Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - December 11, 2007, Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg repress. Com c Ity & b business t tuesday december 11, 2007 City editor Paul Samyn 697 7292 City. Desk free press. My. Ca i Winnipeg repress. Com b 1 dodgers last stand Bank Boss wants rules to prevent a future credit crunch. Business b 5 wow. Merit alternative. Ca land banking own Well chosen land. Watch your investment double every five years. For qualified investors. Sheldon Stier 975 6616 Misericordia care tree 2007 Angel squad december 11, 12 & 13 7 30 9 00 a. M. Pm 788 8458 for More information make a drive through donation every $ 10 will Light a Light on our care tree and helps fund programs services and equipment at the Misericordia health Centre or Call 788 8458 to make your donation by phone. Receive a complimentary hot beverage from Starbucks with your donation. Watch for celebrity Angels on the Maryland Bridge thanks to Winnipeg free press Starbucks Coffee company and direct focus marketing communications inc. Care tree 2007 is generously sponsored by m i s e r i c o r d i a 2 0 0 7 by Bartley Kives bus rides in Winnipeg Are going to get a lot noisier in the new year when Drivers Start announcing each Stop along their routes. On Jan. 1, Winnipeg transit operators will begin calling out the name of every Stop to help visually impaired people and other passengers with special needs navigate the transit system. The new policy follows a july decision by the human rights tribunal of Ontario which ordered Toronto bus and Streetcar operators to Call out stops. But Winnipeg bus Drivers wont have to Wear out their lungs As All 535 City buses Are equipped with microphones and speakers said transit director Dave Wardrop. We cant remain stagnant. We have to change and improve our level of service he said noting both Winnipeg transit and the amalgamated transit Union support the new duties for the 1,000 operators. However dont get too used to the Dulcet tones of Winnipeg transit Drivers because the verbal announcements Are just a temporary measure. In late 2008, the Public Utility will begin to Roll out electronic next Stop announcement systems As part of an $ 8.5 million intelligent transportation upgrade. By 2010, All Winnipeg transit buses will be equipped with on Board computers Gas technology and wireless communication devices. The High tech upgrades will allow buses to figure out where they Are and automatically announce the next Stop and also Tell Winnipeg transit Headquarters if they re running late. Right now its up to Drivers to radio Headquarters if they re behind schedule. The new technology is designed to automate the process enabling up to the minute arrival information to be displayed on Winnipeg transits web Page and Telephone information service As Well As on new Airport style arrival time displays. Winnipeg transit buses Stop at More than 5,000 locations but Only the Cit yes busiest stops will be graced by the new displays Wardrop said. Were still in the design stage of the system so we dont have All the details hammered out yet. But it would be fair to say the locations with the highest traffic will be considered he said. In the meantime Winnipeg transit has asked its passengers to be patient while Drivers get used to their new duties. For people with visual impairments the announcements come sooner. It has been a Challenge for our clients because they rely on the kindness of Drivers to indicate when they can get off on their stops said Delcy Ann Selymes the Western Canadian service and operations director for vision health organization crib. Transit has been amazing to our clients in the past but this Way it Levels the playing Field. Its Universal when stops Are called its automatic now. Bartley. Kives free press. My. Ca by Carol Sanders s school children and their teachers who show the world How kids with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder can succeed Are the winners of the 2007 Manitoba human rights commitment award. They work really hard to do their Best and they re fabulous ambassadors helping others understand said Bev Wahl principal of David Livingstone Community school which has the Bridges fast grades 4 6 intermediate program. We get a lot of visitors from All Over the world said Wahl. The kids have become the leaders talking about their classroom and needs and the adaptations that help. She said the students three teachers and six educational assistants deserve the recognition they will get from the award presented on International human rights Day. Monday marked the anniversary of the 1948 Universal declaration of human rights that stated All human beings Are born free and equal in dignity and rights. Deb Thordarson has been involved with the program for years and is glad the kids learning to live with fast