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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2005-07-07, Page 1I Mi^—JTpiP Citiyph IB J J j| H JU Jy 1 W/ : Serving the communities of Blyth oncTBrussels ond northern Huron County I I Volume 21 No. 27 Thursday, July 7, 2005 $1 (93c + 7c GST) NH | NORTH HURON PUBLISHING COMPANY INC. Inside this week Pg-3 New business in Blyth Pg. 6 Pg-10 19 Local student top mathematician Local farms on Jersey tour New minister at Blyth United 7 - ✓, '' . p ‘Ginkgo’ opens Blyth * §• *‘ Festival season HE amends budget By Jim Brown Citizen editor Huron East council approved a series of amendments to its 2005 budget at its June 28 meeting. Although the budget was approved on March 1.5, the provincial government announced a change to its" funding for municipalities. The province has replaced the Community Reinvestment Fund (CRF) with the Ontario Municipality Partnership Fund (OMPF) and has increased the base funding for Huron East by $450,832. In all, nine amendments were adopted by council. Besides the additional funding from the province. Huron East has set up equipment reserves which were not existent at the time of amalgamation in 2001 Amendments included allocating $464,000 to equipment reserves and $175,000 to bridge reserves. Council 'will increase the the budget for municipal grants by $2,000, increase the budget miscellaneous recreation costs by $6,000, increase the economic development budget by $8,000, increase the municipal drain assessments by $40,000, increase the capital equipment for a mower/blower unit by $60,000, increase building maintenance at the three firehalls by a total of $2,500 for new signage and increase the public works building maintenance by $2,500 for the installation of a security system. The proposed amendments would allocate $775,000 of the $879,832 in additional provincial funding to various expenditures and reserves. The balance of $104,832 would be left in the 2005 deficit to offset part of the projected year-end deficit of $142,000 Making a splash Some 85 children enjoyed Brussels annual School’s Out Pool Party on Thursday. After a barbecued lunch, kids took part in a variety of activities at the ball diamond and field before enjoying a dip in the pool. With soaring temperatures the water slide was a highlight. Cole McLean takes a dive. (Bonnie Gropp photo) Provincial funding will help attract health care workers By Jim Brown Citizen editor The Ontario government is improving access to health care services in rural Ontario by investing in a Skills for Health Care Attraction and Retention pilot project in the town of Seaforth and surrounding areas, it was announced June 28 by Huron Bruce MPP Carol Mitchell. She indicated the provincial government is committed to meeting the top priorities for rural Ontario - strong people and strong economies, better health and success for students. This supports Ontario’s rural plan to help rural communities like Seaforth to achieve these priorities. The Ontario government will contribute $317,750 to the Huron East/Seaforth Community Development Trust and its partner, Huron Business Development Corporation. The project will develop local capacity for effectively recruiting health care professionals to rural Ontario and expose local youth interested in health care-related careers to a full range of health care employment opportunities. “This is fabulous news for all the communities of Huron County,” said Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance recruiter Gwen Devereaux. “This is a Huron County program.” Students are setting up interviews to talk to the healthcare professionals to find out why they chose their selected profession and why they decided to practise in Huron County. The students will be working the Chambers of Commerce in the various communities. This will educate the youth about careers in rural healthcare. It will also provide work experiences for youth at local health facilities. Devereaux said a plan will be put in place in the fall in the schools, and with the assistance of guidance counsellors will help to promote careers in the health field. She added there are plans to have a camp for Grade 10 and 11 students next summer where they will be able to gain some experience. According to Devereaux, community ambassador teams will be established to assist in the promotion of the community. “This will engage the whole community in healthcare recruitment,” she said. She indicated that while the recruitment committee can explain the medical aspects of a certain community, a community ambassador team member can tell about the hiking trails, sports, day­ cares and schools and other activities and events held in the community. Twenty-five community volunteers will be trained as ambassadors to promote the advantages of living and working in Huron County. Huron East/Seaforth Community Development Trust chairman Joe Steffler said they are grateful to participate in this project. He added that working with government to provide health care training and education opportunities is a win-win situation for health care services and economic growth in the area. Huron Business Development Corporation economic development manager Paul Nichol said health care recruitment is no longer just a hospital issue, it is a community issue. He noted it now takes a whole community to recruit professionals in the health care sector. “If we don’t have a strong health care system, we don’t have a strong economy.” he said. AMDSB approves budget By Stew Slater Special to The Citizen Buoyed by commitments from the provincial government to provide for increased teacher salaries in the first and second years of their new four-year contracts, the Avon Maitland District School board approved its 2005-06 budget at a regular meeting Tuesday. June 28. Expenditures for the coming school year are projected at just under $151 million, up by $1.8 million over 2004- 05. According to a report delivered by South Huron trustee Randy Wagler. chair of the Finance Committee, the biggest change comes in the form of increased teacher compensation and preparation time allowance. And the province agreed to cover those expenses during negotiations this spring with provincial teacher unions. Wagler explained the budgeting process began with a target of cutting "all possible discretionary expenditure areas . . . except for school allocations” by five per cent. In the end, that allowed for a document which maintains all current programs, and doesn’t draw anything from the board’s meager savings. "Different from last year, we are not projecting any use of reserves,” Wagler told fellow trustees. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, business superintendent Janet Baird-Jackson said the board’s working reserve fund now sits at about $1.3 million, after having been drawn down by about $500,000 to cover shortfalls in the 2004-05 special education budget. And the retirement gratuities reserve has about $1 million, having been drawn down by about $600,000 in 2004-05. Trustees voted unanimously in favour of the 2005-06 budget. But that didn’t mean there was a lack of opposition. South Perth/West Perth representative Carol Bennewies registered a complaint on behalf of some members of the Special education advisory committee (SEAC). And it’s a complaint which has been heard in previous years. Bennewies praised education superintendent Marie Parsons for creating a special education budget which essentially maintained all current programs and services. But she noted SEAC’s vote to approve the special education portion of the 2005-06 budget was not unanimous. Those not in favour were concerned about the board’s continued practice of charging what’s referred to as “incremental” time for principals and vice principals to the special education budget. Some SEAC members argue certain work of principals and vice principals should not draw on special education funds, even though it’s directly related to the presence of special education pupils in their schools. Speaking after the meeting, Baird- Jackson responded there are also a lot of teachers’ duties related specifically to the presence of special education students, and those duties are covered by regular classroom funding. She suggested a combination of the two approaches balances out to be approximately equal.