Calgary Herald from Calgary, Alberta, Canada • 17

'i TJ A I Calgary Herald Tl SECTION Editor: Ken Hull 235-7527 QJ BusineSS B4 Sept. 22, 1992 21 1 uu Abuse investigation expanded il aim acq Three lodges monitored after 28 forma! complaints By Chris Dawson (Herald writer) A provincial investigation into alleged physical and verbal abuse at a seniors' lodge in Sundre has expanded to include two additional lodges under the same management. Mollie Warring, chairwoman of the provincially-appointed Health Facili-. ties Review Committee, confirmed Monday that the Chinook Winds Lodge in Carstairs and Mount View Lodge in Olds are being investigated as well. "Because of the magnitude of the complaints in Sundre, we're also going to be reviewing the two other lodges," Warring said.

While refusing to discuss specifics, she said the review committee has ruled out a written complaint of physi- SZUIOnS' RESIDENCES cal abuse, but is still investigating the alleged verbal abuses. She acknowledged the review committee first visited Sundre's Foothills Retreat Lodge in June after receiving 28 written complaints from residents, their family and staff. The committee issued 15 recommendations to the lodge's board of directors as a result of that visit, but didn't feel they were being acted upon and decided to return earlier this month. Warring said a follow-up report is being sent to the board, but chairman John Grimstead said Monday he hasn't seen anything yet. "They didn't even tell us they were coming," noted Grimstead, who feels the review committee has taken an adversarial stance instead of trying to work with the board to overcome any problems.

"They came into town and left town without contacting us at all." Grimstead admitted the Sundre SOLDlEHIfJG OH Details vague on plans to deliver" support for accord By Jim Cunningham (Herald writer) They don't have any cash. They don't have any committee members. And their top Calgary organizer didn't even know where the crusade he was to help lead was to be launched. But the Alberta committee for a Yes on the Oct. 26 constitutional referendum finally staggered out of the starting blocks Monday, just five short weeks before the voters will decide the fate of the Charlottetown accord.

The campaign will try to educate Al-bertans about the deal and alert them to the dangers for the country if it is rejected, committee co-chairs Kent Jes-persen and Helen Paull told a satellite TV news conference which linked reporters in Calgary and Edmonton. "To me this is a vote about the future of the country and our children and grandchildren," said Jespersen, an executive at Nova Corporation who has chaired the Calgary pro-unity group Together For Canada. "A No vote could have serious consequences economically and cause the potential breakup of this great country." The No side, launched to national headlines 11 days ago by Reform Party leader Preston Manning, may be gaining ground but "we think that momentum will change," Jespersen said. "If we are behind at all, we will be ahead by Oct. 26," he promised.

Paull, an Edmonton alderman, said the committee was "out to win the hearts and minds of Albertans with facts, with logic and by re-awakening their pride in their country. 'Those who vote No will have to answer to themselves," she said, adding that "we're not out to label anybody." However, both were vague on exactly how the committee will go about persuading Albertans to back the accord. A speakers' bureau will be set up, information packages will be sent out to voters along with "other activities," they said. But the details on those things are -r -t r-': 1 mnti fcn ili-1 inn'rnti it Pat Price, Calgary Herald WALK IN THE PARK: The Recce squad from the Park, this was no leisurely stroll. The troops were ex-Strathcona Battalion makes a test walk Monday.

De- pected to complete 13 kilometres in two hours, 26 spite the fall colors and the sunshine in Glenmore minutes. Autumn officially begins today at 11:43 a.m. Rowdies, vandals feared as liquor sales approved lodge which houses about 45 seniors -has had some problems with staff in the past. The lodge has tried to improve morale by introducing self-scheduling and more open communication, he said. After speaking with Warring, Roy Brassard local MLA and minister responsible for seniors said Monday he feels "that there has been some validity to some of the charges that have been made, and I think that the (board) recognizes that and is prepared to deal with it." Nonetheless, Warring said morale at the lodge is low, and some of the staff and residents have had "quite an ordeal.

It's certainly not been fun." She refused to elaborate. She said the committee will continue to monitor all three lodges and, if necessary, forward reports to Health Minister Nancy Betkowski and Municipal Affairs Minister Dick Fowler. 'This committee is like a watchdog, and I think it's a healthy one," Brassard said. "I don't think anyone should fear it and treat it as a witchhunt." "JL. Tt.

