NEW FACE
Cst. Danny Bennett is the newest member of the Bell Island Detachment.
Danny graduated from ADepot@ Division in January and Bell Island is his
first posting.
Danny and his family are originally from Stephenville, Newfoundland and
had been living in Manitoba until joining the RCMP.
They are quite happy to be back in Newfoundland.
Danny is familiar with Bell Islanders as Mr. John Basha was one of his
teachers in Stephenville, as well as he had Mr. Jerome Delaney as a
principal.
KIWANIS CLUB
by Clayton King
Santa Claus Parade
The Annual Santa Claus Parade was held at Bell Island on Dec. 2, 2001. For
the 31 st. consecutive year the Kiwanis Club of Bell Island was pleased to
sponsor the Parade to the delight of our children of all ages.
Despite our small membership at present, we managed to distribute 1200
bags of candy during the Parade, and 450 hot dogs and glasses of Pepsi at
the reception at the Royal Canadian Legion, while prizes were distributed
to the winning floats.
The winners were as follows:
Floats
1st Prize - Bella Marine Inc.
2nd Prize - St. Michael's High School
3rd Prize - Mike Mercer
Cars
1st Prize - Rick Clarke
2nd Prize - Justin Slade
3rd Prize - Shawn Lahey
Santa was also escorted to the local hospital and Seniors' Home where
he visited with the patients and distributed gifts to the seniors.
The Kiwanis Club sincerely thanks all those who participated in the
parade. Special thanks go to The Royal Canadian Legion Branch # 18, Bell
Island and the Town of Wabana for the use of their facilities, The RCMP
for their assistance and cooperation, and the many local businesses who
contributed for the purchase of the candy for the children and gifts for
the seniors.
Kiwanis Curling
The Annual Kiwanis Curling Bonspiel was held March 1st , 2nd & 3rd ,
2002 at the Monsignor Bartlett Arena. There was a good turnout for the
event and a good time was had by all participants.
The winning team was the y Marion Tucker rink.
This is our major fund raiser for the year and all monies raised will
be distributed to local charities.
MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELLOR UPDATE
by Kerri Collins
* Since Christmas things have really picked?up! Referrals have increased
by 30%! However, services are always available.
* Remember that referrals can be made by your family physician, friend,
relative, or even yourself.
If you, or someone you know, is needing someone to talk to, feel free
to give me a call 488?2701.
Kic the Nic Update
*Kic the Nic is well underway!! 11 students from St. Michael's High School
have successfully completed the first 4 sessions of this 9 session program
and are doing wonderful!!
*A special thanks to Dick's Takeout for providing lunch on March 1st for
the Kic the Nic Participants!! It was greatly appreciated.
Special Note
March 21st , 2002 is INTERNATIONAL DAY TO ELIMINATE RACISM We can all do
our part!
RECENT HAPPENINGS
by Cst. Scott Stephenson
-On January 5th Police received a call concerning damage at St.
Boniface School. If suspects are identified they could face charges.
-Police attended to a residence on Middleton Avenue on January 9th
where a 69 year-old man had been found dead. The investigation revealed
that the man had passed away from natural causes.
-Slippery roads and failing to stop at a stop sign were contributing
factors in a 2 vehicle accident at the intersection of Church Rd. and Main
Street on January 21st. A 17 year-old Bell Island girl was issued a ticket
under the Highway Traffic Act for Disobeying a Stop Sign.
-Police charged a 41 year-old Bell Island woman for Breach of Probation
in connection with an incident on January 29th, 2002. The woman was to
abstain from the consumption of alcohol as part of her probation, but was
found intoxicated when Police were called to a complaint of an assault.
She will appear in court in April.
-On February 17th Police arrested an 18 year-old bell Island man for
Breach of Probation and found him in possession of marihuana. He will be
appearing in court in April.
