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if, , , wti'tRi oo CHRONICLE . september 10.2008 - I i i 1.._____ ‘~WW _..__.._____H__1 W m )’ 1 LFTTF RS TO THE CHRONICLE 1 PM ‘ Put y Spend money in None of these charge a penny for attend an optometrist or ophthal» our , parking. mologist for regularly scheduled 1 states, not par long They want you there spending examinations beginning at the age got a chuckle reading the letter your money ““1 they do not care OfSiX months, even if “WY appear ‘0 uc ets on ‘ Ifrom the woman who got a park- how you g?‘ there. You can spend all be experiencing “0 difficulty. ing ticket in downtown Waterloo as day shopping If you “’3'“ to. You do With "0 past experience as a ref- 1 a reward for her shopping loyalty. not have to carry around a stop- erence point, children. may assume kid riding his bicycle without a helmet wiped out in front 1 Even if she had parked for a time watch and time your arrival and that what they are seeing ls normal; Aof my house the other day. t and then moved her car, they probâ€" departure. further. compensatory behavior can Helping him to his feet, I asked him where his helmet was. 1 ably would have still ticketed her The money you would have maskproblems, unnecessarily His answer. gaspingfor breath with the wind knocked out of because you can not reâ€"park within spent on parking downtown can be delaying diagnosts and treatment. him: "They're not cool." a certain number of hours. "5?“ for a leisurely lunch. lfyou are , ”EON?“ government has Ironically, I had just read a recent survey by the Canada Parking is even worse in downâ€" going '0 shop and part mm your rightly identified pediatric eye care Safety Council, which states that in Ontario, 94 per cent of par» town Kitchener. hard-earned cash. you want to be as an essential sconce, and "1‘5”“ ems say their children wear a helmet when cycling. As a stay» Oh, here's a tip. watch the coin apprectated for the act and not pun« annual comprehenSive exarnina- at~home parent who spent a great deal of time outdoors this meters; if you pay for an hour you 'Shed for "‘ trons until age 20 tas It‘dOL‘S for sen~ summer with my two daughters, I observed the complete may want to come back in 50 min~ tors, and adults Moth diabetes and opposite. I would estimate 90 per cent of the kids bicycling utes. lohn Cairns other medical conditionsl. . around the suburbs where I live were not wearing helmets. Both cities seem to frown upon Waterloo “3“": screerkt‘ings prondeta‘gate My redundant shout of "Hey. where's your helmet?" has car drivers and seem to consider - . way 9 compre ensive care. ey are been known to turn more than a few on rotected heads. And them rich elitists that will pay any Eye care 15 essential certainly no substitute, and parents while I’m glad to see some of them wear‘i)ng helmets, they're amount of money to shop in their Thanks for your Aug. 27 article W051” be well adwsed [.0 ensure often worn too far back. straps too loose or not clipped on at downtowns. What is it that they Library Holds Pro-vision Clinic PM" “1"de have the" eyes exam- all. 1 especially shake my head at the kids riding with their hel- don‘t get? to Share by of Reading and the med 3‘ the ages 0““ "‘9”th and mets dangling off the handlebars. There are any number of stores attention it draws to the importance ““99 years, before starting school, And while I understand kids inher- ; . outside the dovmtovms. Add to this of pediatric eye care. and thereafter f” recommended by ently think they're invincible. I can't i \ i ' a soon-to-bc power centre in North (iiven that 80 per cent oflcarning the" optometrist 0' Ophthalmoloâ€" understand how parents can allow . l \l\\l l\ l l . Waterloo and a mega complex of comes through visual means. and as 8'5" their children to get on a bicycle with- 1 U” 5 stores and services stretching from many as one in six children has an out a helmet these days, especially . ‘ lirb to Highland along the lra Nec- {often undiagnosed! vision prob- 0" Derek MacDonald when it's against the law. 1 ' . . dles commercial services road. ' lern, it is essential that all children Waterloo In Ontario. cyclists under 18 are 1 . 1.__.â€"â€"â€"â€"-â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"-â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"‘â€"1 1 required by law to wear an approved 1 a . . . bicycle helmet when riding a bike on a 1 . . » l 1 1 roadway or Sidewalk. Under a provtn- . I No holds barred this election 1 0...... 1 . . 1 1 parents of children under if) can be ‘ ‘ , 1 Oh goody i am so excited. A federal election ciiiiiâ€" announce it should be allowed into any leaders 1 fined $80 if their child is not wearing a 1 f ‘ ‘1 1 1 paign. What it surprisclwlitit it wellkcpt \t'u’t’l, debate because it has an MP :\hhhh. no, You can 1 bike helmet. and 16- or ITVyeaerlds f 1‘ Sign make the cast- for bringing the Greens in because of 1 who fail to wear a helmet can be fined 1 1 1 We rc only it couple ()ldil)‘\ into it, and already their level of poll support it‘vt‘n more so than the 1 directly. 1 IMARSHALL 1 I‘m tin-d oftht- ggirhagc, on Sunday alone, the do} Bloc ()ucbecoisi, but, please. not because some 1 Unfortunately. the law doesn‘t l WARD 1 1 the election was called. I received more than too opportunistic lackcy from H (' has decided to join 1 apply to adults, as it may have saved fl emails from various political parties. up ill the last minute. 1 the life ofl’aul Brenner, a Kitchener man whodied on the Iron 1 But it's going to be hard to lgntil't' over the next 50 what can we expect for the next five weeks? 1 Horse 'lirail two weeks ago, ’lhe Record reported: "The 62‘y'car- 1 1 five weeks, so we might as well leap itito Endless accusations from the two 1 ' old maintenance worker was thrown off his bike and his face the fray. F‘h“ W""“‘ leading parties that we will all go to hell 1 slammed into the paved trail. lie wasn‘t wearing a helmet. 