Bruce County

KINCARDINE -- If you need a job, joining a Job Finding Club might help you find one. JBJ Employment Services Inc. is an organization based in the Grey-Bruce area that helps people find work.

CORINNE LOUTHER, LEFT, LED A JOB FINDING CLUB THAT WAS RECENTLY HELD IN KINCARDINE FOR UNEMPLOYED ADULTS LOOKING FOR WORK.

JBJ offers Job Finding Clubs in different parts of Grey and Bruce counties. A 3-week session just finished in Kincardine. A group of adults met every day and learned the skills needed to find work, They worked on filling out applications, going on interviews, writing resumes, and following up after an interview. Members of the club were also given lots of time to pursue job opportunities. The idea was to make contact with as many people as possible.

By the middle of the Kincardine session, one person had already found a job and several others had some strong leads. JBJ promises that between 75 and 80% of the participants will be employed within three to six weeks.

JBJ is run by Jill Wasylnchuk and Barb Cayer, both from Grey County. The company has been operating about 8 months. There are six trained facilitators leading the clubs and one staff support person.

"Between all of us I'm sure we have well over 40 years experience counselling people in job search skills," says Jill.

Sessions are open to adults who are unemployed and job ready, but need help in finding employment opportunities.

Corinne Louther was one of the facilitators in the Kincardine club. She says Job Finding Clubs are successful much in the same way any kind of club is successful.

"It is the chance to meet and talk with other people about something everyone has in common... in this case it's finding a job. They use each other as information sources as much as they use what we offer them, " she says.

The club offers resources, computer work and chances to hear guests talk about different job fields. The Kincardine club included speakers from the Grey-Bruce Tourist Association and the Bruce Energy Centre.

People interested in finding out more about Job Finding Clubs can call JBJ toll-free at 1-888-287-1102.

KINCARDINE -- A $50,000 reward has been offered for information about a missing Kincardine woman.

Lois Hanna has been missing since July 3, 1988, almost nine years ago. She was 25 when she went missing and would now be 34. Last month Kincardine OPP announced that the Ontario government is offering a $25,000 for any information that will help find Lois Hanna. Her family is matching that reward to make the total $50,000.

Since the reward has been made public, police have been notified by several callers. So far, no tips have led to Lois.

Her disappearance received national attention and has since remained one of the area's greatest mysteries. She had been in Lucknow at a dance earlier on the night she vanished. She left the dance alone around 11:30 p.m. to return home. Police and family were alerted when she didn't show up for work the next day.

The most bizarre part of the mystery was the state of her home. There were no signs of a struggle. Her car was still in the driveway. Three doors to her home were still locked. Her television set was on and there was half a cup of tea left on the table. It is believed that she disappeared wearing a peach colored nightgown and matching housecoat, as they were the only items found missing from her home.

The police and family are anxious to get more information about this case. In early February of this year police received a tip to search a Kincardine home where they might find evidence about Lois Hanna. Police acted on the tip and removed a bag of bones found on the property. The bones turned out to belong to an animal and there was no connection to Lois Hanna.

Anyone with information is asked to call Kincardine OPP at 1-519-396-3341 or Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-8477.