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Ambulance pros kept on the run RICHMOND HILL â€" Chances are, you‘ll never need them and if you ever do. it will probably be urgent. Even then, you probably won‘t remember them. They are the 54 men and women who staff the York South Ambulance Ser- vice. an eight-ambulance round-the- clock operation based in Richmond Hill, Woodbridge and Markham. In all, they will answer 1,000 calls this month. Interviewed at the service’s dispatch headquarters, Manager Barry Con- stable and Assistant Manager David Evans told The Liberal that any public recognition or thanks“ comes as a pleasant surprise. And they were only a ’Lowâ€"profi/e’ Chapman in the spotlight Shift Supervisor Fred Hardy of Richmond Hill demonstrates the proper procedure for checking blood pressure (administering oxygen) â€" with the AURORA â€" Despite all the publicity Sam Chapman has been getting lately. the chief executive officer of York County board of education thinks the civil service restraints inherent in his office require political protection and a low profile. It is an arena in which the $48.000â€"a- year administrator is neither permitted to enter nor eqttipped to handle. But in the last few months the issues before the board have brought Chap- man into the direct confrontation characteristic of a political arena. Chapman had spent almost 20 years as a principal in “he North York school system when he ‘ became the superintendent of. the York County District High School Board. In 1969, when the county boards amalgamated to form one regional administration, Chapman applied for the regional post and was accepted as its new director. He‘s become thick-skinned since that appointment, insisting that recent issues have not changed his approach to education a great deal. He says he has always believed in teaching the basics â€" which he defines as an ability to read, compute. analyze and understand the environment. What are ‘basics‘? He admits he has found himself in conflict with some people over the idea of “getting back to the basics.“ However, he does not see it as a question of “how” but rather a “con- fusion as to what the basics in this day and age really are." In Séptembér, shortly after the school By Denise Romberg No room for me? Checking blood pressure According to the Evans, the principal difference is that St. John's is “basically for special events” and it does not usually transport patients. Highly trained Evans is proud of his men and the degree to which they are trained; all must complete a basic ISO-hour course called Fundamentals of Casualty Care (of which the St. John’s advanced first aid program is a small part), and most have obtained Humber College cer- tificates in the ambulance and little miffed by the public’s tendency to confuse their professional government sponsored service with the voluntary St. John's Ambulance. year began, one of the first issues the board was forced to recognize and deal with was the question of values education. What was it? What was its purpose? Why the school institution as the vehicle for this instruction, when for so long it was considered in the domain of the family? The board has had a difficult time in its two«year term gaining a strong thrust in any direction. It's members have been divided on the issues as countless votes have resulted in ties, and the question of values education was as divisive as any before it. It became a political issue in the sense that it aroused a strong emotional response from the community. Some trustees responded to the beliefs of parents who felt that values education had no place in the school. As director of education, Chapman favored the program. His reasoning was twofold, he explained recently in an interview in his office. “There’s a values component in everything you do. The question is whether you leave it 100 per cent imâ€" plicit or try to be explicit â€" whether you try to get people to understand that there is a value.“ Justifiable controversy He acknowledges the controversy that parents may feel “and quite correctly." he adds. “The system for which they stand should not be violated by a public in- stitution, like a school. where they are forced to send their children every day. “On the other hand,“ he says. rising to walk over to the massive bookshelf that lines almost two walls of his office. assistance of “patient” Harold Clayton of Oak Ridges, an attendant with York South Ambulance Service. emergency care program (a 300-h0ur course.) “After August 1, 1977," explains Constable, “everyone must have this certificate before being hired. The degree of training required has in- creased, though it‘s-always been ex- cellent." Both ambulance driver and attendant (there must always be thh) are equally paid and equally skilled; they often reverse roles. The vehicles they drive, several with more than 100,000 miles, are equally specialized, $16,000 modifications of the humble window van. A Richmond Hill photography student, Rosemarie Laface. spotted this childhood scene on her way to classes at Seneca College's King campus. The young fellow wondering where is his place in the scheme of things, is Willy Robinson. His pals on the swing are (left to right) Jeffrey Roth, Adam Deuita and Ralph Dipietro. They are in the garden of Seneca's day care centre. “local boards must be responsive to the province.” Chapman puts on his glasses, then reaches for a copy of The Formative Years; a provincial document con- cerning goals of modern day education, pulls a pen from his jacket pocket and sits down . He points to the section that list goals and amongst them is developmental guidance, an outgrowth of the Colbey Report on values clarification. The values education program is only one in a string of issues that have brought Chapman under the spotlight. It was little more than a month ago that the proportions of the controversy surrounding Chapman were inad- vertently brought forth. Motion to dismiss At an in~camera session the board entertained a motion to dismiss the director. The vote resulted in a tie and the motion was lost. The motion itself was a culmination of a chain of events kicked off in August by a letter. King Mayor Margaret Britnell accused the staff of the board of education of “doctoring figures.