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By CLAUDIA KRAUSE Of The Examiner One of Canadas leading braillists who recently moved to Barrie will begin teaching classes here to volunteers who want to help the Canadian Na tional Institute for the Blind transcribe literature into braille Margaret Craigs classes start Sept 11 at the Municipal Savings and Loan Corp board room and will be held from 10 to 1130 am weekly for almost eight months She says shes looking for special volunteers who have an average of at least 15 hours week to spend on braille In addition to time the Wellknown braillist will teach in Barrie CNIB needs volunteer braillists willing to work 15 hours week volunteers should have perserverence and selflt discipline desire to do something worthwhile to help blind Canadians pursue their educational and career goals good general education basic knowledge of English grammar liking for books and words willingness to ac cept an ongoing challenge and ability to work alone are also needed REQUIRES COMMITMENT Volunteers must also have the support of their families Mrs Craig adds Becoming braillist requires commitment Mrs Craig former accoun tant moved to Barrie following few years of living in 420 blind persons in local district Setting up group of volunteer braillists in Barrie is bound to benefit blind persons living in the Barrie area says George Mayor district ad ministrator for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind About 420 blind persons live in the district which includes Simcoe County Parry Sound and Muskoka area he says Their requests for braille material are normally Chan nelled to the CNIB library in Toronto which then asks volunteer braillists to transcribe literature not yet in thelibrary With local reserve of volunteer braillists however requests by local blind persons could probably be met more easily Mayor who has been blind for 22 years says conditions for the blind have improved great ly since he was high school student Just about everything you need is now available in braille he says Today braillists can do so much more of whats vital to the education of those of us with visual im pairment Spellers glossaries dic tionaries textbooks charts pamphlets recipes knitting in structions even foreign language books are now available to help blind students enter new careers and lead less restricted lives In Barrie area one young blind student will be entering high school this fall Hell need several texts transcribed each year to keep up with the normal curriculum says Mayor But it will take volunteers about eight months to learn braille he adds This years students wont be helped but perhaps next years students will Certainly all blind Canadians will eventually benefit if more persons volunteer to become braillists Barrie area is fortunate to have Margaret Craig Toron to braillist who recently moved to Barrie offer to teach volunteers in Barrie he says Braille uses system of rais ed dots representing letters whole words and phrases Cor rect reading by blind person requires running across the raised dots with fingers of both hands although Mayor says he prefers using just one hand Although Mayor uses tapes extensively he prefers braille for learning and taking notes lies Editor Claudia house7266537 Muskoka and Florida alternate ly every six months after her husbands retirement Tired of that life they chose to live in Barrie fulltime and forget the yearly jaunt to Florida Mrs Craig travels to Toronto each week to continue teaching braille She has correspondence students in British Columbia Saskatchewan Newfoundland Alberta and Ontario She also transcribes whole books including academic texts and trade manuals into braille There are about 100 braillists all volunteers in Toronto and area not nerly enough to meet the increasing demand for braille Mrs Craig is the only braillist in Barrie Although more and more material is being transferred to tapes many blind persons find that when concentrated effort is required to learn material working from braille is more efficient There are also blindanddeaf persons who require braille she adds Theres an unlimited number of volunteers needed because the work is increasing The hardest thing for me is fin ding enough time Im brailleaholic Its way of life for me can spend lot of time on it because have no other responsibilities Mrs Craig calls the work terrifically satisfying and says its intellectually stimulating Her current pro ject is an academic text with 40 per cent margin notes which she says requires imagination to set up in braille Much of the increased de mand for books in braille follows the integration of more blind students into the public school system Theres the feeling that when blind children are brought up in sighted world it puts them in better position to get jobs in the commercial world later she says NEW WORK EACH YEAR She says because public schools and high schools often have different course lists students will each need several books transcribed each year Amblyopia clinics next week Public clinics will be held in Barrie on June and to test young children for amblyopia disease which reduces vision but has no apparent cause Also known as lazy eye emblyopia occurs in about two to four per cent of the popula tion says Jean Doubt public health nurse involved in the project Simcoe County Health Unit trained volunteers in January and February this year then began testing children at nursery schools in the county Primarily we test three yearaids but also some children who are four and five years old At age three the disease can be most easily treated she says If the child is older than five years treatment takes longer and after the age of eight or nine its almost too late The disease is not immediate ly detectable by untrained per sons says Ms Doubt Children are often affected in only one eye and do not seem to have im paired vision The new health unit screen ing project is also recording other eye problems children may be developing Ms Doubt says Tuesdays clinic will be held in the Downtown Centre on Dunlap Street West in Barrie The June clinic will be held at Collier Street United Church Times for both clinics are to 4pm To make an appointment for your threeyearold call the health unit at 7269300 ext 236 Amblyopia can be corrected by covering childs strong eye with black patch forcing the child to use the weaker eye Results