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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1997-10-01, Page 44-41111111111110111131P01111T0111. Otibeam 1. MT Your Commix* Niwspopor Stee, 1840 =mum - General Manager PAVE SCOT] - Editor QSEr Reporter & Advertising Manager LARRY DALRYM'tE - Sales Office Mawr NOME( DIANNE hkGRATH Subscriptionsdistribution & Classifieds A Bowes Publishers Community Newspaper SU31§c„,B3 ,gyk;i: LOCK - 32 SO o year, in advance, plus 2.28 G.S.T. - 30.00 o year, in odvonce, pias 2.10 G. S.1. USA b Fontan: 20.41 o year in advance, plus 178.00 postage. G.S.T. exempt }U8SCRIPTION Published we/46y Signal -Sid Publishing at 100 Moin St., Seaforth. Pubo colion mail registration No. 0696 held of Seaforth, Ontario. Advertising is moped on condition that int the went d o typographical error, the advertising spout occupied by the erroneous itwn, together with o reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged, but the balance d the odvrtiser iera win be paid for at the applicable rah. In the event d o typographical 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 Advertising is merely on offer to sell and may be withdrawn at any time. The Huron Expositor is not rssponsbie for the toss or damage of unsolicited manuscripts, photos or other materials used for reproduction purposes. Changes d oddress, orders for subscriptions and undeliv- erable copies are to be sent to The Huron Expositor. Wedne,eday, October 1, 1997 Editorial and Business Oifsas • 100 Main Stred.,Seaforth Tbalhorw (5193 527-0240 Fax 15191 527-2958 Address - P.O. Box 69, Swforth, Ontario, NOK two Member of the Conodion 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 Publishers. The Huron Expositor reserves the right to edit letters to the editor or to refuse publication. Editorial Who do you listen to? Politicians and teachers get more time off a year than most professions and they're both constantly complaining about each other. The issue of stored sick leave by teachers in Ontario is enough to boggle your mind and leave the average worker and taxpayer feeling very helpless, frustrated and angry. "The fact is that stored sick leave is an unnecessary perk that does noth- ing more than strengthen the closed shop union aspect of our education system and raise the status of teacher to that of an elected official," says Richard Clarke in his letter. Now, if this is one of the real focuses of the government's present slashing of education, why have we not heard this from either side? Well, the nature of politics does not always involve clear and direct information. And teachers have a golden egg they'd be foolish to mention or adequately defend in any letter to the editor or press release. Yes, losing 10,000 teachers in the province would cut down on stored sick leave, if that is one of the government's hidden agendas, but teachers have a legitimate point in what that's going to do to classrooms. And who do you listen to on the classroom size issue? How can teachers spend more time with students if there are less teachers? That doesn't compute. Teachers' complaints that they won't have enough energy under a new, demanding system to take on coaching duties (and they might be legislated to do so) falls on many deaf ears in communities like Seaforth where there would be virtually no recreational sports or an entire minor sports system without hundreds of volunteers who give their time freely, above and beyond their regular work weeks, throughout the entire year. Yes, there are teachers who devote many hours of their time outside of the classroom and are dedicated coaches. And who often go unappreciated. But there are also some teachers who don't put in any extra time with students. Maybe legislating teachers to help with coaching and extracurricular activities would "even things out." Is it fair or is it draconian? I don't know. If it's true that Snobelen is not willing to sit down and listen to concerns of teachers or teachers unions then that is a shame. How can any possible consensus be reached? It sounds like the government has a plan that it is going to implement whether the public likes it or not. But then the Harris govern- ment says what it's just doing what the public wants. The teachers say their battle with the government is "everyone's fight." Who do you listen to? Who do you believe? I don't know. The real victim of this political mess is who both sides claim they arc looking out for - the students. - DWS Letters to the Editor Ontarians in social experiment Dear Editor: The Provincial Government is embroiling the people of Ontario in a social experi- ment of unprecedented mag- nitude. No one seems to know what the long-term effect of the dissolution of communities of interest (municipalities and school boards) and the dismantling of community-based services will be. Are we going down the same road as our American cousins? At the beginning of September all the public schools in New York City (the new Toronto governance model) were closed for health and safety reasons, delaying the start up date for students by three weeks. Is our current reckless pursuit of short-term gain, and the Americanization of Ontario society, being brokered with no thought to the conse- quences? The touted rationale, more efficient and cost-effective government services, is clear- ly suspect. Muneipalities are slowly awakening to the cost of CONTINUED on page 5 Visit the txpositor on-llne,at: www.bowesnet.com/expositor/ Or e-trittil us at: huronexpeodyssey.on.ca Take experts with a giain of salt RY." a mindset from the days Punch Imlach, the last win- when mere senior teams from ner Toronto's Maple Laffs have ever had at the helm, said the series was a little over -rated. He said Canada should win every game they play, and by five or six goals those played in this country. Fitness