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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1996-11-13, Page 44 -THE HURON EXPOSITOR, Nov.mb.r 13, 1996 Your Community Newspaper Since 1860 TERRI-LYNN DALE • General Manager & Advertising Manager MARY MELLOR • Sales PAT ARMES - Office Manager DIANNE McGRATH - Subscriptions & Classifieds PAVE SCOTT - Editor GREGOR CAMPBELL • - Reporter BARB STOREY - distribution A Bowes Publishers Community Newspaper SUBSCRIPTION RATES. LOCAL - 32 50 o year, in advance, plus 2 28 GI T. SENIORS. - 30 00 o year, in odvonce, plus 2 10 G S T. USA $ Foreign 32.50 a year in advance, plus $78 00 postage, G 5 T exempt SUBSCRIPTIQN RATES Published weekly by S+gnol.Stor Publishing at 100 Main St , Seaforth. Publication moil registration No 0696 held at Seaforth, Ontario Advertising is accepted on condition that in the evento(a typographical error, the advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reosonoble of owonce for signature, will not be charged, but the balance of the odvertisement will be pard for of the applicable rote In the event of a typogrophical error, advertising goods or services at a wrong price, goods or services may not be sold. Advertising is merely on offer to sell and may be withdrawn at any erne. The Huron Expositor is not responsible For the Toss or damage of unsolicited manuscripts, photos or other materials used for reproduction purposes Changes of address, orders for subscriptions and undeliv- eroble,copies are to be sent to The Huron Expositor Wednesday, November 13, 1998 Editorial and Business Offices - 100 Main SIreet.,Seaforth Telephone (5191527-0240 Fax (519( 527-2858 Mailing Address - P.O. Box 69, Seoforth, Ontario, NOK 1w0 Member of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association, Ontario Community Newspapers Association and the Ontario Press Council Views expressed on our opinion page(s) don't necessarily represent those of The Huron Expositor or Bowes Publis.hers. The Huron Expositor reserves to right to edit letters to the edi- tor or to refuse publication. Letters to the Editor In Response Federation supports JK Dear Editor: • Amy Ncilands of Signal Star Publishing, wrote an article headlined "JK Program Could he • Terminated" which appeared in •the Huron Expositor (November 6. 1996). She writes: "The junior . kindergarten (JK) program could he terminated by the Huron County Board of Education due to proposed changes that N•ould impact on local taxpayers. Director of Education Paul Carroll brought forth the issue at Monday's regular board tneeting and said he would recommend at the. hoard s December meeting to termi- nate the program effective June 30, 1997. . Pressure from the elementary teach- ers' federation against the staffing formula used with junior and senior kinder- garten has-been mounting, explained Carroll in iris director:v information report. A grievance has been received from the federations about the class sizes at seven of the 24 elementary schools, lie reported." The reporter did not ask fore response from neither of the eletn ntary federation presi- dents who were present: nor did she hear the Comments that 1 made to the Board dur- ing the discussion period at the end of the hoard meeting. • i welcome this opportunity to speak to the kindergarten issue. • My federation vigorously supports the integrity of the Junior Kindergarten (JK) pro, gram. I also believe that the Huron County Board of Education recognizes the • importance of Early Years Education.- The hoard has the unilateral decision. to termi- nate the JK program. There will he continued nressurc facing the hoard. The Ministry of Education and Training is planning sweep- ing changes to :school gover- nance. Will the Huron • County Board he eliminated? Will it he amalgamated with the Perth Board. ora larger regional hoard? • The Huron Board will feel significant pressure to contin- ue its fiscal restraint as the the Ministry continues to cut financial support to public education. Education finance reform is rumoured; we sin cercly hope that it will he more fair and more equitable for low spending and low assessment hoards like ours. Our federation concerns about thc increased class sizes undoubtedly do add more 'pressure' to thc hoard. • Our current collective agreement says the the 'max- imum class size' for a kinder- garten class is 26 students. The board's staffing formula used to determine the number of teachers needed has increased the divisor to 32 kindergarten (JK/SK) stu- dents to one teacher. The hoard may add an education- al assistant (EA) to kinder- garten classes that have 20 or more students in it. Teachers welcome this support staff to assist with supervision of non -instructional program just as we welcome parent volunteers and co-op students in many of our classrooms. We feet that we must protect the 'learning environment' of the students in these"too" large classes. The readers of the letter who have kindergarten -age children, and others who remember when your chil- dren were that age, please recall that the "birthday party" day was like when you might have had. 6 to I) chil- dren this age in the same place and at the same time. Now imagine what a day might he like in a kinder- . garten class with up tci 32 students, even with a support person; and it is not a birth- day- party...it is a day fined with academic readiness pro- gramming, social skill devel- opment. constructive play. and so on. • in the - article by Amy Ncilands, trustee Bob Heywood states: "The rea- .vcitt we supported to contituue the program last year was that it would (reit cost iocal tax payers.