Front page news

Reforms in the crossfire

By Daniel Kitts

The need for reforms, suggested in a $56,000 study conducted last year, was highlighted by two fires in the same apartment complex on Metcalfe Street within seven months.
An inspection after the second fire on March 12 showed the complex, located at 285-289 Metcalfe, lacked several pieces of fire equipment required for a building of its kind under Ontario’s retrofit regulations, introduced in 1992.
There is no record of an inspection after the first fire on Aug. 20.
The retrofit regulations were meant to bring fire equipment in pre-1975 buildings up to 1990s standards.
Ottawa fire chief Gary Richardson says the second fire served as a wake-up call to his department.
“We realized we were doing everything we wanted to do in the past, and it didn’t work,” he says.
As a result of the Metcalfe incident, he added, Ottawa fire inspectors will be following up on all 104 buildings with outstanding retrofit audits in the next six to eight weeks.
Richardson says he hopes to have longer-term action, based on the report by Ekos Research Associates, completely implemented by the end of 2000.
One immediate effect of the report will be the computerization of the fire prevention bureau within the next two months.
Files will be tracked and inspectors will be automatically notified when a building is due for inspection.
The report makes another 19 recommendations, including:
• improvement to public and media education programs;
• standardizing and improving home safety audits;
• more inspection training for firefighters;
• developing more effective methods to measure landlord compliance.
But Richardson admits that some of the proposals touch on collective bargaining issues — and that could be a problem.
Bill Cole, president of the Ottawa Firefighters Association, says “corrosive” management practices during recent labour negotiations have eroded good will between the city and fire staff.
If the situation deteriorates badly enough, he says, it will be difficult for management and staff to communicate on any issue, even proposals they both generally agree on.
Apart from that, Cole says support for the report among fire staff will depend on how the recommendations, which he says are vague, will be implemented.
For example, if the proposal for training firefighters in inspection techniques simply means more responsibility for staff, he will have trouble supporting it.
Cole argues fire services are already spread too thin, pointing out that in the past 10 years, the fire department has cut 60 firefighting positions.
In about the same period, fire-related calls have jumped from 10,000 to 12,000 calls a year to about 25,000 calls a year.
Cole says if the proposals mean stretching fire staff even thinner, the association may fight their implementation.
“Quite frankly, the department has never really kept up, from a resources base, on all the things that it’s now getting into,” he says.
Cole says Ottawa fire services is taking on so many new responsibilities in the areas of prevention, medical aid and rescue, that management has to try harder to get more money from the city.
“This fire chief (Richardson), in particular, seems to be so enthusiastic to get into new things that it’s a bit like the flight of a deflating balloon: you really can’t trace where we’re going next,” he says.
Richardson says he has no intention of asking the city for more money.
And even if he did, he likely wouldn't get it.
Somerset City Coun. Elisabeth Arnold says she doesn’t expect more funding for the fire department, pointing out that its budget is still one of the largest of all city services.
She says she has no plans to push for any increase for the fire fighting budget.

Fire code problems may lead to charges
By Daniel Kitts

The owner of an apartment complex that caught fire twice in the past seven months is expected to be charged with breaking the Ontario fire code, Ottawa fire department officials say.
William Robert Cuming of Kanata, owner of the Gainsborough at 285-289 Metcalfe St., was informed at a meeting on March 25 that he would be charged, says Charles O’Brien, division chief of the Ottawa fire prevention bureau.
On March 12, part of the complex caught on fire around 10:30 p.m. None of the residents knew anything was wrong until someone from across the street noticed the flames and started banging on doors.
A subsequent inspection of the premises found the complex was missing interconnected hallway smoke detectors, an alarm system, and doors that can contain a fire for 20 minutes, says inspector David Port. These measures are required for apartment buildings such as the Gainsborough under Ontario fire regulations instituted in 1992.
Two weeks ago, Cuming said he and the city agreed to a schedule to make the necessary changes at the Gainsborough and that he still had time to make the required renovations.
O’Brien disagrees: “I felt after reviewing the file charges were warranted.”
The maximum penalty for an infraction of the Ontario fire code is a fine of no more than $25,000 and/or a jail term of no more than one year.
O’Brien will not say how many charges Cuming might face. But he does say Cuming is still expected to complete the required renovations within 60 days.

'Stinky' ribs fest tossed from Sparks

By Karen Brandt

The smell of chicken and ribs roasting on the barbeque will no longer waft down Sparks Street in June.
On March 30, the Sparks Street Mall Authority’s board of directors upheld a recent decision of its advertising and promotions committee to cancel the annual Chicken ‘n’ Ribs Cook-off, despite a last-minute petition signed by more than 40 merchants asking the board to reinstate it.
Herb Gosewich, owner of Ritchie’s Sports Fan-Apparel Shop and a member of the advertising and promotions committee, says it doesn’t make sense to cancel the popular event. Gosewich signed the petition to bring back the cook-off.
“Why try and replace something that’s already such a success?,” he asks. “Nobody sees this street any more. This event was a big draw.”
For the last six years, the four- day event attracted more than 25,000 people to sample food cooked by internationally renowned rib specialists from Ontario, the United States, and Australia.
Merchants on Sparks Street are divided over the event. Some suggest it brings much-needed attention to the area. Others argue the cooking odour and greasy mess don’t fit the street’s image and annoy their clientele.
The division was reflected among the 14 members of the committee who have deliberated since January about whether to hold the event. A final meeting last month killed the cook-off by one vote.
“It’s stinky, it’s dirty, it’s no good for my business,” says Franco Morgante, manager of Morgante Menswear Limited and one of the merchants on the committee who voted to cancel the event.
“Once they’re finished eating the ribs, they won’t come in and buy a suit,” he says. “I don’t want them to come in with their greasy fingers anyway.”
Bill Cornet, owner of Classico Uomo, also voted to cancel the event, which he calls “tacky and disgusting.”
“I think something like that belongs at the Ottawa Ex, not Sparks Street Mall,” he says.
The committee is considering replacing the cook-off with either an Italian or Celtic festival, and will listen to merchants making presentations for both proposals.
Ron Mathews, an Industry Canada employee, says he won’t miss the cook-off and doubts many people made a special trip to Sparks Street to attend.
“I’ve been working here for six years and I’m up and down the mall all the time and I couldn’t be bothered with it,” he says.

News

Adult high school falls victim to cuts

By Rita Trichur
The Ottawa-Carleton Catholic School Board’s decision to close St. Patrick’s Adult Day School is a bad idea in any language, says the school’s English-as-a-Second-Language students and teachers.
And the students say without English-language skills, many of them will be forced on to Ontario’s welfare rolls.
“The provincial government is refusing us a chance to have a good future,”says student Alex Nikulov.
Nikulov, a native of Ukraine, arrived in Canada four months ago. He’s an engineer with 20 years of experience, but says without a knowledge of English, no one will hire him.
“Without a job you have to be on welfare,” he says. “It (the school) is not only good for us (immigrants), it is good for all of Canada.”
St. Patrick’s is one of six Catholic schools in Ottawa-Carleton slated for closure in June. The closures will affect about 600 day students and 200 night students at St. Patrick’s, and a total of 3,000 ESL students in the region.
Teacher Bob Young has been with the ESL program since it began in a church basement 10 years ago. He says closing the school is a huge step backwards for the program and blames the province’s education funding formula for the loss.
“The province says the schools aren’t full, but they are full every day,” he explains. “Because they are adult students it is not considered a legitimate use of school space.”
According to the new formula, adult education programs don’t qualify as daytime pupil places. The province has instructed the school board to eliminate so-called non-operational schools and surplus space before building new schools in the suburbs.
St. Patrick’s receives $2,250 per student in annual provincial grants. But Young says that’s less than half of what’s provided for elementary and secondary school students and isn’t enough to purchase a new building.
“There’s not much else out there. Come June we will be left with a splintered program, scattered all across the city,” Young says.
“Here we offer every level of English and computer training, all in one place. It’s one stop shopping, so to speak. Now the quality of education for the students will deteriorate.”
The school board says it’s committed to continuing ESL programs but hasn’t finalized plans for the fall.
“We hope to do that in the next couple of weeks,” says Michael Moher, superintendent of continuing education. “We are meeting with ministry officials. We are reviewing space in our existing facilities and working with our regional partners in Ottawa-Carleton.”
The school board is also waiting for the province to respond to a lease-back agreement that would allow the school board to lease back school properties from the provincial government. If approved, the agreement would allow some programs to continue with minimal disruption for students.
Maggie Daly, president of the ESL Teachers’ Union, CUPE local 3689, calls the cuts “devastating” but says students and teachers aren’t ready to give up.
“They (the school board) have looked into using church halls, community centres – but none are available,” she says.
One alternate plan is to place adult learners in empty elementary school classrooms. But Daly says this would be unacceptable for both students and parents.
“If you have young children aged five and six, you don’t want to have a bunch of adults you don’t know in the same school as your kids. And it’s not acceptable for our students either.”
Mita Basu, co-ordinator of English Language Tutoring of Ottawa-Carleton, says the closures mean other community-based English-language programs could become overcrowded.
“Funding-wise, we are really up to our limits right now,” says Basu. “We have about 70 on our waiting list.”
“It’s very frustrating for them (ESL students). They are in a new country. They are feeling very isolated especially when they can’t speak or they are not understood.”

