HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1978-08-24, Page 1e
SEAFORTH, ONTARIO, THURSDAY, AUGUST 24, 1978 — 20 PAGES,
t .
119th Year
Whole No. 5763
•,`
$12.00 a year in Advance
Single' copy 25 eents
Twister hits near Varna, Seaforth power off
The Wayne Taylor family, R.R.1, Varna,
isn't likely to forget Saturday's storm for
some time.
A small twister went through the Taylor
place and a neighboring farm at about 3
p.m., leaving a trail of damage behind it.
Wayne Taylor said the twister lasted for'
about five minutes and "made you wonder'
what was coming."
When the Taylors went out to survey the
damage after the storm, they found their
• yard littered with branches.
'Some of the branches fell on the family
car, and Mr, Taylor said the trunk and,
fender were badly damaged and the roof
ctinkled. He said he expects damage to the
car will Tome to over $1,000,
Also,• the Taylor's driving shed was
badlystorm .twisted at one end by the force of the
A grain wagon which was sitting beside
the shed was pulled out to the bean field
and the wagon was blown off the wheels.
Mr. Taylor said the entire top of a large
tree at the front of the property was lifted
up, carried over the hydro wires and
d‘eptaoys.ited in a neighbor's field, 100 feet a
Mr. Taylor said half . the barn on a
neighboring propertfowned by the Blackie
family was also blown down.
The barn wasn't in use at the time of the
storm.
Mr. Taylor said a fine mist fell during
the force of the storm. and by the time his
family wasp starting to think of going to the
basement of the house, the full force of the..
storm was over.
In Seaforth and Dublin, the storm,
knocked out power in different areas of the
two towns. •
Torn Phillips, manager of the Seaforth
Public utilities Commissiorr(PUC) said the
power failures were caused both by
lightning and the high winds, which
brought down trees and limbs during the
15 minute storm.
Mr. Phillips said on the cornet' of High
and Market Streets in Seaforth a tree fell
across the primary wire (main feed line)
which caused a three phase hydro line to
come down between Noble Lanes and
Huron Canadian Fabricators.
On Louisa Street, a tree across the
secondary wires knocked out power on both
sides of John Street from Louisa to
Sperling 'Streets.
Mr. Phillips said two transformers *ere
cut and a secondary wire was down.
Repairmen had to restring apprthdmately
200 feet of the wire.
Services Off
In addition to damage to main lines, four
house services were pulled off homes by
the high winds and had to be repaired.
Seven services had to be reconnected
and some hydro poles required straight-
ening after the storm.
"We haven't been hit this bad for some
time," the PVC manager said.
Some SeafOrth 'residents were without
power until almost midnight Saturday.
After the work crews had repaired the
damage in Seaforth, they were called out to
the village of Dublin.
One street in that town was without
power and the streetlights were out.
PUC repair crews worked from 3 p.m. to
midnight on Saturday night and again on
Sunday morning to repair damage caused
by the storm.
TWISTER HITS BARN — A twister which
touched down Saturday• at the Wayne Taylor
farm near Varna took half' the barn on the
neighbouring Blackie farm away.
(Photo by Marx ChesSell)
Inside this week
kit e Auron wxpairillt
1. Pleasant. Hill Clubs here . . . P.. 3
Achievement Day P 16
Ladies Ball Champs P ,17
I
. AS,
FLY AWAY? —Tim Marks of Campbellville, Ont., looks as if he's being
launched from a rocket; during action at the Motocross races held Sunday
on the.Chris..Lee Jam. ju,st east of Walton...Abolit 3,00(1 people...saw. 400_
riders during the two, day event. See more photos on page 13.
(Expositor Photo)
By Alice Gibb
Hibbert Township stedents who attend St..
• Columban School and Tuckersmith Town-
ship students who attend St. James School in
Seafotth will be riding die bus with
secondary school students this fall.
The Huron-Perth County Romer'. Catholic
Separate School Board voted on . Monday
night to integrate ',transportation of these
students with secondary school bus 'routes
operated by United Trails. "" •
This action means United TrailS can
eliminate one school bus route, a saving for
the board.
The board had considered extending the
licence of Keith McCarthy, an independent
bus driver employed by the board, to pick up
the McKillop and Tuckersmith Township
students.
However, since Mr. McCarthy would then
be picking up students in the protected area
of the United Trails company, this action
would have required special approval from
United Trails and the Ministry of Trans-
portation and Communications licensing
board.
John O'Leary, one of the trustees..
expressed concern that St. Columban
parents wouldn't be pleased with the results
of integration.
He said, -he had ' already heard the
"integration in MaKilloP Township is not
good."
Concerned
Mr. O'Leary said some parents were
concerned about younger children riding
with high school students.
Jack Lane, superintendent of business and
finance, said integrated bus routes already
serve board schools in Goderich, Exeter,
oar
The Huron County Board of Education ha's
finally become involved in the dispute
surrounding three English Literature' books
being used in , epunty high schools and
decided Monday night to ban one of the
books from use in•lHuron County classrooms.