- With acers."With all respect, 1 -remind the local taxpayers that you usually get what you pay for and nothing is free. The Huron County Board of Education per pupil spending is $2500 below the provincial average. Educational spend- ing in Early Childhood Education i indeed an investment in the future. My federation will continue to advocate for the best learning environment for our students. We feel that the JK program is worth fighting for. Yours truly, • Paul Dyck President, Huron District Ontario Public School Teachers' Federation Not really bright and damn proud 1 have just written another book entitled: Guys - Not Real Bright And Damn Proud Of it! First of all, this is not a slam against men. Guys are not men except by some sort of anatomical connection which we'd rather not discuss in • case it curses us, if you know what I mean: Guys hold fast to the belief that although they may not be real bright, their intellect actually surpasses smart, winding up at wise. Hence the term wise guys. While a man will readily admit he doesn't know the answer, a guy will blame the Encyclopedia Britannica, claiming he's still waiting for them to come out with the paperback edition. You see, guys are boys. trapped in men's bodies who believe if you don't screw up too badly in this life you go to this idyllic place where George Burns really is God and there's unlimited access to cherry bombs, baseball, cigars, cold beer, hot pizza, Sergeant Bilko re -runs and duct tape. And the best is, each guy gets his own remote control. The fact that there's no . television doesn't seem to be a problem. Unfortunately guy heaven does not have women. This was such a hotly contested issue, they had to hold an inquiry. Then one of the •women who testified mentioned the word "commitment" and the NO vote was unanimous. Guys -- Not Real Bright And Damn Proud Of it does not in any way discredit male intelligence or courage. - On the contrary, it explains why a guy, given a magical black box capableof curing all disease, ending world hunger and insuring global peace would first consider turning it over to the government or taking it directly to the United Nations. Then, of course, he'd take it apart to see how it works and eventually he'd lose some key components in a card game. But his initial response and intent are always excellent. Guys arc brave beyond belief. A real guy would not hesitate to throw himself between you and a runaway cement truck provided you were holding a football and he believed his obituary would describe the incident in terms of "play of the game." The question I inevitably get after someone reads the title is -- "Gee Bill, do you really think guys do dumber things than women?" Well let's just compare gender -related notes for a - minute. How many women do you know like the guy from Stetter, Alberta, who after being picked up on suspicion of impaired driving. ate his underwear, believing that the cotton in the fabric would absorb the alcohol in the bloodstream and he'd be able to pass the breathalizer by the time they got him to the police station? How many women do you know, who like last week's Etobicoke bank robber used a bag over his head as a disguise? Okay, but a clear, plastic see-through bag?? How many women do you know, who like the Mac's Milk robber in Toronto, would wear underwear on their heads as a disguise? A woman would never do this because, as demanded by her mother, her underwear would be clean and in the proper place in case she was ever in an accident with the getaway car. - How many women do you know, who like the guy in Prince George, British Columbia last week, could. mistake an R.C.M.P. unmarked car for a taxi cab, jumping into the backseat after doing a drug deal while carrying an unregistered gun? No woman I know has ever done that. How many women, like the purse -snatcher in the States a. few months ago, would agree to a facie -to -face identification with the victim and after an uneasy silence say: "Yup, that's the woman I robbed alright!?" Niot many, I'm guessing. How many women like the suspect in Peterborough, under intense questioning by police, would use an alias that happened to be the name of his brother who was also wanted by police? None 1 know. How many women do you know like'the guy who robbed thc credit union in Vineland could manage to first run themselves over with the getaway van and then give back forty dollars more to police than he took from the teller. This is not a book only about stupid crooks. These guys just provide the flavour. This is a book that says -- okay, as guys we do incredibly dumb things and it's high time we stopped apologizing. We are not getting any better so let's celebrate our unique foolishness.because without that, we have nothing to cling to. Think about it, how many women do you know, who like John Wayne Bobbitt have used a severed penis to launch a singing career. I rest my case. Guys - Not Real Bright And Damn Proud Of Ir! is published by Stoddart -and available in bookstores where women go to get even. ***' Scott's -Thoughts will - return next week. (Scott can feel a thought developing). Seaforth not apathetic on hospital issue Dear Editor: To Ms. Janet Hook, Chair, Huron -Perth DHC Restructing Task Force, Following my readingof several local Huron and Perth County local newspapers, in which several local munici- palities are "getting fired up to save their hospitals," I felt compelled to write you this letter. The community of Seaforth, including the sur- rounding area and in particu One in five Dear Editor: Every 20 minutes, each day, another Canadian dies from some form of respiratory dis- ease. One in five Canadians has some form of breathing problem. Respiratory disease remains the leading cause of hospitalization in preschool- ers. Asthma is thc leading cause of absence due to lar Seaforth Council, has taken your recent statement that 'local campaigns to save hospitals will not deter thc Task Force from its mandate to restruct the delivery of health services in Huron - Perth' td heart. To that end, it has been Scaforth Council's position that we allow the Task- Force to complete the initial part of the study prior to the public meetings with- out a bombardment of reports and petitions from "Seaforth" • to "save our hospital" before we have reviewed and con- sidered the Task Force's out- line of alternatives. The purpose of this letter is to point out to you that, while other municipalities have chosen -a different approach to this issue, "Seaforth's" silence up to this point should not be construed by the Task Force or the District Health Council as apathy or complacency. 