New use for old pipe

By Gina Harris
With construction causing traffic snarls on Elgin Street, major repairs to the watermain on Gloucester Street come at a bad time.
But the region will limit the disruption to traffic and businesses by finding a new use for some old technology.
Instead of removing the 82-year-old cast iron pipe which supplies water from Bronson Avenue to the Rideau River, and from the Queensway north to the Ottawa River, a new polyethylene pipe will be inserted inside the old casing.
The process, known as slip lining, is new to the water industry, although it has been used elsewhere in Europe and North America in smaller sizes, and in this size in a rural environment.
“Yeah, we’re breaking new ground,” says project manager Mike Willmets. “I’ve had people call from Quebec, and many from the Toronto area, and we have a delegation of people coming from Halifax to witness portions of the installation.”
He says he believes this is the first time a pipe this large has been used for a watermain slip lining project in a high traffic, downtown area.
In October, a robotic camera was sent through the pipe to determine the condition of the watermain. The amount of deterioration in the pipe led to the immediate scheduling of the rehabilitation project.
“It’s not the sort of pipe you want to fool around with,” says Willmets. “If you can imagine a garden hose 36 inches in diameter flowing at 60 psi (pounds per square inch), that’s a tremendous amount of water. When it does break, the damage is enormous.”
An external consultant was hired to design the project.
“There was more technical expertise required because it is a new application and the region wanted to ensure that all avenues had been looked at to ensure it was a safe, economical and constructable design,” says Derek Potvin, who headed the design team. He says one of the biggest challenges the team faced was physically assembling the pipes while minimizing impact on traffic.
“When you assemble a long pipe in a downtown urban environment, you’ve got to give close consideration as to how this is going to be inserted into the pipe so that you don’t end up blocking the critical north-south links into the downtown core,” says Potvin.
Twelve to 14 pits will be dug at several locations over the 1.3 kilometre construction site. After cleaning the old pipe, a hose, similar to a large garden hose, will be inserted into a pit and pulled through the pipe a block at a time.
“To pull the pipe we need a big winch. It’s a diesel winch. And it’s noisy,” says Willmets.
“It’s brutally heavy, this pipe, and it’s strung out like a giant piece of spaghetti.”
The pipe comes in sections which are fused together using a giant hotplate. New lengths are added as the winch keeps pulling. High-density cement injected between the pipes will hold the new pipe in place.
This approach saves digging up the entire road.
“Every time you dig a hole it’s just nothing but dollar signs,” says Willmets. The project will cost $1.7 million but it will save the region approximately $1 million because of the new construction methods.
Using trenchless technology means the project, which began at the end of March, will be completed by mid-June. The work will be done one block at a time, beginning at Bronson Avenue.
“By the time people get wound up [over the noise and inconvenience] we’ll be finished, and move on to the next block,” says Willmets.
The shorter construction time and minimal excavations mean fewer traffic delays, fuel expenses, and mud run-off getting into the water.
The innovative project has caught the attention of the National Research Council Canada, which is helping fund a three-year study to measure the stresses and strain responses of the pipe.
“What we did was to assess how this pipe will interact with the host pipe, and how long this pipe will last,” says Jack Zhao, a research officer at the Institute for Research in Construction.
According to Zhao, data from the study will help both municipal engineers and researchers evaluate the performance of the pipeline in a real situation.

Catholic school board not making grade

Trustees still finding their feet after recent amalgamation of boards. Andree Lau reports.

The debate over Catholic school closures has revealed some frustration by both parents and trustees, who are still getting used to a smaller board of trustees representing larger zones and more issues.
One parent says she believes the imbalance of seven trustees from Carleton and only three from Ottawa on the Ottawa-Carleton Catholic School Board means city issues are being ignored.
“I haven’t seen any evidence of anything done,” says Lauretta Partenio, whose children attend St. Anthony elementary school on Booth Street. “Look at all the schools they keep trying to close down here instead of other areas. There’s no support there for Ottawa schools.”
The amalgamation of the Ottawa and Carleton Catholic school boards a year ago left 10 trustees representing an area that 28 trustees used to cover.
Partenio is especially upset that the Centretown trustee who represents the school her children attend, doesn’t even live in the area.
“As far as I’m concerned, there needs to be somebody in the community who sees everything that’s going on, and knows what’s going on in the school and in the area in order to support it,” says Partenio.
“If they’re not in the area, it’s hard for them to see what’s going on in the community.”
Under municipal law, school board trustees can run for any ward as long as they live within a board’s geographical jurisdiction.
There are three trustees who represent Centretown ratepayers, only one of which – John Chiarelli who represents the zone in which St. Mary elementary school is located – lives in the area.
Catherine Maguire-Urban represents ratepayers in the area St. Anthony and Immaculata schools are located, but she lives in South Nepean.
She says she grew up in downtown Ottawa and knows the inner-city and its people well. More importantly, she says she ran for the Centretown trusteeship because she was the most qualified candidate in the race.
“We’re running a school system and first and foremost as a trustee I think it’s important to know the educational issues,” says Maguire-Urban.
She says she hasn’t received any complaints regarding her work as a trustee.
“I stand by the work I do,” says Urban-Maguire. “I work very hard and I think any parent that has actually paid attention and has not been a ‘single-issue’ parent would see that I put an awful lot of work into it.”
She says it’s important for her to know the issues that affect all Catholic school zones – and not just the ward she represents – in order to have the most efficient school system.
Urban-Maguire was a key figure in keeping St. Mary elementary school on Beech Street open. Parents who worked with her on that campaign say they were impressed.
“Her voice seems to carry some weight,” says Lynn Norris, president of the St. Mary school council.
“If I’m a parent who has an issue I would rather that my trustee’s voice carries weight and I don’t care if they live on the moon as long as someone listens to them . . . As long as they’re doing a good job, I don’t care where they live.”
But trustees say doing a good job has become more difficult as the school wards and responsibilities have increased, while the $5,000 stipend has not.
“If you look at the broad spectrum of work that’s been downloaded to trustees, it’s unbelievable,” says trustee Thérèse Maloney Cousineau, who lives in Sandy Hill but represents part of Centretown as well as Rideau, Bruyere/Strathcona, Rockcliffe and Vanier.
Cousineau’s views are shared by the Ontario Catholic School Trustees Association which petitioned the Ontario government in February to take another look at the trustee system. It says trustees are underpaid and becoming demoralized.
But Norris says she hopes both trustees and parents realize their frustrations can be eventually resolved.
“You’re putting together two administrations, you’re going to get growing pains,” she says.
“After all the issues that have been going on – the school closings, amalgamation, funding formula, the new curriculum, the French review coming up – let’s be serious, there’s been a lot of things on everybody’s plate and I think it may take longer (to get used to amalgamation) and I think everyone has to learn to be a bit patient.”

Lisgar students graduate with ‘mock-tails’

OSAID, students to promote safe, sober driving. Siobhan Byrne reports.

From car wrecks and “mock-tails” to casino nights and testimonials, a group of students at Lisgar Collegiate Institute want to send a message to their classmates — don’t drive drunk.
Four months ago, Grade 11 student Lisa Jog organized a chapter of Ontario Students Against Impaired Driving (OSAID) at Lisgar Collegiate.
With high school graduation less than three months away, Jog and about 25 other students are trying to warn teens about the dangers of drinking and driving.
“This is the year all my friends are starting to drive,” says Jog. “I’ve never experienced (drunk driving) but I want to keep it that way.”
The students have organized several events to tell their classmates about drinking and driving.
OSAID students have invited members of the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group Rehabilitation Centre to speak at their school at the end of this month.
“Many of these people were at the stage that our high school students are,” says Lisgar Collegiate teacher Barrie Laughton.
Laughton says the speakers are the same age as the high school students. They’re all people who’ve been in alcohol-related driving accidents.
OSAID students are also arranging a casino night at Lisgar Collegiate for more than 350 students in two weeks – complete with “mock-tails.” Mock-tails are juice drinks made up to look like alcoholic beverages.
Jog also plans to ask an insurance company to donate a wrecked car to the school – to remind students of the dangers of drunk driving.
“We thought that it would be a good idea,” says OSAID member and Lisgar Collegiate student Erika Weisz, “especially considering summer and (graduation) are coming up and you know that’s when most of the drinking happens.”
Jog says the biggest issue high school seniors face is finding a safe ride home.
“(Students) go out and they drink. Then they don’t want to call their parents or they don’t have a safe ride home,” says Jog.
Graduating students at Lisgar Collegiate say students will be drinking at graduation but most of them will take a cab home or get a ride with a sober friend.
“Personally I don’t drink but I have a big van so I can drive people,” says Graham Lindfield, graduating Lisgar Collegiate student.
Canadian-based organization Extreme Attitudes Against Drinking and Driving will donate 25 cents for each student at Lisgar Collegiate’s graduation.
Jog says that way they have a quarter to call a cab.
“We’re not about to go out there and be like ‘don’t drink’ because it’s impossible,” says Jog.
But she says OSAID hopes to at least promote “responsible drinking.”
Sonia Jog, Lisa’s sister who is on the graduating committee, says the donated quarters will remind students not to drink and drive.
“I think it . . . encourages us not to make the dumb mistake (of drinking and driving),” says Sonia Jog.
This is also the time of year police officers visit local schools like Lisgar Collegiate “to make sure they are aware of the dangers of (drinking and driving) and how to plan a safer prom night,” says Louise Logue, an employee at the Ottawa-Carleton Regional Police youth office.
Regional public health nurse Clare Purdue says the regional government is also concerned about a safe prom night.
“Every year we go to (student graduation) committees and say ‘please think about the use of alcohol when planning your (graduation),’ ” says Purdue. “And every year they don’t do an awful lot about it because they don’t know me and I don’t know them.”
Consequently, the regional health department has started to put together a booklet called “Party Smart” to help local graduation committees plan their prom and consider the risks of drinking and driving.
The project started late last fall and is expected to take two years to complete.

