The Citizen, 2001-11-14, Page 1IVEY'r 4 .1.44
ESTABLISHED 187
aiiesicumist r.
A time to remember
A member of the Ontario Provincial Police lays a wreath at the Brussels' Cenotaph to honour
those who died serving Canada during the annual Remembrance Day service held on Sunday.
Legion and Auxiliary members, Cadets, Scouting and Guiding groups participated in the
service. (David Blaney photo)
Gr. 3s improve in EQAO testing
NORTH HURON PUBLISHING COMPANY INC
Inside this week
New CAP student
at Brussels library
Presentation warns
of 'stupid line'
Blyth Midgets,
Pg. 10 Novices begin
seasons
/. Area people mark Pg. milestones
Pg.
2 Blyth parade
hid planning underway
Pg. 2
Pg. 6
e Citizen
Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County
Volume 17 No. 45
Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2001 75 Cents (70c + 5c GST)
OPP remind
to watch
for deer
Huron OPP are warning all
motorists who are driving in Huron
County to watch for deer.
During the first nine days of this
month 33 deer collisions have
occurred. The crashes have been
concentrated in the Central Region of
the county between Goderich in the
west to Brussels in the east. Some
have taken place on Hwy. 21 from
Grand Bend to Amberley, but over
half have been 'in the Holmesville,
Auburn, West Wawanosh and
Brussels areas.
The collisions have been occurring
in the early morning between 6 a.m.
and 9 a.m. and at night between 5
p.m. to 10 p.m. when deer are moving
about and feeding. Presently deer are
also involved in mating and will
travel more and further in the next
month.
Motorists are asked to stay alert
especially in the early morning at
dusk and at night. When driving
using high beams as much as possible
to increase visible distance and watch
for red reflection of eyes, said Sr.
Const. Don Shropshall.
"If you spot a deer on the roadside
slow down because they mostly
travel in groups. Always slow down
to pass a deer in case they turn
abruptly into the path of your vehicle.
Never attempt extreme maneuvers to
avoid a collision. It is safer to hit the
deer than risk collision with another
vehicle or obstacle."
Pay attention to deer crossing area-
warning signs which show areas of
heavy population of deer. Use deer
whistles that mount on the front of
the vehicle and emit a high frequency
wave sound that scares animals away
from oncoming vehicles.
This will not help for those deer
that bound out of the bush, however.
On commonly travelled routes,
familiarize yourself with likely
crossing areas during daytime. Then,
be especially alert at these locations
during peak deer activity periods.
Areas to watch for are locations
where bush comes close to the
roadway on both sides, swampy
areas, low land locations like rivers,
streams and creeks and cornfields
that offer protection for deer at this
time of year.
By David Blaney
Citizen staff
The Grade 3 and Grade 6
provincial EQAO (Education
Quality Accountability Office) test
results have been published and
although the board has produced
better results this year Avon
Maitland schools still fall below the
provincial average of those meeting
or exceeding provincial standards.
Steve Howe, information manager
for the Avon Maitland board said,
"In 2000 the board set a goal to
increase student learning with a
focus on literacy and numeracy. The
key this year was cutting the gap
between the Avon Maitland board
and the provincial average."
To some extent this has been
achieved. The gap in Grade 3
reading has narrowed by four
percentage points, in writing by two
points and in math by five points.
However, in all these areas they are
still under the provincial average.
At the Grade 6 level the results
were not as encouraging. The gap
between the board and the provincial
average remained constant in
reading and writing and grew by oneā¢
percentage point in math.
The Grade 3 provincial average of
those that met or exceeded
provincial standards for: reading was
50 per cent as opposed to Avon
Maitland's 44, writing 52 per cent as
opposed to 46, and in math 61 as
opposed to 58 per cent.
The similar situation in Grade 6
was: reading 54 to 47 per cent,
writing 52 to 47 per cent, and in
math 54 to 49 per cent.
Several local schools produced
Grade 3 marks that were above the
board average and in some cases
above the provincial average.
Fifty-seven per cent of the Grade 3
students at Blyth Public have have
met or exceeded provincial
standards for writing, placing them
ahead of the board and the province.
Blyth Grade 3 also excelled in math
with 78 percent exceeding the
standard.
The Grade 3 students at East
Wawanosh had 84 per cent
exceeding the standard in math..
The same grade at Brussels Public
had 65 per cent do the same. Both
schools exceeded both the provincial
and the board average in this
area.
The marks for Grey Central are
still being determined in some areas
because of a need to resolve 'data
issues' according to board
documents.
Schools will be examining the
results prior to sending pupils'
individual results home. The tests
are intended to provide a baseline by
which all participants in the
educational system can gauge their
success or failure. They measure
students in the areas of math, reading
and writing.
This is the fifth year of testing at
the Grade 3 level and the third at
Grade 6.
Howe said the tests are designed
so that, "Students must apply what
they have learned and not just
memorize facts."
Students of Huron-Perth Catholic
District School Board also wrote
the tests that were administered last
May and achieved some excellent
results.
The Catholic board's Grade 3
students were above the provincial
average in all three categories. Fifty-
six per cent were above the average
in reading and writing and 64 per
cent met this goal in math:
The board's Grade 6 studenV also
exceeded the provincial average in
all categories.
Company
achieves
national
status
Community Nursing Services, a
local nursing agency, has received
three-year accreditation status from
the Canadian Council on Health
Services Accreditation (CCHSA).
"This is one more step in our
ongoing commitment to provide high
quality nursing care in our
communities," said Linda Knight,
executive director. "Raising the bar
on accountability in health care is on
the minds of all Ontarians and
agencies providing service."
CCHSA is the Canadian
organization that assesses health care
agencies and facilities, such as
hospitals, granting accredited status.
It is an extensive process involving:
interviews with community partners,
clients and staff; review of policies
and procedures; identifying quality
initiatives; looking at quality of work
life for staff; and actually
accompanying nurses on home visits.
To date it is purely voluntary -for a
community agency to participate in
this process.
Community Nursing Services has
been sen/ing Southwestern Ontario
since 1984. Started in Belgrave by
Linda Knight, the company
expanded to cover the Perth area. A
sister agency, CarePartners provides
service to Grey, Bruce, Wellington,
Dufferin, Peel, Waterloo, Elgin and
Oxford.
Community Nursing Services
focuses on providing 24 hour per
day, seven days per week, in-home
nursing viits and shifts through
contracts awarded from the
Community Care Access Centres in
each area.
Employing over 70 RNs and RPNs
in Huron and Perth, and 500 in total
for both agencies, Community
Nursing Services has become an
employer of choice in the community
nursing field. Your local office of
Community Nursing Services is
located at 14 Queen St., Belgrave,
519-357-3010.
Vandals
burn
outhouse
Vandals once again targeted the
washrooms at the Maitland Valley
Conservation Authority Park in
Brussels, burning it to the ground,
and the group that donated time and
money to construct it after it had been
victimized similarity a few years
before is obviously upset.
"We are not impressed," said
Brussels Optimist George Langlois.
"But I don't think anyone in Brussels
is. I've talked to a lot of people and
they're angry."
The building was burned shortly
after midnight on Nov. 7. A resident
out walking his dog discovered it and
called the local fire department.
Firefighters arrived within minutes
but the 10' x 6' building was totally
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