Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1979-12-19, Page 1SANTA VISITS SKATERS — Santa Claus paid club Monday evening. Chatting with Santa are his annual visit to the Exeter figure skating Sharon DeBruyn and Barbara Tiernan. Price Per Copy 25 Cents WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT — Senior students at Precious Blood School in Exeter were rehear- sing a portion of their Christmas program Friday. Taking part were Patricia Bertons,Cathy Hogan, Susan Birmingham, Andrew Winters, Janet Kints and Shirley Gratton.T-A photo Merner heads planners, • accept flood plain map CLOWNING AT DASHWOOD — Buttons the clown shared top billing with Santa Claus at Saturday's annual Christmas party in Dashwood. Shown with Buttons and his pet pooch Minette are Christopher Ditcher and Shelley Rader. T-A photo Retired Usborne official died after crash injury AN OFFICIAL START Stephen township reeve Ken Campbell and ODC manager Jack Malone dropped the puck to start Sunday's oldtimers game between the west and east of Stephen. kiting off are east captain Tom Tomes and Eric Finkbeiner captain of the west. The game otfitiohy opened the forMer Huron park arena recently taken over by the township. T-A photo Teachers get seven percent The Huron county board of education and its 258 secon- dary school teachers settled on a 1979-80 contract Monday calling for a seven percent wage increase for teachers. Shirley Hazlitt, chairman of the board's negotiating committee, and Shirley Weary, head of the teachers' negotiating team,announced in a press conference Tues- day that the new pact had been ratified. The seven percent hike is an across the board raise for all teachers, vice principals and principals in the five county secondary schools. Coupled with the raise are new clauses in the contract dealing with teacher workloads, leaves of absence new staffing guidelines aimed at reducing the impact of declining enrolment on teaching jobs. Both Weary and Hazlitt were a little reluctant to say what the average teacher's salary would be after the in- crease. Weary said she did not calculate an average teacher's wage because there were no "average teachers", Hazlitt said it was difficult to compute the average now because of fewer numbers of teachers but said according to her figures the average salary in the county would be $25,752, Weary said teachers in Huron were still among the lowest paid in the province. She said the maximum salary paid to the contract put .tturon at "rock bottom" in the province. Hazlitt pointed out that the maximum wage available in this contract may be the lowest maximum wage in the province but in other areas Huron is not the lowest. She conceded that teachers in Huron are "not the highest paid" but added that "on the whole it's not that bad". The minimum wage in the contract for a teacher with a minimum qualifications and no experience is $13,135. The maximum is $29,184. Weary said 60 percent of the teachers in Huron Coun- ty were at their maximum wage level and that 60 per- cent of the teachers were in the highest pay category available in the contract. The teachers' negotiater said teachers ratified the contract Monday night by a margin of between 60 and 65 percent. She said the slim margin of acceptance may have been due to the fact that teachers at the bottom of the scale were not happy with their wage increase, But she said enough of those teachers were im- pressed with other clauses in the contract to accept the slim wage settlement they received. She added that without those clauses the contract may have been refused. Hazlitt said the board un- animously voted in favour of the pact but added it took a couple of hours to explain the pact, The contract doesaway with pupil-teacher ratios, a major stumbling block in the 1977 negotiations that ended up in a strike situation. Those ratios have been replaced by a maximum number of students enrolled in a credit course which according to Weary meets the need of both the teachers and the students, She said • that under the new contract the number of teachers needed in the system will be determined by principals doing class. timetabling. She said that timetabling will determine how many teachers are needed and where they are needed. Another innovation in the new pact is leave of absence clauses. The leaves now available to teachers range from one year without pay to one year with 80 percent pay. Under the leave with pay clause a teacher must work for four years receiv- ing 80 percent of his or her salary and then can take one year off with pay. Weary would not say the leave of absence clause is designed to encourage peo- ple to stay out of the classroom but hinted that the option is there for any teacher that thinks they may want to retire or change jobs. She said there are a number of teachers in the system that would take ad- vantage of the leave clause to become mothers, work on farms they have bought or just get away from the classroom. She said every teacher that uses the leave of absence will allow another teacher that does not want to get out of the classroom to retain a job. Both Weary and Hazlitt agreed that the negotiations this time around were im- proved over the 1977 ordeal. Both said teacher-board relations are "much im- proved" indicating teachers and trustees are starting to deal with concerns in educa- tion rather than just con- tract items. Serving South Huron, North. Middlesex One hundred and Seventh Year & North I,ambton Since 1873 EXETER, ONTARIO, DECEMBER 19, 1979 Not surprised by defeat McKinley set for sixth try Gerald Merner has been re-appointed chairman of the Exeter planning board for Hits green! Lawn bowling is normally a summer game, but, one enthusiastic member of the Exeter club got his seasons