Program guides city’s blind through construction chaos

By Suzanne Grundy
Construction sites in the downtown core are a nuisance for many people. But for some, not being able to see street closures, heavy machinery, chewed-up sidewalks and open manholes is not only an aggravation, but a confusing and dangerous problem.
On April 1, the region started a new pilot program to inform the blind and visually impaired about construction sites. Participants receive a pre-recorded message about problems like blocked streets and torn up areas.
So far, only 25 people have signed up, but Dierdre Luesby, manager of corporate communication for the region, is hoping for at least 200 people. People need to show interest to keep the project going after the test period is over next spring. She says people don’t know about the program.
“At first I was very discouraged, but I think that when the project gets going then word of mouth will help with the response.”
The region started a similar program last summer to help people with mobility problems get around the construction of the Restore the Core project. People can make appointments to meet a guide to take them through construction sites. Last year the project had a low profile, but Luesby says that both programs are being advertised this year in newspapers, television, radio and on the internet.
Terry Keough, an instructor for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, says the new pilot project is an important one.
“Access is difficult, especially when there are changes around the area,” Keough says. “This program isn’t everything, but it may save someone from getting lost or hurt.”
The first one-minute phone message was sent at the beginning of this month, and each month a new message will be delivered. But still, Luesby says the project is not perfect. She says having only 60 seconds, once a month to give out pertinent information is not enough. The region has additional information posted on an automated telephone system, as well as on their webpage.
For more information, call (613) 560-1335, or visit the region’s website at www.rmoc.on.ca.

Cash injection ‘not enough’

By Kathy Olson
Despite a school board decision to put $4 million back into special education, parents and supporters say students with special needs will suffer unless major changes are made to protect the programs.
The Ottawa Carleton District School Board decided last month to put $3 million from a one-time reserve fund and an additional $1 million back into special education for the next school year.
The announcement was bittersweet for parents and former students who say the board failed to address how cuts will affect students in years to come.
Pat Erb says she is scared for her 11-year-old daughter, Anastasia, who has cerebral palsy. She is in an orthopedic classroom at Centennial public school where she receives a combination of physical therapy and one-on-one instruction.
Erb says her initial excitement quickly turned to frustration when she found out the money is unlikely to change an earlier recommendation to reduce the role of physical therapists and occupational therapists in orthopedic classrooms.
A revised list of recommendations that will go before the board proposes eliminating teaching and support staff in almost all areas of special education despite the added funds.
Erb stresses the important role therapists play in helping her daughter function and learn.
“My daughter is very bright but she needs to know that she will have people there who will help her to relax her feet when she is working on a computer so her toes don’t curl, so one hand doesn’t work separately from the other hand, so she can swim in a pool,”
Erb has witnessed an incredible improvement in her daughter since September but she says if the level of physical therapy decreases she won’t continue to improve next year.
Board chair Albert Chambers admits the reserve fund does not represent a long term solution for special education and says the board will be faced with the difficult task of having to reduce the budget by millions again next year.
He says the added funds should cushion the transition in the coming years.
Students with other special needs are also facing uncertainty. Ruth Cooper has a daughter in the gifted program at McNabb Park public school, she and other parents still have no idea where the program will be next year after a February decision to close the school. Cooper is more optimistic than Erb but she says she realizes she will face the same battle to maintain the program come next year.
Jennifer Eastham says cuts to special education are going to mean more troubled adults in the future.
She knows the importance of the programs. Eastham has attention deficit disorder and she says without the individual attention she received in school she would probably be on the streets today, maybe even in jail.
Instead she works part-time as a teacher’s assistant helping special needs students and is an active volunteer for the Learning Disability Association.
She says improvements to special education in the last decade have kept some students from “falling through the cracks” but she says more, not less, needs to be done to ensure a continuing level of success.
“They want to bring in a system where they have more kids in the classroom and a teacher’s aid and an assistant to one class, so you have maybe five or six special needs children and you’ve got two extra bodies. You’re not going to have the time to work with them all. Somebody is going to suffer and that’s not good,” says Eastham.
The board is expected to vote on recommendations for special education on April 12.

‘Eyes-and-ears’ downtown safety patrol may be back

By Angela Hall
Dubbed the “eyes and ears” of Centretown, a safety patrol hired last summer by Centretown business improvement groups will likely be back this spring to help keep panhandling, prostitution, vandalism and theft in check.
If the plan is approved in April by the Bank Street, Somerset Heights and Somerset Village business groups, the patrol of four Capital Security and Investigation employees could hit the streets by May and stay until Labour Day weekend, says Gerry LePage, executive director of Bank Street Promenade.
On bikes during the day and in cars at night, the patrol team will cover an area extending from Wellington Street to Gladstone Avenue, and Rochester to O’Connor streets.
Though the patrollers do not have any more authority than the average person, LePage says they were effective last summer just by their presence.
“Typically, they would just stand beside the panhandlers, which had a very bad effect on how much money they made,” says LePage. “And if they’re not making money they’ll go elsewhere.”
LePage adds that customers and merchants felt confidence seeing patrollers in the area.
Clad in running shoes, navy shorts, white golf shirts and blue ball caps, they kept daily logs of incidents and contacted police when situations were beyond their control, says Rob Lalande, manager of Capital Security and Investigations.
“Ninety-nine per cent of the time it worked fine,” says Lalande. “They asked people politely, whether (they were) panhandlers or prostitutes, to move along and they did. If someone got violent they called the police.”
Gwen Toop, executive director of Somerset Heights Business Improvement Area, says the patrol curbed some of the petty vandalism in her area last summer. She says it’s worth the hefty cost – her group put $15,000 towards hiring the patrol last July and August.
Because patrolling the streets is normally only a police function, Sgt. Dave Spicer from the Centretown community office, says hiring a private firm can be a “delicate issue.”
“But if everyone does what they’re supposed to do, there isn’t a problem,” says Spicer. “My feeling is that anyone who wants to be eyes and ears for the police is certainly going to be a help to us.”
But not everyone is a fan of the patrol.
Terry Scanlon, a hot dog vendor who has worked on the corner of Bank St. and Laurier Ave. for 15 years, says the patrol was often laughed at by panhandlers.
“The presence of a uniform was somewhat intimidating but overall ineffective,” says Scanlon.
“There was no respect because panhandlers heard the patrollers were ‘fake cops.’”
Scanlon calls the patrol a “quick fix” because the panhandlers pushed off the street went elsewhere or came back later.
But Edgar Mitchell, owner of Somerset House on the corner of Bank and Somerset streets, says he supports the patrol because it brings badly needed surveillance to Centretown.
“I don’t like to cry wolf,” says Mitchell.
“But there are lots of people on the street who aren’t orderly.”
Bank Street, Somerset Heights and Somerset Village business improvement groups will work out the details of this year’s patrol in the next few weeks.
So far, the only other Centretown area that will be seeing similar security measures is Sparks Street.
Bill Cornet, the vice-chairman of Sparks Street Improvement Area, says that by mid-April he hopes to hire a security patrol that would focus only on Sparks Street.
He says concern for customer safety and a need to protect merchants from break-ins prompted Sparks Street management to act.

Business

Spicing up Sparks Street

By Yen Yen Yip

Sparks Street Mall management is hunting for ways to attract more shoppers, and it's following the scent of high-profile stores, like Roots and The Gap.

"The plan is to have good stores with good inducements," saus Louis Fachinni, chair of the mall's retail leasing committee. "They have their own marketing budget, and they will bring more people to the area."
This move comes after a 1998 survey which targeted 310 shoppers, pedestrians and tourists in the mall. It found about one in 10 of those surveyed felt that specialty stores like The Gap and Jacob would make the mall more appealing.
Despite efforts to market the mall in new ways, management says that Sparks Street is "not in dire straits." When it comes to stores that cater to tourists and sell Canadian arts and crafts, Sparks Street is a leader, according to management -- but it needs to push the envelope in retail variety to attract the local crowd.
This need appears to be strong, especially when the mall is compared to its nearest competitor, Rideau Centre, says Fachinni. "When you go to the Rideau Centre, you can find everything there," he says. But "Sparks Street is very lopsided with respect to the types of merchants . . . it doesn't seem to have "There are a lot of variety stores, souvenir stores, shawarma places and restaurants, but if a woman wanted to buy clothes, she'd be hard-pressed to find a variety of women's stores. If I wanted to buy a bed or sporting goods, I wouldn't be able to do that on Sparks Street."
By bringing popular chain stores to the mall, management hopes to achieve the "cluster effect," a situation whereby putting competing stores together would actually lead to more business.
Besides, high-end retailers will simply be able to draw a larger number of shoppers based on their popularity, says Fachinni. "Other stores will be able to capitalize on that draw (when there are) more people."
William Cornet, who runs Classico Uomo, a store specializing in men's formal attire, believes that bringing high profile stores to Sparks Street is a step in the right direction, particularly since business has been hindered by on-going construction around the mall.
"Confederation (Park) is under construction, and if it's not there, Parliament Hill is under construction," he says. "Anything that is going yo enhance the image of the mall can only help."
Ian Wright, owner of The Snow Goose, agrees.
"Stores that are going to attract people and make it a classy street, that would always help," he says.
Although Wright's store, which sells Inuit and Indian art, caters mostly to tourists, he wants to see more shoppers from Ottawa. Sparks Street is already scoring high marks for its ability to draw tourists - it should work on the local scence, he says.
"No doubt the mall could attract more local people . . . there's obviously room for improvement," says Wright. "And the only way that's going to happen is if there are better stores on the street."
But the plan to recruit more popular stores hasn't been put into action yet.
Before it can approach the retailers management wants in the mall, the retail leasing committee has to go through several formal procedures, like collecting an inventory of the available space, and convincing the landlord to enter into a new lease agreement.
Nevertheless, Fachinni is confident of Speak Street's potential to get more quality stores.
"The mall is one block from Parliament Hill, and there's only one Parliament Hill in Canada. It's a very exclusive neighbourhood," he says.

