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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1998-03-18, Page 6Learning about the milky way Dairy Educator Michelle Whitely was on hand at Walton Public school, on the afternoon of March 10 to talk to the Grade 2, 3 and 4 classes about the goodness of milk . Walton PS news Theme Thursdays end Letters THE EDITOR, To alumni and friends of SDHS It seems like only yesterday that thousands of you took time out of your busy lives to visit Seaforth and rekindle memories of your time at Seaforth District High School. HOMECOMING '95 — wasn't that a party! Now, SDHS needs your help! The newly amalgamated Avon Maitland District School Board has made a recommendation to close SDHS and move our students and staff to Central Huron High School in Clinton. The vote on the recommendation has been deferred until March 31. The board cites a perceived lack of ability to provide programs as its main concern. It has clearly expressed a philosophy that "bigger is better", when it comes to schools. The repercussions to the Town of Seaforth and all small rural communities are far reaching. Our letter to you at this time has two main purposes: 1. We need your moral support and request that you immediately send a letter, e-mail or fax to the Avon Maitland District School board to tell them your success in life and the importance of SDHS in your development; 2. We need your financial support NOW — to legally challenge the Avon Maitland District School Board. Charlie Smith, SDHS alumnus and president of Boilersmith Ltd. in Seaforth, has pledged $5,000 to the fund. Please join Charlie and the Continued from page 1 with the prospect of a new facility being built in the Wingham area. "We have to maintain the build- ing and keep it in shape for people to keep coming," said MacDonald. Stating that there are other big projects coming up which will see Grey Twp. put money into the friends of Seaforth in our fight against the closure of our excellent high school: Our reason for asking for your donation is two-fold: 1. It is our hope the fund will be used to provide the graduates of SDHS with awards for their post- secondary pursuits, and to provide students with athletic and band uniforms, equipment, and the like. 2. If, however, the school board persists with their intentions to close our high school, the fund will be used to mount a formidable legal challenge. Our intention is to set up the fund as a Registered Charity and to issue receipts for income tax purposes. That registration is not guaranteed at this time, however, we have every reason to believe that Revenue Canada will grant us the status of a Registered Charity. Please send your cheque to "Save Seaforth's High School Fund", Box 997, Seaforth, Ontario NOK 1WO. Sorry, cash donations cannot be returned but will be deposited in the fund. Any amount will be greatly appreciated. If you send your donation by Courier, we will be certain to receive it by March 31. Our list of SDHS alumni is by no means complete, and so we urge you to contact two friends or relatives and seek their support too. Time is running out. Send your letters to: Avon Maitland District School Board, Corporate Headquarters, 210 Water Street, Stratford, Ontario N5A 3C5. Fax: (519) 271-2324. Phone (519) 271-0930. Attention: Abby Armstrong, Chair. Contributions will be accepted after the March 31 meeting. Thank you for your support. Yours very truly, Maureen Agar Friends of SDHS do Maureen Agar, Chair, SDHS School Council. contract with the Avon Maitland School Board (previously Huron County Board of Education) to pro- vide transportation to school chil- dren. With only one van, schedules must be worked around that com- mitment. "That contract is helping sustain the service," said Councillor Helen Cullen, a Wheels Away board member. Supporting the organization through the per capita and ride fee structure helps ensure it will be there when residents need it, said Piluke. Councillor Lyle Martin ques- tioned the total cost for 1997. With only 10 rides provided, it cost the municipality $53.90 per ride. However, Piluke countered with the costs for 1996. There were 112 rides, thereby costing the township only $6.45 per ride. There is a lot of variability in this type of service, she said, but con- sistent support is needed to consid- er expansion. Having expressed their desire for an expanded service area, council passed a motion supporting the increase in the per ride cost to the township. Brussels area, Reeve Robin Dunbar said he would still like to see the air conditioning/heating project put off. "We have already spent money on the condenser." McLellan said the board was also "haunted" by lowered levies last year and hoped the project would be first on the list in 1999. Duff's Jr. choir sings the blues Betty McCall and Helen Williamson were greeters at Duff s United Church, March 15. Rev. Murray welcomed everyone and gave the Call to Worship. The junior choir sang, The I Don't Wanna Blues and enjoyed throwing socks (part of the song) at their choir director, Patty Banks. A little birdie told Rev. Murray that Cassandra Banks turned nine that day and the congregation all clapped for her. Rev. Murray's sermon was called, "The Lesson of the Fig Tree." "There are many problems in life that we face which we don't have the answers