guru Lloyd Percival predicted Canada would dominate the scoring. WEAK GOALIE Leaf coach John McLennan said Canada would win deci- sively. Bobby On, whoas good as defenceman and the star of the hour back then said: "Team Canada has just too much firepower for the Russians... (and) just don't have a weakness." He said the Russian goalkeepers were just not up to snuff and said they had never had to face shots from the likes of Dennis Hull and Yvon Cournoyer (also known as "the Roadrunner"). It was a common theme. All the experts thought the Russian goalies were second- rate compared to ours. Most predicted Canada would sweep all eight games. In doing so, they were reflecting the feelings of the majority of hockey experts in this country, who were still in Experts, as often as not, don't have a clue what they are talking about. As evidence 1 have before me a copy of the Toronto Sun "Extra" Final edition (100) dated September 2, 1972 that hit the streets just prior to the Team Canada} vs. the Soviet Union "Super Series" exactly a quarter century ago. If you were around and a Canadian, odds am you will remember. If you weren't born yet, no doubt you have heard about it since. The papers and television have been full of remembrances the past couple of weeks. It was a great series. The first time "Our Best" squared off against "Their Best" (aka "The Bad Guys"). We won. But barely. It went down to the wire. Paul Henderson scored .in the dying seconds, with :34 sec- onds left to be exact, of the final and deciding game and our delicate and battered national psyche was restored. They figure 85 per cent of the people in this country watched the final game on TV. Think about that! That's more than watched Princess Diana's sad end. It remains the highest rated sporting event in Canadian history. Anyway - back to the experts. In this special edition of the Sun of which I speak, all the experts but one look silly in hindsight. Father David Bauer, who had coached our national team (without the pros who back then were not allowed to compete because of all the international politics and silly rules) to many respecle tosses against the matting Red colossus, predicted no less than "TOTAL VICTO- Canada, such as the Trail Smoke Eaters (what a great name!) and the Whitby Dunlops used to whip the Russkies (who had only just begun playing the game) by often 10 or more goals and , bring home the bacp the World Champac repeated cakewalks, Allexjlicrte' how grOminent, w found out were behin times. The first "Super Series" wasn't over -rated. Team Canada won the eight -game series by one point. They were behind after the first four games in Canada. In tws of goals scored, there wif a one -goal differential with the advantage to the Russians, 32 to 31. And' Vladislav Tretiak, the Soviet goalie, looking back, turned out to be one of the greatest goalies I have ever seen. As good as Bernie Parent when he was cooking, Sawchuck in his prime, "Battling Billy" (Smith) the butcher of the crease, ortu, ahh, spelled Roy. 'ALL THE SAMA' And the Russians also.had some boys who could put the CONTINUED on page 7 Stored sick leave costing province billions Dear Editor: I'm praying that the reason why the issue of stored sick leave isn't being discussed by every taxpayer in the province is because people, young and old just don't understand the consequences. So let me try to lay it out for everyone once and for all as best as I can. Sometime back in the early sixties when the effects of the baby boom were just reaching the educa- tion system and teachers of the time were paid more or less the same as everyone else with a job requiring a college education, the idea of stored sick leave as part of the remuneration for teachers came into being. As far as I can tell the trustees of the time used the stored sick leave idea to stall the impact of funding shortages due to the swelling ranks of stu- dents. Unfortunately the trustees were arming a time bomb that would lead to huge payoffs to teachers in the future and cost the taxpayers billions of dollars. When the teachers are pressed to give up the golden plum, they scream "we fought hard to get this entrenched into our contracts and we will walk off the job to protect. it." It's no wonder they are willing to strike to keep this perk as you will see'in',the following nurnberss � • . , r. am u ,„ I estimate that there are approximately 200,000 pub- lic education employees stor- ing sick leave in Ontario. If the average value of that stored leave per person is $30,000.00 that would mean the taxpayers are expected to cover a staggering 6 billion dollars in liability for each generation of workers in. Ontario education. Since this has existed since the 1960s then it would figure that we have already gone into debt something like 1.5 times that amount, less the differences created by lower pays over the years but greater by the amount of interest paid, due to the fact that this is non- funded liability. When teachers are pressed to defend this ridiculous perk, they say stupid things like, "Teachers spend a lot of money so they are good for the economy", or they point to the cost of a replacement teacher which is about a third of what we pay each day for a card carrying teacher. The fact is that stored sick leave is an unnecessary perk that does nothing more than strengthen the closed shop union aspect of our education system and raise the status of teachers to that of an elected official. I should point out that for the most part teachers and the like roll the stored leave monies directly into their pensions so little or no taxes are paid. So here's the question, do we the taxpayers of Ontario want to continue to mortgage the future of our young so that the teachers can be treat- ed better than any of us could ever hope to be treated. At this time the provitacea;,htiii running