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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2002-06-05, Page 1"w" B • ESTAB1)SHED 1877 fl e Citizen Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Volume 18 No. 22 Wednesday, June 5, 2002 75 Cents (70c + 5c GST) Sidewalk artist The sidewalk artists were out in force in Blyth on Saturday for the Blyth Business Association's annual chalk drawing contest. Colton Kerr was busy putting the finishing touches on his entry before the judges or the rain might appear. (David Blaney photo) NORTH HURON PUBLISHING COMPANY INC Inside this week Resource kit studies climate Lawn bowling season underway Ethel celebrates Pg. 15 United Church's 125th Scout groups hold swim-up pft w i Huron East sets A 8' budget Auction raises $4,180 for camera It's not just Leafs' fans disappointed to see the end of the team's playoff run. - The auction of Leafs' tickets, donated by Sparling's Propane, resulted in a total of $4,180 being raised towards the thermal imaging camera for the the Blyth and Area Fire Department. With the councils of North Huron, Huron East and Ashfield-Colborne- Wawanosh contributing at least half of the total cost of $25,000, and some $5,820 coming from private and organization contributions, as well as $3,000 from Central Huron there was still a ways to go. For Fire Chief Paul Josling the funds raised through the auction which was done on the radio, have been a huge boost. "Special thanks must go to Sparling's for donating the tickets, but also to the four lucky winners and to the people who bid on them and raised the price. It's put us a whole lot closer to owning a thermal imaging camera." The department plans to order the camera within the next few weeks. Anyone interested in making a contribution can contact Josling 523-9426 or any Blyth firefighter. Smoking cause of fire The cause of the fire last week at Brussels Country Inn has been determined. According to Fire Chief Murray McArter the insurance investigator has stated that the fire which began in the dining room started as a result of careless smoking. The damage has been estimated as in excess of $30,000. By Stew Slater Special to The Citizen Bringing with him such jargon as "geographic land referencing systems" and "optimized routing solutions," a partner in a Waterloo- based computer software company provided insight for trustees of the Avon Maitland- District School Board into what the provincial government currently requires and might require in the future in terms of school bus planning. And in real terms, that might include one or two more administrative staff members plus more computers. At a regular board meeting Tuesday, May 28, Don Linders said his company, GEOREF Systems Limited, is one of five approved by the province to provide school boards with computer-based systems aimed at developing the most cost- effective transportation arrangements possible. Despite insistencies from board officials that they had .already cut expenses and developed shared bus routes as much as possible, Avon Maitland and its "coterminous" Huron-Perth Catholic District counterpart were forced by the government — through threats of withdrawal of transportation funding — to hire GEOREF. "What the ministry is saying is that the paper method is - unacceptable to us because you can't prove you're (planning bus routes) optimally," Linders said, adding GEOREF's version of computerization provides what he referred to as this type of "accountability." He stressed he wasn't attempting to speak for the ministry, and lamented the fact he had to bear what he called the "bad news." He even conceded GEOREF's analysis of the two boards' existing system showed .there's quite likely no money to • gain through implementing 'a • computerized version. "You should have very little fear in going through this testing with the system you have now," Linders said, referring to a proposed move by the education ministry to require boards to achieve certain efficiency criteria before qualifying for transportation funding. "Unfortunately, the folks in Toronto, they live in (a highly- computerized) world, and your paper world is just not acceptable to them any more." As of this year, the Avon Maitland board now employs a scaled-down version of the GEOREF system, with one computer in the basement of the board's administrative offices at Seaforth District High School, and some shared equipment at Stratford's SERC site, home of both StratfOrd Northwestern Secondary School and St. Michael's Catholic Secondary School. But Linderss showed possible expansions to that system, including mapping software and an internet- based information service for members of the public. Some of it may be required in the future by the education ministry. And he suggested some GEOREF software could come in handy for other applications, including student accommodation planning. South Huron Trustee Randy Wagler wondered if applying the software in other areas would mean hiring GEOREF to come in and retrain Avon Maitland staff members Enter photos for 125th contest Spring has finally arrived and local shutterbugs can start working on their entries for the Blyth Homecoming 125th photo contest. The contest theme is Welcome to My World and there is no cost to enter. Pictures must be taken in the Blyth area and cannot have won in any other photo contest. Photos can be black and white or colour and will preferably be mounted and framed for hanging. Prizes are being awarded to the best in each of several categories: portrait, landscape, close-up, garden and animal. There is a limit of three entries per person and entries must be received by July 15. Include your name. address and telephone number with the entry which can be mailed to Bev Blair at Box 284, Blyth, ON, NOM 1HO or be dropped off at the CIBC in Blyth. All photos will be on display during the Homecoming anniversary weekend of Aug. 2, 3, and 4 at the Blyth public School. There is no cost to enter. who had only learned about the transportation applications. Linders responded that, once staff members had familiarized themselves sufficiently with the software, that shouldn't be necessary. However, responding to questions from Stratford Trustee Rod Brown, Linders projected the board would probably need to hire "one or possibly two more people" to meet the ministry's developing requirements. He explained two larger school boards in the Waterloo area have already hired four and three new staff members, respectively, while a third — the Upper Grand District School Board — is planning to hire three people. In his response, Brown seemed torn between discouragement and amusement. "So basically, we're being told to spend money on this so we can develop a transportation system which isn't saving us any money," the vice-chair said. Linders reiterated that computerization is required by the ministry, and the board must comply to qualify for transportattba- funding. Pg. 6 Pg. 8 Pg. 17 Province forces costly change for bus planning on school bd.