are shown after several weeks among three yearolds Older children may require surgery Most eye testing in the schools does not begin until children are five to six years old but the units new project is making special effort to reach younger children during Inter national Year of the Child When abnormalities are detected during the health units screening parents are advised to take their children to an eye specialist Janet Merrett of RR Mineslng correctly identified last weeks photo in The Newsmakers Contest as the string concert at Georgian College and won Big Meal at McDonalds If you know the story behind this weeks photo send your name address telephone number with your entry to Newsmakers Contest The Examiner Box 370 Barrie L4M 4T6 Winners will be notified by mall Winners are selected by random draw of all correct answers Examiner Photo And thats lot of work she says Later once these students have landed demanding jobs they need trade books transcribed so they can keep up to date in their fields Mrs Craig offered the exam ple of the great amount of government material such as amendments to the Income Tax Act which must be transcribed as soon as possible after their introduction Employed blind people in the commercial world wouldnt be able to handle their jobs without access to new in formaton she says Special youps of volunteers have learned advance brailling to transcribe mathematics tests and foreign languages The newest CNIB project is to Save$3to $7 Plant now enjoy it for years 5991499 to Reg 389932199 Get your evergreens today and plant now Choose from Spreaders such as pines yews uprights such as spruce junipers cedars Buy several at these low prices Potted roes ready to plant now Come in today for best selection 49 Personal shopping only SimpsonsSears Ltd Fiegf and Was reter to SimpsonsSears Ltd prices SEARS GARDEN CENTRE Garden Notes By JEAN CABLE Barrie Horticultural Society Until 1974 the word arboretum was stranger to most people in Barrie but think lot of people today have some idea of what an arboretum is because Barrie now has its qualify braillists for transcrib lng mUSIC own arboretum started in 1974 Although Some Canadian The speaker at the Barrie Horticultural Society on May 24 braillists Sllll transcribe was Art Cole formerly Minesing nursery owner and now British style the North director of Humber College Arboretum Art helped start the American style has become more accepted in Canada within the last few years Certification of braillists was once possible only through the National Braille Association and the Braille Authority of North America both US organizations High standards maintained by Canadian braillists with CNIB caused the Institute to win rights to teach braille and certify braillists independently The Barrie beginners course will be taught at no cost to per sons interested in becoming volunteers for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind Barries 10acre arboretum Humber has 300 acres It was also started in 1974 An arboretum is collection of woody plant material used for educational purposes and open to the public Toronto us ed to consider Mount Pleasant Cemetery its arboretum but now Humber will give it an ongoing project for many years Coles says that arboretums are springing up all over Canada They are considered one of the best aids in teaching children how to identify trees how trees help the environ ment by stopping erosion keeping the air pure as well as all the other things trees do He said Brampton used to have the highest vandalism rate in Ontario but since they got the kids interested in planting vandalism has dropped to nil Arboretums are funded in different ways Barrie is funded by the horticultural society and donations The biggest cost item is maintenance Coles said it was never advisable to plant many trees of one variety together as disease or insect can wipe out the Sears Eyecatching blooms in your favorite colors These everblooming rose bushes will add color to your garden make perfect bouquet Choose Blaze Crysler imperial Royal Highness Peace and many other varieties Most have buds and are ready to bloom so come in today and make your selection 71 086 675 Our best 96 gambreIroof steel storage shed 9Inside measurements Barnstyle shed gives you more headroom for storing tall objects Inside roof rack Galvanized steel with woodgrain pattern finish Doubleribbed walls the examiner Wednesday May so 1979 Arboretums good teaching aid whole lot such as our Elms It is much better to mix plan tings The Humber arboretum is in its infancy but Coles invited all to visit it any time and watch the progess This year the trend in hanging baskets is to one kind of flower in each container such as all impatients or all fuschiasor begonias but not all mixed up as we have done for years Fuschias begonias impatients like the shady side lobelia geraniums petunias and coleus like the sunny side Most of our houseplants will do best if not put in full sun Be sure to cut the blooms off all flowering shrubs as soon as they are done flowering Some will bloom again but the real reason for cutting off the bloom is because the next years bloom comes on the new growth SOCIETY NEWS very good spring show was held at Sunnidale Centre May 24 There were 196 exhibits from seniors and 12 from juniors The spring plant sale has netted over $300 and was one of the best yet Forthnine members took in the Mennonite Relief Sale in New Hamburg on May 26 The sale had all its usual goodies but the mud was awful However drive around the Kit chener Rockery and home through the Caledon Hills made up for the mud in New Hamburg The local society joined other area societies in decorating Simcoe County Museum for Flower and Music Day Electronic Indoorl outdoor bug killer 9998a23998 aHeavy duty bug killer 30watt ultra violet bulbs Protective screen Pole not included 71 032 017 Save 20 Economy bug killer 799899 Not shown Single 5watt ultra violet bulb Protective screen 71R 032014 rim GIL ago 37 gtlt VHOMflE IMEBOVEMENT EALTMENT 96 776 high Highpeak gableroot stool sheds not shown Save $20 97 89 69 high shed Reg 29998 Now 27998 97 68 69 high storage shed Only 24998 56 48 58 economy shed Sears low price 9498 Store address 509 Bayfield St Georgian Mall Barrie Mon Tues Sat 930 am to 330 pm Wed Thurs Fri 930 am to 930 pm Charge it Guarantee Satisfaction or money refunded Enjoy it now Use your All Purpose Account