The Business Beat By Dana Dougherty

Everywhere I go lately I am greeted by three words: visit our Web site! My question is why?
Why do such small stores go to the bother and expense of maintaining these sites? Every business from grocery stores to corner stores seems to have a Web site.
Why do such small stores go to the bother and expense of maintaining these sites? Every business from grocery stores to corner stores seems to have a Web site.
Many small business owners say they think not having an Internet presence would leave them a step behind their competition.
The World Wide Web is such an huge and misunderstood thing. I have to wonder it’s worth it.
At first glance the Web seems like a great place to maintain a company presence, but how many other companies had the same idea?
A simple presence on the Internet just isn’t enough. One page of information about your store — similar to a brochure – isn’t going to do much when you have to compete against millions of Web sites.
Some stores like O’Shea’s Market Ireland and the Glebe Apothecary are doing exceptionally well with their Web sites. People can buy products directly from the Web sites just by typing in their credit card numbers. But even these stores estimate that e-commerce sales make up a very small percentage of their business. The store owners have hired Web masters to maintain the sites for them and ensure a professional looking product.
But these Web sites are not of the same caliber as those lame advertising ploys that greet me in countless store windows every time I walk down Bank Street.
For a few thousand dollars, anyone can have a relatively professional-looking Web site, but can anyone maintain it and keep it useful to the people who end up at it?
It’s great to have a Web master who can ensure your name pops up every time someone types in a keyword relating to your business in a search engine.
But if you don’t have such a wizard at your disposal you’re out of luck. You’ve just spent a couple of thousands of dollars creating a Web site that no one will ever find.
Let’s face it, if someone can find 10 stores selling what you are, why would he or she continue searching a bit longer just to find your store.
If your site is just there to let people know you exist, you’re missing the point.
People who don’t know about you probably won’t find you on the Web.The ability of any company to advertise to a local audience using such a big tool is limited - making you just another needle in an ever-growing haystack.

New money gets industry rolling

By Paul Pimentel
A local film association is setting up an office to attract multi-million dollar film and television productions to Ottawa, which could have a major economic impact on Centretown businesses.
“I think that Ottawa’s perched on the edge of a boom in the entertainment industry,” says Barbara Jordan, a local producer. “I think it will have a serious economic impact on the region.”
The regional government recently granted the Ottawa-Hull Film and Television Association $13,000 to create an office in Centretown, which would promote the city as a location for film and television productions, and serve as a liaison between local bureaucrats and out-of-town producers.
Aimée Britten, president of the association, says the association tries to work as a liaison between out-of-town producers and local bureaucrats, but it hasn’t been very effective because the organization is run on a volunteer basis.
She says producers often come to town on short notice and it’s difficult to find volunteers to help them.
“You run around like a fool looking for people who are available,” she says. “You can’t work like that.”
Britten says the grant, which has been matched by private sector donations, will allow the association to hire permanent staff to market the city abroad and provide information for out-of-town producers.
The new film office could bring huge economic benefits to the region, says Britten. For instance, productions often bring only skeleton crews with them on location and hire local sound crews, directors, actors, and photographers.
Film and television productions would have a particularly strong impact on Centretown because Elgin Street, the Byward Market, and Bank Street are some of the prime shooting locations in the city, says Britten.
Centretown businesses would benefit from those productions. Britten notes that when the TV series Justice was filming in Ottawa, they left $275,000 in the community, and that production only stayed in Ottawa for four days. Some local industries recognize this and would like to see more productions in the area.
Truck and car rental companies would like to see more film productions in Ottawa because they rent vehicles from them.
“It would increase revenues, and certainly if they’re using our trucks, it would get the brand name out there,” says Vicky Apperley, a reservations manager with Budget Car and Truck Rentals.
Hotels and restaurants would also benefit from an active film and television industry, says Britten.
Some restaurants encourage film production because productions provide food for local crews, and that brings in revenue. Also, if part of a film is shot in a restaurant, the restaurant will get exposure which will bring in more revenue in the long run.
“Any type of advertising like that will bring in business,” says Kalil Saikaley, owner of the Canal Ritz restaurant.
An active film industry can bring revenue into hotels because productions provide accommodation for out-of-town crews. Hotels can also use film production to promote themselves.
Anup Israni, director of marketing at the Westin Hotel, has made use of this kind of promotional tool. Last year, parts of Undercover Angel, a movie directed by Bryan Michael Stoller, and starring Yasmine Bleeth (formerly of Baywatch) were shot at his hotel.
“If the movie is a success and everyone sees the Westin Ottawa, it gives us some exposure.”
Israni sees bringing film and television production into Ottawa as beneficial to the local economy. But attracting these productions and keeping them coming back would be difficult without a film office.
Alyson Feltes, the producer of Justice, recently spoke out in the local media saying confusion over what level of government had jurisdiction over different locations, caused delays in her production schedule. She spent days trying to find out who was in charge of a plug on Parliament Hill. She says she’ll think twice before bringing future productions to Ottawa.
Britten says a film office could have helped Feltes avoid the bureaucratic troubles she encountered in Ottawa.
Britten says politicians, the entertainment industry, and other industries have to work together to market Ottawa as a site for film and television production. She is currently trying to develop partnerships with other industries — such as restaurants and hotels — to drum up support for the entertainment industry.

Sports

Spinning into spring

By Trevor Wilhelm

Spring is here and for many, it’s time to shake the dust off the running shoes, break out the shiny spandex shorts, water bottle, fanny pack and head to the gym.
“Definitely March, April and May are our busiest times of the year,” says Jackie Cowan, owner of Physical Limits Health and Fitness Centre on Slater Street.
François Gagnon, a personal trainer at Momentum Athletics on Bank Street, also says he sees more customers in the spring trying to get in shape for the summer.
Cowan says aerobics classes are the most popular exercises.
“You don’t have to be self-motivated,” she says. “You only need to get here in a pair of tights and someone else will push you.”
Spinning is also a popular fad says Cowan. Spinning classes are taught by professional cyclists.
The classes are done indoors on stationary bikes and simulate pack cycling.
“People go through the mental images together. That’s what’s appealing,” says Cowan.
Riding up and down hills, and even going around corners is made more realistic by adjusting tension levels on the bike.
The activity builds up core strength as well as developing confidence.
“You can experience that feeling on a [stationary] bike, except you don’t have to worry about crashing and hurting yourself,” says Cowan. “It really works amazingly.”
She also says that people should stick to activities they are comfortable with. “The best exercise is the one you love the most.”
But the rush to start exercising can often result in injury because people try to do too much too fast.
Tina Corriveau, fitness supervisor at the YMCA on Argyle Street, says people need to get active.
“But don’t push it. Don’t get out there and just go crazy,” she says. “Pace yourself.”
Corriveau says instead of starting at a level-three aerobics class, or going for a long run, beginners should start off walking or in a basic aerobic class.
Cowan agrees. “First and foremost, don’t overdo it,” she says. “Do small amounts and build up over time.”
Cowan says that her club’s health clinic also becomes more popular in the spring.
“Physiotherapy is appealing because people start to exercise in spring,” she says. “They tend to overdo it and pull or tear things.”
Corriveau also warns against severe injury. She says if people do not warm up properly, they can rip or pull a muscle , and “muscles take forever to heal,” she says.
Corriveau says that in extreme cases, heart failure can result from not warming up, then trying to exercise beyond your ability.
To avoid physiotherapy or worse, says Corriveau, “everybody should warm up for at least five or six minutes.”
She says this can be done by simply walking around.
“Do warm up stretches before any type of exercise,” she says. “Follow with stretches at the end of the workout as well to promote flexibility and prevent injury.”
Gagnon adds that goals must be realistic. He says many people come in and want to be physically fit “by yesterday.”
Corriveau says she understands how people can hurt themselves.
“I’ve injured my muscles many times by not warming up properly or not stretching after, or overdoing it,” she says. “I’m a fitness supervisor but I’ve still done it.”
Cowan also mentioned that people tend to think a fitness club is the only venue for exercise. She says a fitness club has advantages but stresses it is not the only way. “It’s all about being physically active, so exercising can be anything, even cleaning the house,” says Cowan. “Just be active in your day to day life.”

