Red Deer Advocate from Red Deer, Alberta, Canada • 24

C8 RED DEER ADVOCATE, Saturday, February 6, 1993 The truth about immigrants and crime By WARREN CARAGATA Canadian Press OTTAWA When Reform Leader Preston Manning recently told a crowd his government would deport immigrants convicted of serious crimes, the cheers were nearly deafening. Manning's proposal, part of a lawand-order package for the election campaign, leaves the impression of immigrant communities teeming with criminals the justice system doesn't confront. But the numbers tell a different story. Immigrants actually seem a more peaceable lot than those born and bred in Canada. "We have blamed immigrants for crime for years," says University of Toronto crime expert Anthony Doob.

"They're a convenient group. It's always easier to say it's somebody else, not us." There are no statistics in Canada that measure crime rates by citizenship, SO there's no way to prove or disprove the argument. But studies by the federal government of the inmate population in federal prisons suggests that immigrants get a bum rap when blamed for a crime BLOCK OUT wave. prisoners make up 10 per cent of the every empirical study to mate population. examine the question has found that Narcotics offences are the only wideimmigrants are under-represented in spread crimes where the foreign-born the criminal population," says the la- numbers are higher than their level in test study, written by Derrick Thomas, the general Canadian population.

Of senior policy analyst at the Employ- the 2,205 inmates on narcotics charges ment and Immigration Department. in 1991, one-third were born outside Foreign-born prisoners made up 12.2 the country. per cent of the federal prison population in 1991. That figure is lower than Stephen Harper, the party's policy the percentage of foreign-born in Cana- chief, bristles when asked if the party da, which stood at 16.1 cent in the is singling out immigrants, saying the per 1991 census. proposal is "not a coded attack on imFor violent crimes like murder, as- sault and sex offences, foreign-born But Harper says Canadians are more ACCOUNTANTS CHRIS ANDERSON CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT West Park Shopping Plaza 3722-57 Ave.

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347-6789) Dr. Brian M. Snider Red Deer 346-4700 Trochu 442-3111 irritated when crimes are committed by immigrants. Robert Head is a retired assistant commissioner of the RCMP who heads Reform's law-and-order task force. He's a Reform candidate in Saskatoon-Humboldt.

He says he doesn't know whether immigrants are more likely to turn to a life of crime. "I do know that police forces generally across the country have been very concerned about immigrant gangs. They're very concerned about the importation of gang wars from other countries into Canada." Red Deer's Finest CHIROPRACTORS WHITNEY CHIROPRACTIC CLINIC 4702-50th Ave. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. 346-2297 1 WINTER COLD! Therma Insoles keep your feet warm with space age insulation.

Photo by The CANADIAN PRESS Whether you're waiting for a bus in Halifax or shovelling snow in Vancouver, February is the month for winter blues Old winter blues have you down? Feeling down and blah? Lack energy and enthusiasm? Wonder if those feelings will ever end? By SHERYL UBELACKER Canadian Press Welcome to the winter blues. And welcome to February, the month many Canadians identify as the absolute low point of the seemingly interminable winter season. "I think February seems for most people the depths of winter, the most unexciting and flat and colorless time of the year," says Vivian Macdonald of the Canadian Mental Health Association in Toronto. "It has no holidays either, no long weekends. It seems like it's going to be forever until spring." The coldness of mid-winter is also distressing, Macdonald says.

"It drives us into our homes. We don't get out, we don't socialize as much. All of those conditions create a situation in which it's easier to become mildly depressed." Dr. Anthony Levitt, head of the mood disorders program at the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry in Toronto, says it's normal for people to experience the winter blues, especially in January and February. "About 92 per cent of the population reports some change in mood or behavior according to the seasons and most commonly it's the wintertime," says Levitt.

Macdonald says phone calls to distress lines at local branches of the mental health association rise dramatically in winter. While most people get a bit down in winter, there are others who are already dealing with troubles unemployment or a death for instance who "get themselves into really serious trouble and climb down into the pits of depression at this That kind of depression, called clinical depression, is characterized by persistent feelings of sadness, hopelessness and lack of interest in life. Sleep and appetite may be affected. Severely depressed people may have thoughts of death or contemplate suicide. "You feel absolutely helpless and hopeless, there's no spark, nothing there," explains Macdonald.

"And you don't believe that's ever going to change, that any kind of help will do any good." For an estimated five to seven per cent of Canadians their feelings of depression are directly linked to the onset of winter. Known as seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, the condition begins in the fall and usually goes away in the spring. Although commonly reported to be caused by lack of light, Levitt says scientists don't know what actually causes SAD. Most likely it is connected not to how much light a person is exposed to, but the fact that days are shorter in the winter months, he says. During the winter, the body's internal timekeeping mechanism alters and there is a dramatic change in brain chemicals and hormones.

