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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2015-02-04, Page 15No decision made on funding for Huron County Food Distribution Centre Dave Flaherty Goderich Signal Star County council has deferred its decision on a three-year funding request from the Huron County Food Distribution Centre. In December, officials from the centre had approached council for $60,000 in funding over the next four years. The requested funding would help the centre expand its supply network to 30 suppliers and increase their client agencies from 28 to 66. The proposed spending for the $60,000 grant is as fol- lows; $27,700 for salaries, $18,700 for food purchasing, $3,600 for advertising and $10,000 for leveraging part- ner opportunities. Treasurer Michael Blum- hagen told council at the Jan. 14 committee of the whole meeting Blumhagen said the grant application complies with the county's grant by-laws, except possibly for section 3(c) - which requires the applying organization to demonstrate they will not create a dependency after the grant ceases. He explained that more than 50% of the grant money would cover salaries. "The question is whether this model will be sustaina- ble," Blumhagen said. "Many other grants do not cover salaries." North Huron Mayor Neil Vincent said there are two food banks in Wingham, but 40% of their clients are from Huron -Kinloss and South Bruce. He questioned whether the grant money provided to the centre from the county would only be going towards Huron County residents who use those food banks. Huron East Mayor Bernie MacLellan said while he didn't disagree with the points made by the treasurer, he feels the centre is provid- ing a social service. "You are going to have to do it if someone else doesn't, it's a service you need to pro- vide to people that just don't have enough," MacLellan said. For this reason, he said it shouldn't be considered under a normal grant appli- cation, but should be deferred until budget delib- erations are complete. Ashfield-Colborne- Wawanosh Reeve Ben Van Diepenbeek suggested that any grant money should go towards "food and supplies': "Nobody in Huron County should go hungry," Van Die- penbeek said. Huron East Deputy Mayor Joe Steffler said through his experience as warden he got an up close look at just how much poverty there is in the county. "We all bellied up pretty good today at lunch and never though about some- one without enough food," Steffler said. Steffler said $60,000 is miniscule in overall amount of spending Huron County does. "I'd be all for taking $60,000 out somewhere else (in the budget)," he said, adding to see "200 some odd families" who use the ser- vices of the Seaforth Food Bank had quite the affect on him. Central Huron Deputy Mayor David Jewitt said "there is definitely a need and this would work to help fix some of the struggles," but noted he was not sure about the funding model. Nominations for Inspiring Women in Huron being accepted until Jan. 30 Signal Star staff Do you know a woman who has made a difference in their community? The YMCA and Huron Women's Shelter is seeking nominations for women in Huron County who have demonstrated a contribution to improving the lives of women and children. Nominations will be accepted in two categories; inspiring young woman ages 16 to 30 and inspiring woman over the age of 30 years old. Residents are invited to nominate a woman who has demonstrated a contribution to improving the lives of women and children in areas such as; • Women's rights • Arts and culture • Community • Diversity • Education • Leadership • Business and profes- sional leadership • Volunteerism • Sports • Social justice • Philanthropy • Global action • Health and welfare To be chosen as a recipi- ent of the Inspiring Women in Huron Award the woman nominated should meet the following criteria; • Nominee demonstrates a commitment to improving the lives of women and children • The actions of the nomi- nee have demonstrated her commitment as a role model for women and children in their community • The actions of the nomi- nee as an advocate for women have motivated and inspired their community • The nominee has utilized her talents, visions and determination in such ways to have made a difference within the family, in the community, our nation or internationally • Nominees must live or work in Huron County, but may have made their contri- butions elsewhere • Nominees must be between the ages of 16 and 30 as of Dec. 31, 2014. The deadline for nominations is Fri., Jan. 30 at 5 p.m. Nominations can be sent to Goderich-Huron YMCA, attn: Anne - Marie Thomson, 190 Suncoast Dr. E., Goderich, ON, N7A 3X8 or athom- son@ymcaswo.ca. seaforthhuronexpositor.com Wednesday, February 4, 2015 • Huron Expositor 15 Teacher contracts top priority for AMDSB in 2015 Laura Cudworth QMI Agency/For The Signal Star After close to 15 years as a trustee on the Avon Maitland District School Board you could say Randy Wagler has had quite an education. As chair of the board, the veteran trustee will lead his colleagues into 2015. At the very top of the pri- ority list this coming year is teacher contracts. The Ele- mentary Teachers' Federa- tion of Ontario recently held a strike vote with 95% in favour. Union president Sam Hammond called it a "pow- erful message." Premier Kathleen Wynne suggested it's just part of the bargaining process. "That reality of a strike vote has nothing to do with our ability to come to a strong collective agreement;" Wynne told QMI Agency. In the same interview she said there's no money for public sector wage or benefit increases. This is a process Wagler has been through before. He is optimistic the central bar- gaining table will yield posi- tive results. "That's a process that's going to take its course. I think it will take time. No one is anticipating a strike, we are anticipating they will be able to reach a contract without any disruption," he said. a.e� DO YOUR PART 1 ■ • • • • Brodhagen Chamber of Commerce Dinner & Dance Saturday, February 14, 2015 Dance to Dianne & the Cavaliers Tickets $25/person Social 6 p.m. Dinner 7 p.m. Brodhagen Community Centre For tickets call 519-345-2654 or 519-348-0940 Check out www.brodhagencommunitycentre.com • ■ ■ • ■ 1 The board will negotiate directly with the ETFO local over issues specific to the board but don't have control over issues like wages. As Premier Kathleen Wynne warns there's no money for wage increases, school boards will have to wait and see how that will translate in terms of overall education funding. "It's always a concern. We know the province isn't flush with money. We're in a good position to deal with that. We've taken a lot of steps to be fiscally responsible," he said. The board has been care- ful to spend any one-time funding from the Ministry of Education on one-time pro- jects rather than permanent programs, Wagler said. School closures have also helped the board manage its space more effectively to help control costs. Dwindling enrolment has been an ongoing problem for the board. The drop in pupils swept through ele- mentary schools and has now stabilized. That drop in students is now being felt in the high schools. The good news is there are no accommodation reviews coming up and no second- ary schools will close this year. The board has been look- ing for new ways to offer a wide breadth of courses, which is tricky when there aren't enough students to fill the class. At St. Marys DCVI, teachers have tried out inter- disciplinary courses to ensure students can study their areas of interest while still filling a classroom. "We have to meet the chal- lenge of high quality educa- tion in those smaller places," Wagler said. To help ease some of the burden, the board has been recruiting international stu- dents in earnest. Those stu- dents bring in revenue and there are intangible benefits as well, Wagler suggested. Students here are exposed to other cultures and have had opportunities to leave Can- ada. A group went to Ger- many for example. One of the school board's most ambitious projects will continue into the coming year. All Grade 7 and 8 stu- dents will have iPads by next fall. They will use them right through their high school. It's been a bold step and major shift in how students are taught in an undeniably digital world. "I think we've got these challenges but we're doing great things," Wagler said. As the year progresses the board will be updating its strategic plan to cover the next four years. Wagler doesn't expect any big changes but there will be some tweaking. The board will look for community input late in 2015. .FOR MOVIE INFORMATION.. wwww.rncavi elinks.ea ran d 1 WW -2(15.345B FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2015 - 7 PM BLYTH MEMORIAL HALL Tickets at the Blyth Festival Box Office or call 1-877-862-5984. Also available online at www.bl thfestival.com - 1 It 1