“ Chapman took considerable ex- ception to the accusation. “I feel it‘s unfair to have charges made that are irresponsible and not responded to," he said. He discussed the matter with chairman Doug Allen and when Allen made no noticeable move to respond to the allegations, Chapman answered Britnell's charges in the same newspaper medium that she had used to level them. Though not allowed to carry This infuriated the board. Their monitoring devices, and unequipped for blood transfusion, a York Ambulance comes stocked with oxygen, stethescope, splints, bandages, rope. antiseptic, wrecking bars, hacksaws, boards, and a host ot other essentials â€" just about anything that might be needed to move, transport and “sustain” two patients at a time. A special instrument on the dash- board records maximum speed and time spent idling; a small part of a rather extensive network of com- munications controlled by the dispatch office. The dispatcher can talk to any of the ambulances and can "patch" these in to emergency wards of several local hospitals. Precise records are kept of arrival and departure times, and every conversation is taped by one of two sophisticated stereo recorders (in case of inquest). There are certainly emergency calls but Constable and Evans paint a pic- ture of ambulance work quite dif- ferent from that portrayed on television “emergency” shows. Inlone recent month, for example, the service handled 115 transfers, 34 scheduled runs, 85 prompt but not urgent calls, and 14 calls of a real life and death nature. Constable says no one is refused service, though he acknowledges abuses do occur. As one might expect, the attendants occasionally have to play stork, and have delivered six babies so far this year. Just last week the service took in- struction in the use of a new Ohio Transporter, a specially-built, am- bulance-adaptable, 12-volt, self- contained incubator. With its self- contained power units, ambulance attendants can now move infants from ambulance to hospital without un- plugging vital heating elements. In Richmond Hill, service can be reached by calling 884-7111. In Wood- bridge the number is 851-2191 and in Markham. 294-1436. initial response was close to hysterics as they quickly proceeded with a toughly -worded motion chastising any staff member for using the press to criticize local politicians and called the action “gross misconduct on the part of the employee, constituting grounds for dismissal." I J_,_._ a The mation was later watered down and when put to a vote, lost â€" a lot of politicking and _no _decision. shortly after the smoke cleared that trustees learned of a survey project in progress at Langstaff Sam Chapman ..... developing thick skin The York Potters Guild was having a bazaar and all the members had to make something for it. RICHMOND HILL â€" It was just over a year ago that Beverley Nielsen made her first bread board. A year later, she made $1,000 in an hour at the Kleinburg Binder Twine Festival. Through an acquaintance, Toronto Mayor David Crombie offered her a chance to show off her wares at the Queen Elizabeth Building. But she turned it down. She later found she had turned down the Canada Crafts Council. Artisans vie for years for a chance to exhibit there, but she will be staying home, to clean up her backlog of orders. “Maybe next year,” she said. One show she will be at is the Kiwanis Crafts Exhibition this Sunday from 10 am. to 5:30 pm. at the Farmer's Market in Thornhill. The Thornhill Kiwanis Club has been checking over other sales and shows for n In,“ u-v an.-. _ _, expected to discuss the project with the Langstaff guidance counsellor who administered the test as part of a doctoral thesis. Chapman explained that this prevented him from making any comment on the research project. When asked about this, Chapman replied, “Ask me anything but that." When the board first learned of the project at Langstaff, Trustee Norman Weller of Aurora asked Chapman for titles of other research projects in the making or in progress. Denied access to files at Chapman’s office, Weller brought a resolution forward, at the following board meeting, that would allow trustees access to information “at all times." “Guard information' The meeting became a baiting session between Weller and Trustee Doreen Quirk of Markham, who felt the board should be cautious in granting access to information. “We’re running a $68 million business," she said, referring to the board‘s operating budget. “No we’re not," said Weller. “Maybe Mr. Weller doesn’t think he‘s doing a good job," said Mrs. Quirk, “but some of us think we are,“ a remark that Chairman Doug Allen ordered withdrawn from the record. Secondary School that asked some “Why don’t you just withdraw," rather personal questlons of the parâ€" wener Shot back. ticipants. namely the students. The motign t_o dismigs ‘Chapman When the board meets next wee'lf', it is comnumity news Iihm’al Wednesday, November 3, 1976 Beverley Nielson ..... work goes to craft show months and have recruited 40 of what they consider the most interesting artisans available. Mrs. Nielsen, a Richmond Hill resident, attributes her popularity to the uniqueness of her hobby. Her breadboards are thick replicas of the ones that went in pioneer wall-ovens and her bread boxes reproductions of old, wooden sugar bins. She also burns designs on the outside surfaces for decoration. Woodworking was a logical move in a household where much of the furniture is homemade but does not look it. The Nielsens are just putting the finishing touches on a dining room suite, also a replica. _ Mrs. Nielsen is an ex-nurse who has found that idle hands can make money, but just enough so far to pay for her other hobbies. which include antique collecting, quilting and weaving. She gets some help sawing the wood from husband Brian. Despite polishing off 300 boards, she is still a bit afraid of carpentry tools. At last week's meeting. when the board discussed the possibility of changing its name, one of the names proposed was the Sam Chapman Memorial Board of Education. So whether Sam Chapman likes it or not. he’s acquired a high profile. The motion to dismiss Chapman came at a closed session later. ‘An awkward position’ “It's an awkward position,” he says. “I'm operating with the restrictions of a civil servant, but I’m not given tne same kind of protection. In a political arena, when you make too many political enemies, you have to move. I could live with that," he says, com- menting that the rules of the game would then seem more fair. In addition, Chapman feels he is fighting a growing disenchantment with the acceptance of professional advice. “What we live with now, which may in the long run turn out better, is that anybody's opinion is as good as another, whether they have great exâ€" perience in the field or not.” He chalks it up as a participatory democracy that is serving to erode the acceptance of professional advice â€" leaving the door open for an ensuing power struggle whereby the power of his own office is rapidly slipping away. Section C