I talk on sex PUBLIC FORUM and women place more emphasis on the emotional, supportive aspects of relationships than males. "I've talked to young women who have told me all they really wanted was a hug," Webb says. "So one needs to ask the question whether young girls are engaging in sex because they want to do this or just because they are succumbing to pressures." Statistics gathered by governments and researchers suggest the choice of doing nothing will be high: A report issued in 1989 showed just over 5,000 Alberta teens a few as young as 13 become pregnant each year. Alberta's teen pregnancy rate was 60 per thousand compared with a national rate of 44 per thousand. Fewer than 15 per cent of students say they received worthwhile sex education from parents even though 94 per cent of Canadians believe parents should discuss sex with their kids.

By the time they reach Grade 9, 26 per cent of school kids have had intercourse a figure that reaches 49 per cent for those in Grade 11. fl 85 per cent of teens approve of sex before marriage, but only 58 per cent report they use contraceptives, fl A quarter of all the cases of sexually transmitted diseases reported in Calgary in 1990 involved teens aged 15 to 19. Wednesday's meeting is for any parents and teens who wish to attend. For information and registration, call Melanie McLachlen at 265-3360. abusive adults who deny a child's accusation of assault are rarely brought before the courts because little weight is given to young children's evidence, he said.

"The victims of abuse wind up carrying the load," he said, noting many try to prevent abuse, avoid it or even hide it. And many of the efforts undertaken to stop family violence focus on giving assistance to the victim, he added. "This situation seems to be very, very prevalent." Therapy for abusers has to move still being worked out. Peter Lougheed will be honorary chair of the committee and will speak in favor of it at some point, they promised. But the former Alberta premier was out of the province on business Monday and unable to lend his considerable public credibility to the launch.

In any event, Jespersen confirmed that he and Paull would be the main public spokesmen for the committee in the battle with the Reform Party's No campaign. It will be a couple of weeks before the committee actually has members, Paull confirmed. An attempt is being made to recruit people from all parts of the province to participate, but the list isn't yet complete. And the committee doesn't have any money yet. Monday's announcement and the setting up of committee offices in Calgary and Edmonton were done on credit, George Brookman, the JESPERSEN chief local organizer for the campaign said.

Money is being raised for Yes committees across Canada by the national Yes organization, but that hasn't yet been made available to the Alberta group. Both the Alberta and national Yes panels are eligible under federal elections law to spend up to $800,000 on their campaigns in the province, the same amount the Reform Party and non-partisan No committees can spend here. Even getting to Monday's launch proved a problem for Brookman, who will run the southern Alberta campaign as a volunteer from his regular job as head of Western Canadian Graphics. Brookman, along with other committee staff and some interested citizens, confused the venue, the AGT Teleconferencing Centre in the Dome Tower, with a similar facility at the AGT building, and had to sprint six blocks at the last minute to make it to the event. The mistake was due to "a glitch," Brookman explained afterward.

He added that provincial park rangers are worried the easy access to booze could lead to more rowdiness and vandalism at nearby campgrounds. Neither the Cochrane RCMP nor the Kananaskis Country rangers' office at Bragg Creek could be reached for comment Monday. A local retailer who asked that her name not be used agreed with Archer. "I get a lot of people in here asking for a liquor outlet coming from the campgrounds who are already well under the weather," she said. But ALCB spokesman George Rodz iewicz defended the licensed stores Monday, claiming the onus is still on the individual driver to stay sober.

"Hopefully people will consume (the alcohol) in a responsible way," he said. "If people are drinking and driving well, that's against the law." Rodziewicz dismissed claims by Bragg Creek residents that the community wasn't consulted prior to the decision. An application by another Bragg Creek store to sell booze is currently under consideration. And while some residents objected to liquor being sold on Sundays, Rodziewicz pointed out that as of July the province made it legal to purchase liquor off-sales at licensed locations attached to hotels including several in Calgary. However, Bragg Creek resident and businesswoman Jackie McLennan said the ALCB isn't fooling anyone by claiming the remote outlets are there to serve the locals.

