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Meeting with MHC and provincial officials Oak Ridge attendants oppose upgrading program Representatives of 160 attendants from the Oak Ridge maximum security psychiatric institution at the Mental Health Centre in Penetanguishene are holding a closed meeting this afternoon with the ad- minis¢rator of the MHC and a representative cdithg: jrovincial Ministry of Health to discuss cémplaints by the attendants that an upgrading program will effectively bar them from senior positions in their field Ina three page letter sent to all provincial Tne members of parliament; the Ontario Provincial Police, major city police departments, and the administrator and medical director of the MHC, the attendants outline their objections to an upgrading program which recommends that persons filling most senior nursing positions should be registered nurses. (The letter is reprinted on page four.) For the top management positions the upgrading program recom- mends that attendants have a three year 15 With 8 Pages Colour Comics Penetanguishene Vol. 8, No. 30 citizen Wednesday, July 23, 1975 32 pages EN Citizen Capsules Inquest planned for MHC suicide An inquest into the recent death of a 25- year-old patient at the Penetanguishene Mental Health Centre will probably be held on August 13 according to coroner Dr. Alex MacKenzie. The date of the inquest is not yet finalized, Dr. MacKenzie said, but one will definitely be held. Duncan A. Tennant was found hanging by his neck by a fellow patient in the Oak Ridge maximum security institution at the MHC. The death occurred on July 8. Les Moricz, administrator of the MHC said a police in- vestigation into the suicide did not detect any foul play or neglect. Glendon principal keeps in touch In an attempt to cope with the problems of bureaugracy a liaison officer has been chargef! with the job of handling all corres edence from people who are taking or pla¥,mng to take courses offered by Glendon College at St. Joseph's School in Penetanguishene. Stella McMurran, a student programs officer at Glendon, will be directly responsible for any questions from people in the Midland - Penetanguishene region. F The move was announced by Glendon College principal Dr. David McQueen during a visit to St. Joseph's School last Friday. A bilingual liberal arts faculty of Toronto's York University, Glendon first offered courses in Penetanguishene last summer. Some students who took the winter course have reported problems obtaining tran- scripts and other information from the university's bureaucracy. One of the reasons for McQueen's Friday visit was to solve these problems. He also met with people to try and assess what courses - taught in either English or French - people may be interested in starting in September. Glendon offers university degree programs in history, political science, economics, psychology, sociology, English and French. HT The Week in Review Reports on the visit by Glendon College principal David McQueen, the controversy between attendants at Oak Ridge and management officials at the Mental Health Centre and a near tragedy which occurred last Wednesday, when a boy could have been seriously injured, perhaps killed by fire, dominated the news last week. On page two Michelle Maurice looks at McQueen's visit to Penetanguishene. A report on a special meeting tonight of the newly appointed N.I.P. steering committee also is on page two. The town police report and a photo feature on construction progress at the $3-million High Point Mall are carried on page three. On page four we offer a comment on what police characterized as a molotov cocktail throwing incident. Page four A host of others comments follow: Conservative MPP Art Evans' complaint that the federal Liberals are hurting our economy (What else do you expect him to say!); Ron Jones, who thinks that Queen's Park is all wet on water; and the attendants at Oak Ridge who are calling for a royal commission investigation into Penetanguishene's park benches are receiving a good deal of use during these hot, humid summer days. The benches were built through a winter works project and installed at various locations around the town at the beginning of summer. The two gentlemen seated on this park bench at the corner of 2 "lf only they had whether or not what the government terms necessary upgrading programs for senior attendant positions are really that. While students are enjoying their summer holidays a group of area teachers have gone back to school. For a report see page six. Obituaries are on page eight. Meet Charlie and Charles on page nine. Huronia Community Calendar is on page 10. French news dominates page 11. x * Sports leads off our second section on page 13. Read about Anne Merkley who is com- peting in the Ontario Closed Tennis Cham- pionships this week. There's also a wrapup on GBFL action. The GBFL standings are carried on page 14 along with a report on Penetanguishene - on again, off again tennis lessons. They're on this time for two more weeks. Classifieds are on page 16, 17 and 18. k* And there's more - check our third section for features on lifestyles in Huronia. i " cushions! Main and Robert Street West approve of them with only one reservation. Ed Dubeau (right) laughed and said, '"'They're darn good things especially for us old men,"' while his friend Albert Duquette jokingly suggested, "they should have cushions." Some people are hard to please! Staff photo Bachelor of Science Nursing Degree in ad- dition to being registered nurses. The attendants claim the upgrading program is unnecessary and removes the incentive to improve by trying to advance through on-the-job training to managerial positions. MHC administrator Les Moricz said that while the letter will be discussed on Wednesday it contains, "drastic mistakes...drastic errors." Moricz refused to make any other statements beyond saying, "We're not going to interfere with government policy. We have to stick with it." Most