1 can assure you that "Seaforth" is every bit -as proud and supportive of the health care services provided here as any place in Ontario, and that we are con- fident of on-fident.of our ability to deliver those health services into the 21st century. . Twill, of course, be attend- ing and look 'forward to the public meetings on this issue. Yours sincerely, Irwin Johnston Mayor. Canadians has breathing problem chronic illness in school-age children. Christmas Seals have been a Canadian tradition since 1908. Thc Christmas Seal Campaign helps fund the many Lung Association health education programs in Huron and Perth Counties kir adults and children who arc suffering from lung disease. Sisterstrapped as FROM THE PAGES OF THE HURON EXPOSITOR NOVEMBER 20, 1896 Local Briefs - On Friday of last week' appearances seemed to indicate that win- ter with its storms and blasts, had determined to close right in on us. It snowed heavily nearly all day, until the ground was covered to a depth of several inches by thc beautiful snow. But nature took another turn and by before Sunday was over, there was not much of the snow left. The other morning while on their way to work, the clerks in the Dominion hank were rather startled on seeing an. unusual crowd standing in front of thebank, and their imaginations immediately pictured scenes of daring bur- glary. On enquiry, however, it proved nothing Chore seri- ous than the fact that the jani- tress had got a key fast in the lock and was unable to remove it. *** On Monday night as Mr. Robert Scott, seedsman, was closing the safe ofhis office, he had the thumb of his left hand resting on the jamb of the door, while with thc other he gave the door a shove. The heavy door caught his The proceeds also support much needed medical research in Ontario's medical centres. For many years thc resi- dents of Seaforth and sur- rounding areas have genet-- ously supported this fundrais- ing campaign, which is the major source of funds for The Lung Association. Please continue this tradition of car- ing by supporting the 1996 Christmas Seal Campaign. "When You Can't Breathe, Nothing Else Matters." Thank you. Sincerely, Trish MacGregor Huron -Perth Lung Association Board Member icy water fills car In the Years Agone thumb and give it a most painful squeeze, smashing the nail and nearly amputat- ing the top. NOVEMBER 18, 1921 The challenge euchre, held in • thc club rooms on Armistice night, between thc Ladies Auxiliary and the Mcn Members, was a decided success, about 150 being pre- sent. Thc ladies won this contest by twelve games. The proceeds from the sale of poppies around town amounted to $158, due to the energetic work of the young ladies and the generous sup- port of the citizens. * * * Local Briefs -The regular meeting of the Women's Auxiliary of the GWVA will be held on Novcmhcr 24, and the annual mccting on, December 1, - Mr. R. J. Beattie, of Egmondville, who is the teacher at No. 5 Tuckersmith had the misfor- tune to fall recently and frac- ture a rib. NOVEMBER 22, 1946 Action of the Warden's Committee in laying over the matter of purchasing Port Albert airport for county pur- poses was unanimously endorsed by Huron County Council on Wednesday. It was pointed out that no con- crete proposition had been presented by parties or orga- nizations who desire the acquisition of the airfield and it was felt plans for its use and financing should be place before thc council. * * * A request by thc Seaforth High School hoard that two snowplows he stationed in Scaforth to facilitate travel for school buses, resulted in no action by County Council. Thc road commission report- ed to council that it is endeavoring to provide as good service for all roads as practicable. NOVEMBER 25, 1971 Two sisters sat on the top of their car's front scat as icy water filled their vehicle to thc dashboard Saturday after- noon after it plunged into Silver Creek in the Lions Park. Mrs. Lila H. Carroll, 72. Tillsonhurg, thc driver of the car and her sister, Mrs. Edna Davey -Dyke of Lindsey. were driving west towards Seaforth on Highway 8 dur- ing a snow squall when the car spun across the road and backwards down an embank- ment into the creek, floated across the creek and settled in four feet of water. They were taken to Seaforth Community Hospital, treated for exposure by Dr. Roger Whitman and released. * * * For the third time in 14 years it has been awarded, a • Brucefield farmer, Russell Dallas has been awarded thc White Challenge Trophy for - the world championship hay entry at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto. *** Tuckersmith Council took no action at a special meeting Tuesday evening to reconsid- er revocation of a salvage yard license. A delegation of seven Egrrlondville residents appeared before council and presented a petition hearing 33 namcs for reconsideration by council of thc revocation of William Brilwn's license for a salvage yard. Members of the delegation were Walter Armes. Mr. and Mrs. Howard James. Melvin Cooper, Carl Cooper, and Mr. and Mrs. Leo Tcatcro.