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Page 16, News, Wednesday, October 26 , 1988 Educational programs now available locally By Pam McKeever . We all love northwestern Ontario. Well, maybe we don't all love it, but we have ties here. Our lives are here and, until the snow comes, many of us can say we love it. Until recently, however, we have been unable to do as much as we'd like to improve our minds and enhance our job opportunities. There was no easy way we could take the courses we wanted or get the help we needed to meet our educational goals. All that has changed. The opportunities are here now. There are offerings at every level for adults who want academic credits and want, or need, to do them at home. The following are some of the opportunities available here and now: Contact North/Contact Nord _ Through the Contact North office in the Terrace Bay High School, courses are offered from Lakehead University, Confedera- tion College and the Independent Learning Centre. These schools use the telecon- Want a job? If you are under 25, out of school, out of work, Call FUTURES. 1-800-387-0777 the AA ference method of course delivery. An instructor in Ignace, Thunder Bay or Manitouwadge speaks to students in our library and they can ask or answer questions through their own microphone and get an immediate answer. Some courses have students from Kenora to Hearst in the same class, at the same time and with the same teacher. Local students can send their assignments to the offsite teacher through a facsimile machine here at the local high school. The teacher then marks the paper and it could be back to the student the same day through the FAX machine. No more waiting for the mail! For many students, Distance Education (DE) has been the way to get high school, university or college credits without leaving home. These courses are held in the evenings and at noon hour. Come in Monday to Wednesday to have a look. We also have the calendars for most institutions offering DE courses. Phone Pam at 825-9160 for further information. Reading Rising For adults who need help with reading and writing, Reading Rising offers basic literacy tutor- ing. Tutors from the community volunteer their time to help other adults improve their reading and writing skills. This is a confiden- tial program, and adults at many qY Schreiber, Ont. levels are involved. We have people at university level whose first language is not English; we have others with edu- cational levels ranging from none to Grade 12; we have people who just need a little help with corre- spondence English courses. Everyone is welcome to call and ask for information by calling Maureen Running at 825-9357, or Pam McKeever at 824-2657 or 825-9160. Night School Larry Fraser is teaching Grade 12 English at Terrace Bay High School this semester. He has a big class of adults, many of whom will complete their Grade 12 when they finish this course. Larry is also teaching English by telecon- ference to students from Kenora to Hearst. The Independent Learning Centre in Toronto is offering this course to all northwestern Ontario students through the teleconfer- ence. Students would otherwise have to do the course through cor- respondence. These are some of the Adult Education programmes available here. The Contact North site in the library is also a quiet place where adults who are taking courses can study. It's still not easy to take cours- es when you have lots of other responsibilities and activities in your life. However, Distance Education and your schools are doing their best to make it easier. An educated consumer is the best customer "Shop Smart -- It Pays," is the theme for this year's province-wide Consumer Week, slated for October 23 to 29. "It may not rhyme like 'Shop till you drop,' but it will leave a lot more money in your pocket, " says Consumer Minister Bill Wrye. "Our 'Shop Smart' slogan was chosen to emphasize the value of basic consumer educa- tion. You don't have to be a walking encyclopedia of product reports, just get a handle on basic buying rules and know where to get detailed information if you need it." A promotional campaign high- lighting the importance of con- sumer education for all Ontario residents, will take place during Consumer Week. Posters telling people where to get information will be distributed in many differ- ent languages throughout the province. Special awareness pro- grams for schools have been organized. Awards for excellence in consumer education will be presented and a number of other projects are planned. The week of activities is an annual event organized by the Ontario Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Relations (MCCR) and the Consumers' Association of Canada (CAC). "Consumer Week is designed to focus attention on habits that affect our lives constantly," says Wrye. "Afterall, hardly a day goes by when we aren't 'consum- ing' goods or services of some sort. Our buying habits -- our ways of dealing with the market- place -- get entrenched and it's a good idea to shake them out peri- odically." Residents throughout Ontario are invited to contact the Consumer Information Centre for details about Consumer Week. The centre houses a special Consumer Reference Library, runs an inquiry service and oper- ates a free mail order system for ministry brochures. For a list of brochures or advice on a consumer matter, contact the Centre at 555 Yonge Street, Toronto, or toll free 1-800- 268-1142. ~ Thank You Special thanks to Dr. Fowler for his excellent care and to the nurses and staff of McCausland Hospital. Sincere thank you to my family and friends for all their visits, flowers, fruit baskets, gifts and cards. Your thoughtfulness will always be remembered. Sincerely Donna Richards THURS., FRI., SAT. OCT. 27, 28, 29, 1988 SAVE 10%, 20% or 30% The Bay's got the Best Prices in Town, and they're even better with your Scratch and Save discount! Just sign your card, have it validated, scratch the seal and you'll save at least 10%... maybe even 30% on almost everything you need for the season ahead. One card per customer. Personal shopping only! NOW 10% OFF 'BIG TICKET ITEMS, TOO! Yes, you can use your Scratch card to get a maximum 10% savings on all regular-priced major appliances, microwave ovens, stereos, portable electronics, VCR's and televisions! Not applicable on: food, tobacco, ATV and snowmobiles, snowblowers, boats/motors, Estée Lauder and Shiseido, and customer services Pick up your Scratch & Save Discount Card = Fin store. SHARE THE FEELING WITH CHARITY BEAR Buy our Charity Bear for just 9.99 with accumulated purchases of $50 or more, and the Bay will donate $1 from each bear sold! USE COIN TO SCRATCH SEAL AFTER CARD IS VALIDATED Hudsons Bay * NORTHERN STORES ~