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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1997-11-05, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1997. C itizenTheNorthHuron ^CNA P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, Ont. NOM 1H0 Phone 523-4792 FAX 523-9140 P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, Ont. N0G1H0 Phone 887-9114 FAX 887-9021 E-mall norhuron@huron.net Publisher, Keith Roulston Editor, Bonnie Gropp Advertising Manager, Jeannette McNeil _f*10 The Citizen is published weekly In Brussels, Ontario by North Huron Publishing Company Inc. Subscriptions are payable in advance at a rate of $27.00/year ($25.24 + $1.76 G.S.T.) In Canada; $62.00/year In U.S.A, and $75.00/year in other foreign countries. Advertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of a typographical error, only that portion of the advertisement will be credited. Advertising Deadlines: Monday, 2 p.m. - Brussels; Monday, 4 p.m. - Blyth. We are not responsible for unsolicited newscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright Publications Mail Registration No. 6968 E ditorial I ................ I Electing the best essential With so much attention focussed on the current teachers’ strike, not enough consideration is being given to what will be the most important municipal elections in this century. With downloading of services from the provincial government and the possible amalgamation of municipalities, the role of the municipal representatives we elect will be more difficult and essential than ever before. Electing the best people to local council can make the difference between an expensive mess and making the best of a bad situation. Come Jan. 1, municipalities will have a new load of responsibilities, without necessarily having the resources needed to afford diem. Across the province municipalities are still struggling to figure out just how much things like ambulance and police services will cost them, and how it will balance out against the reduced cost of education on the local tax bill. How to they deal with new highways (such as Hwys. 4 and 86) at the same time as they have provincial grants cut off for roads? Setting budgets for next year will be particularly difficult as councillors struggle to keep taxes down at the same time as they get new (sometimes unknown) costs. If you elect the wrong people, it may cost you right in your pocket book- If councillors survive dealing with downloading, there’s the more distant issue of municipal amalgamation. The process has been on the back burner in Huron but the heat from the province is likely to be turned up again. Municipal Affairs Minister Al Leach has indicated that if he deals, in the new year, with a request from northern Lambton County to look at amalgamation, he feels at least parts of Huron and Middlesex should be included. Few people, even those who are in the process of amalgamating, feel there is any hope of making significant savings. On the contrary, it will take careful management to keep costs from increasing as they have in most regional governments in the past. If you don’t elect the ablest candidates, you could end up paying more taxes to get a government that's farther away than the one you have now. So now is the time to take a serious look at the candidates. Ask the questions that will help you decide if they have a realistic grasp of the issues. Don’t listen to the easy slogan — the issues are too complicated for that Choose the best people, the people with the intelligence and creativity to deal with the difficult agenda ahead. Mistakes, this time out, could be very costly. — KR No winners in strike The refusal of a Toronto judge to issue an injunction against striking Ontario teachers, Monday, was a setback for the government and a morale victory for the teachers, but everyone will be a loser unless some serious compromising lakes place by both sides. If the government ultimately wins this battle, it will have demoralized teachers whose hearts will not be in making the reforms necessary to the system. If the teachers succeed in preventing changes, we will be left with a system that’s not working to its potential. Part of the government’s reason for seeking such draconian powers as Bill 160 gives it, is to try to regain some control over the system. Over the past 20 years the most important power in the education system has been the teachers’ unions. Seldom did a local school board suffer more than one strike before learning it must appease the unions at all costs. Unions, as is their right, bargained more for the benefit of the members than the good of students. So even as taxes went up, there was less money for things like text books — to the point there often aren’t enough books for students to take them home to study. Students went on sales drives to fund the purchase of school supplies. The teachers’ unions must show that they care about the students, not just about the teachers, if they are to regain support. But the government must come to understand that the key relationship in education is between teacher and student. The teachers deserve respect. For 20 years they’ve felt more and more lost in a bureaucratic shuffle, tossed this way and that when the newest philosophical breeze changed the direction of the system. The government can set a standard curriculum, but it will fail without the efforts of each teacher. Teachers and students are the most important part of the whole system. — KR Photo by Janice Becker A sneak attack Letters THE EDITOR, We would like to thank the child­ ren and young people of Brussels for their courtesy on Hallowe'en as they visited homes in the village on their "trick or treat" outing. It was a pleasure indeed to hear so many Thank You's and Happy Hallowe'en greetings. Way to go children and young people. We're proud of you and you're a credit to our village. Two Appreciative Brussels Residents. THE EDITOR, Few towns or villages in our region have a tidier, cleaner, more attractive downtown than Blyth. Much of the attractiveness comes from untiring efforts on the part of village workers in keeping the streets swept and washed. They assist the Horticultural Society by getting the flower planters out and they take great care in helping decorate the village for special occasions like Christmas. The Blyth Business Association would like to say thank you to the village and its employees in appreciation of their efforts to make Blyth a special p1« e. Bev Elliott, Secretary Blyth Business Association. THE EDITOR, I believe that Bill 160 is undemocratic. It will not only remove the right of local school boards and teachers to negotiate teachers' working conditions, but will also determine students’ learning environments without any input from parents, teachers or school boards. It will allow the government to cut $1 billion from schools without any consultation with parents, school boards, trustees or other taxpayers, by cancelling small classes, cutting special programs, closing small schools, declaring large numbers of teachers redundant and replacing them with uncertified people. Once Bill 160 is passed, the government will be able to do any or all of these things, and teachers, school boards, parents and other taxpayers will be absolutely powerless to stop or even modify the government's actions. These measures will not improve the quality of education for Ontario's students. I believe they will undermine the present quality of our eduction system, and will be used to fund the promised Tory tax cut. I am so convinced that Bill 160 will be harmful to students, teachers and ultimately the entire province, that I am willingly participating in a political protest which Premier Harris and Minister Johnson refer to as an illegal strike. Their terminology is ironic since my lawfully negotiated contract with the Huron County Board of Education will be rendered null and void the instant that Bill 160 is passed. Obviously, I am hoping to persuade readers of the dangers inherent in Bill 160. This bill will not be defeated by teachers alone. We need the support of the entire community to bring our concerns to the government. Whether individuals support the teachers' protest or support Bill 160, I urge them to talk about this legislation with teachers to hear our concerns. There are points of view which need to be heard other than the one expressed by Premier Harris in his million dollar "fireside chat" which aired last week on television. Mary Beth Jantzi Stratford, Ontario.