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With care and compas Bonnie Breadner holds up a poster for a new family support group in Huronia. The wy anger sion Penetanguishene General Hospital is showing that they can never be too active in the communi- Cleft lip help The pictures might be a bit frightening. Here are new born babies with hideously disformed upper lips. In some cases there is a gap- ing hole where the tissue should have met. Imagine how the parents must feel. It's called cleft lip or cleft lip and palate. It's caused by a failure of the upper lip or palate to form properly during the other early weeks of pregnancy. But look at the other pic- tures too. These were taken after surgery was perform- ed on the lip or palate. You can't see these babies any other way but normal. Cleft lip affects about one in every 600 children. But it is not irreversible. That's what Bonnie Breadner wants. the parents of cleft lip babies to know. She and Shelly Hamelin, a mother whose child was born with a cleft lip, have formed the Simcoe County Cleft Lip and Palate Fami- ly Association. Breadner has worked with cleft lip children as the speech pathologist at the Penetanguishene General Hospital. Cleft lip affects a child's speech patterns. If the palate is missing, air is pushed up into the nose and this produces the nasal voice which characterises most cleft lip children. These children are also susceptible to ear infec- tions which could lead to hearing problems and of course, dental work is com- mon amongst the kids. Breadner says she is always hearing horror stories about or from the kids who come to her for treatment. "Children can be so cruel to each other," she says. "If you talk differently then you'll get treated like some - kind of alien." That's why Breadner is starting this program. "People just aren't aware of what cleft lip is. I want to make the public unders- tand what kind of condi- tion this is, that it is not ir- reversible." Breadner says many parents of cleft lip children wonder if their baby will be intellectually retarded because of its physical condition. . "Of course he won't, but the initial shock of seeing a baby who doesn't fit your ideal picture is sometimes too much. You see, parents live for nine months with a picture in their mind and when this picture isn't realised in their newborn baby, it comes as quite a shock," Breadner explains. The loss of that perfect image is almost like the loss of that child. "A doctor can talk to you and tell you that everything is going to be okay. But it's so much more meaningful if the good news comes from a parent,' Breadner says. The association will have volunteers from the whole Simcoe County area. They will be trained to answer the questions most asked by parents of a cleft lip child. 'How do we feed our baby?' is the most common, Breadner says. It's really a means of solving a problem at an earlier stage. It's better to become involved in a parent support group than seeking professional help. Needs are met with a minimum of fuss. Breadner has organised a meeting for the group. It plans to meet at Penetang- uishene General Hospital on Dec.1 at 7:30 p.m. Breadner has had to make extensive prepara- tions for it. She has written to cleft lip support groups all across Canada and the United States. She has secured video tapes, photographs, posters, literature, documents - anything and everything which might be helpful to the family association. ty. Their latest project is an association for parents of cleft lip children. PROPERTY . ASSESSMENT and your 1988 Municipal and School Taxes Regional Assessment Offices located throughout Ontario are responsible for assessing all real property for the purposes of municipal and school taxation. Assessment Rolls are prepared and delivered to municipalities which use them to set mill rates and calculate property tax bills. The amount of property tax you will pay on your home or business in 1988 is determined by multiplying the assessed value of your property by the mill rate. If you want to learn more about your property assessment, the Regional Assessment Office invites you to attend its Open House Session. Open House Sessions Open Houses are held in every municipal- ity at convenient times and locations to pro- vide you with the opportunity to discuss your assessment with the staff of the Regional Office. An assessor will be pleased to explain the basis of your property assessment and is authorized to amend any inaccurate informa- tion prior to the delivery of the Assessment Roll to your municipality. If you have any questions, but are unable to attend the Open House, please contact your Regional Assessment Office at the address or telephone number shown below. Notice of Property Valuation Property owners and tenants will receive a Notice of Property Valuation only if information relating to their property assessment was changed during the past year, if the assessment was appealed last year, or if there has been a general reassessment in the municipality. lf you receive a Notice of Property Valuation, it may reflect changes you have requested in your school support designation, in the amount of your assessed value, or other recorded information on last year's Notice. Appeal Procedure lf, after attending your local Open House, you are still dissatisfied with your assessment, you have the right to appeal it to the Assess- ment Review Board. This Board is respon- sible for determining whether the assessment under appeal is fair and equitable with the assessments of similar properties in the vicinity. The Assessment Review Board is more informal and relaxed than a regular court of law. Appeal Deadline The final date for appealing your assess- ment is January 12, 1988. If you wish to appeal your assessment, you can use the form provided on the back of your Notice of Property Valuation, write a letter, or use a Notice of Appeal Form. You need to include your property address, roll number, ~ and the reason for the appeal. Your appeal must be filed on or before January 12, 1988. To assist you, Notice of Appeal forms and the address of the Regional Registrar of the Assessment Review Board are available at Open Houses, your Regional Assessment Office, or your municipal office. Schedule of Open Houses Penetanguishene Town .. . . Mon. Nov. 30, 1p.m.--5p.m.,6p.m.--8p.m. Penetanguishene Town Municipal Office Tiny Township=<e.-. =: 2. Wed. Dec. 2, 1p.m.---5p.m.,6p.m.-8p.m., Tiny Township Municipal Office ; Thur. Dec. 3, 1p.m.-5p.m.,6p.m.-8p.m. Ministry 109 Ferris Lane of Revenue Ontario SIMCOE REGIONAL ASSESSMENT OFFICE Barrie, Ontario L4M 2Y1 (705) 728-2270, 1-800-461-4230