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12 The Clarington/Courtice Independent, Bowmanville, Saturday, January 4, 1997 Highway Help Available During Winter Months The holiday season brings many family gatherings and festive occasions, but it also brings the perils of winter highway travel. To provide motorists with greater peace of mind, the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP) participates participates in a Highway Help program program with Allstate, Canadian Automobile Association (CAA), Cantel and the Ontario Ontario Trucking Association. The cornerstone of Highway Highway Help is a bright red sign with a drawing of a telephone and the word "Police" written in large white letters. Highway Help Program Director, Doug Roth, explains explains the program is designed designed to assist motorists to safely communicate their need for help if they are stranded on the highway. The large, vibrant, sign protrudes out from the window window on the driver's side. Reflective Reflective tape on the sign picks up light to give a highly visible visible indicator of distress to both oncoming and following traffic in daylight and darkness, darkness, and in all types of weather, including snow, rain, and fog. The luminous sign is an improvement on smaller, less visible ones which are placed m the rear window of a vehicle vehicle and which are often ineffective ineffective in the dark, in the snow, or through tinted windows. windows. Roth advises passing motorists motorists with cellular phones spotting the sign to make a quick free call to *OPP (677) to summon aid for the motorist motorist in difficulty. Police will assume the responsibility for assisting. Being stranded can be a very traumatic experience, Roth adds. But he cautions stranded motorists displaying thé sign not to roll down the window to speak to anyone and not to get out of the vehicle. vehicle. Experience to date has shown 10 calls will often be received at an OPP station within 15 minutes of a motorist motorist displaying the sign. Elizabeth Uhrig is one driver whose Highway Help sign brought a speedy rescue. Last January, Uhrig blew a tire on the 401 heading out to pick up her son. Without a car phone, in the freezing cold, Uhrig hung her Call Police sign out the window and within half an hour a motorist stopped and offered to call for assistance. Seconds afterwards, the OPP stopped to make sure every thing was under control "All I can say is that I think your Highway Help Program is worth its weight in gold," Uhrig later wrote to the OACP. "Everyone only needs to picture themselves stranded once, to agree with me." Mr. Roth says, in addition to summoning help, the conspicuous conspicuous sign "is a great deterrent" deterrent" to criminals. "If you don't have good intentions, you're not going to stop because you know police police are on the way." For that reason, many motorists motorists with cellular phones and automobile club memberships memberships also carry "Call Police" sign in their car at all times and display it if stranded. "Ontario has seven million motorists. If we can train motorists motorists to watch for this sign, that's a lot of emergency spotters out there for us, so police can respond," Roth advises. advises. "We want to make this as familiar as a stop sign. You see a stop sign, you stop. You see this sign, you call police." The luminous Call Police signs sell for under $5 and are available at CAA offices, Canadian Tire, Shoppers Drug Mart, and other retailers. retailers. Clanngton Community Care Committee Chair Irene Peebles (on the left) and Community Community Care Administrator Sally Barrie (on the right) gave Roxy Barnes best wishes at an appreciation tea held in her honour on Thursday evening, Dec. 19, at the Baseline Community Centre. Barnes has now taken on the position of Director of the Home Support Program for Durham Region. Many volunteers of the local Community Care organization attended, as well as many members of the Barnes family. Roxy Barnes received received glowing remarks from Clarington Mayor Diane Hamre and from Sally Barrie and a one-minute standing ovation from her colleagues after she accepted her presents of an Enc Bowman painting of the Bowmanville Museum and a clock. Clearing Snow and Ice Assists Letter Carriers A few minutes spent clearing and Delivery, away ice and snow could sig- "Slips and falls caused by nificantly increase the chance snow and ice are the most sig- of an injury-free winter for nificant cause of serious inju- Canada Post Letter Carriers ries to our people," Jaremchen- and Mail Service Couriers. ko said. "We know that winter is an While Letter Carriers and extremely busy time of year Mail Service Couriers make up but the folks who deliver your slightly more than half of Can- mail are very appreciative of a ada Post's employee popula- clear sidewalk or driveway," lion the two groups account for said Darlene Jaremchenko, Of- 67 per cent of on-the-job inju- ficer, Occupational Health and ries. Safety Southwest Collection For the Southern Ontario area west of Peterborough excluding excluding Toronto, Canada Post employees employees missed 1,726 days as a result of slips and falls in the 1995-96 fiscal year. This resulted resulted in costs of over $400,000 to Canada Post. Jaremchenko said that Canada Canada Post encourages safety in the workplace and that assistance assistance offered by our customers customers will help Canada Post deliver deliver the mail in a safe and secure manner. corners^; Commuât ° n GRAND OPENING IN BOWMANVILLE Townhomes and 40* Lot Detached The Kaitlin Group ASPEN BOWMANVILLE Bungalows & 2 Storeys from $129,990 ■* . nett il œ 6 e 3 1 HWY.2 Heritage Homes in a Friendly Hometown Community Setting Detached Freehold Bungalows on 38* & 45 f Lots from $149,990 HWY.2 »a+ bowmwvm Xtmw.V/ (905)623-7027 or (90S) 427-8605 905-697-0792 1-800-305-6849