|
Theresa's Tidbits - 4-H'ers a good breed
Theresa Seraphim
for Spotlight
Two items have caught Tidbits’ attention in the past week or so. One is about an enthusiastic group of youth, doing a lot of good; the other is about an incident which raises a vital concern.
They are a busy bunch – but all the activity is a means to a great end.
This month is 4-H month, celebrating an organization which has helped many of its young members grow in maturity through learning skills and making lifelong friends.
As a 4-Her stressed in an interview published elsewhere in this issue, the organization is not just about sheep and cattle.
Yes, it began as a strictly agricultural group, but it has branched out into other types of activities, as well. Members have many choices of programs in which they want to become involved – not all of them strictly farm-related.
Indeed, membership requirements include doing a communications project and being involved in community volunteer service – initiatives that anyone (rural or urban) can be involved in, because they can be done almost anywhere.
It’s easy to take 4-H for granted, since the organization has been around for so long. But without 4-H, many things would not get done. And our youth would not learn so much, and become so self-confident in the process.
***
The recent hostage-taking in Edmonton has raised a question about the role of the WCB.
It’s true, the gunman should not have chosen that method. And from what we’ve heard about his past, he’s apparently not an angel.
But he was desperate. And the WCB wasn’t hearing him.
While his actions may have been extreme, he’s not the first person to get fed up with the way he was being treated by that organization. Indeed, he’s not the first person to take hostages at a WCB office (another man did it in Calgary in 1993).
So, while we concentrate on getting him whatever help he needs, while we put him through the court system, while counselling is arranged for those he terrorized, let’s hope officials will also look at how the WCB handles its cases.
Premier Ed Stelmach can talk about beefing up security at public buildings, but that won’t address the reasons clients feel pushed to breach that security in the first place.
An overhaul of the WCB system has been promised for awhile. It’s time to get on it NOW – before something even more dire than a hostage-taking happens.
< Previous
Home
Next >
|
