Banner Lauds Foster Parents

October 21, 2003 permalink

A two page puff-piece in today's Orangeville Banner salutes the foster parents of Dufferin. It includes brief notes by seven political figures -- Sandra Card, President of the Board of Directors Dufferin CAS, Gary Putman, Executive Director Dufferin CAS, Drew Brown, Mayor of Orangeville, John Oosterhof, Reeve of East Luther Grand Valley, Bob Currie, Reeve of Amaranth, Earl Lennox, Reeve of East Garafraxa, and Ed Crewson, Mayor of Shelburne. Here is one of them:

Like so many good things, foster parents is something that many of us seem to take for granted. Most of us know about foster parenting but we don't give it much thought and we probably give even less thought to the people who act as foster parents.

When you do stop and think about foster parents though, you can't help realizing what a tremendous service they provide and what very special people they are.

Sometimes children and youths need support and structure in their lives that can only come from a family, but for whatever reason they can't get it from their own families. Foster parents open their hearts and their homes to these young people for periods ranging from a few days to several months. It's an act of love and kindness, and a commitment to our community that has few equals. So, thank you to everyone involved in foster parents. Thank you for being there when young people need you, and for making this a better community in which to live.

Drew Brown
Mayor of the Town of Orangeville

Nick Garisto, the candidate challenging Drew Brown for the mayor's job in the upcoming election November 10, is the only elected officer in Dufferin to offer support to a Dufferin VOCA family in its struggle against Children's Aid. The same issue of the Banner contains an editorial critical of Mr Garisto.

The puffery ends with a fact that could only have come from Gary Putman: As of Oct. 16, there are 100 kids in care and 40 foster families in Dufferin County.

Addendum: Drew Brown won the mayor's election with 3612 votes to Nick Garisto's 2893 votes.