August 99 Online Newsletter - info NORTHUMBERLAND

1111 Elgin Street West, Cobourg, Ontario, Canada, K9A 5H7
Phone: (905) 372-8913 or 1-800-396-6626 Fax: (905) 372-2711 E-mail: northumberland@fourinfo.com

VON ADULT DAY CENTRE NEWS
The Adult Day Program offers an interesting and enjoyable day of activities for seniors living in the community who are in need of social, physical or mental stimulation. Participants have the opportunity to enjoy a variety of activities from exercises, games and crafts to woodworking, music and special events. The cheery, home-like atmosphere of the Centre and the caring staff and volunteers help each individual feel secure in their surroundings and help promote the independence and quality of life of every participant. Meanwhile, family caregivers have the opportunity for a regular day of respite to relax and concentrate on their own well being.

Here are some of the highlights of the activities that the Day Centre participants will be enjoying this month:

The VON of Northumberland Adult Day Centre is located at 271 Spring Street, Cobourg and operates Tuesday through Friday. For more information about how to join the Centre as a participant or as a volunteer, Please call (905) 377-8659.

COBOURG PUBLIC LIBRARY
The Cobourg Library is pleased to announce the appointment of Bonnie Symons to the position of Manager of Public Services for the library effective August 1, 1999. Ms. Symons will be responsible for the development of the adult, young adult and children’s collections and programming, as well as all special collections in the library. Promotion of the library’s collections and services to the community and marketing activities including the promotional materials will be part of Ms. Symons’ responsibilities, as well as the management of public service staff.

FROZEN MEAL PROGRAM
Brighton Area Community Care is proud to offer frozen meals to supplement our Hot Meals on Wheels. A varied menu is available for a reasonable cost. Meals can be heated in microwave or conventional oven. Entrees, soups and desserts are prepared with the nutritional requirements of the older adult in mind. Orders are made at the first of each month and your selections will be delivered to your door. For more information please phone:

A ONE LINER FROM GEORGE

Ask yourself if what you are doing today is getting you close to where you want to be tomorrow.

Art Gallery of Northumberland Celebrates 25^th Anniversary
July 19, 1999 is the 25^th is the anniversary of the incorporation of our community Art Gallery. In 1974 the Gallery was known as the Art Gallery of Cobourg; the name was changed to The Art Gallery of Northumberland in 1983 to more accurately reflect our County wide constituency. The Gallery originated in 1960 when a group of dedicated volunteers and a supportive Head Librarian started the Cobourg Library Art Gallery in an unused back room at the Library.

The Art Gallery has grown considerably and changed location twice since those humble back room beginnings. The Art Gallery of Northumberland is located on the 3^rd Floor, West Wing of Victoria Hall, 55 King Street West in downtown Cobourg. Summer hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday to Friday, and 1-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Our Art Rental Services and Library are located at 38 Walton Street, second floor, in downtown Port Hope, open Thursday-Saturday, 1-5 p.m., or by appointment. There is plenty to see at both locations and all are welcome. For more information phone (905) 372-0333 (Cobourg) or (905) 885-2115 (Port Hope).

Beat the Lake!
The Northumberland United Way is holding a draw to see how long it will take our three celebrities to canoe across Lake Ontario from Cobourg to Old Orchard, New York. If you can guess, you can win $1000.00! Tickets are $2.00 each or 3 for $5.00. All proceeds are going to Northumberland United Way. For more information phone (905) 372-6955.

VON MAKES A MOVE FROM COBOURG TO TRENTON
Services provided by the Victorian Order of Nurses (VON) in Northumberland County will continue despite the closing of its Cobourg office at the end of June. VON is centralizing its operations to its Trenton office and offers a toll free number 1-800-279-4866. The same VON nurses will be providing visiting nursing services contracted through the Haliburton, Northumberland and Victoria Access Centre. VON will also continue to offer foot care clinics throughout the county and health promotion activities at Northumberland Mall in Cobourg. The VON Adult Day Centre which provides programs four days per week will continue to operate as usual.

STRESS MANAGEMENT: THE ASSERTIVENESS CONNECTION
Women’s Health Care Centre will be offering a four-part workshop on stress management. It will be held at the Northumberland United Way office located on 1005 William Street, Cobourg. The dates for this workshop are Tuesday, Sept 21, Tuesday, Sept 28, Tuesday, Oct 5, Tuesday, Oct 12 and all session will be held 1-3 p.m. The weekly agenda is as follows:

Facilitators: Martha Jack, Health Educator, WHCC
Anne Cole, Health Promoter, CMHA.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES BOOKLET
info NORTHUMBERLAND is currently working on our second edition of the Volunteer Opportunities in Northumberland County booklet. It should be available by the time the kids are back in school – a perfect time to think about what to do with your spare time!