Spinning into spring

By Trevor Wilhelm

Spring is here and for many, it’s time to shake the dust off the running shoes, break out the shiny spandex shorts, water bottle, fanny pack and head to the gym.
“Definitely March, April and May are our busiest times of the year,” says Jackie Cowan, owner of Physical Limits Health and Fitness Centre on Slater Street.
François Gagnon, a personal trainer at Momentum Athletics on Bank Street, also says he sees more customers in the spring trying to get in shape for the summer.
Cowan says aerobics classes are the most popular exercises.
“You don’t have to be self-motivated,” she says. “You only need to get here in a pair of tights and someone else will push you.”
Spinning is also a popular fad says Cowan. Spinning classes are taught by professional cyclists.
The classes are done indoors on stationary bikes and simulate pack cycling.
“People go through the mental images together. That’s what’s appealing,” says Cowan.
Riding up and down hills, and even going around corners is made more realistic by adjusting tension levels on the bike.
The activity builds up core strength as well as developing confidence.
“You can experience that feeling on a [stationary] bike, except you don’t have to worry about crashing and hurting yourself,” says Cowan. “It really works amazingly.”
She also says that people should stick to activities they are comfortable with. “The best exercise is the one you love the most.”
But the rush to start exercising can often result in injury because people try to do too much too fast.
Tina Corriveau, fitness supervisor at the YMCA on Argyle Street, says people need to get active.
“But don’t push it. Don’t get out there and just go crazy,” she says. “Pace yourself.”
Corriveau says instead of starting at a level-three aerobics class, or going for a long run, beginners should start off walking or in a basic aerobic class.
Cowan agrees. “First and foremost, don’t overdo it,” she says. “Do small amounts and build up over time.”
Cowan says that her club’s health clinic also becomes more popular in the spring.
“Physiotherapy is appealing because people start to exercise in spring,” she says. “They tend to overdo it and pull or tear things.”
Corriveau also warns against severe injury. She says if people do not warm up properly, they can rip or pull a muscle , and “muscles take forever to heal,” she says.
Corriveau says that in extreme cases, heart failure can result from not warming up, then trying to exercise beyond your ability.
To avoid physiotherapy or worse, says Corriveau, “everybody should warm up for at least five or six minutes.”
She says this can be done by simply walking around.
“Do warm up stretches before any type of exercise,” she says. “Follow with stretches at the end of the workout as well to promote flexibility and prevent injury.”
Gagnon adds that goals must be realistic. He says many people come in and want to be physically fit “by yesterday.”
Corriveau says she understands how people can hurt themselves.
“I’ve injured my muscles many times by not warming up properly or not stretching after, or overdoing it,” she says. “I’m a fitness supervisor but I’ve still done it.”
Cowan also mentioned that people tend to think a fitness club is the only venue for exercise. She says a fitness club has advantages but stresses it is not the only way. “It’s all about being physically active, so exercising can be anything, even cleaning the house,” says Cowan. “Just be active in your day to day life.”

Outing club is prepping

By Ryan Baker

The Ottawa Outing Club is gearing up for another busy season.
Staff members are rushing to mail out brochures and are hastily preparing for the year’s inaugural information presentation later this month.
Founded in 1981, the club organizes various outdoor activities for its members, such as hiking, cycling, canoeing and kayaking.
Over 50 outings have already been lined up for this year, ranging from day-long trips to weekend or week-long excursions.
The club also doubles as a travel agency and organizes various activities around the world.
Run by a staff of 11 — three office staff and eight guides — the club provides transportation to and from the various events as well as expert consultation and detailed instruction.
According to club director Dean Hammill, most club members are single people in their 30s and 40s, though some families have joined.
Last year, the club had about 450 members and Hammill says he expects the same this season.
Outings are priced at member and non-member rates. Members pay less and get free admission to the several social events organized by the club throughout the season.
Membership costs $60 for the year.
“We offer the opportunity for people to get some fresh air and make some new friends,” says Hammill.
And that’s exactly what some Centretown residents are looking for this summer.
Now that warmer weather is here, Louise Hunt has started walking the two kilometres to and from work. She takes part in an aqua-fit class and is planning her first hiking trip of the year in Italy next month.
Hunt has been a member of the Ottawa Outing Club since she moved to Ottawa from Halifax in 1984.
She’s participated in most of the activities offered over the years, including trips to the Dominican Republic, the Caribbean island of Dominica and Vietnam.
She says the club is especially important to her because of its social aspect.
“It’s a major part of my social life,” she says.
“It’s given me a lot of social contacts. I’ve been to operas and jazz festivals and other such things with people I’ve met through the club.”
Hammill says his clients also appreciate the convenience that comes with participating.
“People, with their busy lifestyles, can just pack a bag and show up at the pick-up spot,” says Hammill.
“We supply the transportation, the accommodation, the guides and the instructors.”
Bernie Dipman, 71, has been a member for several years.
He skis at least twice a week during the winter, and he recently pulled his bicycle out of storage, cleaned it, and went for his first ride of the season.
He also belongs to the Ottawa Cycling Club and the Ottawa Sailing Club.
Dipman says he enjoys the Ottawa Outing Club activities in particular because they’re hassle-free.
“I like the simplicity and the instant social package,” Dipman says.
“You just go to the pick-up and from there on you don’t have to worry about a thing. And you meet a really congenial group of people.”
Hammill says he expects kayaking will be the most popular activity this year. Last year, he had to set up additional instruction sessions to keep up with the demand for the sport.
The club will present its first information session of the season on April 15 at 7:30 p.m., in the basement auditorium of Ottawa Public Library on Metcalfe Street.
The presentation will include a slide-show of pictures taken from past outings and a discussion on what’s planned for this year.
For more information, call 729-0507.

Arts

Ottawa celebrates the Duke

By Jocelyn Dickey
Local jazz aficiandos are celebrating what would have been Duke Ellington’s 100th birthday this April with a month of concerts and events.
Ellington, who some have called the most significant jazz composer of the 20th century, was born on April 29, 1899. His contributions to jazz music are still felt today, more than 20 years after his death.
“When you listen to his recordings, even in the late ‘20s, he was doing wonderful music with strange sounds and eerie harmonies and to this day we don’t know he did it,” says Ron Sweetman, chair/spokesman of Music Now, and host of In a Mellow Tone, CKCU-FM’s jazz program.
Music Now is an organization set up in 1997 to bring more leading edge, avant-garde and improvisational music to Ottawa. It was responsible for organizing the Chicago Now series of jazz concerts at the Mercury Lounge last November, and is assisting with the organization of Ellington Now.
“We wanted to do more than just concerts,” says Sweetman. As part of Ellington Now “we are having four weekends with four different musical acts, a panel discussion, an online discussion, and a series of radio broadcasts dedicated to Ellington’s music.”
There will also be a photo exhibition at the National Library focusing on Ellington’s connection to Canada and his various concerts in Ottawa and Hull.
“We’re expecting the concerts will be well attended,” says Dean Pallen, head of the Ottawa Ellington Centennial Committee. “Some are almost already soldout.”
The concerts will be held at the After Eight Jazz Cafe and the Empire Grill.
Shawn Dawson, co-owner of the After Eight Jazz Cafe, says it is only natural that his cafe is involved because “it acts as a focus point for the jazz community in Ottawa.” He adds the After Eight is “the only live venue that focuses on jazz 12 months of the year.”
The first weekend’s concerts will feature tenor saxophonist Richard Parris of Montreal and the Richard Paris Quartet. The second weekend will feature one of Montreal’s best known alto saxophonists, Dave Turner, and pianist Jean Beaudet. The third will feature Robert M. Lepage, a Canadian clarinetist well known in the field of improvised music, and bassist Norman Guilbeault who is best known as the leader of his own ensemble. Local group Chelsea Bridge, one of Ottawa’s most prestigious jazz groups, will conclude the concert series.
Dawson says the After Eight expects capacity crowds for all performances and advises people to call ahead to make reservations or purchase advance tickets.
The Ellington committee was set up “to make sure that in Ottawa there is some recognition of (Ellington’s) centennial,” says Pallen.
The committee also wants to organize other events this fall to celebrate Ellington’s centennial. “It would be the second phase,” says Pallen. “We would like people to come out to get current exposure to one of the most important figures in music in the 20th century.”

The Arts Beat By Jan Daniels

In honor of April being National Poetry Month, I was browsing through the Web to find out what will be going on in the local scene. Starting with The Academy of American Poets Web site (www.poets.org) and the League of Canadian Poets (www.swifty.com/lc/index.html) these sites linked me to online magazines, which led to electronic zines. Zines are wild and crazy distortions of art that jump, flip and plop all over the place.
Where Shakespeare once lived, fleeting “artists” on a whim to be poetic now exist. Long, dramatic prose with emphasis on classical style is out. Short sound bytes and rebellious growls are in.
Poetry and fiction abound in electronic zines where everyone has a word to offer other writers and readers. Since the Internet is pretty much open access to all, that means more people are seeing their work out in the public sphere. Meanwhile, the words “professional” and “meaningful” no longer play a part in the writing process.
In looking at a self-proclaimed “on-line experimental lit zine,” the CybpherAnthology of Discontiguous Literature says, “Electronic and otherwise, (it) seems to me that zines, as active instruments of community(s), simultaneously structure and reflect socially constructed groups.”
What type of social constructs are we reflecting though? Most zines I’ve seen are so “alternative” and abstract that they don’t even present any concrete ideas or inspiring images of art. What good is a piece of writing if no one understands it? It has to be convincing enough without the writer guiding the reader by the hand.
Most zines are more interested in rebellion and bucking the system than good, quality writing. I fear that like television, the Internet will begin to monopolize our lives as more people begin to thrive on instant gratification. Our society does not need more chaos and violence than already exists.
As a transmitter of ideas, the Web certainly is full of passing ideas and visions for writers. The Electronic Poetry Center at SUNY Buffalo (http://wings.buffalo.edu/epc) states its claim to be, “Our aim is simple: to make a wide range of resources centered on contemporary experimental and formally innovative poetries an immediate actuality.”
Well, what good are innovative experiments if the outcome is unclear? Using an outlet to hear your own voice is not the point. Writing is about making a positive impact for people and society, not wasting air space.