to," he said. Despite all our progress and developments, in some things we simply haven't figured it all out yet. Even Jesus had to deal with this kind of thinking in his day. In Jesus' time, it was common to believe God rewarded the righteous and punished only the sinners. At least, this is what the religious leaders wanted to believe. So why do the righteous, suffer? If God is just, why do bad things happen to good people? In the Luke reading, Rev. Murray said, Jesus deals with this difficult question. There had been an event where some Galileans we're massacred by the Romans just as they were making a sacrifice to God. As well 18 people had just died in a construction accident when a tower collapsed. Jesus asks the people if the Galileans were all sinners, who were being punished by God. No! was the answer. He then asked if the construction workers were all destined to die as a judgement from God. Again the answer was 'no'! Jesus reminds the people of the importance to turn to God, so as to avoid a spiritual death. But he states quite clearly — God never seeks the physical death of a person as a punishment for sins. Jesus then introduces a new and important idea. In the parable of the fig tree Jesus gives the concept of grace. "Grace is God's free and unearned gift of love," Rev. Murray said. The grand finale of Theme Thursday was held this week at Walton School with a guest speaker and the breaking of the pinata. Christian Breede from Goderich was one of two air cadets chosen in Canada to go to Japan last year. Japan was one of the countries visited during Theme Thursday so Christian was invited to show slides of his trip and display traditional Japanese toys. He invited students to come up and try the toys. Christian also spoke a bit of Japanese and in talking with the students he encouraged them to keep a journal. Andrew McDonald thanked him and presented him with a pen. Mrs. Bennett had been keeping a graph all during the Theme Thurs- days and it appears that the favourite fruit tasted from Jamaica was the pineapple followed by the grapefruit. Mango was the least favourite. Then came the smashing of the pinata. A student was chosen from each room to take a swing. However it was very well made and it called for more muscle so Mrs. Vandendool took a mighty swing. That didn't do it so Mrs. McBride tried her hand at it, but it finally took Dianne DeJong to finish it off. Inside was a note from Mrs. Vivian stating that the candy wasn't inside because she couldn't think of any fair way to distribute the candy. Trina McBride brought out a bag of candy and it was shared. Farewell lunches for Trina McBride (Educational Assistant) and Wendy Merner (Resource Educational Assistant) were put on by the staff this past week. The kindergarten class held a surprise going away party for Trina. They sat in a circle and told her what they would miss about her, like her smile and tying shoes. One child said he couldn't think of anything and another little boy said, "I love you Mrs. Bride". The party ended with a big group hug. Trina said that she enjoyed her time at Walton and it has been a great experience and she will miss everyone. Kindergartens did some St. Patrick's Day activities. They made leprechaun puppets and paper dolls. They talked about the potato famine in Ireland and graphed their favourite potato dish. French fries won by a long shot. Brandon McGavin just got back from Disneyland and he loved the rides. He wasn't scared at all but his mom and dad were. Welcome back Brandon. The message from the teachers to parents was have a great two weeks and enjoy your children. SHARP DEALS ON QUALITY - CLEAN READY-TO-GO USED CARS Great Savings on These Used Cars & Trucks. Some One Owner Low Mileage. 1996 Taurus GL Station Wagon, loaded 1995 Taurus GL Station Wagon 1994 Buick Century, loaded 1994 Ford Tempo GL - 4 door with air, AM/FM 1993 Olds Delta 88 LS, loaded 1993 GMC Half ton pickup with fiberglass top 1992 Plymouth Grand Voyager LE Van - loaded 1992 Dodge Spirit - 4 dr., loaded 1992 Dodge Grand Caravan LE - loaded 1991 Ford Tempo - auto, air, local, 1 owner 1988 Chev Caprice Brougham - 4 door, loaded HAMM'S BLYTH PHONE 523-4342 PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 1998. ornpi a Patij an. Phone 887-6156 Grey hears Wheels Away plea "Our clients don't use the roads or go skating. This is their tax dol- lars." This was the statement used by Wheels Away Chair Vicki Piluke in seeking continued support from Grey Twp. council at the March 16 meeting. After hearing a request for the township's per ride support to increase from $2 to $3, council questioned the fairness of the ser- vice as it would generally service only those residents travelling to the Wingham and District Hospital area. "Half our residents go to Listow- el and another third go to Seaforth. We should offer something to them," said Reeve Robin Dunbar. Understanding council's view, Piluke said that with the elimina- tion of government funding due to downloading, doors have actually been opened for Wheels Away. "We are no longer restricted to the boundaries of the Wingham hospital area," she said. With con- tinued support at the current level, Wheels Away can look to the future, enabling them to purchase a second, smaller vehicle and expand their area. At present, Wheels Away has a Lower levies haunt board