of the attendants at Oak Ridge are registered nursing assistants. If upgrading program is adopted as policy at the maximum security institution, at- tendants seeking to advance to one of the 18 senior positions at Oak Ridge will have to take a two year registered nursing course at a community college in Barrie, Brockville or Owen Sound according to Hector Adams, a spokesman for the attendants. Besides being unnecessary, Adams says the RN course is impractical for many married attendants to take. To enrole in a course, an attendant would have to take a two year leave of absense (for educational purposes), during which time the govern- ment would reduce the attendants salary roughly in half. Although Adams admits this is a generous financing program, he says that it is im- practical for a family man to take a 50 per- cent cut in pay. Adams insists, nothing in RN courses is applicable to the hospital (Oak Ridge)" and claims, "our RNA'gets as much psychiatric training as an RN." To become RNAs.attendants have to take a nine to 10 month college course. A registered nurse must take a two year college course. According to another spokesman for the attendants, John Sajan, "There's nothing a nurse (RN) can do...we can't, except give muscular injections (needles)."' However, the consultant for all psychiatric nursing facilities in Ontario, Philip Gower disagrees. He claims there are basic dif- While boys play with gasoline the" ferences between the level of education and examinations given to RNAs and RNs. Gower characterized the longer RN course as more intensive one, where graduates acquire administrative, personal and medical skills desireable for senior positions. On 'a long-term basis, attendants in management positions are to be replaced by people with RN training, but no one who presently holds a mangement or other senior position will be fired because they are not an RN, Gower said. As to complaints by attendants that many could not afford to take two years off at half pay for RN training, Gower said 'Most people who advance are prepared to give up something...to make sacrifices. That's the individual's choice. If he's not prepared to make some sacrifice, he shouldn't be con- cerned about advancement. At some stage, someone has to be brave enough to say this is the way it's going to be." Gower said that he supported the role of registered nursing assistants as a very necessary one, but emphasized that it was not an advancement role. Currently there are roughly 18 senior positions in the attendant field at Oak Ridge, according to Hector Adams. Of these, five of the 18 are management positions. The top 18 positions command salaries ranging from $12-16,000 per year. Salaries in lower positions which would not require an RN or a Bachelor of Science Nursing Degree range between $9,500 and $11,000 per year, Adams said. A final fear expressed by Adams is that the move to upgrade qualifications to the RN level may mean Oak Ridge would take on women nurses. Oak Ridge has 304 of the most dangerous people in Canada, he said, adding that although it's very seldom, strong-arm tactics are "sometimes required." Adams said he trusted the man who works with him "to look out for me. But I couldn't trust a woman to physically protect me," he . said. Furthermore, since all the people in Oak Ridge are men, Adams said the in- troduction of women to the staff would create the danger of rapes. Mary's your guide to Huronia Although she likes reading about Huronia Mary Ellen Gravelle enjoys telling you about Huronia's attractions even more. Mary and another Penetanguishene Secondary School student are managing the Chamber of Commerce tourist booth by the town dock. The office is open seven days a week throughout the summer from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pamphlets and magazines on favourite Huronia tourist attractions are available. Drop in and see Mary. She's your guide to what's happening in Huronia. Penetanguishene youth suffers second degree burns A 10-year-old Penetanguishene boy was released from Penetanguishene General Hospital last Wednesday night after receiving treatment for second degree burns to his arms and legs in what police charac- terized as a molotov cocktail throwing in- cident involving a group of five boys. The incident occurred sometime during the evening before the boy was taken to hospital at 9:30 p.m. Although the injured boy, whose hair was also singed, claims he was held by three boys between the ages of 14 and 16 and deliberately burned, police Chief John Geere said that the injuries were probably caused by horseplay. The 10-year-old boy told police that he was playing with another friend of the same age near Corpus Christi Public School. According to the injured youth three other boys between the ages of 14 and 16 chased him and his friend to a construction site around the Burke and Dufferin Street area. The injured youth claims that the older boys caught him at the construction site and burned him using a stick with paper wrapped around it, which they had set on fire. According to the youth's story the older boys then fled leaving him to spray himself off with water from a nearby hose. After investigating the incident police doubt the injured youth's story. A five gallon can of gasoline, three quarters full, was found at the site along with a number of pint milk cartons which had been filled with gas. A police official said the supervisor at the construction site claimed that the gasoline container and other instruction materials are routinely put out of the way of children at the end of a working day. In this case the gasoline container was unintentionally ieft Home owners can apply outside near a cement mixer according to the construction supervisor who police indicated would see that it didn't happen again. Although the injured youth claims he was held by older boys but no gasoline was thrown at him, police believe the opposite. Chief Geere pointed to the fact that the youths