Are getting some positive attention. She said Sheds tired of damaging remarks from Media and even school administrators. Fas is an excuse for bad behaviour she heard one school staff member say. Thatus where society is Thordarson said. But once they see these kids and meet these children they see were just the same inside our hearts a she said quoting one boy she teaches. There is a tendency in the Media to hone in on the problems of fast instead of the potential said Thordarson. In news reports earlier this year for instance it seemed every arson was blamed on kids with fast. That bad rap hurts kids with fast who Are working hard to grow beyond the limitations of their disability she said. Labelling is very harmful. Mothers who drink during pregnancy can cause a baby to have behavioural and physical disabilities including malformed Bones Muscles vital organs and permanent brain damage. Children born with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder face challenges in the Way they live learn work and play for the rest of their lives. Research shows that As a child with fast grows a Range of secondary disabilities May appear including mental health problems drug and alcohol addictions and difficulty at school. The end result can be joblessness homelessness and conflict with the Law according to the provinces fast strategy. Thordarson knows first hand these children do a lot better with help at school and a supportive Community than with shunning and shame. Kids Are learning to be proud of who they Are and Are learning about their disability and Why they have the challenges they do Thordarson said. The fast students wrote a Book called Jill yes Story living and learning with fast. Jill yes Story was written to promote awareness of this disability Thordarson said. Two David Livingstone schoolchildren wrote the acceptance speech themselves and Practised it along with their table manners for the formal luncheon. A human rights youth award was also presented to Krupa Kotecha a Grade 12 student. She was nominated for the Sybil Shack memorial Manitoba human rights youth award by her teachers at Balmoral Hall for an anti racism video and a monologue she produced. Carol. Sanders free press. My. Ca by Nick Martin supporters of the Canadian museum for human rights say time is tight to raise privately the last $ 22 million needed to get it built. Right now we Are on track. We can still do everything we promised Campaign chairwoman Gail Asper said after a ceremony marking International human rights Day. Asper said the Campaign has raised $ 8 million since prime minister Stephen Harper pledged Federal support Back in april bringing private fundraising for the $ 265 million project to $ 83 million. By april she said a Board of directors yet to be named will have to decide what gets built and when. Wawanesa insurance announced it is doubling its Campaign pledge to $ 1 million and the National association of japanese canadians contributed $ 50,000. People need to know theress momentum and be reminded the Campaign is ongoing Asper said. Behind schedule construction costs Are going up significantly she pointed out. We Are definitely behind schedule but there is still Hope the museum at the Forks could open its doors by 2011 or 2012, she said. The provinces should All be supporting this Campaign Asper said but so far Manitoba ass $ 40 million is the Only provincial government Money for what is a National institution she said. Weave raised nearly $ 15 million from private donors in Ontario. Canad inns hotel Chain owner Leo Ledochowski told the ceremony details of a fundraising Campaign among Canadas 1.2 million citizens of ukrainian ancestry will be unveiled this week. This will be a nationwide Effort said Ledochowski who added that Ukraine suffered genocide during the famine of the 1930s. Asper said it is crucial to build the museum while survivors can still Tell of the atrocities they suffered around the world decades ago. They Are passing away every Day and every year that the museum is not open there Are thousands of students not being exposed to the history of human rights Asper said. She reports to Harper monthly on fundraising Progress. Every Friday i sign this massive pile of receipts she said. Nick. Martin free press. My. Ca calling All bus stops. Thatus what you get Jan. 1 fast kids give world a lesson win human rights award for showing How to live without Labelling once they see these kids and meet these children they see were just the same inside our hearts rights museum Short $ 22m Asper seeking More private donations David Lisnowski / Winnipeg free press teachers in the David Livingstone Community schools Bridges fast program say the students Are proud ambassadors helping the world understand. Mike Aporius / Winnipeg free press Krupa Kotecha of Balmoral Hall won an anti racism award ;