAMILY liitsiykj^HomtShow Tills special family pass *o adults ti their R E Eadmission to largest consumar · The Oakvilia Lifestyle Home Show ! ! PASS i COUPON I I I I :'i gamblers recently met over a six-week period to help those associated with gamblers, better deal with the situation. The program continues on a referral basis for Halton residents. The confidential and free service is being offered by Halton Alcohol and D rug A ssessm ent P revention and T reatm ent (A D A PT ), w hose head office is on Brant Street. `T h e majority o f the referrals (of a problem gam bler) so far have been from Burlington," said Glen Ricketts, ADAPT problem gam bling counsellor. "T h at can be representative o f Burlington's population size com pared to other com munities, because w e're more established here than the other outlets, or m aybe because o f the newer opening o f slot m achines." Ricketts believes a lot o f problem gam bling has occurred because o f the increase the num ber and prom otion of gam bling facilities. "Research shows the num ber one factor with problem gam bling is the accessibility to gam bling." Jim Cronin o f the O ntario Lottery Corporation said, beginning last year, 2% o f slot machine revenues ($10 m il lion minim um ) will be allocated annu ally to implement a problem gambling prevention strategy. Cronin added there are posters for counselling in every gam ing facility and help-line phone num bers on every slot machine. "People who are problem gamblers would find gam ing facilities w herever they may be," he said. "N ew openings don't make a pathological gambler." The Gambling Partner's Group is specifically for friends, partners or spouses and allows them to get the treat ment they need. They can join even if the problem gambler is not being treated. However, effects o f problem gam bling still need to be dealt with. Types o f problem gam bling A D APT handles are m ostly casino gam bling, track players, bingo, stock m arket and Internet gambling. Statistics show a higher percentage o f youth gam ble (about 9% ) than adults (about 6%). "T he m ajority w ho com e in for treatm en t are older m ales," said Ricketts. `T h e average age looking for treatm ent is 35-40. However, seniors have a notable percentage as w ell due to many free days and the availability o f shuttles to casinos." T he G am bling Partner's G roup is specifically for friends, partners or spouses and allow s them to get the treatm ent they need. They can jo in even if the problem gam bler is not being treated. Problem gam bling usually ends up hurting the hom e life and fam ily involved. "It has a trickle dow n effect /· on the family. T he m ortgage w on't be paid or car paym ents will be left unpaid. A spouse m ay find an unknow n credit card w ith m any cash advances taken out on it," said Ricketts. `T h e re 's a breach o f trust that exists because the problem gam bler is in denial and dis honest to the spouse. It usually takes a financial crisis for the spouse to find out." He added gam blers are usually m en tally and em otionally absent from the fam ily because they are so involved in w inning back their losses from gam bling. Som etim es this em otional stress on som e gam blers and their fam ilies can lead to abuse and neglect. "H ou seh o ld s in v o lv in g pro b lem gam bling show higher levels o f spousal and child abuse and higher levels o f sep aratio n and d iv o rce b ecau se o f stress involved," said Ricketts. Partners o f problem gam blers can call A D A PT to register for a six-w eek counselling session. Initially, they will be screened individually for the areas that need to be dealt w ith in group counselling, including ph y sical and em otional abuse, financial instabilities or prevention m easures. "U sually, w hat brings them in is a financial crisis or an abusive relation ship because o f the gam bling the gam bler is not dealing w ith," said Ricketts. "T h eir situation has dow nw ard spi ralled and is getting continually out o f control." For inform ation and registration call A D A PT at 639-6537 betw een 8:304:30 p.m. M onday-Friday. Trek has becom e O akville tra d itio n (Continued from page A 1) pjm.to9p.rn. | j Saturday 11 «.m.t»6p.m. 1 I Sunday 1! a-rtj. to 5 p.m | j mm Another ingredient to a successful trek is the walking stick W illiams hides along the route the day before he sets out - the same stick he's