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14-The Canadian Champion, Friday, May 18, 2001 Are you holding a community event in the near future? For possible coverage in The Champion, send us a fax including the important details. Feel You Don't Have Conîtrol Of Your Investment Portfolio? There ARE Alternatives to Mutual Fund Investing. Are You Ready To Learn? Call: Rob Rubino 876-3466 RBC DOMINION SECURITIES rob.rubino@rbcinvestments.com Annual Poker Run is next month Get your motors running. The Milton chapter of the Harley Owners Group will host its 12th annual A poker run consists of riders lollowing a pre-determined route, stopping at several checkpoints to draw a playing card. The playing cards (five in total) are then used to create a poker hand. Prizes and plaques are awarded to both the rider and passenger with the highest hand and the rider and passenger with the lowest hand. Sign-up is from 10 a.m. until noon at the Muddy Duck, 360 Steeles Ave. Riders will sign an event release1 Whenever you're driving and wherever you're form for insurance purposes and receive a 'poker form' and a route sheet. The run is 170 km and is expected to take will bc scenic, as the majority of the roads are secondary highways or concessions. The ride will end at the Big Bucks Restaurant, 3330 South Service Rd., in Burlington. Over the last four years, the average number of participants has been 160 peo- ple riding al makes and models of motor- cycles. This year the Milton chapter of HOG is asking participants to bring pledge forms to the event. Pledges in excess of $30 will be eligible for a special draw of door prizes. The three people who collect the order a leather jacket, a Harley Davidsorn leather vest and a duffel bag. For participants who don't bring a pledge sheet, tliere will be a charge of $10 at sign- up. Proceeds will be donated to the Muscular Dystrophy Association of Canada. Pledge sheets are available from every Harley Davidson dealer in southern Ontario and at www.harleycanada.com. For more information, cal Don Black at (905) 820-8614 or (416) 307-1993. Want to be a survivor? Will you be the survivor? The Milton Leisure Centre will be trans- formed into the 'Outback' May 25 for Survivor Night. The event is open to youths aged 9 to 13 years and runs from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Participants will partake in tribe games and challenges, brave the 'swamp' and go to tribal council in their attempt to the a 'survivor'. Participants are asked to bring a bathing suit and towel, for your tribe may be head- ing for the swamp. Tickets cost $5 and must be purchased in advance at the leisure centre. The last day for ticket sales is Tuesday. Tickets won't be available at the door. For more information, call Tammy Corless at (905) 875-1861. MDH More Accessible To The Deaf Halton Healthcare The statistics speak volumes... According to the Canadian Hearing Society: • One in ten Canadians experiences some form of hearing loss. • More than 50 per cent of Canadians over the age of 65 have a hearing loss. • Approximately 30,000 Canadians use Sign Language as their first language. Halton Healthcare Services is now a friendlier place Io visit for the deaf, deafened and hard-of- hearing thanks to an initiative which when the Milton Deaf Action Group approached Milton District Hospital asking them to improve their serv- ices for the deaf. "After researching the request, we found an oppor- tunity to help not only the deaf but also the deaf- ened and hard-of-hearing populations," says Lisa Droppo, HHS Ombud and Quality Coordinator. "That's a significant number of our patients both at MDH and Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital." To help these patients overcome the communica- tions barriers they face, a large part of the Communications Accessibility initiative focused on making the hospitals better equipped to communi- cate with these patients. Lisa toured a group of deaf individuals through the hospitals to identify problem areas. Policies and procedures were then developed to help staff identify deaf, deafened and hard-of-hearing patients, provide them with devices to enhance communication and to bring interpreters into the hospitals when necessary. Each hospital hosted a Communications Accessibility Fair for staff, volunteers and commu- nity. Registration staff and unit clerks participated in a more intense two-hour workshop to learn how to use the new equipment, identify patients with hearing problems and communication strategies. The hands-on experience also included an exercise that put them in the shoes of a hard-of-hearing per- son. "That exercise was a real eye-opener for most of the participants," says Lisa. "It brought home the isolation that is felt when you can't hear. You often don't think about the connection between hearing and communication. The challenges faced by the deaf, deafened and hard-of-hearing must at times be very discouraging." And has the work been worthwhile? According to Lisa, yes. "Communication is an important part of quality patient care," says Lisa. "Because of this initiative, we have improved the level of care that these patients receive." For more information about the Communications Accessibility initiative at Halton Healthcare Services, please call Lisa Droppo at 905-338-4433 (Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital TTYITTD: 905- 815- 5111, Milton District Hospital TTYITDD: 905-878-7202). .A P R 1 L CARRIER OF THE MONTH I'm Kevin St. John. I'm in Grade 9 and have been deliver- ing the Champion papers for some time. I enjoy basketball, hanging out with my friends and spend a lot of my time on the computer. Kevin St. John Like à gop noighbor, State Farm là there@ STATE FARM MMAL mffemeou INSUW«t *ANY - CUAMNAw»nw moi 0% uxmàmwwe ommic