"This does not serve the locals," she said. "It serves the people passing through on their way to Kananaskis Country." "Abusers should try to put themselves in the shoes of those they hurt. This is a critical part that's often overlooked." Jenkins also noted that "not all violence is abuse." When a five-year-old child kicks an adult in the leg, it is an act of violence, but not one of abuse. It becomes abuse when an imbalance in status exists due to age, strength or power, he said. Because some of these imbalances can't be changed, those with the power must take responsibility for their r- i batter TV teen offers straight 7T.

i (' -t i Ls Bragg Creek resident worries about child safety By Chris Dawson (Herald writer) A group of Bragg Creek residents fear that allowing a local grocery store to sell booze will encourage drunk driving, vandalism and rowdiness in the community 'and at nearby campgrounds. Steve Archer said Monday the Alberta Liquor Control Board has seriously erred by licensing Bragg Creek Lucky Dollar Foods to sell beer, wine and liquor seven days a week. "My kids are out on the streets playing and there are enough rowdies out here as it is," said Archer, a father of two. The Lucky Dollar was one of three stores chosen by the ALCB earlier this month as part of a pilot project giving so-called remote areas an outlet to seU booze. The others are grocery stores in the northern Alberta community of Bonanza, and in Cadomin, south of Hin-ton.

Because the strip mall where the Bragg Creek spirits are sold is across the street from a community hall, kindergarten and playground, Archer said it's only a matter of time before a child is killed by a drunk hunter or camper coming to stock up on booze. "We were always told by the ALCB that a liquor store wouldn't open here until an RCMP detachment went in," Archer insisted, noting that Bragg Creek is currently policed by the Cochrane detachment more than 30 kilometres away. STEPTO: Role as young mother schools may have made a dent, she says, but many teens are not reached lessons from authority figures. "She (Stepto) is comfortable with the subject and I think that is where a lot students are frightened because teachers are often uncomfortable." Calgary counselling psychologist Peggy Webb says the strategy makes sense. Stepto could provide teens one of the keys to reducing dismal teen sex statistics a model of a young woman who avoids sexual mistakes and victimization because she respects herself and is in control of her own life.

Webb, whose practice leans heavily towards the developmental problems of women, says research suggests girls Actress talks to adolescents, parents about tough issues ByMarkTait (Herald writer) Maybe Spike can make waves where a decade of earnest advice has failed to work. Amanda Stepto, the actress who played the punkish teen on the CBC TV series Degrassi High for five seasons, will meet Calgary parents and teens for some plain talk on love, sex and responsibility Wednesday. Why have an actress talk about things such as unwanted pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and pressure to have sex? For starters, says Melanie McLachlen of Planned Parenthood Alberta, Stepto's TV character had a baby in high school and struggled from episode to episode with the same issues that afflict so many teens. The hope is she can give the free public forum from 7 to 9 p.m. in the LJniversity of Calgary Science Theatre the kind of emotional punch that will change teen behavior.

"If you talk to the kids, they can recite all the facts about AIDS and STDs (sexually transmitted diseases)," says McLachlan, executive director of Planned Parenthood which is sponsoring the meet. "But they do not apply what they know in their personal lives a lot of the time." Increased sex education in Alberta FAMILY VIOLENCE Therapist Solutions found in helping abusers accept responsibility By Monica Zurowski (Herald writer) Family violence will continue to be a problem until solutions start focusing more on the abuser, a expert on the subject said Monday in Calgary. "Abuse will only cease when an abuser accepts full responsibility for actions," said Alan Jenkins, who has by of wants mor men who 1111 1 spent the last 12 years in Australia developing therapy for abusive men. "(But) the system is not geared to provide acceptance of responsibility for those who are abusers," said Jenkins, while presenting a workshop entitled Practical Approaches to Working with Men Who Batter. In the school system, children are taught how to avoid being the victims of abuse, but little is done to prevent them from becoming abusive, he told about 150 participants gathered at the Sheraton Cavalier Hotel.

And in the Australian justice system, away from finding something for them to blame their behavior on, to helping them accept responsibility for it. "They have to acknowledge the full extent of what has occurred," he said. They must also acknowledge the seriousness of their ac JENKINS tions, their own culpability and the impact their behavior has had on others..