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Times-Advocate, 1978-02-23, Page 1Board decides to lock out teachers Just minutes before press time, Wednesday, The Times-Advocate was ad­ vised that the Huron County board of education had just passed a motion to declare a lockout of all secondary school teachers. One Hundred and Fifth Year FAMILY SKATING — One of the features of Sunday's winter frolic at Grand Bend was family skating. Above, Gerald Merner glides around the rink with daughter Julia. T-;A photo To resume canvass for Hensail's arena According to building chairman Harold Knight construction on the Hensall and district community centre is a “little behind schedule” Knight said the bad weather in January was the primary factor in slowing down of construction. It is still hoped that that the auditorium will be open in May with the arena opening to follow a month later. When completed, the auditorium will be able to Local policemen protest new bills Police forces in Huron County met Monday with politicians to protest what they feel are anti-police amendments in the Ontario Police Act. About 20 policemen met in Goderich with MPPs Jack Riddell and Murray Gaunt, to outline their complaints about the implementation of Bills 113 and 114, shelved during the last session of the legislature. The policemen are concerned the bills could reappear this term. Gary Hillgendorff, spokesman for the police ad hoc committee in Huron, told the MPPs that amendments outlined in the bills threaten the rights of police officers. Exeter OPP Cpl. Ray Brooks told the T-A that “criminals can do more than policemen” and said members of the local detach­ ment are concerned, Hillgendorff echoed those comments when he told the politicians that “the criminal elements have a lot more rights than the police officers and now is the time to get it (the bills) stopped”. The two bills cover rules for investigating conduct of officers, police budgets and organizations of police commissions and com­ mittees. One of the main objections, according to Exeter Chief Ted Day and Constable George Robertson is the plan to have a provincially- appointed citizens com­ mittee to investigate com­ plaints against officers. “It would be a civilian J The lockout will be effec­ tive starting today and affects all teachers, other than principals and vice­ principals. No buses will operate to­ day, with the exception of routes that are integrated accommodate between 400 and 500 persons The arena will be able to seat 470. Knight stated the building committee has been pleased with the performance of the contractor, Logan Con­ struction of Stratford. “We had some little dif­ ferences of opinions over the scheduling of the con­ struction but we had a meeting and ironed things out,” Knight said. As the Community Centre keeps going up, so does the community centre fund. Of board, and what do civilians know about police work?” Day questioned. He said that if a complaint was laid against one of his officers, that officer would probably have to go to Toronto to defend himself before the commission of citizens. At the present time, such a complaint would be handled by the local chief or the police committee of Exeter council. “If the Chief can’t handle it, why do we have police chiefs?” Day asked. Robertson said such hearings could take an of­ ficer out of town for some time and could in effect “cripple small depart­ ments”. Gaunt told the Monday meeting that he felt the bills “have a very anti-police flavor and tone in them and I don’t agree with that”. He suggested the bills are the result of complaints against the Toronto police depart­ ment. “What we have to realize is the world doesn’t turn around Toronto . . . this is an over-reaction to what is happening in one part of the province,” the Huron Bruce MPP stated. A spokesman for the Huron County Police Association said the policemen are not asking for pro-police, but only ifair treatment. It was suggested that while Ontario policemen have never been militant, that could become the situation if the bills are passed. with elementary schools. Those buses will continue to Operate. Past chairman of the board, Herb Turkheim, reported that the schools would remain open for students who wish to engage the $175,000 that the Village needs to raise, $140,000 has been collected. Carl McMahon of the fund raising committee said $10,000 should be collected within the next month when canvassing resumes. “The finance committee is presently formulating plans for a series of fund raising events during the spring and summer that will finish the campaign stated. off,” McMahon GETS ST. MARYS POST — Bev Rabbets who has been assistant Postmaster in Exeter for the past eight years was named Postmaster in St. Marys this week. Rabbets ,who came to Exeter after 14 years as a postal clerk in Aylmer replaces Ted Stephens who has taken over a similar position in Strathroy. Staff photo Council session was postponed Exeter council’s meeting of this week was postponed after it ,was determined there may be some problem in getting a quorum. A decision to cancel the ’ session was made on the weekend and it has been rescheduled for this coming Monday at 7:30 p.m. One of the major items on the agenda is a grant to the Exeter and Area Heritage Foundation for the restora­ tion of the town hall. A grant of between $5,000 and $20,000 is being re­ quested, in private study. The action was taken as a result of a series of rotating strikes started last Wednes­ day by the teachers. South Huron District High School has been closed down by the teachers for three of the six days since the strike began. The Huron County Board of Education set the stage for a lockout of its secondary school teachers at a special board meeting Monday night. The board met ac­ cording to provincial regulations to hear the final offer by the teachers in a public session. A mixture of parents and teachers witnessed the short board meeting while