Levels of serotonin, a brain chemical linked to depression, drop. The thyroid gland, which regulates metabolism, decreases in size and secretes less hormone. "For most people, there are normal changes in the body timekeeper and in hormone levels," Levitt says. "But there is a small proportion of people who don't just feel bad in the winter, they actually get ill. "The illness is not just feeling down and low, it's feeling persistently and consistently depressed over a period longer than a couple of weeks," he says.

Since 1984, the standard treatment for SAD has been light therapy spending a set period each day in front of boxes or Battling the blues Tips from mental health experts on beating the winter blues: Increase exposure to light. Go for walks or do other outdoor or activities. Even overcast days provide some light. Open blinds or curtains in the house to let in natural light. Brighten interior decor with lights and vibrant colors.

If winter weather keeps you indoors, stay active with exercise and hobbies. Avoid overeating, especially carbohydrate-rich junk foods. Plan a holiday, to sunny, southern climes if possible, or a winter vacation with lots of outdoor activities. other devices that give off light. Levitt says the treatment works in "just over 50 per cent of people," and researchers are trying to determine the validity of the treatment.

"The big question here is whether light therapy is an active treatment or simply (the power of) suggestion. That is yet to be resolved." One thing Levitt knows is that the Clarke Institute is "exceedingly busy" this winter treating people for depression. While that may partly be tied to the recession and high unemployment, for people afflicted by SAD it may also have something to do with last summer's eather. In most of Canada, long stretches of cool temperatures and overcast days offered no relief to the seasonally sensitive. "For the first time, people didn't get rid of their depression in the spring and summer," says Levitt.

"So people came earlier (for treatment) than they would normally have UFO just so much hot air (balloon)? OTTAWA (CP) If you ask Adrian Brooks, reports of a UFO in the nearby West Carleton area are full of hot air. The Ottawa man says UFO experts who saw a videotape of an unidentified object landing near Almonte, on Aug. 18, 1991, were probably fooled by footage of a hot-air balloon much like his own. The dramatic video was the lead item on the television program Unsolved Mysteries this week. The tape of the unknown object became part of the program after it was sent anonymously to UFO investigator Bob Oechsler of Maryland.

Included with it were documents alleging the Defence Department was involved. There was also a crude map, which led Oechsler to the farm of William and Diane Labenek. Diane, 38, told Unsolved Mysteries she spotted flames in a field near her farm DENTISTS DR. BRIAN SABY Practice of Dentistry Red Deer Medical Centre 3947-50A Red Deer 340-3434 Office Hours: 8 a.m.-4 p.m. DENTURISTS PARKLAND DENTURE CLINIC LTD.

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P.G. Wilson Dr. Dennis A. Heimdahl Office Hours: Monday to Friday, 8:30 to 12:30 1:30 to 4:30 5120-51 Ave. Ponoka, Alberta Phone: 783-5575 Box 1928 Ponoka, Alberta Toll Free: 1-800-662-7168 PHARMACISTS DEV AGGARWAL of WEST PARK I.D.A.

DRUGS 346-8809 Free prescription delivery. 3722-57th Red Deer PSYCHOLOGISTS HARVEY BRINK Psychologist Disorders Abuse 343-3244 PATHWAYS PSYCHOLOGICAL EDUCATIONAL SER. INC. 3-4606-50 Red Deer "I saw a ship coming down close to the flames. "Right on top of the ship, I saw a blue flash of light and another light was on the bottom very bright." UFO witness Diane Labenek, whose experience is now being questioned.

home. "I saw a ship coming down close to the flames," she recounted. "Right on top of the ship, I saw a blue flash of light and another light was on the very bright." Labenek said she watched the craft for about 10 minutes. Then all its lights went out. A number of experts who examined the video said it was too realistic to be a hoax.

Oechsler, a former NASA mission specialist, told program interviewers: "This is either an extraordinary, top-secret flying vehicle of somebody's government, or it is of non-human origin." Brooks said he watched the TV program and was astounded when the video showed what he thinks was a balloon, rigged like his own, making a night landing. Brooks places flashing strobe lights on the top and bottom of his balloon for night flights. He also hangs light sticks, which cast a bright green or yellow fluorescent light, in the basket to read instrument dials. Before landing, he fires a magnesium parachute flare to illuminate the ground below. Brooks does his night ballooning in the West Carleton area, and says his log book shows he made a night flight there Aug.

18, 1991. Dr. Bruce Handley Clinical Psychologist Hypnotherapist 303 Parsons Clinic Building 4822-50 Street Red Deer, Alberta T4N 1X4 Phone 343-7505 24-Hr. Answering Service DR. YVONNE BUCHANAN Psychologist Ph.

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