YEAR 2000 HELP PAMPHLETS
Watch your mail for a copy of the Year 2000 Pamphlet Listing for your Organization!
Most of you are familiar with our “If You Need Help, Where and When in Northumberland County” and “Senior Help Pamphlets. Every two years, we have 10,000 copies of each pamphlet printed and distribute them free of charge in the community. This year, we have decided to charge funded organizations a $10.00 per listing charge. In addition, we will be sending you a copy of your listing and asking you to confirm that it is correct, and what category you would like your listing printed under. There is also a place to check off how many copies of the pamphlet you would like to order for your clients. Your assistance in returning your listing and pamphlet orders to us as soon as possible would be appreciated. We hope to have them available in January to celebrate the millennium.

Breaking Bread Monthly Dinner Club
The Dinner Club continues to meet, generally on the last Friday of the month, at Trinity United Church, 15 Chapel Street, Cobourg. This is a meal that is open to the public and is funded entirely by donations. In addition to providing a delicious and nutritious meal, organizers are also busy looking for volunteers to assist with meal preparation and clean up. If you can help, call Lloyd Williams at (905) 372-9763.

PARN Creates Celebration of Life and Hope Quilt
The Peterborough AIDS Resource Network is creating a quilt with blocks decorated by people like you. Their office will supply you with a 8” muslin square and a list of instructions to assist you in decorating a quilt block for the quilt which will go on display in June 2000. Quilt blocks can be decorated in any medium that you feel comfortable expressing yourself in – paint, sew, embroider, applique, etc. Quilt blocks need to be returned to the PARN office by September 1, 1999. PARN can be reached toll-free from Northumberland County at 1-800-361-2895.

Next newsletter deadline is August 20 –
Don’t forget to send your submissions!

The Northumberland Labour Council has taken a stand against the Ontario Works policy of mandating “volunteer” placements. The Labour council does not believe that Ontario Works placements adhere to the true definition of volunteer work. Inserted in this mailing is a copy of the Labour Council’s Statement on Workfare.

This is included for your information and its inclusion does not indicate a bias on the part of info NORTHUMBERLAND or its staff.

This Labour council feels that the present day Federal and Provincial government policies have become wrongly fixated on the already marginalized Canadian living in poverty. We feel the governments are hiding their inability and lack of creative ideas to help our Canadian economy by blaming our unemployment on the poor.

Unemployment has risen in both the private and public sectors dramatically since the implementation of both Free Trade Agreements.

Our ongoing battle with unemployment/ deficits/debt in Ontario and Canada are a direct result of the wrong-headed economic policies of the day.

The media consistently reports that lost jobs are greater than the jobs that have been created. Wage increases have not kept up even with our low inflation rate. Real incomes of the average Canadian, after taking inflation into account, have been on the decrease since the early 80’s. Between 1973 and 1996 the market incomes (earnings plus investment) of the bottom 40 per cent of families with children in Ontario have fallen: in the bottom 10 per cent market incomes have plummeted, In Ontario the after tax incomes of the poorest 20 per cent of families in Ontario fell by $4,995, or by nearly one-fifth between 1980 and 1996. Increasing numbers of jobs are either part-time, part – year temporary or both.

In our fight for our families’ financial survival, we have become a mean-spirited society. Many of our members today are looking for someone to blame and are eagerly digesting our political leaders’ rhetoric on blaming the jobless, the poor, for our faltering economy.

This attitude is quickly resulting in a downward spiral of weakening Health & Safety Legislation, Worker’s Compensation, Employment Insurance, Canada Pension and Health Care.

It is also playing a heavy hand in the prejudicial attack of all people on welfare. The NLC firmly believes that in order to promote the rights of our members, we must fight to guarantee that the poorest in our society must be treated with as much fairness as those who have higher incomes, enjoy. We know from experience that an injury to one is an injury to all.

The NLC also knows that there are not enough jobs for all of our members who we have represented since as recently as 1988. Some of our members are now working in non-unionized workplaces for less pay and quite frequently, no benefits. Some of our members have become disabled due to workplace injuries and are on fixed incomes for the remainder of their lives. And some of our members are finding their incomes stretched to the limit in order to support their adult children in their search for independence through higher education and affordable jobs.

The objective of the Ontario Works program is not to stimulate the economy with the growth of jobs. It is simply a program to defuse the feeling that people on social assistance are getting something for nothing. Ontario Works supports the ill - bred philosophy that people on social assistance are not skilled and are simply lazy. There is no room in this project for the fact that there are not enough jobs to go around.

Welfare will simply become another subsidy to business resulting in the growth of profits to corporate shareholders at the expense of our members and our jobs.

The NLC believes firmly that job growth must be actively encouraged and supported. The NLC feels strongly that the only way to increase the number of available jobs in a global economy is through shorter working hours with no loss in pay.

The NLC believes resolutely that unless shorter working hours are legislated, and Ontario Works ceases to be implemented, the only possible result will be that more of our members will be on ‘welfare’ and perhaps even working for ‘welfare’ on the very same job that their previous employer had dismissed them from.

Therefore the NLC is committed to opposing any form of mandatory Workfare and to promoting ‘shorter working hours’ as a financially feasible alternative to ‘Ontario Works’ and any other attack on worker’s rights.