Polish artist invites public to touch and smell art

By Tom McLean

The Ottawa School of Art Gallery is inviting Centretown residents to open all their senses to its latest exhibition, featuring the work of Polish artist Ryszard Litwiniuk.
Inside the exhibition room, signs reading “Please do not touch” are nowhere to be found. Patrons are encouraged to smell, touch and even move the solid art pieces on display to complete Litwiniuk’s expression of his work.
“I would certainly call it one of the highlights of this year’s exhibition run,” said Ottawa School of Art director Jeff Stellick.
Litwiniuk, who was born in Olsztyn, Poland in 1966, officially unveiled his unique works, collectively called metamorphoses — empty spaces, at a grand opening on April 1. The Republic of Poland’s ambassador to Canada was on hand with other curious onlookers to listen to Litwiniuk describe the philosophy behind his art.
Litwiniuk said all his sculptures begin with a base piece carved from organic wood into a geometric shape, such as a triangle, which he then assembles with other pieces to form an organic pattern.
The sculptures are held upright by solid metal poles or hung from the ceiling, and patrons are encouraged to experience them up-close and personal. The final products are static but suggest movement in the way they are shaped, some of them looking like strange creatures frozen in space. But Litwiniuk said his sculptures are incomplete without a human presence.
“Touch for me is the most important of the human senses — it is the beginning of familiarity,” said Litwiniuk. “The observer must feel the sculpture with all of their body and their senses. The visitor becomes a part of the sculpture and completes it through presence and physical intervention. My work cannot exist without people because without an audience there is no life.”
How far can one go in their physical experience of Litwiniuk’s work? His answer was simple:
“I make art for people, not monkeys.”
Litwiniuk said the trust he places in observers not to interpret “move and touch” to mean “damage and destroy” is part of his expression. He said it’s meant in part to demonstrate what he sees as a close relation between ethical and esthetic values.
Still, the school has decided against placing any of the sculptures, which are light enough to pick up, outside the building on George Street.
“With the busy market I could almost see a tour bus backing over it or something,” says Stellick.
At the exhibition’s opening, Ottawa residents who were looking at the sculptures seemed reluctant to touch them despite the author’s encouragement, some of them tentatively running a single finger over the wooden frames and then retreating.
“It’s just not something you’re used to doing at an exhibition,” said Anna Vickers, who lives on James Street in Centretown. “It kind of highlights what he’s saying I think — that we’re very accustomed to that physical separation when dealing with art.”
Litwiniuk, who for the past nine months has been living in Tilbury, Ont., has made other sculptures in his native Poland, which are typically displayed outdoors, and has seen his work displayed at about 10 galleries since 1992. He says a lot of European artists move to Canada for the same reason he did: “For the snow covering.”
The free exhibit will run until April 19 at the Ottawa School of Art Gallery, located at 35 George St.

Eighty artists visit Ottawa to raise funds for kidney research

By Bethany Harpur
Local artists are joining forces to celebrate the National Capital Fine Art Festival’s fifth year as a fund-raiser for the Kidney Foundation of Canada.
“I think it’s fantastic,” says Marilyn Henricksen, executive assistant with the foundation and a member of the festival’s committee. “(The artists) are a great group of people, and they seem very happy to be involved.”
Twenty per cent from each work of art sold will go towards the foundation’s biomedical research and patient services program. Henricksen says the festival raises between $15,000 to $17,000 annually.
The festival was first started in Westboro 10 years ago by chairman and local artist Peter Germotte as both an incentive to bring tourists into the area and a chance for artists to display their talents.
“Most artists end up going to galleries, who charge quite a bit in markup,” says Germotte. “It’s difficult to make a living when you’re giving most of your money away.”
The artists themselves see the exhibit as a great chance at being seen.
“Some years it’s really good, some years it’s slow,” says Charlie Spratt, a local watercolour painter whose landscapes of Algonquin Park will be featured at this year’s show.
“It’s still an excellent opportunity to show my work. And it’s always great to raise money for the foundation.”
The festival moved to the Congress Centre and then on to the Aberdeen Pavilion after the Westboro Arena was sold to the Ottawa Boys and Girls Club. Both organizers of the event and artists are pleased with the “light, airy building, with lots of parking,” says Henrickson.
“Moving in (to the Congress Centre) was always difficult,” she adds. “People were paying around $12 (for parking) on top of the cost for admission. The pavilion has much easier access and free parking.”
Visitors to this year’s show will be able to peruse the work of over 80 artists from as far away as North Bay, Ont. and Rimouski, Que. The show will run from April 23-25.

Editorial

Keep food off the bus

As OC Transpo tries to make itself even more customer-friendly, it seems to be missing the bus on another important issue.
In its latest assault on allergens, OC Transpo has decided to keep pets such as cats and dogs off buses because they trigger allergies and asthma among some riders. Earlier this year, it launched an awareness campaign to get people to refrain from wearing perfume and other scented body products on the bus.
While we applaud attempts to be more sensitive to people with allergies, such moves seem trivial when people are not prevented from activities that can cause even more severe allergic reactions — such as eating nut products on the bus.
If OC Transpo really wanted to do something for people with allergies, it would ban food.
Many more people have severe allergies to peanuts than to dog dander.
Hundreds eat nut products on buses every day, posing a deadly risk to allergy sufferers. Even airborne nut particles can be enough to cause anaphylactic shock, making it impossible — or almost-impossible — to breathe. That’s why some airlines are offering nut-free flights.
It’s true that those allergic to pets can experience everything from watery eyes to severe asthma attacks; but pets don’t even usually ride the bus.
Most of the time, the only animals ever on buses are seeing eye dogs — and they are exempt from the ban. So it’s a waste of time and energy. The staff at OC Transpo should be spending its time addressing more pressing issues, but management says there haven’t been any complaints so they don’t see it as an issue.
Twelve years ago, the bus company lifted its ban on food amidst controversy over its ill-advised enforcement against a child feeding on a bottle. Now, it seems afraid to cause further upset by taking away riders’ snacking privileges.
Today, riders regularly and openly munch on chocolate bars, ice cream, and other food containing nuts. That’s not only unhealthy, but also unsightly.
Discarded food wrappers are a common sight on bus floors, making our buses look dirty and unkempt, reflecting badly on the city.
More important, however, is how the capital’s public transit seems ready to overlook the potential risk that airborne food allergens pose to the thousands who ride the bus each day.
While OC Transpo frets over keeping Snoopy off the bus, they continue to ignore the real threat of leaving peanuts on.
—Chad Paulin and Jen Ross

Letters

Hintonburg opposes bridge plan

Many of us in Hintonburg enjoy reading Centretown News, since our communities have a great deal in common.
I want to respond, however, to an article in the business section of a recent issue (Truck traffic a menace, say downtown businesses, March 12), which described the efforts of some in the King Edward Avenue area to alleviate their serious problem with truck traffic.
We have traffic problems in Hintonburg, too, and can certainly sympathize with the residents and merchants in the King Edward Avenue area.
However, we are adamantly opposed to the remedies proposed by one group, represented by Mr. Josh Moon, which has launched an appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board. It is seeking the reinstatement in the region’s official plan for a number of bridges planned to cross the Ottawa River into Ottawa, which the region had previously and correctly eliminated from the plan.
Of greatest concern to our area is the Champagne Arterial proposal, which would have a new bridge cross the Ottawa River at the CP Rail corridor near Preston Street, to connect with a new highway built from the river to the Queensway right through our community.
The Hintonburg Community Association, along with other community associations, have previously expended considerable effort successfully opposing this destructive proposal.
We are concerned that the Centretown News article did not clearly describe the considerable negative impact the proposed downtown bridges would have on communities in Ottawa and did not mention the widespread opposition of community groups and residents in communities including Hintonburg, Dalhousie, Manor Park, and New Edinburgh, who have joined the region to defend the official plan before the OMB.
Although there is unarguably a serious problem on King Edward, the remedies proposed in this appeal are not the way it should be addressed. Instead, we support building bridges outside of Ottawa’s urban, built-up area, as recently proposed by the region, and requiring trucks to use them. This would divert truck traffic away from the residential and retail areas in the city, including King Edward Avenue, without introducing the same traffic problems suffered by the Kind Edward area to other communities in the city.
Jay Baltz
President, Hintonburg Community Association

Insight

Canadian tax dollars can be better spent at home, argues Corey Boles.