an, apripal 40-10, of $6.9 billion and part of this deficit is stored sick leave. We are also paying for a full benefit plan for teachers which has a loss of ,w,,age clause covering both short term and long term illness. This only adds to the frivolity of stored sick leave. The last thing and perhaps CONTINUED on page 5 Seaforth's Rob Roy flour wins baking contest FROM THE PAGES OF THE HURON EXPOSITOR OCTOBER 8,1897 REOPENING EXERCISES - The reopening exercises in connection with the Collegiate Institute were held on Friday last. A few of the preliminary sports were held on the school grounds on Wednesday afternoon of last week, but the majority took place on the recreation grounds on Friday afternoon. A fair sized cro*d was pre- sent to see the students indulge in physical achieve- ments and the keenest rivalry existed among the competi- tors. The senior championship medal was won by Douglas Wilson, he having scored the highest number of points in the different events, while A•. Hammett was a close second. B.Bond carried off the junior championship by a narrow margin over George Lynch. In the evening an entertain- ment was given in Cardno's hall. The programme was a most pleasing one and the various selections were thor- oughly appreciated. The fol- lowing is the programme: Piano solo, Miss F. Johnson; vocal solo, W. Hays; violin cello solo, Miss D. Daly; recitation, Misses E. Neaten' piano duet, Miss F. Weir and '0: Pickard; instruniental quartette, Miss B. Daly, Miss D. Daly, Mr. J. Daly and Mr. Stewart. During the evening theg prize badges won at the sports were presented, while those having obtained scholastic distinction were presented with the diplomas obtained at the recent depart- mental examinations. SEPTEMBER 29,1922 Seaforth Products The Best The lbllowing lather, Moil* In the Years Agone was received this week by Mr. L.T. DeLacey, Manager of the Rob Roy Flour Mills, Seaforth, needs no comment as it speaks very plainly for itself: "The Rob Roy Cereal Co., Seaforth, Ont. Dear Sirs: - I am writing you and am very pleased to say 1 won first prize for bread at the Atwood Fair made from the Rob Roy Flour purchased in Listowel from Mr. Clint Smith. I also received a prize for my buns, made from your flour. There were eight entries made for the special bread prize and I won it, so I thought I would let you know as I was very pleased about it, and I am sure there will always be a warm spot in our home for the Rob Roy Flour. Yours truly, Mrs. Thomas Alexander." Egmondville's New School The new school house erected this summer by the trustees of the Egmondville school section, was opened on Monday last. It is a fine brick building, two stories high, the lower story being fitted up for a play room for the pupils in wet and cold weather. The class room, with accommodation for sixty pupils, is in the second story, in which there is also a teacher's room. Theexcavatt- ing, brick, cement and plumbing work was done by Mr. H. Edge, of Seaforth, and the carpenter work and paint- ing by Mr. B. Dinnin, of ggtno_ndv.ille, and the new sctwol hi certainly a'credit to the contractors,' as well 'as to. the utt toms,,aa • it-iwontrofthe' most up-to-date schools in the county. Miss A. Knechtel is the teacher. OCTOBER 3, 1947 Highlighted by a spill in the first heat of the classified race, a program of running and harness races at the agri- cultural grounds Saturday afternoon provided a thrilling afternoon of sport. The meet was sponsored by the Kenilworth Jockey Club Ltd., who recently rented the track from the Seaforth Agricultural Society for five years for the purpose of hold- ing a one -day meet each year. The annual rental agreed on was $100. The spill occurred as Jake Broome's Bob Lockart lost his driver and ran away, mak- ing four circuits of the track before being stopped..He went on to win the next heat. ••• Jack Chappell, 28, of Cromarty, suffered a frac- tured left leg when it became caught in the wheel of a mower on Friday last. He was taken by Bonthron's ambulance to St. Joseph's Hospital, London, where offs - dais said he had no other injuries. Jack, son of•Mr. and Mrs. David Chappell, was driving a team of horses with the mower attached', and apparently kicked at a piece of mud between the spokes. His leg Caught in the spokes and was broken. OCTOBER 12,1972 Police Report Released - A soutce of some contention' sinit was received :bveml; Ontario Police Commission dealing with the Seaforth Police Department will he made public. At its October meeting Tuesday evening. Seaforth Council agreed to have the report published, excluding certain references to personnel. Earlier council had decided not to release the report. John Sinnamon, chairman of a citizens committee. which originally had request- ed the council have the inves- tigation, was present with several other members of the committee to sec what had been carried out to imple- ment the recommendation. Mr. Sinnamon mentioned he had been approached by citizens asking what the report contained and he said it had been indicated to him that people felt council was covering up something by not making the report available for publication. Mayor Sills said he felt the report dealt mainly with the fact that the department had an outdated filing system. He could see no real benefits in having the report published as any citizen could, at any time the clerk's office wai open, read the report 'in the office. He felt that if a ratepayer really was interest- ed he could have access to the report in this way. • Mr. Sinnamon suggested this was leaving the impres- sion with a great many peo- pie that the police force was no good and that something was being covered up, Having read the report him self, he could see no reaso why it could not be published ,leaving out personnel refer? ewes. A Vote. was taken and coup• ell to have the report