tea shirt was found at the construction sight and it smelled strongly of gas. The youth said gas had not been sprayed on him and insisted he was deliberately burned by the fiery stick. What police- believe happened is that the youths were throwing the pint milk cartons filled with gas and during the horseplay the 10-year-old boy was injured. Chief Geere said that it sounded "kinda funny" that the in- jured boy and his friend claimed they could not identify the three older boys although he believes the older persons were there. Midland Centre may home senior citizens The Ontario Housing Corporation is still negotiating with the new owners of the Midland Centre, and a spokesman at OHC's head office in Toronto said yesterday that the matter '"'is going to our board of directors in three weeks." Senior development officer for this part of Ontario, Darcy Halligan, said "we hope to have a decision in about a month," on whether or not the high rise complex on Midland Avenue will be purchased for use as a senior citizens' apartment development. "We're looking on it favourably,"' he said, adding '"'it looks promising. We thought we'd lost it completely." OHC became involved with the building last year, after the original owners, Mid-, Northern Developments Ltd. ran into financial problems and the site was taken over by a court-appointed trustee. Halligan and his staff negotiated with trustee Bill Manton of Thorne-Riddell Ltd. in Toronto, and with several prospective buyers who would complete the building before selling it to the corporation. But the holder of the first mortgage, an unknown consortium acting through a trustee and a legal firm in Toronto, called in the first mortgage, and the building was sold for grant to repair houses Penetanguishene home owners can now apply for financial assistance under the Ontario Home Renewal Program to acquire grant money to make necessary repairs to their homes following a cheque presentation on Monday at the municipal Office. Simcoe-Centre MPP Art Evans handed over a $22,500 cheque to town officials Monday. The cheque is for half of the amount of money Penetanguishene is eligible for under OHRP. The remainder of the money will be given to the town after the original $22,500 is used up. The prime objective under OHRP is the repair of faulty structural and sanitary conditions and the upgrading of the plum- bing, heating and electrical systems of residences. According to Steve Fournier, a summer student at the town office. OHRP monies will probably not be given to home owners living in either of the two NIP designated areas - the west end of town from Centre Street to Park Street including Poyntz and Robert Streets or the Chatam and Sheridan Street area. The reason for not allowing OHRP funds into these areas is that they are already eligible for money under federal government's Neighbourhood Improvement and Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Programs. By restricting OHRP monies to the non-N.I.P. areas funds to improve homes are spread throughout the town. Home owners are eligible for up to $7,500 on a grant loan basis from the OHRP. Applications are available at the town office. Daring thieves haul away $14,000 in clothing from Wally's Thieves made off with $14,000 worth of clothing in a daring daylight robbery of Wally's Men's Shop last Wednesday in Penetanguishene. An estimated 120 pairs of men's pants, 50 suits, 40 sports jackets, 10 blazers and three leather jackets were stolen in the raid which is estimated to have taken a mere 10 to 20 minutes. Police have no firm leads but are treating the robbery as the work of thieves outside of this area. The robbery occurred sometime between 5:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. Because of the speed with which the clothes were stolen, police suspect that four men and a truck were involved in the robbery. Two of the thieves probably entered the store, stuffed the clothing in plastic garbage bags and passed to their partners who loaded the bags into the truck a policeman guessed. Despite the large haul Wally's Men's Shop was open for business the following day. "Things like that don't stop us," said owner Wally Meisinger who had enough stock on hand to hold a sidewalk sale later in the week. According to Meisinger the stolen goods were insured on a percentage basis. Anyone noticing suspicious activity around the Main and Robert Street East store last Wednesday evening are asked to contact the Penetanguishene Police. at public auction last spring. The new owners, Windom Investments Ltd. of Toronto, purchased the site for $595,000, and have since put up the last floor and the roof. Work is proceeding quickly this week, although Windom spokesmen have not given a firm completion date, except to say that it will be before the snow flies. In a front page story July 9, we reported that the company's three principals said they were talking with OHC officials, but in- dicated some pressure was needed to force the corporation to move to a decision more quickly. Work had to go ahead, they said, and if the Former U.S. astronaut Frank Borman tries his hand at fashioning a table leg in the carpentry shop at Sainte-Marie among the Hurons near Midland. With the visiting building was to be conipleted to OHC specifications, a decision would-haye to be made soon. ' Yesterday Halligan said "I would imagine they are pretty close to our specifications." If an OHC deal falls through -- and there is general agreement here and in Toronto that the Midland area is short of senior citizens' housing -- Windom is expected to complete the building that sat empty all winter, and either operate it themselves or sell once the building had been leased. When work started in the spring of 1974, it was billed as the "largest commercial and residential complex in the mid-north." American space veteran is Bob Adourian of Don Mills, one of the costumed craftsmen working at the reconstructed French Jesuit mission. Photo by Mark Harrison,