HUMOR
#1. POLICE While taking a routine vandalism report at an elementary
school, I was interrupted by a little girl about six years old. Looking up
and down at my uniform, she asked ,''Are you a cop?"" Yes,"
I answered and continued writing the report. "My mother said if I
ever needed help I should ask the police. Is that right ?"Yes, that's
right," I told her. "Well, then," she said as she extended
her foot toward me, "would you please tie my shoe?"
#2. K-9It was the end of the day when I parked my police van in
front of the station. As I gathered my equipment, my K-9 partner, Jake,
was barking, and I saw a little boy staring in at me. "Is that a dog
you got back there?" he asked ."It sure is," I replied.
Puzzled, the boy looked at me and then towards the back of the van.
Finally he said, "What'd he do?"
#3. ELDERLY While working for an organization that delivers lunches to
elderly shut-ins, I used to take my four-year-old daughter on my afternoon
rounds. She was unfailingly intrigued by the various appliances of old
age, particularly the canes, walkers and wheelchairs. One day I found her
staring at a pair of false teeth soaking in a glass. As I braced myself
for the inevitable barrage of questions, she merely turned and whispered,
"The tooth fairy will never believe this!"
#4. DRESS-UP A little girl was watching her parents dress for a party.
When she saw her dad donning his tuxedo, she warned, "Daddy,
you shouldn't wear that suit." "And why not,
darling?" You know that it always gives you a headache next
morning."
#5. DEATH While walking along the sidewalk in front of his church, our
minister heard the intoning of a prayer that nearly made his collar wilt.
Apparently, his five-year-old son and his playmates had found a dead
robin. Feeling that proper burial should be performed, they had secured a
small box and cotton batting, then dug a hole and made ready for the
disposal of the deceased. The minister's son was chosen to say the
appropriate prayers and with sonorous dignity intoned his version of what
he thought his father always said: "Glory be unto the Faaaather and
unto the Soonnn and into the hole he gooooes."
#6. SCHOOL A little girl had just finished her first week of
school. "I'm not going to school anymore, I'm just wasting my
time," she said to her mother. "I can't read, I can't write and
they won't let me talk!"
#7. BIBLE A little boy opened the big family bible. He was fascinated
as he fingered through the old pages. Suddenly, something fell out of the
Bible. He picked up the object and looked at it. What he saw was an old
leaf that had been pressed in between the pages. "Mama, look what I
found," the boy called out. "What have you got there,
dear?" With astonishment in the young boy's voice, he answered,
"I think it's Adam's underwear.
NEWS FROM IMMACULATE CONCEPTION SCHOOL
by Mr. Reg Durdle
PARENT-TEACHER INTERVIEWS:
Parent-teacher interviews were held on February 13 where mid-year
reports for Jr. High students were released. Thank you to all parents and
guardians who attended. Congratulations to the following students who
achieved honors during the first term. Grade 7: Nicole Butler, Brian
Jackman, Joey Keny, Jessie Meyer, Stefanie Moores, John O''Keefe, Amy
Parsons, Scott Seward, Rhonda Tremblett, Kelly Whalen, Jordan Byrne,
Jessica King, Dana Martin, Sheena Miller, Michael Ou, Christa Peddle,
Kayla Pendergast, Brad Smith and Natasha Tucker. Grade 8; Erika Bickford,
Jesse Brazil, Jessica Curnew, Korrin Fowler, Amanda Inglehart, Keith
Neary, Nicole Smith, Nick Whalen, Robert Carbage, Walter Hickey, Maggie
Meyer and Clifford Vokey.
OUTINGS:
Gratefully, despite the weather, the grades 4, 5, and 6 were finally able
to attend their field trip to St. John's. They represented the school well
and by all reports had a great time. Needless to say any future outings to
St. John's will certainly have to wait for warmer weather.
LUNCH PROGRAM: Unfortunately we are still negotiating with the school
board to install the necessary equipment to run a lunch program. We had
hoped to have it place by now however, we are still trying.