The book issue of Mice and Men by John
Steinbeck, Catcher in the Rye by J.D.
Salinger and The Diviners by Margaret
Laurence has involved hundreds of county
ratepayers, students and teachers in the past
months and in a surprise 'move' at Monday
night's board of education meeting, Seaforth
trustee John Henderson asked the board to
take the Diviners off its list of approved
novels:
-Mr. Henderson made the request when
the board was in the process of approving a
list of ,textbooks for use in highs schools
-firing-.the- 1978.79-school year. He told the.
board the book was improper for use in
county classrooms adding that he felt the
board would be "slighting our job" if it
allowed the book to be taught.
Staffa area
barn 'destroyed
By Joe McLean
A barn fire, believed to have beep caused
by overheated straw completely destroyed a
large barn on the farm 'of Andrew McLean,
R.R.2, Staffa late Tuesday afternoon.
Mr. McLean, who was unloading straw at
the time thinks the fire started either in the
blower or'in the barn itself. The blaze started
at 4:55 p.m. and was still smouldering
Wednesday noon.
Mrs. McLean said there 'was no estimate
of damage yet but she was sure it was
complete loss. She said The alarm • was
phoned immediatley and praised the
Ivfitchell Fire Brigade for the time it took
them to arrive. But, she said the heat was
"really intense" and "within ten minutes it
was all gone." The firemen watered down
the grain bins to prevent their catching fire.
Lost in the blaze were straw, hay, a tractor,
blower and other machinery. No livestock
• was involved.
The McLean's eight year old son
was taken to hospital after he picked up a hot
metal gate. He was not seriously injured.
Clinton, Seaferth, Stratford and Kinkora.
Trustee David ,Teahen said one benefit of
integration on the buses was that older
students can keep an eye on the younger
students.
Board members were also assured that the
only difference in travel time on the new
mute is that the route will be 2'/2 miles
longer, since in the afternoon the bus• will
pick up students at St. Coluinban School
after driving from Seaforth rather than from
Dublin as in the past.
Trustee Gregory Fleming, of the Mount
Carmel area, told the board that residents in
the area are requesting a pipeline easement
across Our Lady of Mount Carmel School
property.
The Lake Huron waterep,ipeline is being
The board Meeting .was witnessed by
abput 40 people, most of whom were
Members of the Huron branch , of the
Renaissance Group, The Renaissance. illove-
meat ie., dedicated to "cleaning up our
schools" as Huron branch spokesman Lloyd
Barth said Monday night. ..
• Silly Practice
The whole question of the board, ap-
proving material for use in the classroom
came, under efire'prior to Mr. Henderson's
request for Warming The Diviners.
Colborne Trustee Shirley Hazlitt sug-
gested that the board's sanctioning of bo6ks
for usein classrooms was a "farce". Hazlitt
said it "seems silly for the trustees to sit
down and read a list of books they know
nothing about and say yes you can teach this
no you can't teach this,"
' e"GOderich trustee-Dorothy Wallace- -added
that trustees are in no position to read a
mathematics text or a science text and judge
its merits or benefits for use andsaid she felt
the same about English textbooks.
Board chairman John Elliott told the board
that the books in question were slated for
use in classrooms this year. ,He said they
would be used in Grade 13 optional English
courses in Central Huron Secondary School
in Clinton and South Huron Secondary
School in Exeter. Mr. Elliott explained that
the optional courses are. available for
students that may need that course credit to
enter some university courses and that
students were not required to take the,
course to get enough credits for their Grade
13 diploma.
Mr. Henderson Said department heads in
the' schools prepare examinations on books
the majority of the studentsare studying and
daimed that if students request to take
aripthetebook "they are pretty well on their
own".
"If they haven't taken the book they have
a pretty slim chance of passing," he said.
Dorothy Wallace reminded the board of
the concerns teachers had expressed about
banning the books, She said the teachers
daimed if the board this year beetled the
three books here and next year banned the
three under fire in Wellington County and
the year after that the three under fire in
Neva Scotia teachers may find themselves
mtknowing where to turn for representative'
Canadian Literature.
"We're not taking 'the books away from
extended into Stephen Township to provide.
water for' residents from Mount Carmel to
Cairo.
The board pasSed a motion requesting
that trustee Fleming and some 'of the
members of the property committee attend
the public meeting on the pipeline.
In other business, in the future board
secretaries travelling out of town on board
business approved by the director of
education will be paid a travel allowance of
20 cents per mile.
Grade 7 and 8 pupils 'from the board
schools will be visiting the Discovery Train
when it is in Stratford early in September.
The schools can look after the costs of
transporting sudents to Stratford from their
normal extra-curricular activities budget.
the students and teachers. We're just taking
them out of the system," said Mr.
Henderson. "If 'this is Canadian Literatue
then I don't 'want it."