about 200 secondary school teachers walked the streets surrounding the board of­ fices in Clinton. The teachers picketed the administrative offices to., according to teacher negotiater Shirley Weary, “make a point to the board”. Weary said she wasn’t convinced the board was not dvocate EXETER, ONTARIO, FEBRUARY 23, 1978 CT' rc' I B & North Lambton Since 1873 imes Serving South Huron, North Middlesex Mentally retarded rent space for nine more people in Exeter At the annual meeting of the South Huron District Association for the Mentally Retarded held Wednesday evening in Dashwood, it was announced that a rusw residence for the learning handicapped will be es­ tablished in Exeter. Residence’s Committee chairman Alma Godbolt an­ nounced that Harry Klungel of Hensall had purchased the home at 16 John Street in Exeter and will be renting it back to the Association for use by the Association, The new home which is one block away from the James Street residence that has been operational since 1975, will have room for nine permanent residents and one bed will be available for temporary accommodation. 50 per cent of the residents will be from the immediate area. Operation of the residence Power out for one hour Homes in Dashwood, Zurich, Grand Bend and parts of Stephen and Hay townships were without electricity for more than an hour Saturday night after a high tension feeder line snapped near Dashwood. The feeder line came down on sideroad 20, one mile west of County Road 11. It is believed the line snapped due to a sudden change in temperature. Many Exeter -residents were also affected by the power failure as cable TV fed from the Dashwood area went off the air. Thieves hit area twice Two thefts and one act of vandalism are being in­ vestigated by the Exeter OPP this week. Both thefts were reported on Friday, one involving about $2,000 worth of motorcycle parts taken from Andy’s Cycle Shop on con­ cession 13, Stephen. The business is owned by Andy Wieckowski. The thieves made off with transmissions, front forks and an engine. The theft is being in­ vestigated by OPP Constable Frank Giffin. The other theft involved $885 worth of stereo equip­ ment taken from a mobile home on concession 6, Stephen. The home is owned by Kim Bedford, RR 1 St. Marys. Over the weekend, vandals bashed in a rear window in a vehicle parked at Huron Motor Products in Zurich. Damage was listed at $150. That incident and also the stereo theft is being in­ vestigated by Constable Bill Osterloo. trying to “threaten” the teachers with the lockout. She said the teachers for­ ming the picket line were protesting the ’board’s stand on the 1977 contract but added that the two dozen teachers at the board meeting were there as private citizens. Director of education John Cochrane told the board that before a lockout can be considered the public session must be held. He said the board must publicly review the final offer from the teachers and vote on its acceptance. Should the board reject the offer then it is free to lockout teachers if it so chooses. Negotations have not been resumed since the first strike action was taken by the teachers February 15. The last formal contract talks ended at noon February 14 and not only have no meetings been arranged, the parties can’t even decide who should take the first step. should start in April. “1977 was an exciting year for us,” chairman of the Adult Rehabilitation Centre (ARC) Roland McCaffrey reported.* 50 employees are involved in the eight programs which ARC offers. McCaffrey reported that sales from the goods which ARC produces went up from $16,000 in 1976 to $53,000 in 1977. It’s expected that sales for 1978 will top: ,$75,000. The increased production has resulted in increased Rams parked car, snowmobiler hurt A 26-year-old Crediton man, Michel Laurin, sustained major injuries when his snow vehicle collided with a parked vehicle in Centralia, Friday. The accident occurred at 9:00 p.m. and Laurin was taken to University Hospital. His condition was listed as satisfactory. The parked vehicle was owned by Heinz Hinz, RR 5 Mitchell. It had been parked on Prince Arthur St. in Centralia. OPP Constable Jim Rogers investigated and set total property damage at $800. In one of two accidents, Saturday, a Stratford woman, Christina Diebold, sustained minor injuries when the vehicle she was driving struck a snow bank and rolled over on Highway 83, just east of County Road 11. Damage was listed at $1,000 by Constable Jack Straughan. In , the other accident, Saturday, a vehicle driven by Jeff O’Brien, Zurich, skidded out of control on concession 4-5 of Stephen named. Irt the back row (left-right) are Jack Underwood, Reverend Henry Marg Purdy, Mrs. Anne Cann and Teresa Van Raay. Van E$seh, Paul Turnbull, Bob Southcott, —• president, Jim Hoffman, Jack NEW DIRECTORS — At the annual meeting tor the South Huron and District Association for the Mentally Retarded the board of directors for 1978 was X \ 1 4 'V. :1 '1 .'/L. a 1 W’’ ’’■ V'"SV' hB X' * * VH JI 4 1 1" «* Galser, Harry Knip and Roland McCaffrey. The front row consists of Mrs. Myra Lovell, Mrs. Pat Wright, Mrs. Ann Klungel, Mrs. Alma Godbolt, Mrs. » /A m ■* WWW?-it Staff photo Weary said the teachers made the final proposal before taking strike action, adding that the teacher negotiating team expected a ' call from the board instead of hearing “no, no, no , , Cayley Hill, chairman of the board’s negotiating committee, said the teachers had better “re-think their proposal” before assuming the board should take the first step toward further contract talks. He said the teachers know the board’s Secretaries settle The Huron County Board of Education and Local 1428 of The Canadian Union of Public Employees have ratified a collective agree­ ment for the calendar year 1978. The new agreement provides for a 30 cents per hour increase to the forty- nine secretaries who are stamina on behalf of the employees and a correspon­ ding increase in the pride which they take in their work, the chairman reported. 