WITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, MAY 4,1988, PAGE 17 Durham to host annual Block Parent conference Durham Region Block Parents will be hosting the annual Ontario Block Parent conference in Oshawa onMay4,5,and6. Block Parent volunteers and police officers from all over Ontario will be in attendance, as will delegates from each Canadian province and even sonie American guests. Every year a conferencesis held by a Block Parent community in On- tario. The purpose of the conferen- ces is to provide workshops, seminars and teaching materials to Block Parent volunters and police officers, who can then inject their new ideas into their local programs. This year's conference, to be held at the Holiday Inn in Oshawa, has the theme 'Children - A Present for our Future.' Delegates will attend workshops on streetproofing, fundraising, run- ning effective meetings, finding volunteers, and talking about the Block Parent program to school children. As well, Don Sullivan from the organization 'Victims of Crime' will discuss how to prevent children from becoming victims. Constable Logan of the Durham Regional Police force will lecture on drug- related issues, and delegates will learn of the many books and movies available for teaching children how tostaysafe. Opening ceremonies on the first night of the conference (May 4) will include short speeches by several speakers (tentatively, Oshawa Mayor Allan Pilkey, a represen- tative of Durham Region, chairman of the Ontario Block Parent board of directors, and a*«representative of the Durham Regional Police) These will be followed by a puppet play about- the Block Parent program, performed by local school children, and a wine and cheese par- ty. ference, there will be a banquet at which the guest speaker will be Norman Panzica, senior consultant to the Council on Drug Abuse. Following the banquet, there will be a performance by the Jazz Disciples from O'Neill Collegiate. Then Mike Mandell, the well-known mentalist, will entertain the delegates. For further information about the conference, contact publicity chairman Janet Banting at 985-3225 or president of the conference committee at655-3334. Survey conducted for future Whitby school Volunteer parents will be conducting a survey this month for the Durham board of Education planning department to determine the number of students to attend a future Whitby school. Parents will be visiting residents between Rossland Rd. and Dundas St. E., and between Thornton and Garrard roads, to obtain a projection of the numbers to attend the unnamned Kassinger school. The school was a capital project for 1988 but funding approval was not granted by the Province. The school is now on the board's capital forecast for 1989. Spinal health week This week, May 1 to 7, is Spinal Health Week across Ontario and chiropractors in Durham Region would like people to know that a regular check-up for the muscular skeletal system is just as important as a check-up with a family doctor. "Chiropractors believe in prevention. People should have a check-up at least once a year, says Dr. Kevin McLaughlin, a Whitby chiropractor. Besides back problems, chiro- practors offer nutritional advice, stress management and prevent- ative exercise programs. "We would like people to consider us as part of the normal health care team," says Mc- Laughlin, adding that some chiropractors*. will be visiting schools while others will have displays in shopping malls throughout the region during the week. "The public is .becoming a lot more interested in preventative medicine," says McLaughlin, noting that a lot of work and sports-related injuries are spine- related. He says one of the best ways to have a healthier lifestyle is a good diet. "Weight problems often lead to lower back problems and the body functions better on a good diet," says McLaughlin. His diet advice is to stay away from simple sugars and saturated fats such as animal fat and eat fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, low fat dairy products and unsaturated plant fat such as peanut or sunflower oil. EWING POOLS & SPAS