REMEMBRANCE DAY CONTEST WINNERS:
This year as always we are proud to announce the winners of the
Remembrance Day Contests as follows:
Grade 4: Santana Bickford, Grade 5: Victoria Sheppard, Grade 6: Neil Beeso
and Amanda Curnew, Grade 7: Ronnie Cummings, Natasha Tucker, Amy Parsons
and Kelly Whalen, Grade 8: Maggie Meyer and Amanda Penney.
SMART COOKIE READING PROGRAM:
During January and February our students in grades 4-6 took part in the
Mr. Christie Smart Cookie Reading Program. This is a national contest
designed to promote reading in the elementary grades. During this time our
students read an amazing 7764 books. Congratulations to all students who
participated and a special congratulations to Grade 4 students, James
Lahey and Nicole Rees-Decker you read 610 and 538 books respectively. A
special thank you to Mrs. Andre Clarke our Learning Resource Teacher who
organized the event in our school.
VOLLEYBALL PROGRAM:
This year we have had a very successful volleyball program at Immaculate
Conception. We have had 3 teams travel to represent our school at various
tournaments. Our grade 6's, competed in a grade 7-8 tournament and
finished 2nd capturing the silver medal. The grade 7's won the Avalon East
"B" division championship and received gold medals and a school
banner.
Our grade 8's have also been extremely successful. They won the Avalon
East School Board "A" Bantam championships and this past weekend
won a silver medal at Beaconsfield.
Congratulations are extended to the players and their coaches, Ms. Dunphy,
Mr. Martin and Mr. Hiscock. Good luck with your future tournaments.
TECHNOLOGY UPDATE:
The Immaculate Conception School Web page is now on-line. It can be
found at www.k12.nf.ca/ics. It contains a variety of information such as;
school announcements, school calendar, information on student activities,
and links to a variety of educational resources for parents and students.
The page is on going and new information will be added all the time. If
there is something you would like to see there please follow the feedback
link.
FUNDRAISING:
The sub-run for the Technology program / computer lab was a great success.
We were able to purchase a 32" TV and a computer. A special thanks to
Hunt's Distributing, Foodland, Foodtown, and Gosine's Trucking for
donating cases of drinks.
Thank you as well to Ms. Judy Moores and Ms. Diane Mercer for donating
items, with the proceeds being used for the technology lab.
RECYCLING PROGRAM:
This year has seen the introduction of a recycling
program at our school with
proceeds being used for the technology program. We now sponsor a Tuesday
Recycling Blitz. Students are encouraged to bring in recyclable items
(maximum of ten) on Tuesdays. Each student who participates will earn
points for their school House and have their name entered for prizes
donated by the Green Depot. (For hygienic reasons, please ensure that all
items are rinsed and air-dried before being brought to the school). If
anyone wishes to donate recyclables to our program please contact Mrs.
Ford at the school to arrange details. We would like to extend a thank you
to all students who participated in our fundraising efforts and to members
of the community who support our school.
BELL ISLAND WEB SITE
by Mr. Reg Durdle
The following is just some information on an upcoming addition to the Bell
Island Web Site.
bellisland.net
Did you know that Bell Island has one of the best developed community
websites in Newfoundland? Did you know that it has received over 100,000
visitors? Did you know that it has been profiled in Netlife Magazine and
on CBC Radio? If not check out www.bellisland.net
Through local input the Bell Island Web Site aims to provide an up-to-date
source of information for tourists interested in visiting Bell Island,
enable local businesses to have a greater Web presence thus allowing them
to advertise their products and services to a wider audience and through
such features as, Bell Islanders adrift and the White Pages gives local
and former residents an effective means of keeping in touch.
For the months of June to September a community events calendar will be
added to the page to let visitors know what events are planned on the
Island. If your group or organization has an event planned let me know by
e-mail at rdurdle@bellisland.net or calling 488-3316 and I will include it
on the on-line calendar. This is a free service.
An update is also planned for the Business Directory section of the
website. More details will follow on how you can advertise your business.
