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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2012-07-12, Page 20PAGE 20. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JULY 12, 2012. Continued from page 16 to work His life changing, new direction giving, and abundant life work in our lives… in the second mile. Why here? Because it is here where we are walking obedience to Him. Psalm 119:57- 60, 165-166: “Lord, you are mine! I promise to obey your words! With all my heart I want your blessings. Be merciful as You promised. I pondered the direction of my life, and I turned to follow your laws. I will hurry, without delay, to obey your commands. Those who love your instructions have great peace and do not stumble. I long for your rescue, Lord, so I have obeyed your commands.” It is in the second mile where you are obeying God, where you are striving for maximum living, is where you will find a more rewarding life because it is here where God is calling you to walk in your marriages, in your work, in your church and in your communities. The reward and blessing you desire for your life is not found in the first mile of living where the world calls you to walk but rather in the second mile where God is calling you to live. So going the extra 1,760 yards means a lot more than, ‘just give it the old college try’. The difference between the first and second mile is the difference between what the world has us to do and with what God would have us to do. It is the difference between how the world would expect you to treat your enemy and how God would have you treat your enemy. It represents the difference in how the world would ask you to forgive and how God is asking you to forgive. It represents the difference in how the world would ask you to work at your job and how God would ask you to work. Listen, the reason a lot of people are miserable is because they have settled to live in the first mile. They seek to do the minimum and the least they can do and wonder where God is. I can tell you where God is; He is in the second mile. He is always calling us to love more, forgive more, give more, than what the world would require. Look at verse 46 and follow where Jesus says, “If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that.” Jesus is saying this is all first mile territory stuff. There is no reward in doing what is expected of you. On the other hand we read in… Colossians 3:23-24 “And don’t just do the minimum that will get you by. Do your best. Work from the heart for your real Master, for God, confident that you’ll get paid in full when you come into your inheritance. Keep in mind always that the ultimate Master you’re serving is Christ. (The Message). When you love your spouse in the second you love and serve Jesus. And so more than 1,760 yards comes to represent that area in our life where Jesus is calling you to love, not as the world loves, but as He loves. Don’t expect rewards for doing what is required Continued from page 10 bullied, they reported either ignoring the bully (39 per cent), telling parents (22.1 per cent), telling another student (21.8 per cent) or standing up to the bully (21.1 per cent). Students reported that bullying is usually social and verbal, two forms of bullying that “are also the most difficult for staff to monitor” noted Lee. Homophobic harassment was the most common type of incident reported, and bullying usually happened at times and in places with less supervision, such as hallways or off school property during lunch or before or after school. Students said schools should provide assemblies, guest speakers or films to prevent bullying, but Lee noted that research shows these methods aren’t very effective. Ash said that safe school teams involving students are making a difference in raising awareness about bullying, but that learning about bullying doesn’t always stop kids from doing it. “While they may understand that bullying is not appropriate, and certain types of behaviour are not appropriate, they don’t necessarily connect that to their own behavior,” he said. Ash said that real change in a school climate comes from grassroots initiatives and programs the school chooses to bring in. “If it’s imposed from above, research shows it’s not effective,” he said. He said the board is encouraging schools to adopt a whole school program of some kind. Different schools in the AMDSB have chosen programs such as Tribes, Positive Behaviour Supports (PBS), Roots of Empathy, Strive and HOAP. He said the board will also look at more peer mentoring and peer mediation. Schools will receive their individual results to share with school staff and school council. The anonymous school climate survey is mandated by the province to take place every two years. The next survey, slated for the winter of 2014, will expand to take in the opinions of staff and parents as well. Hallways, off-school property top harassment spots Continued from page 1 council. “When you write your name down for mayor or deputy-mayor, you’re making a commitment and you should have it all thought out. It’s called forward thinking.” Shewfelt, however, thought there may be a handful of changes when the ballots are tallied after the 2014 election and the discussion wouldn’t matter much after that. “I’m starting to think that it won’t matter,” Shewfelt said. “Half of us won’t be back for 2014.” A vote to scrap the amendment from June that would allow the lower tiers to send whoever they want to Huron County Council was passed 11-5. A motion to then accept the newly-outlined composition of Huron County Council in time for the 2014 election was passed. County Council approves new composition bylaw Checking the teeth The Best of Breed competition was held on Saturday, July 7 at the Bluewater Kennel Club’s annual dog show held at the Blyth Campground. (Jim Brown photo) Continued from page 1 precedent set. Deputy-Mayor Joe Steffler cited the importance of the Homecoming celebration and said he felt council should cover some of the insurance policy. “It’s time we start supporting our own,” he said. A motion to pay $1,000 of the event’s insurance coverage was then passed by council. Councillor Larry McGrath voiced his displeasure, saying he did not support paying the insurance, saying it is just another insurance policy that the municipality will be responsible for. Knight also raised a red flag about the Brussels Santa Claus Parade in a report to council, saying that would likely be another event that will require its own insurance, independent of the municipality. Knight said the cost for coverage for the parade would be $572.40. HE Council needs to ‘support its own’ with insurance cost: Steffler Huron East accepts $530,422 tender for town hallHuron East Council has accepted the tender of Empire Restoration, in the amount of $530,422, for the slate re-roofing and new windows for the municipal town hall in Seaforth. The lowest tender received was from Robertson Restoration in the amount of $363,408, which was so much lower than any of the other five tenders received that it raised several red flags with councillors. At the July 3 meeting, council went into closed session, discussing the issue with heritage consultant Thor Dingman. Speaking after the meeting, Clerk- Administrator Brad Knight said council was concerned that Robertson had “missed something” which was why the price came in as low as it did. Upon further investigation, which was council’saction at the time of the July 3meeting, he found that one ofRobertson’s subcontractors had missed a vital piece of the tender worth $87,000, leading to a price more than $150,000 lower than any of the other tenders received. Knight said the issue was discussed with representatives from Robertson and based on the miscommunication, they turned down the job, freeing council to award the tender to the second- lowest bidder, Empire Restoration. Knight said it would have been unfair to allow Robertson to alter its bid after the deadline, but council was concerned about potential legal implications, so accepted the Robertson tender and told the company the job was their’s if they wanted it. The company declined. Empire Restoration listed in its bid that the project would take 18weeks to complete.Tenders ranged from Robertson’sunusually-low bid of $363,408 up to the high bid of The AtlasCorporation’s bid of $644,100.By Shawn LoughlinThe Citizen Get information on Huron County attractions on the Stops Along The Way section of our website www.northhuron.on.ca