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WATERLOO CHRONICLE i The Waterloo Chronicle is published every Wednesday by the bamway L Group, owned by CityMedia Group Inc . a subsidiary of Torstar Corp. The content ut this paper is protected by copyright and may be used only for personal nun cummercial purposes All other nights are reserved and commercial use is promibited To | make use ot this matertal you rtust \ first obtain the perttussiun of the owner of the copyright editorial@waterloochronicle.ca _ sports@waterloochronicle ca | _ sales@waterloochronicle.ca \composing@waterloochronicle.ca *\ The views of our columnists are | â€" their own and do not necessarily represent those of the newspaper 279 Weber St., North, Suite 20 Waterloo, Ontario N2J 3H8 Phone. 886 2830 hax 886â€"9383 Yinh Ieaschnes .. Dwayne Miidendort Growp Publisher | Group Sales Director? 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NZT IP2 ISSN 0832â€"3410 30050478 Bob Vrhanac Sports Editor, Ext. 229 Audned circulation: 27.538 Norma(vea Bull Pihura Klds.AhiIil_v provides vital therapy and medical ser vices to over 3,200 children with physical, devel opmental and communication disabilities through out Waterloo Region and Wellington County. This attention has prompted two important questions â€" what are the reasons for this funding crisis, and why is this such a problem for young chilâ€" dren with disabilities? We‘d like to respond to these questions so that our clients, their families, our community and our supporters have a clear underâ€" standing of this situation. KidsAbility has received a great deal of attention over the past year about its funding crisis. KidsAbility is a children‘s hospital (Group K desigâ€" nation) primarily funded by grants from the Ontario government. which are generously augmented by a large number of local donors. Specialâ€"needs children need positive start Our base funding has been frozen in 11 of the past 13 years with increases only in 2001 and 2004. Many more children are being referred to our specialized health services at KidsAbility. This has created a disturbingly high waitâ€"list of almost 1,000 children, primarily under the age of five. The growth in our referrals and our waitâ€"list has occurred for three reasons. First, the Waterloo Wellington area has grown sigâ€" nificantly in population. Second, the number of children with disabilities and the scope of their needs have greatly increased. For example, many premature and "miracle babies" are surviving but requiring specialized therâ€" apy and supports; children with autism need wellâ€" trained teams of professionals who provide consisâ€" tent support based on best practices; and young children with rare medical and lifeâ€"threatening conâ€" ditions require the expertise and knowledge affered by our organization. _ Their doctors, parents and caregivers are referâ€" ring all of these children to KidsAbility because we provide the specialized services that they need. Third, KidsAbility believes in the importance of early intervention and reaches out to ‘hardâ€"toâ€"reach families to ensure that their children with disabiliâ€" ties benefit by our specialized services. In 2005 we will serve over 3,200 children. Sadly, our waitâ€"list has grown to almost 1,000 children, mainly under the age of five. These waitâ€" list statistics are profoundly disturbing. The government‘s own research, "The Early Years Study", noted the critical importance of early interâ€" vention with children in their first few years in order to improve their chances for success in school and in life. The same research confirmed that the early years from conception to age six have the most important influence of any time in the life cycle on brain develâ€" opment and subsequent learning, behaviour and health. There is therefore a window of opportunity durâ€" ing which KidsAbility needs to help these children cope with their serious and complex medical prabâ€" lems so they can enter school with a better chance to be successful and to reach their potential in life. Failure to provide these necessary health services during these early years results in very negative longâ€"term consequences on these children. We don‘t believe that 1,000 young children with disabilities should be prevented from receiving the necessary, specialized health services KidsAbility could offer if the government funds were available. Children with disabilities deserve a better start in life. That‘s what KidsAbility is focused on providing. But local donors alone cannot make up this shortfall in essential funding. Our provincial governâ€" ment must develop a more favourable funding arrangement. We will continue working cooperaâ€" tively with our local MPPs to that end. We encourage our supporters and others to join us in this effort. Mary Ann Witzel and Flaine Ormston VIEWPOLINT KidsAbility TE REGIONS OW TMC 16 ho i6 n winol Abauup U ALAF MALON PeCE B ET 1EA EL N TS DA AID ME 10U OW WAAAT THAT MEA Crackdown near on Waterloo garbage kickers It showed what havoc a few gallons of cleaning fluid can wreak when it gets away. Also shown was how Stratford could disciâ€" pline itself to the problem. oopee! It took Stratford only a couâ€" W:‘)Ie of days to survive a water flood, and a couple of dozen people were taken ill â€"non badly. _ The city did great â€" no panic at all. One thing the spill did show was how dependent we all are on our water supply. â€" Would Kitchenerâ€"Waterioo do as well in a similar situation? Ah yes, rubbers are something that if your feet are dry, you haven‘t walked in the rain without. Time of Sadness: Canada is wrapped in grief as she weeps for her four Mounties lost in action. Efi It seems such a waste. Four young Mounties slain by a grubâ€" by specimen, a wasted soul who‘s been on the police blotâ€" ters since way back when. As a burglar, he was so sucâ€" cessful he stopped making housecalls. It‘s a wonder he wasn‘t accused of picking his way through a crowd â€" a pockâ€" et at a time. Seriously, it‘s been apparent for some time that Canadians have long been fed up with the way police have been forced to deal with marijuana growers. The law long ago should have been tight ened up. â€" â€" Ah yes, the only way to judge a man‘s future is by his past. But if the Mountie killer were judged that way, he wouldn‘t have had any future. Trash Master: Waterloo is cracking down on nocturnal celebrants by whompâ€" ing the kooks who kick over cans of garhage on their transit home. A staff report had complained that lack of a bylaw has frustrated city staff from crackâ€" ing down on garbage kickers. â€" 0 _And who hasn‘t seen a young foot deliver a 30â€"yard placement from a nearby trash can. 1 bet I‘ve seen a dozen kids belt a foot full of trash onto (or rather at) a hydro or teleâ€" phone post. Fact is, most of the hoofers missed their targets by quite a bit. 0 Now the city won‘t capture mast of the offenders, but it will help with the word which will go out with the first case in court. So, OK, the first kick will be launched probably the day Oktoberfest opens.. _ I know that it limits the accuse, but you know, that‘s the way the trash collects. Dry Spell: Waterloo Region is bracing for a "dry" summer, as if we didn‘t have enough to be warned against. And the region has some well problems to add to the trouble. Five wells were shut down and they aren‘t expected to open for a long, long time. mnmmmzmd That‘s why. it was great to hear Mitchell Reiss, the U.S. envoy to Northern Ireland, to set down what should be done and soon to end the lethal foolishness. Said he: "It‘s time for the IRA to go out of business. And it‘s time for Sinn Fein to say explicitly, without ambiguity, without ambivalence, that criminality will not be tolâ€" erated." treland is such a beautiful country that it deserves the serenity that should be its birthright. â€" â€" Instead the IRA keeps things at the boil. They‘ve bullied for 35 years because no Roman Catholics have been willing to testify against the TRA. Now would be the right time! Five per cent of production was lost. Water use falls off in autumn and winter, but it‘s expected that summer will be a wowser as usual. And remember, everybody enjoys walking in the rain, except the people who have to. So we have to starve our lawns for the summer. Keep them dry, even if we have to use blotting paper to do it. Ancient Argument: It may seem like others are ignoring the racial problems at home while tsking the Irish for their domestic problems.