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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1996-04-10, Page 7Maitland Valley 'top heavy,' says town council The Maitland Valley Conservation Authority is top -heavy with management and should cut down from 33 directors on its board "to a size that is more economical and more manageable," from Seaforth's point -of -view. Council has. agreed to' maintain Maitland -authority funding this year at the 1995 - level, a $3,044,91 levy for 1996. In council's letter to the conservation authority con- firming its continued support, Seaforth_ noted "we cannot guarantee that we will be able to continue funding. the' authority in future years. "Seaforth is certain that many othcr.municipalitics share -our views, and will welcome any cost-saving ini- tiatives that will maintain necessary services in an eco- nomical "manner," the letter states; - "In Seaforth's opinion, changes in the size of the MVCA"hoard should not he done on a voluntary basis, that is, by requesting individ- ual municipalities to share a director, as this -will lead to. inequalities in representation. "The Ward itself, should , he investigating optimum) .representation by population, or arca served. The hoard should be superimposing'new houndarics, strictly. for MVCA board representation, atop existingmunicipal boundaries, and then seeking. municipal support and autho- rization for the new hoard structure." THE HURON EXPOSITOR, April 10, 1996-7 The Paris Lip: You too can have it You've seen them - luscious, lovely lips. And we had them when we were young. Michel'Ie Plieffer; Meg Ryan and C•i-n d y Crawford all urrltc - have them. And • you don't have to go to New York City or. Paris. [=ranee to get them because this can he done at the Loramar ('entre for Cosmetic Medicine. Itoth'Dr. Mario Cauchl and Lorraine catch' are. collagen specialists PHOTOS BY DAVID SCOTT HOME & GARDEN SHOW - (Above) Tony Moffatt- of Exeter Tool and. Rental demonstrates some .wood- working on -a jigsaw. At right, Brian Unich, of Seaforth Bike Shop, talks to a visitor about biking accessories. • and arc trained in collagen therapy. As we age, the border of the lip shrinks and the lips become thinner. Sometimes we get Jines around our mouths known as. "lipstick lines" With . collagen therapy a simply injection of collagen under local anesthetic puffs' up the lips and gives a new- firm border - eliminating the lines and creating youthful lips. This Is; collagen therapy which -is purely, 'cosmetic and only for Are adventurous. For consultation call the Luramar Centre 519.524-4430 or I -X00-896-4430, %I \I KINI%II 51 'Four full-time arena employees too many,' says 'ickersmith representative The management commit- tee has asked Seaforth arena and community centres man- ager Graham Nrhitl. to "address the issue of- slat* - hours and count -Ali that a fourth full-time position "is not being created". At, the Committee's March 2l meeting, according to the minutes: Tuckcrsntit)i rrprc sentativc Doug. Vock -said be is concerned "about -a part-, tithe employer. gaining full- time status and -becoming ell= . gihlc for benefits. as this will increase hoard costs. "He felt that tour. full-time employers was too many for the arena.' His comments came after. , Nesbitt circulated revised fig- ures incoirporating a one per cent Wage increase approved by the hoard the month before. with the proviso -"any amount above one per cent .would -he.in the form of a Manus based on staff changes or operational efficiencies." The hoard also questioned - why the manager's_rcvised figures indicated an inercase of $2.0(K) in benefits: Last year thc arena spent $129;29.1 -on wages for full, part -tints, bar and booth per- sonel, based on the' hoard's 1995 "actual ' hudget figures. According to the minutes. Nesbitt noted at the March 21 meeting: "that in the fall. they are suggesting having a weekend employee instead of it part -titre employee. Full- time salaries have increased by $720 while part-time salaries have been reduced by $140., A $0.20 per hour increase for one employee is a reflection of a course that was completed. Another employee received -a $0.10 per hour increase. - Chair -Dennis O'Conner said $1,000 - was "hoard approved to balance the bud- . get, then "this amount was - Iumped into the 'benefits' line which- may he used as a bonus, if warranted. • • MUSIC - ' - UNTRL ORD) 23rd ;Sf R 'Our f7r�nt5 AnniVerSar DNES 61'!,, I1 -"Tax on life insurance. compensmion, etc., are also reflected in the increase," the Chair said, according to the minutes .of the meeting. "He further indicated that there arc several weeks of holidays- that olidaysthat have to be used up from last year." Internet report ,Schools on CONTINUED from page 6 • several times before reaching a trunk line, of the Internet. -Most' high -schools in the ctiunfy, except Seaforth's, are using this'high-speed tele- : -phone line system now [age! ,on the -Internet. Seaforth can't because Bell Canada's switching system here can't 'handle the new -high-speed stuff.. There arc. in. ain.computcr servers ,in schools 'inT Goderich, Wingham, Clinton, E.xetcr and. -Zurich: Because of the ncw partnership, HOMEtown members will soon he able to 'use their computers and modems to .call one of these local schools to hook into the network. GLITZY GRAPHICS HOMEtown is also now in the testing phase of providing full graphical interface, which will cost members more because it takes up more- space on the network,, but may entice more mem- hers,. So ,far. HOMEtown has supplied only low-cost, text - based Internet access, which it plans to