HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2000-12-20, Page 6PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2000.
Smith fails three times to get spot on chair’s committee
By Stew Slater
Special to The Citizen
At the inaugural meeting of the
newly-elected Avon Maitland District
School Board, Wednesday, Dec. 13,
outspoken Seaforth-based critic
Charles Smith failed three successive
times to garner enough support from
fellow trustees to secure a place on
the Chair's committee.
“Two significant extra powers of
the chair’s committee are its automat
ic appointment as the audit
Committee and its assignment of rec
ommending members for the policy
committee,” Smith said as he sought
election as Avon Maitland vice-chair,
a vote which was eventually won by
North Huron trustee Colleen Schenk.
“I feel certain I can help our stu
dents by being on the audit commit
tee, finances having been identified as
the root cause of the board’s difficul
ties,” he added.
Smith was also nominated for two
of the other three positions up for
grabs: chair and member-at-iarge.
Wendy Anderson was re-elected chair
for her third term, and newcomer
Meg Westley of Stratford received the
most votes as member-at-large.
Schenk, a veteran Avon Maitland
representative on the Ontario Public
School Boards’ Association
(OPSBA), was returned to her
OPSBA post by acclamation.
The chair, vice-chair and member-
at-large represent the sole member
ship of the chair’s committee and.
Letter to the editor
THE EDITOR,
Thanks to the generosity of the res
idents of Brussels and Walton, vol
unteers collected a total of $1,447.75
for the Canadian Diabetes
Association’s November Campaign.
Nelva Scott
Secretary, CDA Huron/Bruce
Branch.
therefore, the audit committee.
However, Anderson, who was only
challenged by Smith in the chair’s
race, says the Seaforth trustee “pre
scribes to the chair’s committee a
great deal more power than it actually
possesses,
“Most of the discussion of major
issues over the last three years has
been at the board meeting level,” she
said in an interview following meet
ing.
Anderson says the audit committee
meets twice per year, and the chair’s
committee only meets to assign com
mittee responsibilities for trustees, or
if a trustee steps down from their
committee position and must be
replaced. Moreover, she says, Smith
is almost certain to be one of three
trustees named to the policy commit
tee if he expresses an interest to serve
in that area.
“It has been very seldom that we
can’t give a trustee their choice when
it comes to committees,” the newly
re-elected chair said. “It just makes
sense for trustees to be members of
the committees they want to serve on,
rather than having someone serving
From
Larry & Kevin
*> AUTO REPAIRS
R.R. #3 Brussels
519-887-9499
NOTICE
TOWNSHIP OF MORRIS
COUNCIL MEETING
The final meeting of the Township of Morris Council,
prior to amalgamation
will be held
Thursday, December 28, 2000 at 7:30 p.m.
Location: Morris Township Council Chambers
41342 Morris Road
A dedication to retire the Township of Morris Seal
will be held.
Everyone is welcome to attend!
on a committee when they don’t want
to.”
According to the three separate pre
pared speeches delivered by Smith as
he sought election (Schenk was the
only other nominee with a prepared
speech), policy is one of his main
concerns.
“I’m very concerned that after three
years (since the amalgamation of the
old Perth and Huron County boards),
this board has failed to adopt policies
essential to the proper guidance of
administration,” he said at one point.
“Administration seems to be follow
ing habit instead of policy.”
After the meeting, Smith expressed
little disappointment in his failure to
attain a position in the chair’s com
mittee, adding the elections had pro
gressed in much the same fashion he
had expected. He told reporters the
election of two non-rookie trustees to
two of the three positions (chair and
vice-chair) had exactly followed a
prediction he made to a friend earlier
in the day, and the outcome of the
third election (member-at-large) only
went against his prediction when the
only other returning trustee,
Listowel’s Don Brillinger, declined to
let his name stand.
Calling the chair’s committee elec
tion process “a curious procedure”
that asks several people who have just
met to pass judgment on each other’s
abilities, Smith suggested his own
chances were damaged by the notori
ety he has gained since spearheading
last year’s successful fight to save
Seaforth District High School.
“I really didn’t expect (to be elect
ed chair or vice-chair), given the lead-
up to the (municipal) election and the
amount of extra press that I got,” he
said. “Even though I was acclaimed
(as a trustee).”
However, he’s confident his image
as a one-issue trustee is changing.
And in the general board meeting
which directly followed the inaugural
session (due to weather-related
rescheduling), Smith was active on
several fronts, challenging staff and
the board chair on such issues as the
necessity of renovations at Howick
Central Public School, a scarcity of
background information about trans
portation funding, and correct meet
ing procedure..
“I think I’ve made it pretty clear to
many people that I have the mental
capacity to deal with many different
issues,” Smith said. “And I think it
was important to say some of the
things that I said.”
TOWNSHIP OF
MORRIS
The Morris Township
Municipal Office
will be closed for the
Christmas Holiday
Friday, December 22
to Wednesday,
December 27
(inclusive).
■■ fe
POWER
LINES
AND LADDERS
DON’T MIX
With every ladder or long object used near power lines, there is
danger. Metal ladders conduct electricity. So do many other
materials and objects. Always look up and never swing or position
long objects near overhead lines.
Visit www.HydroOne.com
CONNECTING AT L - .—|
THE SPEED OF LIFE* rlyClrO^’^7 one
__________________/
FALLEN
WIRES CAN BE
LIVE
Keep 10 metres away and warn others. Fallen wires that look
dead could be very dangerous. Always call your local hydro or the
police to report the hazard. If there’s a fallen wire touching your
vehicle, stay inside until a hydro crew removes the wire. If you
must get out, jump clear without touching the car and the ground
at the same time. Then shuffle or hop away 10 metres keeping
both feet tight together.
Visit www.HydroOne.com
CONNECTING AT L»\/rJ
THE SPEED OF LIFE" llyCirO^1^7 one_________J