A year
of labor
roars off

Ron Schmidt of Terrace put
_ his Austin Healey 3000 repli-car
on the road for the first time last
week,

Schmidt has spent almost the
last year building the replica of
this model. He had first seen the
car in an automobile show in
. Los Angeles. He then travelled
-to the factory in Fargo, North
Dakota, had a look and bought
one. A kit, that is.

Schmidt is semi-retired from
owning and operating Schmit-

ty’s Excavating for the past 15 .

years, and he needed a change.,
A change he got, and more work

than he had ever bargained for. -

Ron explains, ‘‘You’ve got to
cut everything including the bars
for the grill, which took two
days. I even had to cut and bend
‘all the chrome for the trim.”’ He
expressed gratitude to his many
friends who provided assistance
and companionship during the
sometimes frustrating process.

Ron says, ‘I’ve never been
patient.’? When I'd get stumped,
I’d take a break and just walk
away from it. Or sit down and
laugh for awhile! Then I’d come
back and tackle the most dif-
ficult aspect of the problem to
get it out of the way while I was
in a positive frame of mind.”
Ron says that only 20 percent of
car kits are ever completed,
‘unless they are done profes-
‘sionally. ‘‘It’s not just
something that you slap
together. You have to spend a
lot of time — sometimes 10, 12,
14 hours in a day.”

Terrace Review — Wednesday, April 25, 1990 B5

Terrace’s Ron Schmidt, a former construction contractor, may tum a retirement hobby into a new business, He just finished putting

more than a year of work into this fiberglas replica of a 1954 Austin Healey

ready to go to work on another one.

3000. The car sold, and Schmidt says he's getting

Ron is no stranger to auto-
mobiles. He’s raced 4x4’s, stock
cars and go-carts and repaired
them all. This was a very dif-
ferent process because the body
was completely fibreglas, ‘‘real-
ly nice fibreglas. It’s not
painted, but has a very thick gel
coat which is applied to the mold
before the fibreglas is laid on. It
would take more than a rock to
chip it.’’ Even the floor pan is

NORTHWEST

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FOR HEALTH from the Skeena Health Unk

Education is the most important cause of health problems in

the Skeena Region, according to over 2,000 residents in this area.

Many residents also cited education as the solution to health

problems in Skeena.

_ Perhaps you are trying to learn about what is good for you.
You may be trying to understand the health problems and at-

tempting to solve them.

_ With the wealth of information out there it is difficult to know
who and what to believe. It seems like every day there is a new

cause and a new cure.

Here are some guidelines to help you decide if you should
believe what you are reading or hearing.

Be careful if it:
@ appeals to emotions —

tries to scare you

@ recommends self-diagnosis based on very general symptoms
@ criticizes respected research and agencies
@ uses testimonials and “‘hear-say”’

@ promises miracles.

In other words — be skeptical!

Do you want current and accurate information « on health
‘issues? Do you want suggestions on how to make decisions that

are best for your health?

Skeena Health Unit can provide you with information on
“hot’’ health topics. Several Skeena Health Unit staff from a
variety of the offices in the region will be sharing some of their
tips on how you can make safe and healthy choices, —

Read our “Did You Know... ”’ column, where we will tell you

about ticks in the woods, keeping your cars tuned, taking care of
‘your beautiful smile and much, much, more.

ELS MDE Da bead REI aL

galvanized and Ron put three
coats of rust paint on everything
that isn’t fibreglas.

Ron ordered many of the op-
tions including a solid wood
dash, a hardtop and convertible
roof; he says it takes.two or
three minutes to change from
one to the other. Ron himself
supplied the running gear and
suspension, motor and trans-
mission. The car has a 302 Ford

V8 motor. And this reporter can
attest that it can zoom from zero
to 70 miles per hour in the time it
takes to snap your fingers!

In Fargo, North Dakota, the

car manufacturer is “‘selling 110
‘of these

in a one-month
period.”” Ron would eventually
like to build himself a Lam-
borghini. He just put the Austin
Healey 3000 (registered as a Se-
bring 5000) on the road... and

it’s sold. The new owner is going
to put it on a trailer and haul it
behind his motor home this sum-
mer. Ron sheepishly admits that
the owner was to take possession

-Of the car at Christmas, but-the

various ‘problems delayed com-
pletion date.

For now, Schmidt is going to
take a little break, order another
one and build it. He'll build
cars as long as someone wants to
buy them.

Institute supports special families

Pauline Whyte of Terrace is
one of more than 65 parents
trained in 35 communities
throughout B.C. to act as
Regional Resource Parents
through the Family Support In-
stitute.

The agency defines itself like
this:

“The purpose of the Family
Support Institute is to strength-
en and support families of chil-
dren with disabilities. The Fami-
ly Support Institute believes that
parents are the experts when it
comes to their own children,
young or old. Families are a
unique and valuable resource for
one another. The Family Sup-
port Institute serves families
with young children, teenagers,
and adults, whether the family
member lives at home, with a
foster family, in a group home
or in an institution.”

Pauline Whyte has a handi-

_ capped son herself, Through the

Terrace Association for Com-
munity Living workshop on per-
sonal support and a course at
NWCC on special needs,
Pauline began to realize how
necessary and important educa-
tion and support are for parents
of handicapped sons and daugh-
ters,

In November 1988, she ap-
plied to become a regional
resource person for the Family

PENNY RECN CSO Ris a PATO OM Te tte ae Bc NB ek MN Get cme perigee yg tee yes

Support Institute. In this capaci-
ty, Pauline is available to be a
parent resource person with in-
formation, encouragement and
support.

Whyte and all the other
Regional Resource Parents are
knowledgeable in areas such as
preschool years, educational op-
portunities for people with a dis-
ability, expanding employment
options, and advocacy. The
parents in the Family Support
Institute link families with
families and groups with groups
according to their common in-
terests, needs, and concerns and
to share solutions. Pauline is
also on the board of directors
for the institute, whose head-
quarters is in Vancouver.

Whyte says that the individual

‘Regional Resource Parents are

allowed to choose support or
fund raising activities that meet
the needs of parents of disabled
in their community. She feels
that the largest need in the Ter-
race area is for parents of
school-age children, The Child
Development Centre deals with
pre-school children and _ their
parents with professional guid-
ance, support and training. The
Ministry of Social Services and
Housing provides for the finan-
cial needs of the families, as they
see fit. The school years can be
the most traumatic for parents

of disabled children. The deci-
sion to ‘‘normalize”’ the child in
the regular school system or to
enroll them in special schooling
is a difficult one.

Through the Family Support
Institute, Pauline is able to co-
ordinate the following work-
shops if there is a need expressed -
by the parents of disabled chil-
dren; 1) Parents — partners in
education. The role of parents
and their rights in the processes
of assessment, placement, and
planning will be covered. 2) Sex-
uality — a workshop for parents
of offspring with a develop-
mental disability. It is designed
to create awareness and share in-
formation concerning sexuality
and possible sexual abuse of dis-
abled persons. 3) Sibling issues
-— Parents will be encouraged to
develop strategies for dealing
with issues of concern among
siblings of the disabled in their
own family. 4) Friendships in
school and community — will
teach practitioners, volunteers,
parents and advocates practical
ways of enhancing friendship-
making opportunities for people
who are socially isolated.

For further information on
the support, networking, infor-
mation, services and workshops
available through the Family
Support Institute, contact
Whyte at 635-5814.

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