used for the past five years. "W hen you get blisters on your feet you do need it," said W illiams, a form er groundskeeper at G len A bbey G olf Club. M ost years W illiam s has m ade the trip solo, although recently h e's had com pany along part or all o f the route. Don Ford, an em ployee o f Oakville Hydro, made it through his fourth w alk last year and although W illiam s hasn't heard from him - or anyone else - yet, he's looking forw ard to the company. "I never do know until the day," he said. One thing W illiam s is sure o f is that next year, on his 25th walk, he w ants to ack n o w led g e the ac co m p lish m en t somehow. `T h a t will be a really special one. W hether I w alk both w ays, I d o n 't know," he said. "I 'll do som ething spe cial." Doctor faces fraud charges (C ontinued from p age A 1) so m e 50 d o c to rs are a s so c i ated w ith the clin ic an d th at b u sin e ss is c a rry in g on as usu al. T h e d o o rs to th e c lin ic rem a in o p en , he said. S e v e ra l p a tie n ts le a v in g th e c lin ic th is w ee k e x p r e s s e d s u rp ris e a t th e ch a rg es a g a in st th e d o cto rs. A c c o rd in g to o f fic ia ls w ith th e O n tario C o lleg e o f P h y sician s an d S u rg eo n s, no d is c ip lin a ry a c tio n w ill be c o n s id e r e d u n til th e c a se re a c h e s its c o n c lu s io n in co u rt. A ll are c h a rg e d w ith on e co u n t o f fra u d o v e r $ 5 ,0 0 0 an d on e c o u n t o f c o n s p ira c y to c o m m it fra u d o v e r $ 5 ,0 0 0 . C h a rg e d a re : L u is M a rtin e z -G u a u q u e , 5 9 , o f O ak v ille; C a rlo M e o la , 4 3, o f M is s is s a u g a , th e c l i n i c 's o w n er an d o p e ra to r; R a k esh Je tly , 3 4 , o f M is s is s a u g a ; K risti K a ra m b o lo v a , 4 4 , o f M is s is s a u g a ; V a le rie K u b azk y , 37, o f M ississa u g a ; K w am e A ttu a h , 5 2, o f F o rt E rie ; E ric C h e u n g , 3 2 , o f T h o rn h ill; J o n a th a n E is e n s ta t, 3 5 , o f T o ro n to ; F e isa l B in A b d u lla h H a rh a ra , 65, o f E to b ic o k e ; R a jin d e r N a g ra , 2 9, o f T o ro n to ; E lrie T u ck e r, 6 7 , o f A p p le H ill, O n t.; an d E ric T u ck e r, 6 9 , o f W ellan d . A ll a re s c h e d u le d to a p p e a r in B ra m p to n c o u r t M a rc h 2 8 th . A pril Job & C areer F air s o ld o u t H alton Job & C areer F air 2000 is sold out! jo b fair w ill p ro v id e an e x c ellen t ven u e fo r you T he T hursday, A pril 13th event, to be held to learn ab o u t the o p p o rtu n ities a v a ila b le in the at H oliday Inn E x p ress O ak v ille, w ill feature area. 48 w e ll-e sta b lis h e d e m p lo y e rs sh o w c a sin g x T h e O ak v ille B eaver, T h e B u rlin g to n P ost, th eir career options and fran ch ise o p p o rtu n i M ilto n C a n a d ia n C h a m p io n an d ties. So if you are th in k in g o f ch an g in g careers, H aIto n S earch .co m have o rg an iz ed th is fa ir to u p grading skills or seeking em p lo y m en t, this assist b oth local em p lo y ers and em p lo y ees. The C a n a d ia n A rm ed F o rc e s, M in is tr y ' of E c o n o m i c D e v e lo p m e n t an d T o u rism , W e n d y 's, B e ll M o b ility an d the V ic to ria n O rd e r o f N u rse s are am o n g th e p a r tic ip a n ts w ho h a v e re g is te re d fo r the d ay -lo n g event. H o lid ay Inn E x p ress O ak v ille is lo c a te d on B ro n te R oad 2000 Volvo S 80 2.9 2000 Volvo S70 SE fro m 9 :3 0 a.m .7:3 0 p.m . If y o u r co m p a ny w ish es to be p la ce d on a w a it ing list, ca ll the Rate expires March 31, 2000 or while stocks last. c la s s ifie d sa le s O.A.C. Taxes, freight, PDI and licence extra. d e p a rtm e n t at V O L V O 770 Pacific Road (Q E W& Bronte Road South) 6 3 2 -4 4 4 0 or 3 3 7 -5 6 1 0 . (9 0 5 ) 8 2 5 - 8 0 8 8 VOLVO OF OAKVILLE $ 5 9 9 - IMPACT-ABSORBING 3.9% LEASE/FINANCE RATE $499TM 36 months $4760 down payment 20,000 kilometres p/year Purchase at end of lease: $20,481.60 36 months $5400 down payment 20,000 kilometres p/year Purchase at end of lease: $28,349.75 fo r life N o w y o u h o v e fro m t h e a p o w e r n u m b e r to o f c h o o s e y o u r e le c tr ic ity c o m p a n ie s . CALL 1-8 8 8 - 668-4636 a n d re c e iv e a fre e , 12-p a g e b ro c h u re . . visit our website at www.est.gov.on.ca or'Email: fvi@esfcupv.on.ca [C m ^ yv J O V_/f n t ^ f i n ILcH IU