1 first ()lilll. Ii-t‘s (lt'ill \‘t‘llli the early , Pl 1( ‘ 1 ( )1 ‘ 1 in a hatidcart if the other one is elected. Brenner died of massive head injuries." i issue of tltt‘ actual election (all. [he 1 ‘ ' ' , ‘ A huge number oftelcvision ads, 1 For cyclists like Brenner who tempt fate. it's too late; btit 1 Harper government passed a law on fixed 1 B() U R kl which mil portray the leaders as warm, 1 parents can establish the helmet habit early when children get ‘ election dates . and are now said to , caring people. 'lhis is partially tnic. 'Ihc 1 1 their first bikes. according to the Bicycle Helmet Safety Instir 1 have broken lltitl law. 1 leaders do care, but the only thing they lute. They suggest: "lf (children) learn to wear helmets when 1 I never really thought the law applied care about is getting elected. 1 1 ever they ride, it will become a habit for a lifetime. If possible. to minority got crtunents. After all. why 1 ‘, You will not get any speCIfics. 'lhis Is 1 1 start them off with helmets while they are still on tritycles to 1 1 should the opposition parties have the 1 " not because politicians don‘t want to 1 establish the link between wheeled vehicles. pavement and t opponunity to bring down the govern 1 H tell you _ it's because they can't. So 1 helmets. It‘s never too late, however, to get your children into 1 1 nit-tit btit not the other way around? 1 ,. ‘ much ofour economy is dependent on helmets." ' ‘\l)Y\/\’.’l\‘. I could I are less, I've always 1 ’ J ‘ international economic conditions and 1 As well. the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute says parents 1 1 thought the idea of fixed ('l(‘(‘lllln dates 1‘ ' 1 trade that the impact of the govern- should always wear a helmet themselves. never underestimatr 1 was it fraud look what happened in 1 '- ' .. 1 nit-tit itselfis limited. 1 ing the power ofinfluence: "Provide a role model for your kids , 1 Ontario last year. Wllh Premier Dalton 1 _, « » 1 Some local candidates will collie to w they learn by observing you. Whenever yoti ride your bike 1 Mctiuinty putting off important tlt-i l' 1 BRIAN ‘ your door. they Will he uninspiring and 1 put on your helmet. Show them that you hold yourselfand I 1 units and investigations tiiitil after Ilit‘ t 1 not very interesting. 1 your brain in high esteem." j 1 vote, lbat seems more iiiiiiiipulatiw than 1 BOURKE i If it‘s their first time niniiing and 1 lilticating your children about the consequences of pettnii- . 1 just calling on election. At least ifwe‘re L____.__..._J they have a chance of winning, they 1 nent brain damage or death fmm a head injtiry is vital. accord 1 voting we t it“ punish someone if wore will bury their opinion because they 1 ing to the Bitycle Helmet Safety Institute, They strongly advise 1 1 1 unhappy. don‘t want to offend anyone 1 parents to not allow their children to ride their bikes unless 1 1 I suppose it‘s our own fault, but tlit' t hillCl’N wt- l‘OTlllt‘l1tll\i part, the candidates will parrot they wear their helmets: "he consistent. If you allow your chi! 1 1 have this time iiround are rather unappealing whatever the national campaigns have told them to 1 dren to ride occasionally Without their helmets, they will not 1 , Stephen Harper, no matter how many sw’r‘alt‘rs [In-v say 1 l'rust me, having run iii one ofthcse things, the believe your messages about the importance of wearing them 1 f 1 make him wear on W. still looks like he is made out parties like to do that. And they don‘t look too loudly 1 Tell them they have to find another way to play, or must walk 1 of wood and never seems to let down his guard on people who don't follow along: or take a bus to get somewhere ifthey don't want to use them 1 1 1 liberal leader Stephane Dion is quickly making a l hope over the next few weeks to have it chance 1 ”Crashes causing head injuries can occur on sidewalks, 1 t‘ort‘t‘r otit of looking uncomfortable to talk with each of the candidates in the Kitchener driveways, bike paths and parks as well as streets. You and your 1 1 kick laytort of the NDP annoys me the some way Waterloo riding, I‘ve also sent otit emails to all the 1 . children cannot predict when a situation will occur that will 1 every Nl)l’ leader has annoyed me for the last Sm national party headquarters. in the hopes of getting end in a fall from a bike. It is important to weara helmet when l 1 years Hie Nl)l’ l‘~ the bastion of the photo opportu WHIP moments Mill the leaders. 1 ever riding even if it's just down the street. ” I titty . with the leader in front of a factory or a ho» But I'll warn them right off the bat It ain't gonna And while wearinga bicycle helmet may not be "cool." . 1 pital or a school or something that represents what ht‘ WNW. ”its is an opinion column. I don‘t even according to some kids, like the one who wiped out in front of ' 1 ever issue they want to discuss. have to pretend to be objective. my house. at least by wearing one. they're reducing their risk of 1 And as for the ( ire-en party. although they cham- And I don't intend to he injury in the event ofa crash or collision. . 1 pion themselves as different from the other parties. Because you know what's not cool? Brain damage or death 1 1 recent actions show that's not the case. The Greens “0 1 recently gained their first MP as a former liberal Brian Bourke. a member ofthe 105.3 "KM [M m I 1 turned independent jumped onto the Green band- morning new. can he reached fryemail at Marshall Want it a visual artist and independentfilmmnker l , Wagon lhat prompted the party to immediately hhourkyfilwml/mmm. Email Lt utelmme at marshal! it'ardfithntmai‘lmm. I l , 1 t . l t . 7 7 s, 4