The Citizen, 2002-07-03, Page 1Inside this week
pg / Heart and Soul
gets big donation
pg 7 Local business
marks anniversary
Dr, 1 1 Grade 8 graduation
5.• II section begins
Pg Grand opening at . 2u soccer fields
e Citizen
Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County
Volume 18 No. 26
Wednesday, July 3, 2002
75 Cents (70c + 5c GST)
People
discuss
business
in HE
By Bonnie Gropp
Citizen editor
Lost dog
Eating a hot dog can be tricky business for little hands as Chase Mason discovered. The
toddler holds the empty bun as he watched the wiener fall down beside him. The little one was
among those on hand to celebrate the grand opening of the new Blyth soccer fields last
Saturday. (Vicky Bremner photo)
pa. 27 Local girls appear
in slyttt shows
Pilot
project at
Blyth PS
By Stew Slater
Special to The Citizen
Following a request representing
various school stakeholders, junior
kindergarten students will be placed
in a separate class from their senior
kindergarten counterparts at Blyth
Public School for the 2002-03
school year.
At a regular meeting of the Avon
Maitland District School Board on
Tuesday, June 25, trustees learned
about what's being called a "Pilot
Project" at the school. According to
Education Superintendent Marie
Parsons, Blyth's school council
requested the change as a way of
examining the benefits and/or
drawbacks of having separate JK
and SK classes. Parsons suggested
the request had been made after
consultation with parents, staff and
administration.
Currently, no other Avon
Maitland elementary school
principal has been given specific
instructions to place JK students
into separate classes from their SK
counterparts. Under the pilot
project, there will be about 10 JK
students and about 15 SK students
at Blyth in 2002-03, with one group
attending school all day on
Mondays, Wednesdays and
alternating Fridays, and the other
group attending Tuesdays,
Thursdays and alternating Fridays.
Director of Education Lorne
Rachlis, speaking after the meeting,
explained that some Avon Maitland
schools may already have a
majority of SK students in one
classroom and a majority of JK
students in another. But he stressed
that the main goal of principals is
more likely to be achieving a
balance between males and females,
or between students of advanced
abilities with those of lesser
abilities.
During the meeting, Rachlis
commented that placing SK and JK
Students together means that a
student who has just turned four
years old and has just been toilet
Continued on page 3
By Janice Becker
Citizen staff
The decision has finally been
made.
High school students who had
planned to attend Seaforth District
High School (SDHS) in the fall will
now have to shift their focus to
another secondary school.
A three-judge panel with the
Ontario Divisional Court in Toronto
dismissed the community-based
challenge against the Avon Maitland
District School Board. The
community had argued that the
accommodation review had been
unfair and should not be allowed.
The judges' statement said, "We
do not find that issues raised by the
applicants either severally or jointly,
discharge the heavy burden on them
to show that there was a procedural
error in the process followed by the
board which was so fundamental
that it affected the very basis of the
board's decision so as to make it
unfair to the applicants."
The court action was initiated in
April after the board voted in
February to close the facility.
The decision was based on the
inability of the board to offer a full
secondary curriculum as well as low
enrollment, It was also estimated to
result in a savings of $400,000.
A transition plan has been
established to assist those students
making the move to another school
in the board's jurisdiction.
Colleen Schenk, chair of the
board, said that while she
understands the community's wish
to keep the school open, she believes
it will allow the board to provide a
better education for the students.
"Our job is to offer students the
best educational opportunities
possible and closing this school
allows us to do just that. At the same
time, the board will also save a
considerable sum of money which is
very important in these difficult
financial times."
Kelly McDonald of the Walton
area and an OAC graduate said the
students had already been told that if
the school were to close, graduation
ceremonies would be held in July
instead of the usual September.
Students are to be informed of the
date of the event when they receive
their report cards, she added.
For returning students, the
potential closure meant choosing
classes at SDHS and an alternative.
Janet Mitchell, whose daughter
Mandy now will be attending Grade
11 at Central Huron Secondary
School in the fall, says her daughter
is not pleased with the closure. "It
uproots the students and they are
leery. We realize Seaforth couldn't
give all the courses the board
wanted. but we managed just fine."
A small, but enthusiastic group
representing business and
agriculture gathered at Walton Hall
June 26 to meet Huron East's new
economic development officer and
to brainstorm.
Saying she was proud of the
initiative the Municipality had taken
in hiring an EDO, Mayor Lin
Steffler, then turned the forum over
to Bonnie Lafontaine, who
recognized sponsors and explained
the agenda.
The first speakers were from the
Huron County Federation of
Agriculture. Bill Wallace, who was
involved in the 1996 impact study
on agriculture in Huron spoke on
what the study had revealed.
The study was undertaken
because in the early 1990s
agriculture, as the county's number
one industry, was not, it was felt
getting the recognition it deserved,
Wallace explained to the 35 people
in attendance. "The study was to put
numbers to agriculture."
The result proved that agriculture
has a significant financial impact on
Huron. but :also showed how much
of what yeas grown here was
processed elsewhere. "About 75 per
cent of our production goes
elsewhere," said Wallace. "That's an
opportunity Bonnie and the rest can
seize."
"I can see a huge' potential for
processing and encourage more of
that to be done in Huron."
Wallace, who had been involved
with the jersey co-operative
admitted that it's not always easy to
begin these initiatives, but stressed
that the opportunities are there.
He also spoke about the links
between the farm products and ag-
related businesses. The latter can be
established to come in and supply
services to the farming community.
Charles Regele, HCFA president,
talked about the need to keep youth
in the county. "Retention of young
people is something we have not
been good at. If we do have the
opportunities for jobs, we have to
have the labour force.."
Lafontaine thanked both speakers
and said that her thought was Huron
East would appreciate some
partnership with the Federation.
There were presentations on
Brussels and Seaforth delivered by
Councillor Joe Seili and
businessperson Charles Smith,
respectively. Each spoke of their
wards strengths and possibilities.
Seili mentioned the industrial park
and the fact that there have been a
few new businesses in the village.
"With Bonnie we hope we can
streamline the sales of industrial and
residential property -
Smith's presentation se of the
Continued on page 10
Seaforth school will close