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The Citizen, 2001-11-07, Page 14:p4pivg.rci 15•01. • •.*4 ESTA LISHED 1877 Crash Blyth firefighters worked at the scene of a two-vehicle crash in Morris Twp, Oct. 30. According to police Jim Knight, 71 of Brussels was driving a 1987 Ford on Nichol Line, when he failed to yield at the intersection of Cranbrook Road. As a result, police said, the 1991 Chev, driven by 21-year-old Jason Badley of Blyth broadsided the Ford. Badley's vehicle caught fire. Knight was treated for minor injuries in Wingham hospital. Sr. Const. Don Shrophsall said that as of Monday night Badley who is in London hospital is in critical condition, suffering from paralysis. (David Blaney photo) Education superintendent clarifies changes regarding possible closures e Citizen Serving the communities of Biyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Volume 17 No. 44 Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2001 75 Cents (70c + 5c GST) Inside this week Veteran tells his Pg a . story p 10 loss suffer first g. Sparling a Pg. 11 'swimmer of the meet' Pg. Wingham " Armouries gets stay Z3 2 Jim Swan hosts Pg. 1.0 Christmas 'Jubilee' Ambulance attendants to vote on union By Keith Roulston Citizen publisher Lengthy negotiations between the county and three unions will result in a vote Dec. 12 to see which union will represent ambulance workers. But the agreement only heads off one of three likely legal challenges involved with the county's takeover of the ambulance service, Lynn Murray, county -clerk administrator told county council Thursday. • Day long negotiations Oct. 24 finally resulted in an agreement on Oct. 25 on how to hold a vote to determine union representation for ambulance workers, heading for a year or more litigation, Murray said. When the ambulance service was downloaded by the province, the various ambulance crews in six centres around the county were represented by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU). Employees at one of the stations were not union members. Each of the unions claimed they were the rightful spokesperson for the workers. The county wanted to have a vote at which paramedics could choose from four options, one of the three unions or non-union representation. The unions all argued against the non-union option being on the ballot and won their case on Oct. 24 when the Labour Relations Board prevented Perth County from including a non-union option unless more than 40 per cent of ambulance attendants were non-union (Huron had about 13 per cent non-union representation). After the Dec. 12 vote one of the three unions will represent all of the paramedics at the four ambulance stations. Negotiations will continue over the situation with several former paramedics who did not have the qualifications the county required for its service but who were given Continued on page 6 By Stew Slater Special to The Citizen In the conclusion of a truncated Avon Maitland District School Board regular meeting Tuesday, Oct. 30, there was clarification about the possible changes in several regions, which could result from the closure of as many as 12 schools. Superintendent of Education Bill Gerth, who wrote a staff report containing recommendations to study possible changes at 46 of the board's 55 schools, told reporters following the meeting that a maximum of 12 schools could face closure under the scenarios outlined in the report. In all, 16 elementary schools and one secondary school (Seaforth District High School) were listed by Gerth to be studied for possible closure; at the Oct. 30 meeting, trustees approved amendments which added two Goderich schools to that list. But Gerth cautioned that, even if trustees approve progressing further in the process with all possible scenarios mentioned in the report, some of those 19 will be dropped When a final list for possible closure is brought forward Dec.'11. He said 12 would be the maximum, since some possible scenarios would require a choice about which schools to close. The Goderich area is a prime example. Currently, four area schools are listed for further study into possible closure — Victoria and Robertson Public Schools within the town, and Holmesville and Colborne Central Public Schools in the surrounding rural area. Ultimately, if this scenario is chosen, only two would close, with the remaining two facilities serving either kindergarten to Grade 3 students or Grades 4-8 students. However, Holmesville remains the most likely candidate to be one of the two schools closed, since its location between Goderich and Clinton means it is also mentioned in a scenario involving schools serving Clinton-area students. That scenario involves only Holmesville and Clinton Public School, with Clinton not listed among those to be studied for possible closure. If both the Clinton-area and Goderich-area scenarios are accepted, Holmesville would close and the school's students would be split between Clinton and the remaining Goderich- area schools. Pressed'. for clarification from Central Huron Trustee Charles Smith at the Oct. 30 meeting, Gerth explained these two scenarios, along with a series of others involving elementary schools. In the Wingham area, East Wawanosh or Turnberry Public School would either close or become a Grades 4-8 facility, while Wingham Public School would become a ,kindergarten to Grade 3 school. The students at Blyth and Hullett Public Schools would be consolidated at one of the two sites, with the other closing. Similar consolidation would take place between Grey Central and Brussels Public School, with changes to the catchment boundary of Elma Township Public School accommodating for the extra students. In the Listowel area, Listowel Eastdale and Wallace Public Schools would serve kindergarten to Grade 6 students. Listowel Central would remain a kindergarten to Grade 8 facility, but would also take in all of the region's Grades 7 and 8 students, possibly including 25 per cent of those who would attend Milverton Public School following the closure of Mornington Public School. Milverton would either see an addition built to house all of its Grades 7 and 8 students, or have the other 75 per cent taken to a Stratford school. Central Perth's Grades 7 and 8s would also be taken to Stratford, as would the Grades 7 and 8 students from Sprucedale and North Easthope Public Schools. One of those two schools would also close. Following the potential closure of Downie Central, 80 per cent of that school's Grades 7 and 8 students would be taken to Stratford while 20 per cent would go to Arthur Meighen in St. Marys. Among Downie's other grades. students would be split between a number of adjacent schools. South Perth Centennial's Grades 7 and 8s would also be taken to Arthur Meighen. Mitchell Public School would close and additional spaces would be made available at Upper Thames Elementary School, also in Mitchell, to accommodate those students. In the Exeter area, no schools would close, but Usborne Central would become a Grades 7 and 8 school serving the entire area, while Exeter, Hensall, Stephen Central and Zurich Public Schools would serve Kindergarten to Grade 6 students. Following the meeting, Gerth told reporters that, if "a substantial portion" of the scenarios are approved by trustees, further Avon Maitland closures will not be necessary for "a fair number of years." In fact, he added, he can't foresee a time when further closures would be necessary.