D.A.R.E. PROGRAM
by Cst. Scott Stephenson
Grade 5 students at Immaculate Conception School will be the recipients
of D.A.R.E. The 17 week program will be taught to Mrs. O'Keefe's and Mr.
Reid's classes with a total of 48 students.
The program met with great success last year which was the first year
taught here on Bell Island and in the Province of Newfoundland and
Labrador.
Program Goals and Objectives
The Primary goal of D.A.R.E. is to prevent substance abuse among school
age children.
The D.A.R.E. program targets children at an age when they are most
receptive to drug prevention education and before they are likely to have
experimented with tobacco, alcohol and drugs. D.A.R.E. seeks to prevent
adolescent substance abuse, thus reducing the demand for drugs. D.A.R.E.
lessons focus on the following points:
I . providing the skills for recognizing and resisting social pressures
to experiment with tobacco, alcohol and drugs;
2. helping enhance self esteem;
3. teaching positive alternatives to substance abuse and other
destructive behaviours (particularly gangs and violence);
4. developing skills in risk?assessment, decision making and conflict
resolution; 5. building interpersonal and communication skills.
D.A.R.E. achieves these objectives by training carefully selected
police officers to teach
structured, sequential curriculum in the schools.
An important by?product of D.A.R.E. is the impact made by police
officers working in classrooms. These officers provide a Positive role
model for children in a non?threatening environment.
OVERVIEW OF D.A.R.E. LESSONS
The 17?lesson core curriculum is taught to students by a specially
trained police officer. The core curriculum "emphasizes a no?use
message" which is life skills based and focuses on peer pressure
resistance training, self?concept improvement, personal safety and
decision?making skills. A wide range of teaching techniques ? including
interactive peer leadership and cooperative learning groups are used to
encourage student participation and response. The curriculum is updated to
keep it responsive to current research findings, modem teaching methods
and emerging social concerns regarding drugs and violence.
Lesson 1 - Introducing D.A.R.E.
The purpose of this lesson is to introduce the D.A.R.E. program. Students
will become
acquainted with the D.A.R.E. officer assigned to the school, and learn
about their roles and responsibilities as D.A.R.E. students.
Lesson 2 ? Understanding the Effects of Mind?Altering Drugs
This lesson is designed to help students develop knowledge of basic drug
facts and highlights the harmful effects of mind?altering drugs when
misused.
Lesson 3 ? Consequences
Considering the consequences which may result from the use of drugs can be
helpful in deciding to be drug?free. This lesson focuses on helping
students understand the many consequences which may result from the use of
drugs. Students will be able to identify consequences of using and
choosing not to use tobacco, alcohol and marihuana.
Lesson 4 - Changing Beliefs About Drug Use
This lesson provides awareness on the actual extent of drug use among
adolescents. Students compare their estimates of the extent of adolescent
drug use with estimates
reported in national surveys. The class learns to identify the major
sources and kinds of peer pressure they may face to take drugs.
Lesson 5 - Learning Resistance Techniques - Ways to Say No
Students rehearse the many ways of refusing offers to try tobacco, alcohol
or drugs ?
simply saying no and repeating it as often as necessary; changing the
subject: walking
away or ignoring the person. Students learn that they can avoid situations
in which they might be subjected to such pressures and can "hang
around" with non?users.
Lesson 6 ? Building Self Esteem
In this session, students learn that self?esteem, the way a person feels
about himself or herself, results from positive and negative feels and
experiences. The lesson emphasizes that developing positive attitudes
about one's own abilities and achievements is important in building
self?esteem.
Lesson 7 ? Leaning Assertiveness ? A Response Style
Students have certain rights ? to be themselves, to say what they think,
to say no to offers of drugs. This session teaches them to assert those
rights confidently and without interfering with others' rights.
Lesson 8 ? Managing Stress Without Taking Drugs
Students learn how to recognize sources of stress in their lives and
techniques for avoiding or relieving stress, including exercise and
talking to others. They learn that using drugs or alcohol to relieve
stress causes new problems.