14 employees in the woodworking program should be ready to take out­ side jobs at the end of the year. The need to graduate more employees into the community and the breaking down of prejudice by employers against the lear­ ning handicapped, were Township, north of sideroad 20. The vehicle struck a steel guard rail on abridge and the damage was estimated at $3,800 by Constable Don Mason. The only other accident of the week occurred at 9:10 a.m., Monday and involved four vehicles. Damage was not extensive. All the vehicles had been proceeding north on High­ way 4, just north of Exeter. The lead vehicle was a school bus operated by Murray Scott, Exeter. He had been stopped waiting for traffic to clear to make a left hand turn into his laneway. Two other vehicles, driven by Rae Brocklebank, Strathroy, and Kenneth Lowens, London, were stopped behind the bus when the Lowens vehicle was hit from the rear by another northbound vehicle driven by George Dundas, London. This pushed the third car into the second vehicle. The bus was not hit. During the week, the local detachment officers laid 12 charges under the Highway Traffic Act, nine under the Liquor Licence Act and four under the Criminal Code. stand, adding that he hoped teachers would reflect on the past before refusing to change their position. Hill said the Huron County board had “cut a lot of ground” in the past to increase teacher benefits and working conditions. He said the strike appeared to exhibit a teacher attitude that if they don’t get their way they won’t teach. He said they didn’t appear to be thinking about the past. Hill said the board had members of the (Jhion and 33 cents per hour increase for the two aucfio/visual technicians. lift addition coverage under the Group Life Insurance Plan has been increased to $15,000. This settlement, which must be approved by the Anti Inflation Board, provides an average in­ crease of 7.3 percent. cited by McCaffrey as two areas where work remains to be done. Progress is being made, the Exeter resident said as he announced that two of ARC’S bakeshop employees will be employed in an area bakeshop during the summer. A new program aimed at the prevention of mental il- ness will commence this year under prevention com- mittee chairman Pat Wright. The aim of the new group will be to develop a system of delivering infor­ mation to the public about the prevention of mental ill- lness and to get the support of family physicians and public health authorities in the spreading of information about mental illness. Mrs. Wright said “This is a long range goal; we don’t expect to see any major results in six months or a year.” Finance committee chair­ man Anne Klungel reported that the Association is in ex­ cellent financial shape with donations up considerably and a $9,000 reduction in the workshop’s mortgage due to grants from the counties of Huron and Lambton. Similar good news came from Donna Greb Who head­ ed last year’s Flower’s of Hope campaign. $8,500 was raised, up $300 from the 1976 total. “Tliis proves that this year, there has been an in­ creasing interest in the han- dicapped,” Ms. Greb remarked. A program designed to teach living skills will be starting in mid 1978 ex­ ecutive director of the Association Don Campbell told the meeting. The program will be totally fund­ ed by the ministry of com­ munity and social services and will result in the hiring of two more instructors. There is the need for the development of an apart­ ment living project at some future time, Campbell Please turn to Page 7 been brought completely up to date in a closed session prior to Monday night’s public meeting. He said there was no discussion of possible alternatives the board could take to settle the strike issue. Weary said Monday night that a suggestion by the mediator in the contract talks to take the issue to arbitration was not turned down by the teachers. She did not say it was promoted either. The teacher negotiater said she “didn’t know that the teachers objected to arbitration” adding that they offered to take that route in September of 1977. She said the teachers pointed out that they had already suggested arbitration, ad­ ding that it seemed a “reasonable way out”. She said she didn’t think the teachers had any change in that attitude. Hill said arbitration was something the board and the negotiating committee A, Price Per Copy 25 Cents A HUNGRY SKATER ST* ' *31 i * At Sunday's winter frolic at Grand Bend, Brad Page Jr. munches on a hot dog while going for a skate. T-A photo Ordered to trial on attack charge ■ A 25-year-old Huron Park man. Milton Terris Park, charged with attempted murder and rape, was com­ mitted to stand trial follow­ ing a preliminary hearing held in Goderich, Thursday. Park appeared before Judge W.G. Cochrane and will be tried by a county would have to reflect on and make a decision on. He said he personally felt the parties should be able to make their own decisions and not go to an outsider to settle the matter. The board negotiater said he felt the teachers should listen to the board’s offer themselves rather than dealing with them through an outside group that is conspiring to strike. He said it is obvious who is “calling the shots for the teachers” adding that that person is not from Huron County. Parents, teachers, board trustees and students at the special board meeting agreed that the people suffering most in the strike are the students. David St. Jean, a grade 13 student at Goderich District Collegiate Institute, said he was worried like everyone else. St. Jean said he didn’t want to lose time in school but also didn’t want to sit in a class with 30 students and Please turn to page 3 i court judge and jury. He was charged January 12 after two Exeter OPP constables found an Exeter woman on a side street in Huron Park with severe lacerations to her throat and hands. Park is custody. being held in