Zurich trustee Herb Turkheim pointed out
that most of the students being taught the
books would be 18 years of age and that they
would be permitted at that age to vote,
become soldiers and sign million dollar
contracts to play professional sports.
"And yet we tell them they're' not old
enought to ,read these books," he said.
Mr. Turkheim added that he felt it is much
wiser tohavee professional teaching the book -
and putting it in its proper perspective that
to have students "reading them in bed at
night, and taking their own meaning,"
Mr. Henderson asked board chairman
John Elliott to take a recorded vote on the
books. John Alexander, Harry Hayter,
Donaldc ,, K. k Cli I R
John Henderson, Eugene Frayne, Murray
Mulvey and Clarence McDonald were in
favor of removing The Diviners while Cayley
Hill, Shirley, Hazlitt, Dorothy Wallace,
Dorothy Williams, Marion Zinn and Herb
Turkheim opposed the move.
Another Time?
Anxious to prevent a ,recurrence of the
book banning issue the board looked at a
policy that would require a teacher to choose
material for use in classrooms justifying any
decisions to the board. In that way the board
hoped to have professional • expertiese go
into decisions on what would be used in the
classrooms and put the burden* of the
decision on the teachers.
The board felt that since the teachers
make most of the decisions on books and the
trustees merely rubber stamp the request for
bOoks, the teachers should have to defend
their choices.
The policy put before the board for
approval was rejected since it was apparent
some trustees did not want teachers to have
the power to choose material without •any
board involvement. John Henderson said the
policy before the board denied the board
power leaving the entire decision up to the
teachers.
The policy prepared for the board was
written by director of education John
Cochrane working with superintendahts1
secondary school principals, English depart-
ment heads and teachers and was desigend
to make teachers responsible for the choice
of materials and make them responsible to
handle complaints about their choice of texts
for classroom use.
It was Mr. Cocnrane who suggested that
the board not adopt the policy prepared
since it was obvious it did not agree with it.
• He said some trustees have made it clear the
board did not want teachers making
decisions on what should be taught nor did
they believe that professional freedom and
accountablility are essential to the teaching
prof es s io n •
firm estimates for the repair of the rear of
P.U.C,, builditrg -andefor housing that will be
required at the new, well site.
Mr. Phillips
informed the commissioners that the
building inspector said no specifications
were needed for the building for the well.
Mayor Cardno cautioned, "We should be
careful not to overbuild."
'Mr. Phillips said the Anti-Inf lation board
had approved the 41/2 per cent salary
increase, to be paid to all employees,
retroactive to April 1. amounting to an
e Port of the
increase of 2 cents per hour. The benefits
haTvehenontiayneatgebregenayseeattdleedta.ile,d r
work done by. employees during the past
month including: Rebuilding the hydro line'
at the rear of the former Texaco building on
Goderich Street from James Street to
accommodate two new stores being located
there.
Completed the' underground servicing, to
15 lots and all road crossings* for paving
purposes et the Silver Creek sudivision.
Rebuilt 'the rear lot Hydro line from
Seaforth Automotive to I.G.A. and this will
be continued to the rear of the Triangle
Variety Store at Goderich Street.
installed 25 new street lights and 10 more
will be installed through the capital budget
of the, Town of Seaforth.
Nine new homeshave been serviced with
hydro and water.
:.HPRC$5? students to ride high school butes
By Wilma Olie
The Seaforth Public Utilities Commission
is Studying a new schedule of fees to charge
for filling swimming pools.
Ken McLlwain complained that it did not
seem reasonable for the P.U.C, to charge for
a 20 per cent profit on top of the 'charge of
the wages for the P.U.C, employee who
supervised the filling, plus a charge for the
P.U.C. truck and metering to establish' the
amount of water used. • •
Chairman Gordon Pullman said "that
sounds like robbery to the average person .--
no businessman on Main Street could do
business charging like this." Manager Tom
Phillips felt that it was reasonable.
Mayor Betty Cardno agreed that a new fee
rate should be established but the P.U.C.
should not expect to make a profit -- only to
.meet -expenses to P.U.C. •
Manager Phillips was instructed to revise
the fee according to the size of the pool'so
that an applicant would icnow what to expect
in the way. of charges in the future.
Out-of-town applicants will continue to be
charged double. the fee charged to town
residents.
It was questioned whether Seaforth should
supply water for pools in Egmondville or
Harpurhey and Manager Phillips said "I
',think it is a service we can supply to the
community,"
Mayor Cardno said, "Before a person out
of town puts in a pool, he should check to
know, where he gets water and how much it
will cost."
The manager was authorized to secure
• wmers
PUC may set new,
fees for filling pools
CATCHING MIOS,-Students at the summer
seesion at'St. Patrick's School, Dublin, play the
gattiev mice, which involves trapping the little
creatures under the parachute. Instructors at
the schbol are experlMenting with using the
PgraChute in physical education sessions to help
the students develop their locomotion skills.
(Expositor Photo)