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the fourth quarter recently i acted as moderator for a panel discussion on housing for seniors the audience was made up solely of persons interested in hearing about the good and bad features of various types of senior shelter i was surprised to by leslie holbrook discover that well over 75 maintenance and repair afto- a large bouse and in a house now larger than they really need per cent of those present still lived in a single- dwelling house often the old home in which the family had been raised many of them planned to continue in their own borne indefinitely ready to face up to growing problems of cleaning they argued that advantages of a known friendly neighbourhood with room to breathe and grounds to call your own outweighed the headaches of looking grounds these borneowners found the chief drawbacks involved difficulties in getting help with chores which required a strong back and in finding a reliable person to look after things when they were away canada not a dying country say anglo french writers dear sir your two correspondents are each representative of our french and english founding cultures they have spent some 23 years in as many foreign countries with those excruciating problems arising from politics poverty and social adjustments which only too often result in revolution when presenting our observations on our distant and beloved country we know that we reflect the feelings of thousands of our compatriots who like us are engaged in diverse professional activities abroad we are also fully conscious of the many regional economic and cultural problems which tend to divide our nation but we firmly believe that in reality canada is not by any means a dying country to the con trary we are convinced that canada is on the way to its own renaissance as distance does not allow us to participate directly in this awakening we have wanted to make our contribution by sending this letter to the 950 english and french language newspapers in canada we simply refuse to believe that canadians are less intelligent than other people surely canadians realize that a united canada is a strong canada and that a divided canada can only be a weak country which projects among its foreign friends and customers a feeling of skepticism uncertainty and confusion the disunity of a country of any country only invites lack of respect abroad for that country a divided canada clearly risks being absorbed and disappearing completely in the big american melting pot it is axiomatic that the unity of a country is intimately linked to its identity and image abroad the common experience of your two correspondents demonstrates clearly and abundantly that acts of goodwill and joint efforts by the conflicting parties can only lead to a better mutual understanding and respect even to friendship with all the advantages this implies how else could one explain the durable and numerous friendships that we ourselves have developed in so many coun tries speaking such different languages it seems to us that the starting point towards unity is a real and drastic change in attitude towards languages and a simple appreciation and recognition of the ad vantages which the knowledge of languages carries in canada or anywhere else a second language is a recognized necessity for an educated and cultured person most par ticularly when such languages are as universally used as are english and french if the chinese the russians the germans the americans to be sure and many other nations had that same linguistic opportunity as have canadians you would see how quickly and efficiently they would exploit it to their very best advantage it is a matter of meeting the challenge here are a few of the small and simple means within the reach of all of us 1 post notices at appropriate places reading on parle francais or english spoken write individually or collectively to your editor member of parliament school board or all three requesting that both english and french be effectively taught and used in the first grades of schools our famous dr penfield has deomonstrated that the ability to learn languages is greatest in young pupils 3 organize and or support interprovincial visits 4 promote the interchange of language teachers 5 increase communication by organizing penpal clubs through newspapers or schools we who live overseas have made a first gesture by writing this letter it is up to you to ensure its success through your individual or collective efforts when the stake is the survival of the country nobody can refuse to answer the call or to make an effort mf rodman santiago de ios caballeros dominican republic he lemieux madrid spain ed note mr rodman is a local boy who was born and raised in uxbridge before attending the university of toronto as a civil engineer he has travelled throughout northern canada and diverse points around the world since 1945 mr lemieux hails from ottawa and has worked in various canadian civil service positions around the world united way off and running the 1978 york region united way agencies campaign is off and running says 1978 campaign chairman robert a bob shea i am helping in this years united way un dertaking because i have been made aware of its inportance said the president of family trust corporation the programs of the agencies the needs of our regional community and the value of the united way con cept have all been ex plained to me and shown to be important i believe that the family relationship is the basic building block of healthy communities and our united way agencies through programs of medical aid and rehabilitative care family and individual counselling and youth care and leadership training all contribute to the upbuilding of these family bonds and relationships additionally agency fundraising is only part of the united way program it also serves as a focal point for private voluntary service to keep the role of government in proper balance and perspective and through a united ap proach we as volunteers are given an effective way of making best use of our precious time campaign planning is already well un derway bob says recently i met with a group of dedicated community leaders from government education clergy labour media and business at the king campus of seneca college to share what united way of york region has accomplished in its short history and equally important what it has not accomplished i received an over whelmingly positive response of support and commitment and follow up meetings with these groups are underway last week i met with volunteer leaders of the agencies and beard first band of both their achievements and needs as well as the needs of our community i was made more aware representatives of regional clergy and i have met twice now and other meetings with specific interest groups and publics are planned my conviction that people will help others if they are aware of the need is being confirmed york region has begun to hear of the caring and human value of its voluntary agencies as this message spreads it will rally and organize the united paign way cam- this is my goal to create a groundswell of understanding and awareness of our agen cies and our volunteers bob said home care while they were south in winter being a major problem some communities now offer help to seniors in such situations i have written about the pros and cons of living in apartments town houses condominiums modular homes and recreational vehicles but recognize that there is much merit in continuing the joys of living in what you probably will always ljfr call home if you intend to keep the old home fires bur ning as long as possible there are things you can do to make the later years more comfortable aui enjoyable if yours is a one- storey house you already have an advantage stair- climbing may be good exercise for some but housecleaning and kindred chores are a lot easier on one floor if you have a second storey consider con centrating your retirement living on the main floor making room for your sleeping quar ters there and adding a downstairs bathroom a real convenience as you grow older since you have lots of space designate a separate room for retirement interests and hobbies you and your spouse plan to pursue get ready in advance so you can start right in when you are your own boss retirement provides more time for relaxing in the fresh air so develop or spruce up a protected outside area patio or sun porch so you can make the most of good- weather days consider one or more telephone extensions particularly one at bedside bell has started a jacking program instalment free of charge whereby you can move your phone from room to room plugging in where you wish some seniors have converted part of the old home into an apartment for leasing or have equipped rooms for rental you might find it reassuring to have someone else close to hand however this should be done only after considering the good and bad features of it for not everyone would like it if you decide on this select your tenants with great care send comments and questions long stamped addressed envelope for reply to the tribune co po box 1506 guelph ontario nlh 6n9 murray wilson shoes 7 main st stouffville 6402429 buster brown childrens quality footwear murray wilson shoes 53 stouffville markham lasfe urn otat iuwmo ouor iga cheese logs am com aw msvm ou csuwo iga cheddar cheese hsn maa imi wi wt t 4 m twl fn 4 tft stouffville- open mon to wed 6pm tlwrs fri til 9pm sal 6 pm 7q5