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PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, July 14, 1987 -- 9 Self help organization for blind people Sean J. Madsen elected as BOOST director At its annual conference, held in Toronto at the end of June, Sean J. Madsen of Port Perry, was elected to the board of directors of the Blind Organization of Ontario with Self- help Tactics (B.0.0.S.T.) Losing a bid to become President of the organization by only 3 votes, Madsen comments, "There's always next year." Founded in 1975 by a group of younger blind people who felt that Church 'welcomes Pastor Emmanuel Pentecostal Church formally installed its new pastor in a ceremony held July 5. Rev. David Beesley will serve this active con- gregation of 150 people. Emmanuel Pentecostal Church is affiliated with the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada, a fellowship of more than 1000 churches nationwide. Rev. David Beesley is a native of St. John, New Brunswick and has been engaged in ministry for 10 years, pastoring churches in Ot- tawa, Sudbury and Waterloo, On- tario. Rev. Beesley holds a Bachelor of Music Degree from Central Bible College in Springfield, Mo., and a B.A. in Religous Studies from -Laurentian University. Rev. Beesley will focus his energies in Port Perry to providing spiritual insight and counsel from God's Word to families in need of a living faith in God. He calls this ... 'reaching out in love to the community." "Our mission is_to offer hope, comfort and spiritual direction to struggling and fragmented families -- the bedrock of society. When our -- families are strong, the communi- ty will be strong ... the nation will be strong. We want to help families center around the love of God displayed in Jesus Christ." Rev. Beesley and his wife Jan . have two young children, Shawna 6, and Tyson 4. Attack on insurance Marg Wilbur, NDP candidate for Durham East, has been knocking on doors in various communities in the riding. People in such diverse com- munities as Port Perry, Burketon Falls, Enniskillen, Newcastle & - Courtice are very upset about high auto insurance rates. Many people feel that their rates are increasing without justification. "Marg has been informing the homeowners about the benefits of the British Columbia & Manitoba Auto Insurance Plans. She has found people to be very receptive to a similar plan in Ontario. In talking with voters, Marg has been faced with many situations of unfair gouging on the part of the auto insurance industry. A retired gentleman with a history of no ac- cidents in Wilmot Creek showed an increase of $200 to $600 in his rate over a period of three years. A woman in Brooklin with a son under 25 years old, also with no ac- cidents, pays over $2000. A resident of Newcastle, recent- ly from B.C., was shocked at the high rates in 'Ontario. Marg has promised to fight for a fairer system of Auto Insurance. The response to her survy in local newspapers has been positive & Marg is determined to keep working on this issue. their needs were not being ade- quately met by service agencies like the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, B.0.0.S.T. has lobbied vigourously for improvements in the social and economic conditions in which Ontario's 11,000 blind people live. "We have made some progress, but it has been a slow, difficult pro- cess,' says Sean. 'When 80 percent of the employably aged blind are still not working after so many government studies, I sometimes wonder why I keep trying so hard. But if I gave up, what would I do then?" Sean Madsen thinks more public awareness of the aspirations and abilities of physically challenged people may be the key to successful integration, 'Many people just don't unders- tand the issues,' he says. "If | were to say for example that I shouldn't be expected to work because I am blind, I suspect most people wouldn't even argue the point, but when I complain about Canada Employment refusing service to blind job seekers, I am accused of being too radical. I feel that's real up-side down thinking." Madsen says that if the govern- ment treated any racial or religious minority the way they deal with the 'disabled population, they would never be allowed to get away with it. ""'Hamdicapped people have to do a better job of getting the rest of society on their side before things will really start to change. We've got to help people u understand that we're no different -- that we want and deserve the same opportunities ~~ everyone else has." If non-handicapped people are wondering what they can do, Sean has a suggestion, 'When's the last time you told your Member of Parliament you'd like to see more of your tax money used to support job initiatives for physically challenged people?" The coming year promises to be an exciting one for Sean Madsen in his activities with B.0.O.S.T. An ac- tive member of the group for the past seven years, he will add the editorship of the provincial newslet- ter and the chairing of B.O.O.S.T.'s Staff Evaluation Committee to his agenda for 1987-88. HONDA MOLS HONDAS EARTH SHATTERING TILLERS AVAILABLE LAWN CARE NEEDS Jo MORE POWER TO YOU, WITH GENERATORS FROM G00 TO 6500 WATTS TO LIGHT UP YOUR LIFE IF YOU WANT THE JOB DONE, AND DONE RIGHT, HONDA HAS A MOWER SUITED FOR YOU AND YOUR ON INDY LG EXHIBITION PLACE w TORONTO THEY DELIVER WATER PUMPS WITH CAPACITIES FROM 200 TO 1000 LITRES OF WATER A MINUTE, WHEN YOU NEED PRESSURE PERFORMANCE, OUTBOARDS QUIET AND RELIABLE HONDA FOUR STROKE OUTBOARDS RANGE FROM 2 TO 10 HP. LIGILT ON GAS AND LIGHT ON THE POCKET BOOK TRACTORS WITH LAWN TRACTORS AVAILABLE INO HP, 101LP. AND 13 ILP., HONDA CUTS THE BIGGEST LAWN DOWN TO SIZE IN SIX MODELS UP TO 7.0 ILP. 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