When the Chretien Liberals campaigned for re-election in 1997, there was no mention in their platform of radically changing Canada’s foreign aid policy. The Canadian public dutifully voted them back into office, oblivious to the fact that our elected officials were planning to forgive the majority of its loans to small, impoverished nations.
In a speech in Winnipeg last month, Prime Minister Jean Chretien announced his government’s intention to forgive loans to small nations, who because of their state of poverty, are unable to repay the debts they owe to Western nations.
So great is the burden these loans place on the fragile economies of these third-world countries, that the interest alone that they pay on these debts is often larger than all other national spending. In Honduras, for example, 80 per cent of government revenue goes towards debt repayment.
There are two immediate concerns with this proposal that come to mind. Quite often these debt-ridden countries are run by military autocracies that have little concern for the poverty which their people live in.
If Western nations simply give more money to these governments, what will stop them from spending money in less-than-ethical ways, such as increasing their military capabilities? Perhaps Canada should look at home first, at our own social problems, before we think about helping others.
The federal government press release said: “Canada and its G-7 partners must continue working on ways to better assist the poorest countries in reducing their debts. But relief must be targeted wisely so that it will not underwrite military spending in the receiving countries.”
What guarantee does the Canadian public have that these countries will be significantly better off if they are not compelled to pay back these loans?
Many third-world nations aren’t exactly stellar examples of modern democracies. More often, they are autocratic or military regimes, whose governments have little concern about the welfare of their people. What proof is there that if Canada and other countries absolve these debts, there will be any change in the economies of these poor nations? Surely, promises from third-world dictators aren’t sufficient.
The Canadian government is not alone in considering this idea.
Other G-7 nations, such as Germany and Britain, have similar plans regarding third-world debt absolution. Religious organizations are, for the most part, leading the charge, with the Pope making the proposal his personal crusade.
And the movement is gaining steam as the turn of the millennium charges forward. Its goal is to urge industrialized nations around the world to forgive poor countries the money they have loaned them over the years.
The World Bank and IMF released a list of 41 countries to be considered for debt absolution. As far as Canada is concerned, there are currently eight nations that top its list: Bolivia, Guyana, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, Mozambique and Uganda. Bolivia and Uganda have already received $1.4 billion US in absolution. The government hopes to expand this list to include names like Honduras, Haiti, Malawi and even Afghanistan.
The argument in favour of third-world debt absolution states that debt repayment prevents these poor nations from rising out of their impoverished state because of the crippling interest payments they are forced to make.
According to Bishop John Baycroft, head of the Ottawa Anglican Church, it is the moral obligation of industrialized nations to forgive these loans.
“We need a moratorium on debt,” Baycroft has been quoted as saying.
On the surface, it would be hard to argue that forgiving the debts of these countries is a negative thing. But, there are serious considerations that must be weighed before such a decision should be made.
The moral argument Baycroft and other religious leaders make isn’t one that is easily defensible. The idea that Canada has a obligation to absolve third-world debts simply won’t fly.
Canada has many social ills that plague its own development that it should deal with before it starts offering help to other nations.
While it may be true that our country’s problems aren’t on the same scale as the poverty that affects third-world nations, they still should not be ignored. All one has to do is look at some of the native reserves, where residents live in squalid conditions, or at the homeless problem in large urban centres like Toronto or Vancouver. Perhaps our government should be more concerned with solving its own problems, before it proposes to hand out more money to others. Canada is owed about $1.2 billion by 15 of the poorest nations around the world. That is a fair chunk of money that would go a long way in solving some of Canada’s social problems.
It’s not realistic to argue that all aid to foreign countries should be cut — serious problems do exist in African and Central and South American countries. But to consider forgiving all debts incurred by these poor countries, while on the surface may be an admirable idea, needs much more debate before it is accepted.
The Canadian public should be given the opportunity to vote on this proposal. The Chretien government should go back to the people that put them in office to get their opinion on the matter. Until this happens, a responsible government would resist the urges of religious and other groups to unilaterally forgive debts owed to it.

Matter of Opinon By James Raiswell

It must be an April Fool’s Day joke! On April 1, Canada welcomed the new territory of Nunavut into Confederation, making it the largest administrative region in the country. It spans one-fifth of the Canadian land mass, or an area the size of Alberta, British Columbia and Yukon combined. It is the new homeland for the displaced Inuit.
Despite its sheer physical immensity, the new territory has a population of slightly more than 27,000 people. If you want to talk about immensity, consider the territory’s annual budget of roughly $620 million.
When will the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and its minister, Jane Stewart, let us all in on their little prank? Is the Canadian government using our money wisely by creating a territory whose operating budget works out to about $23,000 per capita? Or is this some elaborate April Fool’s joke for which the Canadian taxpayer will foot an enormous bill?
In terms of federal transfer payments, Nunavut will absorb about $1.15 billion over the next 14 years. That figure does not take into account the added $150 million in one-time administrative costs to the Canadian government.
Socially, the territory looks to be a mess of problems. Unemployment in the territory checks in at 22 per cent — nearly triple the national average. The welfare rate of the territory is three times the national average and half of the adult population in the territory hasn’t even completed Grade 9.
Suicide rates in the territory are six times that of the national figure; incarceration figures are triple those of the Canadian average and one-third of the population abuses solvents.
Too may social ills, you say? Fair enough. Consider the population figures for the region. Nunavut’s largest community (Iqaluit) checks in at about 4,200 people; its smallest community is Bathhurst Inlet, with 18 people.
Politically, the federal government is declaring the settlement to be a landmark agreement and the Inuit who live on the territory are delighted to have control over their homeland.
But does the 19-member Nunavut Legislative Assembly expect to improve the many social, political and economic problems the territory faces days into its inception? Or will it simply fall back on the federal government, pleading for more fiscal aid when things go wrong?
Come on, Jane Stewart, let the cat out of the bag. April Fool’s Day pranks are supposed to have stopped at noon.
Could it be that the government is serious about this one?

Focus

There’s a battle brewing between the generations, reports Nicolas Van Praet.

One of the most repeated hippie lines to make the rounds in the 1960s was “Never trust anyone over 30.” Now, it’s meaningless.
Today’s conflict between young and old is a complex and nuanced affair that elicits as many different responses as the number of people you ask.
The generation-bashing line of the late ‘90s could be “never trust anyone over 65, especially if you’re under 31.” Or “never trust anyone 40 to 50 if you’re in your 30s.” But even those are disputed.
There are two main conflicts between generations today — and another brewing, says University of Toronto demographer David Foot, author of the best-seller Boom, Bust and Echo.
The first battle is the thirty-something Gen-Xers versus the bulging-waistline boomers nearing 50, says Foot. He says because they were so numerous, the boomers got the best things in life first. Xers were left with the scraps.
“The boomers took all their jobs, drove up the house prices and blocked their career paths. Those in their 30s today resent the boomers. They think the boomers have everything.”
Battle two, the one that’s just started over the pension issue, says Foot, pits the twenty-something baby busters against young seniors who grew up in the 1930s.
The busters — so called because they were born during a period of declining fertility - have correctly identified rich young seniors as the people riding the system, Foot says. “And in no way do they want to pay taxes so that the richest people in Canada can have free health care in Arizona six months of the year.”
But the image of moneyed seniors driving motor homes south for the winter and enjoying themselves while giving nothing back to society is wrong, says Ivan Hale of the Canadian Seniors Network. Hale says it overlooks the fact that seniors are the biggest donors to charities, hospitals and universities in Canada.
“They’re sharing the wealth. They’re not hoarding it for themselves.”
Not quite, says Re. Jim Love, one of the founders of Canadians for Intergenerational Justice, a group working to fight ageism and bridge the gap between generations.
Love says although he has certainly met some seniors who love young people and want to nurture a healthy Canada, when it comes to the pension plan, many seniors believe they are entitled to full benefits, even if the system hurts young people.
“Older generations are highly consumer and materialistically oriented and many basically don’t give a flying fig about the young of this country... We need to challenge older generations without getting into senior bashing.”
Love argues that younger generations are being told to pay not only for deficits created before they were born, but also for the pensions of historically advantaged older generations. And this at a time when their own income is declining.
“This is not whining,” Love says. “It’s just the way it is. The young are in no position to maintain the high lifestyle expectations of some senior citizens.”
Those lifestyle expectations might come from the fact that their generation created the social programs we have today, says Hale. Seniors have seen their quality of life improve over the years and they see no reason why it can’t remain that way.
“All of those programs that we’re enjoying today were born out of one generation that happens to be our seniors and they don’t want to lose that for their children.”
But it’s not their children that are losing out, says Foot. It’s their children’s children. Not the baby boomers but the baby busters.
“If you think of someone who is 69 today, born in 1930, they didn’t start paying into the pension plan until 1966. By the time they retire, they’re only paid in for 20, 25 years or so and they’re going to take out more than that. Whereas the 20-year-olds are going to put in for 45 years and it may not be there when they retire.”
Don Swartz, a professor of public administration at Carleton University, argues that there is a small group of people in Canada fanning the flames of generation bashing to serve their own interests.
For example, Swartz says, Bay Street financiers are trying to get a piece of the pension pie by talking up the rift between young and old on the issue.
The financiers stand to benefit if the pension system were privatized or replaced by a system of mandatory RRSPs.
“I think the story is really just how silly this discussion is,” Swartz says. “There is a cycle of life where parents look after children when the children are young, and there’s a period of neutrality and then the children look after the parents.”
That’s true, says Foot, but the real question is how much each group thinks it deserves. It’s a question of fairness.
“I would argue that almost all the discussion of intergenerational conflict in Canada has largely been limited to the pension issue, where of course, contributions have been raised dramatically for those of working age. Me included as well as you. And benefits weren’t cut for today’s seniors who are the relatively rich ones.”
The good news, Foot says, is that we’re entering a “glorious period” in Canadian history.
The boomers are moving into their 50s and 60s — ages where income earning and tax paying are at their prime.
Meanwhile, their teenaged children — Foot dubs them the echo generation — are now entering the work force and starting to pay income taxes.
Because the echo is also a huge group — now numbering about seven million — the Canadian economy could do very well with this many workers.
“And if we manage this correctly,” he says, “we could build up the savings needed to pay for the boomers as they start to retire.”
The bad news is that because the echo and the boomers want different things, another generational conflict could emerge.
And this one would be big, Foot says.
“There is a conflict coming in the marketplace between the boomers hitting their 50s wanting peace and quiet and quality because they’re willing to pay for it, and their echo kids in their 20s wanting noise and action but cheap prices because they don’t have very much money.
“It could spill over to the lakes — the Sea-dooer blasting by the quiet fisherman.”

Focus on Older People, by Jane Gates.

