PAGE 2, WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 21, 1979, WHITBY FREE PRESS <Feb.. 26 eclipse can bu rn your eyes 1,. The risk of ,sustaîini permanent eye ,damnage ýis far top great a chance to take when it cornes to directly viewing the February 26 eclipse, "of the sun" says' Dr. Roy Brown, President of the Canadian Association of Optometrists (CAO). 6"Science has 'discoverncl certain safe ways to view the eclipsedirectly, but we're concerned people will misun- derstand those methods and suffer permanent retinal burns or other eye damage. This usually-means the cen- tral point of vision is elimin-' ated," he said. Because the'-burn is pain- 8TEAK HOUSE Iry 91ROCK ST, NI WHITBY (z"THE HOME 0OF CARBRO IED. STEAKS" For Sundays and Mondays ON LY February 25 & 26 March 4 & 5 Dinner includes choice of chilled tomato juice, soup du jour, or tossed salad. Baked potato with sour mram and chives, roils, butter, pickles and olives, tea or coffee and ice. ik À Alà Malor less and can happen 'in seconds, the Canadian Asso- ciation âUf 'Optometrists, recommends the use of safe, indirect viewing methods, These include viewilng the eclipse on television or with the aid of a "sunscope"', that projects an image of the- eclipse through a small hole onto a screen. Tuie CAO has provided ail its members with instructions on building the sunscope. Eye' damage from an eclipse may not be notice- able for several hours or even days following the eclipse. The association is asking some 2,000 Canadian optometrists to participate in a country-wide follow-up survey to detect possible cases'0f1 eye damage sus- tained- by those who try to view, the eclipse directly. Eclipses are dangerous phenomena, said Dr. Brown, because as they approach totality they only reduce the quality 0of harmful rays, flot the intensity. This permits the eye to more easily view the remaining bright rays. The moments just before and after total eclipse areespeci- ally hazardous for this rea- son and may leave -small crescent-shaped burns, on viewer's eyes. "Invisible infra '-red rays are espelcially tricky," he said, "because they are abi e to defy most screening devicespeople try to use. In the U.S. in 1979, one-third of the 145 cases of eye damage reported were fromn people who had tried to, use some kind of device." One of the worst proýblems has been that people try to s.creen out harmful rays with sunglasses or improperly exposed photographic nega- tives. "These will not work", said Dr. Brown, "nor will polaroidý filters or smoked glass. " One study from the ULS. indicates that even certain so-called "safe" devices were assoc 'iated with eye damage cases. Dr. Brown also warned of the dangers of using binoculars, telescopes, cameras and other devices that concentrate the sun's rays. 1 Most of Canada will exper- ience only a partial eclipse which can cause additional problems. Totality will only strike a narrow band across parts of Saskatchiewan, Man- itoba and Northwestern Ont- ario but during past eclipses eye, damage has been re- ported from areas of both total and partial eclipse. Althou.gh the partially- eclipsed sun was stili very bright,, people tried to look directly at 'it to see the moon's silhouette. Others used devices incorrectly. Thé difficulty arisès be- cause the eye's natural defences against sunlight do not react as strongly. In Vancouver, for example, the moon will cover 97 percent of the sun, but the remaining 3 per cent -- while easier to look at -- can still burn the eves. "Children are especially vulnerable," -said D r. Brown "and should be closely supervised." While the moon will cover better than 90 per cent of the sun in most of western Canada, coverage will decrease to 70-80 per cent in central Canada and 50-60 per cent in the Maritimes. Las- free information-on how to build a "sunscope" for safe indirect viewing of the eclipse- image. In the Whitby and Toronto area the eclipse will begin at 10:52 a.m., reach its maximum time at 12:08 p. m. and end at 1:26 p.m. Seventy four per cent of the sun will be covered during the eclipse. Durham Lung Assoc. child. asthma program begins on Does your child have' asthma ? If the answer is "yes", .the.,Durham Region Lung Association may be able to help. Beginning on Sunday, March 25, the local Christ- mas Seal Association will run a Family Asthma Pro- gram for children between the ages of 5 and 14 years, at the Eastview Boys' and CORPORATION 0F THE TOWN 0F WHITBY WHEREAS the Association of Kinsmen Clubs, with the Brook lin and District Kinsmen Club have been advocating the designation of a National Heritage Week, in the month NOW THE RE FORE, 1 do hereby proclaim the week of February 19th, 1979 as National Heritage Week, in recognition of the part which our Heritage plays in the quality of modern hf e in our Town and our Country. J.C. Gartshore, MAYOR March 25. Oshawa. The Program, offered free of charge as a Christmas Seal service, will run for seven consecutive Sundays (excluding the Easter week- end), from 4 p.m. to 6 p.mn. Participating children will -be taught breathing exer- cises and relaxation tech- niques which assist in the control of asthmatic attacks, the symptoms 0f which are often aggravated by fear as breathing becomes increas- ingly diffîcult. AIl procedures are under the direction of a licensed physiotherapist, and the program also includes a swim and aquatic exercise session. Lectures on the physical, medical and psychological problems of asthmatic child- ren are given by medical professionals to parents attending the Course, and interested parents should contact Durham Region Lung Association, at 723-3151, as soon as possible. J w~u v Am I I b 'N. 0F CANADA & OWNER OPERATE-7 Se@ hmw niceyoiu carpcm loo ROYAL. $159?5 PREMIER $189?.5 sJP]RE.ME $249?s AIL PAINT WORI( GUARANTEED Srlq.-your damnagsd car te MAACO end well do the resI. Ws'l contact -your hisurance afbocy or broker, Weil niake sure an adjualer sets your car. WelI do quatity work ai al rusonabl. price end ive yu fait service. 01 710OWILSON RD. S. OSHAWA, ONT. WETOH4 5S, 4P OURS mon thl r n 6 Pm * Sit Ji)am 1pu_ 1I ........ .. b . 1 SCOUTSHONOR POWELL This week (Feb.,18,to 25), is Baden Powell Week, in, honor of the Scouting movement througho'ut the world. The: Whitby District Scouts have set up a"display in the lobbyof the municipal building, and invite everyone in town to corne out and see it. Standing, left to right, with the display, areý Whitby District Second -Vice-President Gerry Cox, Venturer Ted Plaskitt, Cub Marc Burton, Scout Scott Sutton and Beaver David Publow. Feb. 22 is the birthday of Baden Powell, who founded the Scouting movement 70 years ago. The display case was provided by the Whitby Historical Society. 1 1 ting slightly. more than two hours , the eclipse process will begin just after 7 a.m. Pacifie Standard Time, around il a.m. Eastern Stan- dard Time and afternoon in the Atlanitic region. Maxi- mumn eclipse occurs at the half-way point of the eclispe's entire duration. The Canadian Association Optometrists is providing memhcers of the public with