mixed up Saturday. Charlie Hendy probably set a record by completing three games at the local green, Hendy said he had lots of fun and added. "The bowls rolled very well." An attempt this week by Councillor Jay Campbell to have a stop work order placed on a sign being erected for the South Huron rec centre was turned down by his fellow council members. Campbell said the sign, which is being erected on town property at_ the corner of Main and Victoria Streets, was in contravention of the local sign bylaw. He said he informally sought a legal opinion on the matter and the advice he received was that the sign did contravene the bylaw. His motion asked that the building inspector place a stop work order and that the sign not be lighted or used until its legality is clearly established. However, in a vote on the motion, he was the only member in favour of the action, Mayor ,Derry Boyle said the building inspector had checked the matter with him and he felt the sign was okay in that it was being placed on town property. Boyle also contended the sign was pointing out a facility and was similar to having signs erected to give directions to the local hospital, Councillor Ted Wright said wiring was already available as a sign for the old arena had been located in the same spot. He argued, that many visitors would appreciate having the sign so they could readily find the rec centre. Campbell Said he was concernedabout the . . the current term. The local accountant is commencing his second year in that capacity. Councillor Jay Campbell will serve as vice-chairman and deputy-clerk Brian Parsons will be the secretary. On the recommendation of tho board, council this week accepted the flood and fill line mapping as prepared by the Ausable Hayfield Con- servation Authority and requested the Authority to proceed with registration of its regulations, All municipalities in the precedent being set and suggested other businesses on side streets may want similar signs to direct people to their establishments. "Why should we have more rights as a public enterprise than private enterprise?" he asked. NEXT T-A ISSUE THURS.,'JAN. 3 watershed have been asked to adopt the mapping and several have objected, feeling the area designated is too large. It was explained previously that had the mapping been in effect in the past, the location of the Exeter swimming pool would not have been ap- proved for that purpose. Campbell advised council that members of the board were satisfied with the mapping. He also noted no objections had been received . at the hearing to have the zoning of the former police office on Main St. changed from in- stitutional to commercial and this change was proceeding. The board has also received comments •on the new official plan from the ministry of housing, a step needed before the OMB will hear the report: • Campbell said there were 15 pages of comments from the ministry, but indicated many were of a legal technical nature and required wording changes primarily. He said the board had not had ample time to digest the comments as yet but would be making a report to council collison which was in- vestigated by Constable Jim Rogers. On Wednesday, a vehicle owned by Christine McGrath, Huron Park, was struck by an unknown vehicle while parked on Canada Ave. in Huron Park. Damage was listed at $200 by Constable Rogers. There were two accidents on Friday, the first oc- curring on Highway 81 east of Grand Bend when a vehicle driven by William Tales, Lambeth, struck a hydro pole. Damage was set at $700 by Constable Bob Whiteford. The same day, a vehicle driven by Silvere Bilcke, RR 3 Exeter, pulling a trailer full of turnips jackknifed on concession 2-3 of Usborne and struck a tree.Damage was estimated at $1,000 by Constable Larry Christiaen. Five people sustained minor injuries in a collison on Saturday between vehicles driven by David Stoddard, London, and David McCallum, Goderich. They collided on Highway south of Exeter and damage was set at $7,000 by Con- stable Whiteford. Both drivers were injured as were William and Grace Wilds, Huron Park, and Robert White, Hay Town- ship. The final crash of the week occurred on Sunday when a vehicle driven by Bryan Hearn, Huron Park, went out of control trying to avoid a collision with another unknown vehicle which went through a yield sign at the intersection of concession 2.3 and Huron St. in Stephen Township.. Constable Rogers listed damage at $2,100 and Hearn suffered minor injuries. While he suggests there may be problems en- ceuntered in a winter election, Huron-Bruce MP Robert McKinley said Monday he didn't think it may cause him as much problem as his opponents in the February 18 voting. "I know the riding pretty good and have always been able to cover it faster than anyone else," he said when contacted by the T-A at his Ottawa office. He indicated his biggest fear was that the area could be hit by a blizzard on election day and people "may not be able to get down the road to the polls", McKinley, who declared his intention to fight his sixth election, said he knew of no provision in the election procedures to extend balloting if a blizzard did prohibit people from getting out to the polls. He's presently cleaning up some correspondence in Ottawa and plans to return home as soon as driving conditions are more favorable. Politicians still in Ottawa, Monday, it seems, were getting a little taste of the winter difficulties ahead as they prepare to hit the campaign trails. "When the driving gets better, I will leave for home," McKinley stated. He'll be in conference with Lice infect school kids Dr. Brian Lynch, medical officer of health for Huron County says the Huron County Health Unit is doing everything it can to stop the recent outbreak of lice in