Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2010-06-03, Page 11THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JUNE 3, 2010. PAGE 11. inspectors on staff and keep septic records for some of the municipalities. An on-site sewage system inspector would have to be hired to deliver the program, as well as a summer student to assist with the administration. A letter would be sent to the targeted property owners that would outline the intentions of the program that will be completed on the property. The letter will also include information about the risks of a malfunctioning septic system and the importance of having an adequate system to service the property. Worsell said a septic pump-out would be required for the properties that have a septic inspection. This is proposed to be co-ordinated with the septic haulers. A checklist will be provided to all the septic haulers in the county with questions about the condition of the tank. The property will then be required to return this checklist to the Health Unit. The property owner will receive an aerial photograph of the property, a copy of the completed survey questionnaire, a report outlining any deficiencies with the system and remedial action required and information about septic system function and maintenance. Information about the septic systems collected through the program will be added to the Health Unit records. Worsell noted that high risk areas will be targeted for the first delivery season. He estimated about 10 per cent of the total septic systems are high risk. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation offers the Homeowner Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program which offers financial assistance to low income homeowners for mandatory home repairs that will preserve the quality of affordable housing. Non-functioning septic systems replacements are eligible for the program. Eligible homeowners can receive up to $16,000 as a forgivable loan if they stay at the same residence for at least five years. Continued from page 10 Septic inspection requires pumpout Duck on the run The ducks were loose and racing over the weekend at the Londesborough Lions’ annual duck races. It was hot, humid and windless, so several helpers were in the stream to keep the ducks moving. (Shawn Loughlin photo) Schools in St. Marys and Clintonwill join the rest of the publicly-funded high schools in Huron andPerth Counties in September, 2010, as part of the introduction of five new Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) programs by the Avon Maitland District School Board. In separate news conferences last week, Huron-Bruce MPP Carol Mitchell and her Perth-Wellington counterpart John Wilkinson announced Education Ministry support for the five new programs. There will be one each at St. Marys District Collegiate and Vocational Institute (DCVI), CentralHuron Secondary School (CHSS),F.E. Madill Secondary School inWingham, Listowel DistrictSecondary School (LDSS) andStratford Northwestern SecondarySchool (NWSS). Enrollment in an SHSM allows students to pursue a course path directed towards a specific career goal, with the host school offering versions of courses that place emphasis on the SHSM focus area. There’s also a work placement component, with students spending time in the workforce thanks to partnerships with community businesses. And, where possible, students can achieve industry-based training certificates or training opportunities.As of the end of 2009, the AvonMaitland District School Boardoperated 13 different HSHMs. Somehigh schools had more than one,while DCVI and CHSS had none.Both high schools within the Huron- Perth Catholic District School Board also played host to more than one HSHM. Last week’s announcements will allow the Avon Maitland board to bring its total to 18, and boast availability of at least one HSHM in each high school. According to Jeff Piro, the board’s SHSM lead, the Education Ministry has established a pattern over the past couple of years of introducing one or two new possibilities for SHSM career paths. In 2009, thenew introduction was “Energy,” andDCVI was one of 28 schools acrossthe province approved for a versionof the program. It will nowcommence next September.“This is a great thing for St. Marys because ‘green energy’ and energy efficiency is a major focus of the board, and it’s a major focus of the wider community,” Piro said. For 2010, the Ministry’s possible new SHSM career paths are “Sport” and “Non-Profit”. Piro says school boards typically apply for approval of new programs in December, and he expects the Avon Maitland board will consider opportunities in the new options. The other four new Avon Maitland SHSMs for September, 2010, are allin career paths that have alreadybeen introduced in other locationsaround the province – or, in somecases, around Huron and PerthCounties.The first SHSM at CHSS will be in Information and Communication Technology – a career path that is already being targeted by a program at Stratford Central Secondary School. It’s a good fit for the Clinton school, considering the involvement of students, over the years, in such activities as a school-run film festival. At both Madill and NWSS, the focus will be Health and Wellness. And at LDSS, it will be Manufacturing. By Stew SlaterSpecial to The CitizenHigh schools in Clinton, St. Marys offer majors New kindergarten nixes before and after school programs After-school and before-school programming will not be offered when the first phase of the much- talked-about full-day, all-day Kindergarten rolls out in 11 Avon Maitland District School Board classrooms next September. And that almost certainly will also be the case in two Huron- Perth Catholic District School Board sites. In its original form, the provincial Education Ministry legislation mandating the combined childcare/early learning initiative dictated that school boards would offer programming from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. During