Lesson 9 ? Reducing Violence
Reducing violence involves finding mutually acceptable ways to resolve
disagreements without resorting to destructive acts. This lesson helps
students recognize and understand why destructive acts of violence are
inappropriate ways to deal with anger and resolving disagreements.
Lesson 10 ? Combatting Media Influences on Drug Use and Violence
The purpose of this lesson is to assist students with development the
knowledge and skills which are needed to analyse how the media can
influence the way people think, feel and act about drug use and violence.
Lesson 11 ? Making Decisions about Risky Behaviours
Students apply decision?making processes in evaluating the consequences of
various kinds of risk taking behaviour, including that of drug use,
tagging and using weapons.
Lesson 12 ? Saying Yes to Positive Alternatives
Students identify and participate in activities which are interesting,
positive and rewarding alternatives to drug use.
Lesson 13 ? Having Positive Role Models
The purpose of this lesson is to acquaint students with high school
leaders who do not use drugs and to clarify the misconception drugs users
are in the majority.
Lesson 14 ? Resisting Gang and Group Violence
This lesson focuses on the negative consequences resulting from gang and
group violence. Students learn how gangs and group violence affect all
members of the community and how to resist becoming involved in these
activities.
Lesson 15 ? Summarizing D.A.R.E. Lessons
This class period is used to renew and reemphasize various points made
throughout the previous weeks.
Lesson 16 ? Taking a Stand
The students prepare their personal commitments not to use drugs and read
them aloud to their class.
Lesson 17 ? Culmination
Special graduation exercises are held to recognize individual achievement
of all class participants and to reinforce the values and skills they have
learned. The students' families are encouraged to attend the festivities
as well as community representatives.
THANK YOU
by Cst. Scott Stephenson
The following businesses are kind enough to allow the newsletter to be
displayed for pick-up.
-Bayview Grocery (Kitchen's)
-Byrne's Easy Save
-Clarke & Clarke
-Co-Op Bakery
-Crafts and Decor
-House of Stoyles
-Hurley's Store (The Green)
-Jukebox Junction
-Linda's Grill
-Murphy's Garage
-Ridgeway Variety
-Shirley's Hair Styling
-Skanes Foodland
-Slade's Food Town
-Stoyle's Meat Market
-Sun Sun Restaurant
-The Coffee Shop (Beach)
-Verge House
-Wabana Town Council
-West Mines Convenience
-Yik's Store
The newsletter is also available on the internet by accessing the Bell
Island website www.bellisland.net
Thanks to Mr. Reg Durdle for his help in doing this and for the
excellent job he does on the website.
CLOSING
If you have any comments, concerns or questions about the newsletter, or
wish to discuss a police matter please contact us at the detachment at 116
Memorial Street, or at the following:
F (709)488-3312
Fax (709)488-2311
Toll Free 1-800-709-7267
Cell # 7267(RCMP)
E-mail:
scott.stephenson@rcmp-grc.gc.ca
WHO SAID BLONDES WEREN'T SMART
A blonde walks into a bank in New York City and asks for the loan officer.
She says she is going to Europe on business for two weeks and needs to
borrow $5000. The bank officers says the bank will need some kind of
security for such a loan, so the blonde hands over the keys to a new Rolls
Royce, parked on the street, in front of the bank. Everything checks out,
and the bank agrees to accept the car as collateral for the loan. An
employee drives the Rolls into the bank's underground garage and parks it
there. Two weeks later, the blonde returns and repays the $5000, and the
interest, which is $15.41. The loan officer says, "We are very happy
to have had your business, and this transaction has worked out very
nicely, but we are a little puzzled. While you were away, we checked you
out and found that you are a multimillionaire. What puzzles us is why
would you bother to borrow $5000?" The blonde replied, "Where
else in New York City can I park my car for 2 weeks for $15.00?"
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