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The Citizen, 2008-04-17, Page 6The Huron County Municipal Officers Associa- tion met last Friday in Brussels for a day of guest speakers. With over 85 guests representing all nine municipalities in Huron County, presentations were given on how to improve the quality of life in your municipality. First there was a presentation by Paul King, outreach advisor for the Ministry of Culture on recognizing and supporting the value of heritage in the community. Jason Hagan from Local Authority Services gave a presentation about energy efficiency and what LAS can provide for municipalities. Hagan, a former politicalstaffer at Queen’s Park,presented procurementagreements and relationshipswith leading serviceproviders to representativesfrom all of Huron County thatcould end up saving them money on their energy costs. LAS established a natural gas procurement in 1992, and eventually an electricity procurement in July of 2007. Catherine MacLeod, an author and communications specialist, spoke about the importance of healthcare, especially in smaller communities. Being familiar with the area, she said it was good to be back in Brussels and said it was good to see homegrown healthcare continue in Huron County. Past president and Huron East treasurer Brad Knight named the new officials for 2008. The new presi- dent is Nancy Michie, administrator/clerk-treasurerfor Morris-Turnberry, first-vice president is Lori Rounds,tax collector for the Town ofGoderich, second vice-president is Bill Dowson,mayor of Bluewater. The secretary-treasurer will remain Barbara Leamen, Huron County clerk and Kriss Snell, chief administra- tive officer/clerk of North Huron was named a one-year executive officer, Max Demaray, reeve of Howickwas named a two-yearexecutive officer and KenOke, mayor of South Huronwas named a three-yearexecutive officer.The association alsoreceived updates on the Huron County accessibility standards from co-ordinator Jennifer Cowan and an update on the Huron County logo from planner Carol Leeming. PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2008. New officers At the Huron County Municipal Officers Association meeting, a new board of officers was elected. From left: Paul Steckle, Huron/Bruce MP and special guest; Ken Oke, South Huron mayor and three-year executive officer; Max Demaray, Howick reeve and two year executive officer; Carol Mitchell, Huron/Bruce MPP and special guest; Ben Van Diepenbeek, Ashfield- Colborne-Wawanosh reeve; Lori Rounds, tax collector/deputy treasurer for the town of Goderich and first vice president; Nancy Michie, administrator/clerk-treasurer for Morris-Turnberry and new president; Brad Knight, Huron East treasurer and past president and Kriss Snell, clerk- administrator for North Huron and one-year executive officer. (Shawn Loughlin photo) Huron’s municipal officers meet in Brussels Code on board’s website Continued from page 1 Bauer, Cathrine Campbell; financial examiner, Marie McCutcheon, Ruth Sauve- Schade; Sunshine, Edna Pletch; Coins for Friendship, Bev Craddock; telephone, Edna Pletch; convenors, Agriculture, Leona Armstrong, Olivia McHardy. The by-laws were read and accepted for the new year. Donations will be made to the Erland Lee, Adelaide Hoodless homes. The next UFO meeting will be on May 13 at Joan James’. Happy birthday was sung to Edna Pletch and Viola Adams. Next month members are to meet at 11 a.m. at the Brussels library, and bring money for lunch. Continued from page 1 The Avon Maitland District School Board’s code of conduct is available on its website: www.yourschools.ca Van Mierlo says the Huron crime unit has been assigned to the case. “The crime unit has taken over to follow up on some of these muddy rumours. Where they are at this point, they’re not prepared to release anything,” she said. “People don’t like to hear about incidents involving school violence taking place, especially when it’s compounded with a visual account of the incident.” Van Mierlo says Huron OPP are disappointed with the behaviour of the onlookers, calling it inexcusable. She says that while at least one video has surfaced on the internet, in that video, someone else capturing the incident can be seen, suggesting at least two accounts of the incident, while no assistance was provided. “My approach, whenever I’m dealing with something at a school, dealing with bullying, is that the responsibility of the bystander is paramount,” she said. “They’re not involved, they shouldn’t be involved and without the audience, the aggressor isn’t going to do what they’re doing.” Van Mierlo says that she’d like to see a law similar to that in the U.S. where bystanders can be prosecuted as a party to the offense. “There should be some responsibility on the part of the people just videotaping this and not assisting. Whether there is or isn’t, remains to be seen,” she said. “But in the U.S., you see people getting prosecuted as a party to the offense for not providing assistance, or at least calling for help.” Van Mierlo and her colleagues are still discussing whether or not the OPP should take action in the schools in response to this incident. “We’re trying to decide whether we’ll be adding fuel to the fire by doing more outreach, or if we should be taking a pro-active approach,” she said. “We don’t have an answer yet, we’re not sure what the best thing to do is right now.” Over the last decade or so, Howe says, he can see a spike in awareness with students. He says students are much more aware of bullying and its effects than they were years ago. He says there is more of a willingness to report bullying than there was decades ago, when bullying was much more hidden. In response to cell phones being used to videotape and exploit incidents at school, Howe says that there has been no thought given to banning the use of cell phones at schools, that it’s more character-building than banning electronics. “The students live in this technology. They live this technology every moment they’re outside the school, at home on laptops, on cell phones, on their ipods, they live in the technology,” he said. “It’s part of their lives today. Banning the cell phone is not the answer to stopping situations from happening. We have to teach students that using them this way isn’t the responsible way to use this technology.” 2008 Cover Crop Protection Program Producers who are unable to seed commercial crops in 2008 due to excess moisture and/or spring flooding may be eligible for financial assistance through the Cover Crop Protection Program (CCPP). To be eligible for the CCPP, producers must be enrolled in provincial production insurance. Information on production insurance, provincial application deadlines and how to enroll can be obtained by contacting your provincial crop insurance agency. Provincial production insurance participants will automatically receive a CCPP declaration form. The deadline to submit declarations for benefits under this year’s program is November 30, 2008. For more information on the CCPP and other management practices to reduce soil erosion, call 1-800-667-8567 or visit www.agr.gc.ca/ccpp WANTED 7 HOMES THAT NEED ROOFING 7 homes in your area will be given the opportunity of having an INTERLOCK metal roofing system installed on their home at a reasonable cost. This lifetime product is capturing the interest of homeowners across the country who want to know this will be the last time they will have to re-roof their home. Our product is environmentally friendly and comes with a transferable Lifetime Limited Warranty with an excellent choice of colours to complement your home and is going to be introduced to your local market. Your home can be a show place in your neighbourhood and we will make it worth your while if we can use your home. Please call Angelo: 1-888-696-0548 Toll-Free 24 hours 7 Days a week By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen WI accepts bylaws