regular day school hours, a portion of the programming – geared to children in Junior and Senior Kindergarten – would be learning-based. From 7-9 a.m. and 3:30-6 p.m., only childcare-based programming would be offered. Phased-in funding, announced late last year, mandated the program would begin in September, 2010, with 10 classrooms in the Avon Maitland board and two in Huron- Perth Catholic. That since changed to 11 Avon Maitland classrooms, after the board determined there would be sufficient additional enrollment at one of its sites – Romeo Public School in Stratford – to offer a second classroom. It also became clear, however, that offering extended-day programming – not just in Huron and Perth Counties, but in many areas across the province – would present a significant challenge. “Core day programming, with us, is regular business,” explained Kim Black, education superintendent with the Avon Maitland board, in a recent interview. Where the extended-day services can piggyback on resources already in place for regular day school, such as in the use of classroom space, school boards can adjust. But when it comes to planning beyond those factors, such as hiring childcare workers and establishing the pay-for-service arrangements that are supposed to sustain the extended-day programs, the boards must rely more heavily on the community-based service providers which will act as partners in the initiative. And, after lobbying from school boards, the Ministry backed off on requiring full extended-day implementation for phase one next September. “In the first year in implementing a program, there are always bumps that happen that have to get solved,” Black commented, citing the sometimes bumpy 1988 roll-out of Junior Kindergarten in Ontario. She added, however, that “it doesn’t mean that by January, 2011, we haven’t got one site” with extended- day. “(Extended day programming) is part of the requirement of the bill but this gives us an opportunity to transition into it,” explained Black. At a regular meeting Tuesday, May 25, Avon Maitland trustees questioned Black about possible funding shortfalls for extended-day programming, even after a one-year reprieve on implementation. They discussed sending a letter to the Ministry, requesting additional funding, but Black advised waiting until after the upcoming 2010-11 budgetary planning period, to allow for the letter to include accurate figures. “We sensed from the start that the benchmarks offered by the Ministry would run a shortfall in our area of southwestern Ontario,” explained Black, when asked why she agrees with the concept of lobbying for additional funds. Huron-Perth management superintendent Gerry Thuss, by contrast, is reserving judgment. His interpretation of the legislation is that the extended-day portion of the initiative is meant to be self- sustaining. He agrees, however, that school boards and childcare partners need extra time to put together extended- care services. And, as with the Avon Maitland board’s full-day phase one sites, there has been, so far, little expressed interest in extended-day care. “We’re finding the same as what (the Avon Maitland board) is finding – which is the same as what boards are seeing pretty much across the province,” Thuss said. By Stew Slater Special to The Citizen Preamble The Property Standards By-law for the Township of North Huron contains minimum standards of maintenance and occupancy which all properties should meet. The by-law is to ensure that properties now in good condition in the community will continue to be kept in good repair. The ideal approach is for the municipality to foster a climate of “co-operative compliance”. The information, General Standards for All Property pertains to “Yards” that have been brought to the attention of the By-law Enforcement Officer. TOWNSHIP OF NORTH HURON - “PROPERTY STANDARDS BY-LAW” By-Law No. 15, 2003 - Part III - General Standards For All Property YARDS 3.02.1 Every yard, including vacant lots shall be kept clean and free from: 1) Rubbish, garbage, debris and from objects or conditions that might create a health, fire or accident hazard; 2) Heavy undergrowth and noxious plants; 3) Grass or weeds in an urban area growing to a height or standing at a height in excess of 25 cm (10") in any area other than an ecologically approved wild flower garden; 4) Dilapidated, collapsed or partially constructed structures which are not currently under construction; 5) Injurious insects, termites, rodents, vermin or other pests; 6) Dead, decaying, or damaged trees in an unsafe condition; 7) Dead, decayed or decaying carrion, fowl or fish, etc.; 3.02.2 No yard shall be used for parking or storage of: 1) A motor vehicle which is not operative or which is not currently licensed and insured pursuant to the Highway Traffic Act or amendments thereto for the Province of Ontario; 2) Amotor vehicle which has had part or all of its superstructure or source of motor power removed; 3) Any vehicle, boat trailer, or part of any vehicle, boat or trailer, implement, or farm equipment, which is wrecked, discarded, dismantled, partly dismantled, or in an abandoned condition shall not be stored or left in a yard, field, gully or woodlot. But this shall not prevent the occupant of any premises from repairing same for his own use and not for commercial purposes while such repair is actively carried on. PENALTY (IN PART) 9.14 Every person who hinders, disturbs or obstructs a Property Standards Officer(s) in carrying out his or her duties or contravenes Part III, IV, V or VI of the By-law shall be guilty of an offence under the Provincial Offences Act. R.S.O. 1980, c 400 as amended and shall be liable upon conviction to a fine not to exceed $2,000 for the first offence and $5,000 for each subsequent offence, exclusive of costs for each such offence, and every such penalty shall be recoverable under the aforesaid Provincial Offences Act. Dave Black Chief Building Official, CBCO By-law Enforcement Officer