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Home My WebLink AboutThe Citizen, 2007-11-01, Page 1The CitizenVolume 23 No. 43 Thursday, Nov. 1, 2007 $1.25 ($1.18 + 7c GST)Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Inside this week Pg. 6 Pg. 8 Pg. 9 Pg. 13 Pg. 14 Keeping infants healthy Local teams post victories Community holds benefit Federation honours McGavins Thompson back as HCFA president Although no further action was taken, the funding of the Brussels Library was discussed, bringing about heated opinions by several councillors. The municipality is meeting with Morris-Turnberry council on Nov. 5 to discuss their role in the funding of the library. It was previously discussed that they would fund 20 per cent of the project, However, one councillor disputed the figure. Councillor Bill Siemon said that he got the impression from Morris- Turnberry mayor Dorothy Kelly that they were planning on contributing a one-time payment, not annual payments totalling 20 per cent of the bottom line. However, mayor Joe Seili and deputy-mayor Bernie MacLellan agreed with the original figure of 20 per cent. Finalizing the figure will be part of the meeting of the two councils, among other things. McGrath then asked about other funding options, like asking Huron County for some money towards the library or the Avon Maitland District School Board. Council agreed that efforts to obtain funds from either would be futile. Councillor Frank Stretton raised the issue of a set percentage that council would contribute to projects like this. That way contributions would be kept uniform across the municipality. Stretton cited the Family Health Team project in Seaforth as well as the recreation centre in Vanastra as important projects in addition to the library, all of which council intends to pay a large chunk of, if not all. Also, road and bridge projects are on the docket for the coming years. Stretton questioned the will of the Brussels people, saying that citizens should be given a number, a certain percentage that they would have to raise themselves, then council will know if they are serious about the Canvassing A dreary Saturday morning did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of these Cadets as they conducted their annual poppy canvass in Brussels. From left: Lane Sebastian, Courtnei Albright and Ashley Muse. (Vicky Bremner photo) School council chairs, municipal politicians, Avon Maitland District School Board administrators and trustees, and selected representatives from the communities of Goderich, St. Marys and Mitchell will gather Tuesday, Nov. 6 in Seaforth, as part of the initial steps toward possible major changes in pupil accommodation. Billed by the school board as a Joint ARC (Accommodation Review Committee) meeting, the 7 p.m. event will allow education superintendent Ted Doherty – who has been charged with leading the accommodation review process – to set out the responsibilities and expectations of those who have chosen or been chosen to act as the middlemen in the board’s public consultation. Under the board’s Pupil Accommodation Reviews policy, a local ARC must be established following the identification of any school community for possible changes. On Sept. 11, trustees voted to establish ARCs in Goderich, Mitchell and St. Marys, thereby opening the door to those potential changes. “After that, it must be 60 days between the first naming of the school and the first community meeting,” Doherty explained in an interview. Theoretically, this allows community members to examine the issue before deciding whether to serve on the ARC. “Some people have been asking, but that’s why we haven’t met (prior to the planned Nov. 6 event). We weren’t allowed to under the policy.” From here through the winter, the policy will continue to dictate timelines for the ARCs. A minimum of four public meetings must be held by each ARC; a minimum of 90 days must pass between the first and last public meetings, and no more than 14 days must pass between the last public ARC meeting and the ARC’s final report to the board. In each of the three communities, the board hosted joint school council meetings last year to discuss the challenges posed by declining enrolment and aging – and sometimes not wheelchair accessible – facilities. And in each case, the predominant possible solution involved decreasing the number of in-town elementary schools from two to one, and moving Grades 7 and 8 students into a renovated secondary school setting. The report delivered to trustees on Sept. 11 reiterated those possible scenarios. And under the policy’s timelines, it’s expected the earliest possible date for implementing changes would be September, 2009. At next week’s meeting, Doherty explained, the role of the ARCs will be clarified. The board will provide each ARC with a template for a School Evaluation Framework – to eventually be completed with public input. The document aims to provide the board with insight into the value of each school to the wider community. “They have the option of modifying (the template) slightly to fit their own communities,” the education superintendent explained. But the work of the ARCs won’t truly begin until the separate local meetings begin – under a tentative schedule, that will happen Wednesday, Nov. 14 at Mitchell District High School, Thursday, Nov. 15 at St. Marys DCVI, and Thursday, Nov. 15 at Goderich District Collegiate Institute. Voting members of each ARC includes the chairs of the school councils of the schools under review (or another selected member of the school council), a community member chosen by the school council, and a municipal politician. With Ontario’s stunt driving legislation now one month old, it would seem there are drivers still a little slow at catching on. Huron OPP have already charged some drivers under the legislation which came into effect at the end of September, including two recent ones just a day apart. On Oct. 25 at 7:30 a.m. a vehicle travelling north on Bluewater Hwy. was stopped by a Huron OPP officer after entering police radar at over 70 km per hour above the posted speed limit. A 25-year-old Goderich man was charged. Then early Friday, Oct. 26, a 28- year-old from Ashfield-Colborne- Wawanosh was stopped on Bluewater Hwy and charged by a Huron OPP officer for speeding at 50 kms. above the posted speed limit. Const. Joanna Van Mierlo said the number one priority behind the new law is public safety. “It is a crack down on what is described as stunt driving.” Speeding is only one example of ‘stunt’ driving as outlined by the legislation. The kind of behaviour it allows police to act on is specific, said Van Mierlo. “It covers a number of dangerous activities, high-risk behaviours. It doesn’t allow us to randomly charge people. There are obvious, specific criteria to meet.” Under the legislation, anyone seen to be driving in any way that endangers the life of someone else can be charged. “This would include such things as speeding 50 km more than the posted limit, street racing, driving while not occupying the seat, playing chicken or blocking someone when they try to pass.” It essentially encompasses any behaviour that might prompt someone to see it and think, “That’s Joint ARC meeting planned By Stew Slater Special to The Citizen Library raises debate again Stunts prove costly By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Continued on page 2 By Bonnie Gropp The Citizen Continued on page 6 The time to fall back arrived a little later this year, but at 2 a.m. Nov. 4 we make the return to Eastern Standard Time. Remember to turn your clocks back one hour before going to bed on Saturday night. Little trick-or-treaters had longer to wait for twilight time before hitting the streets for Halloween on Wednesday night, as 2007 was the first year for an extended Daylight Saving Time period. Previously the clocks were turned back on the last Sunday in October. Likewise, the onset of DST arrived three weeks sooner than usual with the clocks moving ahead on the second Sunday in March, rather than the first Sunday in April. The change in Daylight Saving Time kept Canada’s pattern consistent with the United States, which enacted a law to extend DST. Time to fall back Continued on page 6