The Citizen, 2001-08-15, Page 1 5 w5;;P. ParTo ••
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A ESTABLIMED 187t
Pg. 7
Swimmers Pg. 8 complete Huron
challenge
Pg
. 17 Gemini-winning
actor in Blyth
Threshers give
arena fund a boost
What a toot
There was a carnival feeling at Blyth fairgrounds this past weekend as Sparling's Propane
celebrated its 50th year in business. These downs were a big attraction for the youngsters.
(Vicky Bremner photo)
e Citizen
Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County
Volume 17 No. 32
Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2001 75 Cents (70c + 5c GST)
Inside this week
18
'Henry V' at Avon Pg. Theatre
Comic look at
Pg. 19 smalltown law and
order
MVCA
turns 50
On Aug. 15 (today) the Maitland
Valley Conservation Authority
(MVCA) is hosting an afternoon of
festivities marking the 50th
anniversary of the organization.
A bus tour of community
conservation projects kicks off the
celebrations. Buses will leave the
MVCA office in Wroxeter at 1:15
p.m. The tour will visit a variety of
projects including the Ecological
Park and Turnberry Flood Plain in
Wingham, the Belgrave Creek
Improvement Project, the Wawanosh
Natnie Centre and Goderich
Bioengineering Project. The tour is
free but people interested in
`participating are asked to call ahead
to reserve their spot.
From 2 - 4 p.m. a free open house
will be held at the MVCA office.
"We're opening our administration
facility to visitors so the community
can get a better idea of the projects
and services the Authority is working
on," said Alison Lobb, MVCA chair.
"There will be mapping and flood
forecasting demonstrations, displays
about water quality and conservation
lands, and hands-on children's
activities."
Landowners interested in the
Authority's tree planting services or
the recently announced Healthy
Futures program will be able to pick
up information factsheets and
application forms. The open house
will be suitable for all ages.
At 5:30 p.m. a
commemorative ceremony
held on the front lawn.
anniversary plaque, located in a a
small perennial garden, will be
unveiled.
The highlight of the anniversary
celebrations is a barbecue reception
planned for 6 p.m, behind the
MVCA.
The MVCA is a community-based
organization dedicated to helping
municipalities, community groups
and landowners to protect and
restore the health of area rivers,
forests and soil. The organization
also provides a variety of educational
and technical services designed to
protect watershed residents from
flooding and erosion damage.
Further information about the
MVCA anniversary celebrations is
available by calling 335-3557.
By Stew Slater
Special to The Citizen
Acting on a compromise of sorts
offered in June by Ontario's
education ministry, the Avon
Maitland District School Board and
By Margaret Stapleton
Wingham Advance-Times
While North Huron Twp. Council
appears to be supportive of a request
for funding from the Walkerton CT
scanner fundraising committee,
members , say they believe other
municipalities within the catchment
area of Wingham and District
Hospital also should be contributing.
Don Leatham and Dave Slosser of
the Walkerton committee attended
the first monthly meeting of council
last Tuesday evening.
As Leatham explained, in 1993 a
major fundraising goal of the
International Plowing Match — at
that time held in Bruce County — was
to provide money for a CT scanner
its teachers have reached an "interim
agreement" which should see the
large-scale return of extracurricular
activities to the board's secondary
schools,
"It is anticipated that
extracurricular activities will return
for local residents.
A total of $500,000 was set aside
for the project and fundraising was
undertaken. By 1998, the provincial
health ministry granted its approval
and the following year, General
Electric installed a scanner at the
Walkerton site of the South Bruce
Grey Health Centre.
GE agreed to- provide the scanner
for five years free of charge.
Operating costs are borne by the
hospital through its funding from the
ministry.
Since the CT scanner was installed
in June of 1999, close to 7,000
patients have been referred for a CT
scan by physieians. Leatham and
Slosser presented data that showed
Wingham patients were the second
to previous levels in all of our public
secondary schools and both the
board and the bargaining unit
encourage all teachers to volunteer
for extracurricular activities so that
students may once again enjoy the
full range of school based
highest users of the service, at 966
referrals, second only to Kincardine.
The scanner is merely on loan for
five years, meaning it will need to be
replaced by 2004. The committee
members believe they have
demonstrated a need for the service,
said Leatham, noting that more
people are using the service than had
been expected.
"We are the only rural hospital 'in
Ontario that has a CT- scanner. That
puts us on- an equal footing with
people in the city," said Slosser. For
area residents it means easier
accessibility to diagnostic imaging
and shorter waiting times, which
often can -be crucial as "early
diagnosis is the key," according to
S tosser.
activities," states a Thursday, Aug. 9
press release, issued jointly by the
board and District 8 of the Ontario
Secondary School Teacher's
Federation.
According to board chair Wendy
Anderson, the interim agreement
came in response to changes in the
province's Education Act,
announced in June by Education
Minister Janet Ecker. In what was
perceived by some to be a slight
concession in its ongoing battle with
teachers' unions, the ' government
allowed boards to include remedial,
supervisory and on-call duties as
teacher time in their collective
agreements.
"We moved on it at this time
because we wanted to be able to let
the principals work out their
timetables for the schools," the chair
said.
Teachers could potentially now
have less class time, freeing up time
for extracurricular supervisory
duties. Last year, due to a legislative
increase in classroom requirements,
such activities were absent from
some districts and were considerably
limited in the Avon Maitland board.
District 8 president Bill Huzar
cautions teachers could still face
considerable time limitations,
especially if they have to deal with
the implementation of the new four-
year high school curriculum. "My
concern still — and I still express it
to them, like I expressed it to them
all last year — is maintaining their
personal health and that they are
able to fulfill their professional
curriculum responsibilities."
• Huzar notes that the interim
agreement remains in effect only
while the union's current collective
agreement remains in force. The
priority now becomes negotiations
to replace the current one-year deal,
and Huzar said difficult issues still
face the two parties.
"We have real difficulty with the
government's workload conditions,"
he stated. "1995 and 2001 are
completely different worlds in terms
of the work that teachers are asked
to perform and the conditions under
which they're asked to do it."
Though the board isn't directly
involved in the co-ordination of
extracurricular activities, Anderson
is confident there's enough time
prior to the beginning of school to
provide a full range of opportunities
DONATION
In order for the program to
continue, Walkerton must raise funds
to purchase a new CT scanner by
2004. For that reason, the
fundraising committee is visiting
communities which have hospitals
who refer patients to the Walkerton
site.
The new scanner will cost $1.2
million. Funds already have been
committed from the Municipality of
Brockton, Kincardine and Han-over,
said Leatham, but more is needed.
"This is the day and age of
fundraising," observed Slosser. "In
view of c itbacks, there is no
provincial fur.ding."
The committee is asking for
Continued on page 7
AMDSB, teachers reach interim agreement
will be NH asked to help fund CT scannerA 50th