continue. provid- ing. But this justdoesn't have the pizzazz for technological- ly sophisticated users who want pictures, graphs. maps games and graphics with popular programs such as Nctscapc. • These potential users arc ' :now- snore likely to subscribe . to one of th'c few commercial 'Internet access providers that have emerged in this arca in the last :couple of years. Some of them run by inter- , esting young arca entrepre- neurs, such as Mark Steffen of Wingham, who sense the potential of the new tech- nologies and seem to know what they arc doing. Rates and scrviccs vary and consumers arc wise to he wary, to- shop around and Compare. • However, none of these providers offer Seaforth access to thc Internet, other than by using an out-of-town "local" number. , Bell Canada's switching system in Seaforth is a dinosaur ("Your number please"), and despite profits expected to rise 36 per cent this year, has told council it • would cost $900,000 for an upgrade today's Bell hcan counters don't view as cost - .1 high -speed line, except Seaforth effective,. 'For them 'it is a. "back-buner" priority. Dillon sees the: company's • point. to 'a point- He says the., cost of providing the Netter and faster Modern 'services Bell' (logs on -,television. -,such as -Internet access and new- ' wrinkles like call waiting or • forwarding. would: he I0 w . •20 times - as cotic h:-for;.the, •rural arras in which we live: thanthey are in the urban areas and big. cities. such its Toronto. Hain i Icon ' aril London. -- , - A LOCAL IRONY StiU1,.1101VIEtown's cxccu- tive'director secs irony in ,,orpt)ratc excuses.,however l)igical, hascd on fiscal reali- ty. „ He lives 300 lee from. Seaforth in Tuckcrsmith Township: where dinosaurs long since, ceased to roam and many of these much- toutcd tnodcrn services are available. or very soon •will he. including Jnternct access. This tiny local rural telt- phone -co-operative seems to he meeting tomorrow's spe- cific rural needs far better, -than big old Bell, one'u1' 'Canada's' largest, Companies. with all. manner of resources for such things as research and ' development and ecopo,njcs of scale al its dis- posal. The Huron board of educa- tion is considering technolo-, gids that might bypass Bell, confirms Van i)cr Ley: who adds it would enable' Seaforth schools to take advantage of advanced technology already being used or introduced by the other schools in the couh- ly, such as in' the hoard's accounting and in the class- room. Van Der 1.ey says two years ago Seaforth wasn't as tech- nologically -isolated as it is fast becoming. He says the hoard's high-speed frame relay hardware enables more efficient accounting. doing away with most manucl req- uisitions. The purchasing manager adds information liar students on the Internet can he hater from his point of view for su'eh things as text hooks and encyclopedias. which cost a lot and are often almost "out dated as soon as they are printed." He adds an alliance with HOMEtown also helps the school system "he partners 'Farmers have been riding information highway for some time in Huron. with the community.' Why not walk to the library ' and read a hook.or buy a 'newspaper for a buck for your all your information. In other words,' who needs. it and .who cares? WHO CARES? - Morc and more of Our chil- dren. apparently. HOMEtown's executive director says if you have teenagers in the'house, statis- tics say you are two times as likely to also have a comput- er and a modem, so that's where ' demand for the Internet is now strongest. • He also says farmers arc riding the information high - :way in Huron in significant proportion. and have heen.for some time. A market analysis by HOMEtown live months ago showed 7:836 computers in the 26,120 households in Huron (population 59,068), 3.134 of these with modems. In. Perth County there were 8,006 computers in 26,685 houscholds(p0pu1a1ion 26:685). and 3,200 moderns as of November I. 1995. But the overall potential reach shows more clout in HOMEtown's five -counties where there were a total of 334263 modems and 83,157 computers in 277,191 house- holds, with a population of 679.227. - Last November, thc net- work had 526 members and an 'overall .penetration lathe five counties in its markct was a miniscule 1.58 per cent. highest in Oxford (3.46 per cent), Huron (3.45) and Perth (3.03) and very tow in Elgin (0.56) and London (0.63). Everybody is welcome at HOMEtown's first general meeting tomorrow night. April 11. starling at 7 at the Kirkton-Woodham Community Centre. HYPE AND GARBAGE The ground rules change quickly these days in the ncw technologies of multi -media. Cable television companies arc getting the fibre-optic potential to provide some of these scrviccs, which rela- tively soon we may take for granted. . • The Toronto Star and The Olohe and Mail have announced major. new Internet divisions 'and part- nerships in.the last fortnight. Dillon says a lot of the new-fangled technology hccomes -obsolete in two years-, making large invest- ments in small markets -such as Seaforth all that much More risky. . There is a lot of hype and garbage to he sifted through on the information highway, he says. it takes time and you have to know what you want. .how to access it and what to do with it. Technology -has shaped us in ways we often don't at first perceive, since monks left their cloisters way hack in the. middle ages with their ornate tomes. , HOMEtown's executive director sees instantaneous information as the biggest threat ever to organized gov- ernment. ' - "It's like having a tiger by the tail," Dillon says. 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