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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1995-12-06, Page 9Walton by Patty Banks 887-68 %ram, Welcome home from Jamaica We welcome home Doug and Marjory Fraser who spent a week in Jamaica. While most of us were shovelling snow and freezing, this couple was enjoying the 87 degree weather. They were informed a week before they left for their trip that the hotel that they had booked had been sold, but not to worry for their agent had them booked in another hotel. Well it turned out that when they got there the hotel was full so they were settled into another one. They were rewarded for all the run around with free meals for the duration of their stay. Although the attendance was low at the Walton Hall dance on Friday, fun was had by all. The next dance wilt be in January. Rick McDonald celebrated his birthday with a party down at the Walton Hall on Saturday. Around 50 guests showed up to help Rick celebrate his 40th birthday. Dianne and Andrew Van Vliet were greeters at Duff's United church on Dec. 3 - 'Whitc Gift Sunday. The church was well decorated by Don and Monique Baan and Jeff and Shannon McGavin. Brad Finlayson led the congregation in the Call. to Worship. Kevin Wilbee then aided the congregation with the Prayer of Approach. A new Advent song was sung to the tune of `Away in a Manger'. Then Andrew and Sarah McDonald along with their mother, Linda, read the Advent liturgy and lit the 1st Advent Candle. The White Gift Drama was presented by the Sunday School. Ang Marcucci() was the Story Teller, Gloria Wilbee the Adult, Kelly McDonald, Geoffrey Banks and Amanda Mitchell as the children and Patty Banks was the White Gift Clown with her assistant clown, Cassandra Banks. Following the play Sarah McDonald, Scott McDonald, Darrell McClure, Jennifer McClure and Cassandra Banks all took part in the White Gift Litany. Board of ed gram Good news while reeling from cuts BY JOHN GREW SSP News Staff The Huron County Board of Education got something to cel- ebrate about as it was reeling from the provincial cuts to edu- cation. The board was awarded a technology grant worth over $1 million. The Technology Incentive Partnership Program combines about $500,000 from the provincial ministry of edu- cation with private sector grants. Companies such as Xerox Canada, Apple Computer and Bell Canada donated money to the project. There were 20 school boards across the province awarded a grant. The project, called Wheels for Minds in Motion, may even- tually be expanded to include the Huron -Perth Roman Catholic Separate School Board. Teachers from the two boards may teach each other's students by video -conferencing. This would increase the choice of courses for students and allow teachers to teach courses in which they are especially inter- ested. "It's good to get a reward at the same time as we're getting a good kick in the butt," said Paul Carroll, director of education with the Huron public board. The money will be used in three ways. The first is directly at the classroom level for teach- ing and learning. That will mean Internet connections and better networking for Huron County schools. It will also make it more efficient for teachers to do work, such as report cards and student evalua- tions from their classroom or from home. The second use for the money is in libraries, which Carroll refers to as 'library information centres.' Children will have access to more remote electronic -based information to use for research and communi- cation between schools. Children and their parents will also be able to access school and community information from home. Distance education is the third use for the money. There may soon be Spanish courses offered again in Huron County. The courses were cancelled because of a lack of enough stu- dents at any of the schools to make it viable. But a video -con- ference could link enough inter- ested students throughout the schools to have the class. An OAC English course was taught by video -conference between the Goderich and Clinton high schools last year. Carroll hopes, with this money, to have video -conferencing facilities in all of the county high schools in the next year. The board has also been cho- sen to be a partner in a project to develop a multimedia cur- riculum to combat violence, and student to student sexual harassment in high schools. A total oC $50,000 has been set aside for that project. Carroll doesn't know yet what share of the $50,000 the Huron board of education will get. The project's other partners are the secondary school teachers' union, Queen's University and the provincial government. . "This (new funding) is quite a paradox," said Carroll. "People will say, 'what's going on?', but if we are going to downsize, or right size, or whatever you want to call it, we're not just going to axe or chain saw. If technology is part of that, we'd better darn well look at it." Separate School Board Video cameras will monitor behaviour of students on local school buses BY MICHELE GREENE SSP News Staff Buses owned by the Huron - Perth Separate School Board will be equipped with video cameras to monitor student behavior on the buses. Dr. James Brown, director of education, said the board contracts most•of the busing for its students to local bus companies. Most of those buses already have video cam- eras on the buses but the board's eight buses, which run in the Zurich area, don't have cameras. "We ran a pilot project to Hospital cuts CEO doesn't think government will shut down any local hospitals Continued from page I cuts will be spread over three years, with a five per -cent cut beginning next April, a six per- cent cut the following year, and a seven per cent cut in 1998. Cuts have been across-the- board in the hospital sector in the past, but Thibert doesn't see that happening now. "I have no