It’s the International Year of Older Persons, and we are being encouraged to try to break down intergenerational barriers between young and old people.
Oops — that’s older people.
But what does it mean to be an older person these days? It certainly doesn’t have the same meaning it did at the beginning of the century -- for that matter, even in the middle. And it most certainly will not have the same meaning in another 50 years.
The United Nations defines an older person as someone over 60. The Canadian government defines an older person as over 65. But even these may be fleeting categorizations.
Since 1920, the average life expectancy has increased by an average of seven years for males, and by 13 years for females. This has largely been due to advances in education, health care and technology.
Now, some medical experts are predicting that over the next few years the average lifespan may increase by another 20 years — an incredible medical achievement.
But not one without consequences.
The proportion of older people in societies around the world is going to increase dramatically as we head into the new millennium. The combination of increased lifespan and aging baby boomers will change the entire economic, social and cultural fabric of our society.
Statistics Canada predicts that by 2041 the proportion of people over 65 will increase to 23 per cent from the current 12 per cent. This will mean a quadrupling of those people 85 years and over.
It will probably give a whole new meaning to the term “older.” Who knows, maybe some day this term will be reserved for those over 100.
But even if the definition of the word doesn’t change, the implications probably will. Older will no longer imply reaching the end of a career at 65. It will no longer imply kissing an active sex life goodbye. It will no longer imply being put out to pasture — of no use to society.
Already things are changing. Older people are becoming increasingly vocal in self-advocacy, returning to school, and having fulfilling sex lives. They are pursuing more varied lifestyles, and many are continuing to work well past standard retirement age.
However, the changing proportion and role of the older members of society is going to require some adjustment on the part of the younger members. There may be resentment, as parents have to move in with grown children, compete with them for jobs, and use a large proportion of health care dollars.
It will take respect, understanding, and a willingness to accept the value of older people’s contribution to society. It will mean taking the time to understand what it’s like to be older.
Whatever that means.

Seniors find voice through advocacy

By Danielle Gauthier

When Kathelyn Black turned 80 this year, one of her friends sent her this tongue-in-cheek message: “People are so amazed you made it this far, they don’t expect too much of you!”
But Black says she’s never been one to sit back and watch her life go by, and she’s not about to start now.
The Cumberland resident is one of many seniors in the region today who work to break down the stereotype that older people are passive, weak and feebleminded. Those who choose to speak out about issues that concern them do it in different ways, but all find a sense of renewed life in the process.
Black recently attended a self-advocacy workshop for seniors called “How to get what you need.” She says she learned that being assertive — not passive or aggressive — is the best way to get rid of a telephone solicitor or just to get a seat on the bus.
“Self-advocacy is important, because you have to speak up for yourself instead of having someone else do it for you,” says Vicki Larsen, who developed the workshop with the Council on Aging of Ottawa-Carleton.
“What you learn over and over again when you work on advocacy is that it’s the squeaky wheel that gets the grease.”
In an aging society that still dismisses older people, a little self-advocacy is a step in the right direction, says Bernice Moreau, a social work professor at Carleton University.
“If I believe the crazy notion that when you get to 65, you’re automatically out of it, then I don’t have to worry about you, you’re no longer a political threat,” says Moreau, who teaches a course on aging.
“Older people are realizing that in our culture, if you don’t stand up for yourself, no one else will.”
For Daphne Fletcher, it means going beyond just learning to speak up for herself. Several years ago, she joined Ottawa-Carleton’s No Name/Seniors Action Network to fight actively for seniors’ rights.
“With No Name, you’re not alone, and if there’s a cause you have to fight, there are people behind you,” says the 64-year-old Centretown resident. “I think if you get involved in something and keep active, you live longer — and you keep out of the fridge!”
The network was created in 1992 by three local community health centres. Since then, it has helped interested seniors to lobby government about issues that affect their day-to-day lives.
Fletcher says she became an activist for seniors’ issues the hard way.
After back surgery several years ago, she says she was released from the hospital too soon. Alone and scared in her apartment, Fletcher had to crawl around on her hands and knees until she figured out who to call for help.
Now, she fights to allow seniors to stay as long as they need to in the hospital.
Fletcher also writes to politicians about pedestrians’ rights and traffic safety because two years ago, she was a victim of a van that ran a red light.
“I got hit flat to the ground and ended up in the hospital, pretty bruised,” she recalls. “I don’t take up a cause that doesn’t interest me.”
Liliane George of Orleans knows all too well what it’s like to take up a personal cause. But instead of joining a local council or committee, she started up one of her own.
In 1988, after spending thousands of dollars in legal fees in a failed attempt to get custody of her own granddaughter, George realized there were other grandparents who needed help.
The 65-year-old set up an Ottawa chapter of GRAND, a national support group for grandparents who suddenly find themselves shut out of their grandchildren’s lives.
And although today her granddaughters are her treasures, George says some of the group’s earliest members have yet to be reunited with their own grandchildren.
“Sometimes they call and they’re suicidal. It’s very difficult, especially when it’s a grandmother or a grandfather who lives alone in a little apartment, and they can’t see their grandchildren. It’s devastating.”
George says she tries to get estranged members of families talking, and often spends hours on the phone with any of the group’s 400 members.
But messy divorces or family battles can be impossible to overcome, she says, especially since grandparents are still waiting to be recognized under the law.
“When grandparents come to me to get involved, it gives them more hope. It helps them to cope.”
Living — and not just aging — has everything to do with finding ways to cope and to express emotion, says Carleton’s Moreau.
“You could be 15 and feeling so old, acting so old, and you could be 105 and dancing your way through life.”
The players with Lanark County’s Sage Age Theatre are a case in point. The group of 12 seniors has been performing improvisational theatre all over Eastern Ontario since 1992 to create awareness about issues affecting older people.
They invent humorous skits revolving around the lives of older people, with subjects ranging from privacy for couples in nursing homes to AIDS and sexual abuse.
“There’s nothing that isn’t fairly tastefully done,” jokes Sheila Maltby, one of the group’s founding members. “We even do death and dying, because it is a part of life.”
Maltby, 70, says she never thought she’d be “dancing around on a stage at my age,” but she loves seeing audiences howl at skits like “No Sex, Please — We’re Retired.”
And while Sage Age’s theatre is light-hearted, its advocacy is serious: seniors themselves need to find the beauty in old age.
“We don’t cry ‘O woe is me,’” says Maltby. “We tell them ‘You’re here, you’re older, you do have a place in life.’”

Older students shying away from free university education

By Ariel Teplitsky

Colin Richardson missed the chance to attend university in his youth.
In his early teens in London, England, his life was interrupted by the Second World War. He later enlisted in the military. When the war ended in 1945, he only had time to attend night classes, and never got a degree.
Today he is making up for lost time. At 72, Richardson is in his third year of a bachelor of arts program at the University of Ottawa. Like others, he is taking advantage of a government subsidy that provides free tuition for seniors.
“I think it’s one of the best deals that Canada could give anybody. It really is,” says Richardson, a retired public servant. “I’ve got a very limited income — it seems to be a great way to spend my retirement.”
Richardson says he’s surprised there aren’t more taking advantage of the deal. Carleton University’s tuition for seniors amounts to a miniscule administrative charge of $2.50 for each half-credit course that would normally cost hundreds. But last year at Carleton, out of 17,541 students, only 391 were 50 or older.
As Canada’s population ages and people retire at a younger age, many feel it is necessary to maintain contact between generations. Going back to school is one method to fill this chasm.
Richardson says although there are few older students, he feels welcome at the campus. “I meet other students all over the place,” he says. “And they know me, of course, better than I know them, because I stand out being old. I meet them at bus stops and in supermarkets and they come up, ‘so how did you get on in the exam?’ or things like that. And half the time I don’t even know who it is.”
“Oh, yes, yes, yes. I enjoy it . . . After 40 years without going to school, it’s just a new challenge,” echoes Maurice Blais, 56, who recently retired from his job at a credit union. He is now studying full-time for a bachelor degree in theology at University of Ottawa.
“When I was working the challenge was with learning computers, now it’s challenging with young kids,” Blais says. “I’m learning from them, and I think they’re learning from me too.”
Blais says his life experience can benefit others in the class. “With the experience I have, they’ve never lived it yet. They’ve never experienced what I’ve done for 40-some years.”
Blais says he plans on getting a master’s degree once he graduates from his current program.
One innovative program aims to bridge the generation gap by pairing students with older volunteers.
Lifelong Learning for Older Adults was set up by Algonquin College’s health sciences program in 1995 with 10 senior volunteers.
Today, there are about 175 volunteers. Together with the younger students, they take part in panel discussions on aging, health and lifestyle issues.
There are also seminars, tutoring and health consultations. Everything is geared toward promoting understanding between generations.
“It makes the students more sensitive to the needs of older people, and it also works in the reverse, where older people become more sensitive to the needs of younger people,” says Catherine Mason, president of Lifelong Learning.
The students “start out being quite nervous, because they’ve never been in that situation before. The idea was to allow them an opportunity to meet well, active older adults as opposed to people who were in institutions prior to that time.”
As part of the activities, some volunteers may discuss their own experience with diseases such as diabetes, or submit to a health examination by first-year students.
“We kind of act as their patient in some instances,” says Mason. “We go into the labs with them and they do health assessments on us and they come back with a final report on things we could do to improve our lifestyle.”
Mason says there is a need for programs like this, where older people can become more involved in the lives of the young.
“It gives both generations an opportunity to learn to be comfortable with each other, and to learn that we have a lot more similarities than we do differences.”

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