In the late 1970s I worked at a radio station
in London. CFPL had a popular call-in show.
Sometime shortly before I began working
there, a distraught man came to the station and demanded to be
put on the air.
He wanted to get a message to his wife who
had left him. When the receptionist told him the station could
not accommodate his request, he put a knife to her throat and
took her hostage in the president's office for several
hours.
So I am alway a little leery when someone
walks in off Elgin St. to the  Northern Life office and
wants to speak to "the editor." Not everyone is a fan of the
newspaper or me.
Many people are simply dropping off news
releases. Others have problems they want to talk about or
stories they want to tell. And there are some people, I just
don't know about.
Last week a woman I had never met before paid
me a visit. I still don't know her name. She is Chinese, and
although she can read and write English, she only speaks a
little.
She told me she had been visiting her family
here in Sudbury and was returning home to Hong Kong. During her
time in the city, she had become a regular reader of Northern
Life. She had a pile of clippings with her.
She wanted to make a donation to Warna
Timlock, the woman I wrote about whose daughter was dying of
cancer. She didn't know Warna but she was touched by the
article.
This woman also had written letters to the
police chief and other people she had read about in the
newspaper. The letters congratulate them on the work they do in
the community. I told her I would forward them for her.
She left me a poem about the benefits of
reading. Here is an excerpt, "Reading makes you smart, makes
you wealthy in heart too."
I have been extremely touched by the many people who have made efforts to help Warna. Her daughter, Kimberley, died  March 5, 2006 in St. Peter's Hospital in Hamilton Ontario, having just celebrated her 50th birthday in December. A candlelight celebration of Kimberley's life was held in Toronto last night.
Gerard Kennedy, the minister of education
spoke in Sudbury Monday. He addressed members of the Rotary
Club and the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce. As we
reported, Kennedy challenged business leaders to get involved
with school/work placements.
Practical workplace experience for students,
usually in Grade 11, is keeping young people interested in
school and reinforcing the need for education.
I wish I could have earned a credit or two in
the workplace instead of the ones I earned taking Latin.
I think, in principle, the co-op program is a
great idea. We have had numerous high schools students spend a
semester with us in the newsroom.
Sometimes it was a good experience for both
of us; sometimes it was not. Although we always enjoy working
with the teens, they can create a lot of disruption. Many
require a lot of attention. They are lots of forms to fill out
and attendance to keep. The program asks a lot of the
employers.
If the Ontario government wants to increase
the number of co-op placements, it might consider offering some
sort of tax incentive or grants to businesses that take on
placements.
Vicki Gilhula is the managing editor of Northern
Life.