definite proof but I have the sense, at least I'm holding on to a belief based on comments I've heard and what the Health Minister says, that small hospitals generally arc not going to be hit to the extent that bigger hospitals are going to be hit," he says. The CEO thinks the province will base hospital funding cuts on a formula it is working out, and monies saved from closing hospitals. In any case, details of the 18 per -cent cut arcexpected any day now from te ministry. With five Huron County hospitals ( Seaford), Clinton, Goderich, Wingham and Exeter) all within a 40 -minute drive of each _ other, Thibert doesn't think the,govcrnment is considering closing any hospitals around here al this time. He expects Ontario will wait for arca district health council studies, which arc scheduled to begin in this arca next month, before implementing policy. Thibert says what the area DHC might recommend is anybody's guess, "perhaps. specialization" in Huron's eight hospitals or "maybe close a couple". He says DHCs in the province aren't as good with the politics and Implementing policy as they are with plan- ning, and the government's Omnibus bill, "a book about a foot thick", might be the big stick needed so the government A can "do the dirty deed" of closing hospitals, if it comes to that. He says area hospitals co- operate well. The problem is hospitals in larger urban centres, Thibert says, noting that the 75 rural hospitals in this province, or about one-third of the total, only account for about seven per cent of the province's hospital budget. City hospitals cat up the other 93 per cent. "So they could close 75 of us down, put a padlock on the door, and they still wouldn't save 10 per cent," Thibert speculates. see if they made a difference in student behavior. Our find- ings discovered they did," said Dr. Brown. . The cameras can detect stu- dents out of their seat and those who are eating. Students are not supposed to eat on the bus because it may pose a risk to other students with food allergies. Dr. Brown said the buses will be equipped with a box which may or may not contain a camera. The cameras will be put into the buses where there is a need, but Dr. Brown said no one will be able to detect whether or not there is a cam- era in the box. The tapes will be used by the principals, the student and the parents and will be erased. "This enables principals to work with students and parents to modify behavior," said Dr. Brown. Sandi Norris, of Thomas Norris Bus Lines in Mitchell, said there have been video cameras on the buses in the Mitchell area since September 1994. Scuton Bus Lines of Dublin currently has no video cameras on buses transporting students to St. Patrick's School Dublin, St. Columban' School and St. Michael Catholic Secondary School in Stratford, said John Scuton. The Huron County Board of Education has used cameras since 1994. CIIRISTMAS SPECTACULAR Opal Carved CAMEO PENDANTS with 14 kt. gold settings and chains Reg. $650. Sale 349. Reg. $799. Sale 449. Reg. $899. C Sale 549. Specialists since 1950 ANSTETT JEWELLERS LIMITED MAIN CORNER • CUNTON 482-3901 'Surprise her with an Opalesent Christmas" Ori .25 cts .33 cts .40 cts .50 cts .75 cts 1.00 cts icell qpi rave 3O% erp Direct Diamonds Reg. Reg. Reg. Reg. Reg. Reg. $13-75.® $4 -22§.0° $4-650.°° $2600.°° $4225.w $699b.°° Now $599.00 Now 5850.00 Now $1150.00 Now $1800.00 Now $2950.00 Now $4925.00 Save Hundreds Even Thousands (Styles fir. Prices vary by store) Anstett Jewellers since 1950 CUNTON Whfe Oaks Mall MAIN CORNER, 482-3901 TIM HURON EXPOSITOR, December S, 19115-4 Staffing and books bond to be hit by cuts Continued from page I roughly the other '20 per cent coming from Queen's Park, The county librarian says most of the Huron system's budget goes to staffing and books, so both are bound to take a hit. Whereas some municipalities are talking about upping user fees to offset the impact of the govemment cuts, the option is not open to libraries. "It is against the law to charge user fees for public library service," Ross says. "Public library service is sap - posed to be fret and even though municipalities are an- ticipating being allowed to charge user fees, the operating grant that we were just talking about is contingent on our not charging user fees." Suicide rate high Canada's teen suicide rate is one of the highest in the world, according to statistics from UNICEF, the child - protection arm of the United Nations. McLaughlin Chev-Olds Ltd. 13 Main St Seaforth. 527-1140 •Service •Selection •Savings .Satisfaction .Leasing •Complete BODY SHOP Service \I:I:I►-k.-\ I At COOLMAN AUTO SALES We finance you. Any income is your credit. For information call Exeter (519) 235-3573 or Goderich 5241990 ONE DAY ONLY! Sunday, December 10 12 noon to5pm Extended Hours For Cheristma s Sunday D Noon -5 pm Evenings Dec. 8 -22 till 9 p Sunday Dec. 24 9am-5pm 43 Albert St. • ALL REGULAR PRICED MERCHANDISE (AA %WC ?ad FASHIONS CUNTON 482-7872 OFF l4/111 n. fur :1 r:u1111. 11_111 c1 rfn11111\ 11(1 11u' :111111% l 1,.11 , 11t (11114'1 (, 3I111111 - 5:1111 1,111 1 1 11 11 1 •.III ill ti'r'yu.11 111 ,1 111• 11 11. 111x i 1e,, Radiant Life Centre Bible Book Store & Christian Supplies 34 Kingston St., Goderich Phone/Fax 524-1843 New Owners: Nancy & Paul May CD's ,//TAPES.... - e;` BIBLES/BOOK `�' . ' GAMES FOR ��` tom' ALL AGES `-; - VIDEO SALES AND r: ��/ RENTALS �--. GIFTWARE -PLAQUES, 7 CROSS STITCH KITS, 'Z MUGS, CLOTHING T-SHIRTS, TIES, HATS JEWELLERY i CHURCH SUPPLIES/ CURRICULUM N.N. SPECIAL ORDERS \ AVAILABLE/ 7/.:x,.11 1 %PRESENjr IS ADandreceive%ff anything in the store with the exception of OFF previously discounted items. We're Moving! - JANUARY 2 Our New Location 31 West St., Goderich Bigger! Brighter! Greater Selection! May God's blessings of Love, Hope and Peace in Christ Jesus be in abundance this Christmas season and in the coming year.