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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1978-04-05, Page 2Page 2— Lucknow Sentinel, Wednesday, April 5, 1978 The Lucknow Sentinel A. LUCKNOW, ONTARIO "The Sepoy Town" On the Huron -Bruce Boundary Established 1873 - Published Wednesday -- Published by Signal -Star Publishing Ltd. Robt. G. Shrier - president and publisher Sharon J. Dietz - editor Anthony N. Johnstone - general manager Subscription rate, $10 per year in advance Senior Citizens rate, $8.00 per year in advance U.S.A. and Foreign, $14 per year in advance Business and Editorial Office Telephone 528-2822 Mailing Address P.O. Box 400, Lucknow NOG 2H0 Second class mail registration number - 0847 Let's be sensible The time has come to be sensible. Today Huron county students are starting their 29th day out _of high school. Discussions between the board of education and 274 high school teachers have stopped; relations between them are a shambles. It'd be fair to say we think that 90 per cent of the people of Huron County back the board. Sodoes this newspaper. Members of the board of education, apparently unlike the secondary school teachers of Huron, have a sense of the reality .of life in our county. Board members know what the average wage in the county is. They know that mt of the farmers, workers and small business people of Huron are lucky if they get paid when they are.- really sick. Never .in their fondest dreams could they hope to receive money°for sick leave not taken after12 years on the job. Boardmembers appear to un- derstand that ideally everyone would like to have control over how many people they wait on or teach or have to deal with in the course of a day but that with that control goes responsibility. Those who take the risks and pay the bilis, whether they be trustees who stand for election, or farmers or business people who take the chance of losing their shirts, must have some control so that they can pay the piper. Granted teacher salaries, though this is hard for the average $14,000 a year Huron worker to grasp, aren't among the highest in the province. But a teacher earning $20,000 a year gets an additional $7,000 in fringe benefits ... things like fully paid OHIP, dental and drug . plans, life insurance and holidays. The board knows, even if the teachers do not, that the average Huron taxpayer, the woman or man who pays teacher salaries, has no hope of such benefits. Private business can't afford them. And therein lies the crux of the matter. In .Huron, teachers are a privileged minority. France had a revolution when overtaxed peasants could no longer put up with the aristocracy they supported. We're not that badly off but many people in Huron County are hopping mad about having to shell out for teacher salaries and benefits more than they, often with equal education and experience and in equally demanding jobs, will ever make. This is not to say that Huron County is hard up or that its people aren't willing to pay those who educate their children a fair wage. But in return, the people of Huron have a right to expect a committment to community welfare and a sense of responsibility from its teachers. Both appear to be lacking in the present mess. The Huron Board seems to have been,,. fair in its offer to end the lockout and pay teachers at their new higher rate while negotiations continued with the kids in school. The teachers are con- cerned that going back cuts off any possibility of -further sanctions against the board if contract talks continue to stall. But surely it wasn't fair to start off the Good Friday marathon talks with a hist of brand new requests. Teachers have lost a lot- more than their pay by their resistance to com- promise. The worst casualtyof this strike could be the bitterness between teachers and parents, teachers and board that it may leave behind. We'd appeal' to the teachers to look around, to try and understand just what Huron can and cannot -afford. We'd appeal to the board to try to keep talks open and not answer'a stall with a'stall of its own. We'd appeal to the province to come and have 'a look at the impasse in Huron high schools._ If our students are not suffering by missing weeks of school, why do we need schools at all? Surely that's not the real question we'll have to look at. -The Huron Ex- positor. To the Editor: Re: March 25 edition - The Lucknow Sentinel Snow Removal again Well, I see Mr. Joynt is passing the buck again. It sure is not the councillors who wrote the letters who are misled and 'if the ratepayers knew the circumstances why Mr. Joynt so opposed us having the snow removal contract, there may be an entirely different opinion.. And maybe I'll just state the reason in my next letter, that is, if it's in the near future, because I'll probably go up north fishing with the money we made moving snow. Or maybe • even 13111 Crump could write it as he is beingblamed for being the author of a previous letter I wrote. I . am sorry to see Bud Hamilton resign as coun- cillor, because, in my opinion, he is a benefit as well as being devoted to community affairs and sure did not need the aggravation of the snow removal subject' again to hamper his busy schedule. If other politically minded people in town had their wealth and prestige handed to Mem, so they could devote their life to town affairs and had that one other attribute needed to be a politician, such as wind, it would maybe take the pressure off Mr. Joynt so he would not worry about snow removal and could attend to more essential affairs. Sincerely Robert Symes Dear Madam: Enclosed find money order for a small donation towards the new community centre - many happy times I have had in Lucknow both in my youth and since, and I sincerely wish you the best of luck in your venture. Marion -(;Fisher) Reynolds. NOTICE Water Rate Increase In order to finance the heavy capital maintenan- ce costs incurred during the year, it is necessary to slightly increase the water rates. Domestic Rates will increase to *60.00 a year from '54.00. This increase of 501 per month will become effec- tive with the April 1st, 1978 billings. At *60.00 per year this works out to 161/24 a day for water which is a terrific bargain in this day and age - Commercial rates have gone up accordingly and are available from the Municipal Office 528-3539. The Council of the Village of Lucknow LUCKNOW CENTRAL PUBLIC SCHOOL Welcomes Everyone To Open House & Achievement Night Wednesday, April 12, 1978 - students' work displayed in their rooms - night school projects displayed in gym - our shop in full operation Time - 8:00 p.m` until 9:30 p.m.