Huron County schools. "Our nurses are going in fairly regularly, mostly everyday. It's a long tedious chore getting rid of them," he said. Lice have been discovered in font. schools in the county that he's aware of Dr. Lynch said, but he doesn't know how many children are af- fected since he said a number are probably being kept out of school by parents who fear infection, "It's not that much of a health problem so people shouldn't get too upset. There's ne disease in- volved," Dr. Lynch said. Dr. Lynch said there are various instructions that the Health Unit gives to parents who have any children with head lice. He said the Unit is also sending its people to schools that haven't had any reports of Kce. The north end of the county seems like to be the major area for the lice he said. "The staff from the Board of Education seems quite Content with what 'we're doing," the Huron MOH said. When asked if he thought the problem was serious he said, "compared to other illnesses, no," riding officials this week to set plans for a constituency nomination meeting. McKinley indicated he wasn't particularly sur- prised at the defeat of his Progressive Conservative government on Thursday, but added that the people in the country may be a little upset at the opposition parties for forcing an election "no one wants" at this time. The riding Liberals have already started plans for a nomination meeting. Secretary Jack Horan said from his Dublin home Former New York Yankees' all-star second baseman Bobby Richardson headlines the lineup of sports celebrities for the seventh annual Exeter Lions club Sportsmen's dinner. The dinner is slated for Tuesday, February 5 at the South Huron Rec Centre. Richardson was named the most valuable player in the 1960 World Series and holds a number of World Series records including the most runs batted in. He is presently associated with Ben Lippen School, a Christian High School in Asheville, North Carolina and is active with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. The backup speaker will be colourful story teller Red Storey, a former National Hockey League referee and former Canadian Football League star,. Montreal Expo Gary Carter, one of the premier catchers in major league baseball is one of the head table guests representing the current era of sports. Other sports stars ex- pected to attend are Toronto Exeter's senior citizens have formed a committee to explore their own needs in the municipality. The organization, which was formed last week, grew out of a study completed this past summer by three students working under a federal grant. Social services committee chairman Lossy Fuller, who helped spearhead the group, said the committee is made up of representatives of various groups in the com- munity as well as some who have no affiliation. She said Monday night that one Of their first goals may be to explore the feasibility of a local drop-in centre for seniors. A study on the problems of transportation fqr seniors and some yesterday that a meeting had been held the previous night and a tentative date of January 3 set for a nomination. It will depend on getting a suitable hall, either in Clinton or Blyth. "I think so," Horan said when asked if the party had been caught a little off guard by the election call. He said a committee has been named to seek out potential candidates. It is not known if Graeme Craig, who was defeated on May •22 by McKinley, will try his luck again. Argonaut running back Terry Metcalf, Cleveland Browns wide receiver Reggie Rucker and a pair of world class track and field athletes. They are World Cup high jump champion Debbie Brill and veteran national record holding sprinter Patricia Loverock. The master of ceremonies will be Craig Baynham BOBBY RICHARDSON formerly with the Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Bears. All proceeds from the February 5 dinner go to aid crippled children. Tickets at $25 for adults and $15 for students are available from any member of the Exeter Lions club. solutions to that problem may also be undertaken. Mrs. Fuller said the group will meet at South Huron Hospital and she indicated they were "very keen", noting that after the business at the last meeting was concluded, members wanted to stay around and talk rather than go home. She asked council to send a letter to the new group thanking them for under- taking their positions and this was quickly approved. "It's super, we should con- tinue to encourage them," commented Councillor Jay Campbell. In the new year, a representative of the New Horizons program will out- line some of the support available from the federal program for senior groups, William Routry, who served many years as road superintendent in Usborne Township, died Tuesday in a London hospital several hours after being involved in a motor vehicle accident in front of his Elimville home. Mr. Routly apparently misjudged the distance of an oncoming car as he walked across the road shortly after midnight. The vehicle was driven by a neighbor, Mildred Fulton, RR 3 Exeter. Exeter OPP Constable Don Mason investigated the accident, which was one of eight reported this week. There were eight injuries in those collisions. ,On Monday, vehicle driven by Kenneth Masse, Dash- wood, went out of control on a slipperty portion on County Road 2 south of sideroad 5 in Hay and struck a concrete pillar. The driver sustained minor injuries and damage was listed at $1,000 by Constable Wally Tomasik. A vehicle driven by Roy Johns, RR 2 Staffa, struck a tree on Highway 83 east of Exeter on Thursday resulting in damage of $5,300. Johns sustained minor injuries in that Fails in bid to halt sign for rec centre in the near future. Former Yankee to attend dinner Seniors organized to consider needs