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* CNIB Night at Budd Watson Gallery this evening 1981 is the International Year of the Disabled. Loss of sight is a tragic disability, but living without sight néed mot be. Last year, The Canadian National In@fitute for the Blind helped 77 visually impaired residents of Huronia live full and productive lives. To bring into focus the International Year of the Disabled, the Huronia District Association for the CNIB is holding an '"'Awareness Night", tonight between 8 to 10 p.m. at the Budd Watson Gallery, Midland. Articles of handicraft and service aids will be shown that you might be aware of the facilities available to those who have visual impairment or blind. There will be a door prize of a "Budd Watson Photograph" during the evening and "wine and cheese"' social is also planned. Midland Lions Club will be assisting during the evening. Lions have traditionally supported the blind with their 'Leader Dog" facilities and the Lions Club Camp for the Blind at Lake Joseph, Muskoka. And next Wednesday, Oct. 7, the Midland Rotary Club's noon luncheon will be an 'Awareness Day". Three area blind people who lead active com- munity lives will be the guest speakers at the lunch hour. George Mayor, the area supervisor, co- ordinator for the CNIB will introduce Don Rasz- mann and John McDonald. All three are blind, all three work and lead active daily lives in our community. KKK EK KK Missing vehicle recovered Tuesday Penetanguishene town police have recovered a vehicle missing since June 26. The 1963 Chevrolet Impala convertible, owned by Roger Dault of 23 Robert St. W., Penetanguishene, was found in a wooded area in Tiny Township. The vehicle has been judged as being beyond repair. RACE i And the winneris... Robert Cote, RR 2, Penetanguishene is this area's most recent Wintario winner. The area farmer and father of five children ranging in age from 16 to 28 won $25,000 during the Sept. 24 Wintario draw. Mr. and Mrs. Cote plan to use the money to pay off their mortgage. KK KKK STRIKE it could be averted early next week, if... Although 244 support staff associated with the Simcoe County Board of Education were in a legal position to go out on strike today that action has now been postponed until SCBE trustees can meet in a special session Monday night to review the events this week. Tuesday in Barrie, bargaining teams from the county school board and the Ontario Public Service Employees Union met from 10 a.m, to 3 p.m. before provincial mediator John Burger, an OPSEU official told this newspaper in a telephone interview Wed- nesday morning. The same official in Orillia also advised that on Tuesday evening some 200 support staff met in Barrie and later ratified the contents ina new contract. Details surrounding both the mediation Session and the general meeting will not be made until at least next Tuesday. Meanwhile support staff - secretaries, audio visual personnel, etc - at both the elementary and secondary school level have been without a new contract since the end of June. It now appears this week if trustees next Monday give their seal of approval to the new pact a strike can be averted. A sight for sore eyes Members of Local 328 of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union look on as Ontario Queen of the Furrows Marie Thomas and other Ontario Fair Queens mount the steps of Midland Town Hall Wednesday. The Queens who reign over the 1981 International Plowing Match, were in Midland for a town-sponsored scenic cruise on the Miss Midland. RCMP team... ...Speaks to Rotarians Nlounties discuss drugs by Don Lawrence Midland Rotary Club members heard from two representatives of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's drug addiction branch, Wednesday, at Rotary's regular weekly luncheon meeting. Rick Watt and Rob Foster of the Orillia detachment of the RCMP spoke to the club on work done by that branch in this area. The two started off with a film entitled, "Reading, Writing and Reefer'? which showed how the marijuana problem has spread to youths as young as nine and 10 years old. The main problem with marijuana smoking and the young is that most parents know their children smoke the substance but condone it because they smoked marijuana when many of them grew up in the 1960's. Either that or they ignore it because they think it might go away. Big problem At present, there are one million marijuana smokers in Canada, compared to two million in the United States. Yet, if you look at the total population of both countries, the problem is, in actuality, much bigger in Canada. It's no secret that marijuana smoking can lead to harder drugs, a study having proven that 99 per cent of all heroin users were once marijuana smokers. Watt and Foster were quick to point out though that a lot of marijuana smokers started with harder drugs but dropped back to using marijuana because of a bad experience with the harder ones. Expensive habit Marijuana is uaually sold by the ounce and can cost as much as $200, depending upon whether it is imported or domestic. Marijuana grown in Hawaii is the most expensive and the most potent, therefore it will cost more. Marijuana from Columbia can cost as much as $65 an ounce while home grown can be bought for as little as $25 an ounce. The home grown variety of the weed won't have as much potency though. The main concern of the drug addiction branch of the RCMP is getting sellers first and then the users. Without a supply, the users will have to stop using the drug. One common concern now is habitual users who smoke marijuana on a daily basis. These people can go through an ounce of the substance in a week. To support this habit, users have been known to use a variety of methods to get money to buy the drug, ranging from theft to prostitution. Local problem Although Watt and Foster could not say how many arrests have been made in this area, they did say there have been quite a few, many of those in Midland and Penetanguishene. The last big drug bust in this area was in Orillia about five years ago. According to Foster, "First time users are between the ages of 12 and 13. Penalties for users, if caught with the drug, are a $25 fine for juveniles or they can even be put in Juvenile Hall. Parents are not notified of the arrest if the accused is over the age of 16, the age of consent. Probation or a jail sentence may even be imposed depending on the severity of the case, regardless of age. Foster also says the problem is not going away. In fact, it is '"'ever increasing." Dangers The drug is not addicting in itself but "it is psychologically addicting", says Foster. As far as tar count is concerned, the tar from 10 marijuana cigarettes or joints is equivalent to that found in 200 tobacco cigarettes. Parents can detect if their children are using marijuana several ways and these include some very definite telltale signs. Clothes worn by the marijuana smoker will have a certain sweet odour about them and you may find roach clips, needles with a darkened end or empty baggies in pockets of the child's clothes. Hospital working within Code. Therapeutic abortions come under fire on two fronts this week It is the opinion of officials from Huronia District Hospital that HDH's therapeutic abortion committee is working within the Criminal Code of Canada. The subject was raised Monday night by HDH corporation member Ernest Moreau at the hospital's annual meeting when he said: "As we know, the Criminal Code of Canada allows abortion in the event of a threat to the life or health of the mother. "Statistics Canada tells us that abor- lions are being done at the rate of 60,000 a year in this country. No one can seriously suppose that the health of 60,000 Canadian women a year is threatened by pregnancy. "The former head of the Ontario Medical Association tells us that, in his medical judgement, 90 per cent of the abortions done in this province are for other than medical reasons. "Tn light of these facts, and in view of the reality that every pregnancy involves two patients, what assurance can you give us that the law is being interpreted here in a way that will better safeguard the health of both patients?" Moreau was invited to put his concerns in writing and that they would be for- warded to the specific committee for a reply. Meanwhile HDH board member Rod Ferguson in responding to Moreau's concerns added, the hospital had given the matter of therapeutic abortions "very serious and thoughtful consideration. This is not something we have simply rubber- stamped." On the same subject, organizers of Lifeday in Midland and Penetanguishene Say they were pleased about the ob- servances they staged at St. Margaret's Roman Catholic Church in Midland and at St. Ann's in Penetanguishene on the same day HDH held its annual meeting. The day was to coincide to the hospital's annual meeting so as to make the public aware of the need to rever life. Ve pat fasting and prayers highlighted Friday, October 2, 1981, Page 3