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Home My WebLink AboutThe Huron Expositor, 1997-11-19, Page 19Giving More information on Christmas Bureau drop-off points and registration. See page 5 SANTA'S COMING! Don't forget the annual Seaforth Lions Club Santa Claus Parade Ipdown Main Street riday night at 7 p.m.! 171%,, Awards Seaforth citizenship awards presented at BIA party. See page 2 Your Community Newspaper Since 1860 — Seaforth, Ontario Briefly RIDE starts In a continuing effort to make the province's high- way safer, Huron County Ontario Provincial Police announce they are once again cracking down in the festive season's RIDE (Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere) campaign here in Huron 'from Saturday (Nov. 29) until Jan. 2. "All types of locations will be targeted for enforce- ment," the OPP press release states. "From provincial highways to county roads, township roads and municipal streets, from St. Joseph to Fordwich or Dungannon to Egmondville. Local mail moving Despite the nation-wide postal strike which began last week, the Seaforth Post Office remains open because the workers there are mem- bers of a different union. Things are getting slow though. There is no mail coming into local post office or being shipped out. If you are mailing from Seaforth to Seaforth "it is always deliverable," a local employee says. The striking unions and government worked out a deal concerning pension cheques, which were to be delivered today (Nov. 26). Warden race on Three reeves have so far announced they are running for warden in Huron County. Four originally did so, but Bill Weber, the incumbent reeve of Stephen Township who announced his candidacy in September, was defeated in the munici- pal elections earlier this month. Carol Mitchell of Clinton, Jack Coleman of Stanley Township and Norman Fairies of Howick are the three already confirmed candidates. In any case, the 26 reeves of Huron County will elect our new warden at a meet- ing of county council next Tuesday, Dec. 2. Water results later The first set of Lake Huron watershed test results tabulated by the group called "Sol=ve," orig- inally scheduled to be released around this week, is a bit behind schedule and now won't be released until sometime next month. "The work is proceeding well," Tom Prout of the Ausablc Bayfield Conser- vation Authority said Friday. "We are working with a lot of groups and its just taking a little longer than we anticipated, but the cooperation is excellent." The first round of testing began in late September. The group consists of members from a variety of organizations; The Huron's Edge, ARCA and the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority, local businesses and munici- palities, cottegers associa- tions and various farm groups. November 26, 1997 — $1.00 includes GST Huron County Board of Education PHOTO BY GREGOR CAMPBELL 'JINGLE BELL WALK' - Participants in a new seasonally festive activity in Seaforth, called the "Jingle Bell Walk" pose on the Town Hall steps in the midst of their carolling and various festivities on Main Street Sunday afternoon before venturing on their merry way. The Town Crier in the foreground (complete with bell) is B.J. Shaver of RR 2 Staffa. Oldest parish in Huron, Perth & Middlesex Plan to recover lost time due to strike BY TRISH WILKINSON SSP News Staff' Instruction time lost during last month's teachers' walk- out will be recovered through a four method plan, including the loss of holiday time and curriculum alteration. The Huron County Board of Education, which passed the plan at its Nov. 17 meeting, has recommended to the Ministry of Education that lost teaching time be made up through curriculum alteration, adjustments to the length of the school day, constraining special events and activities and the conversion of three PA and exam days in the sec- ondary panel and two PA days in the elementary panel to instructional days. "School boards are expect- ed to make adjustments to ensure that instructional time is restored following the recent work interruption where schools were closed for students," Paul Carroll, direc- tor of education, stated in a report. "It seems reasonable to examine a combination of actions to recover lost instruc- tional time." Carroll stated in a later interview that if the ministry approve9 their plan, sec- ondary school students will lose two exam days in each semester, as well as the Jan. 26 PA day. He added that stu- dents in elementary school will have their June 24 and 25 PA days converted into school days. Following that, he said, principals will he directed to, where possible, compress cer- tain aspects of curriculum to a shorter time period. /St. Columban struggles with future of church attended information meeting at St, Columban School after the church' was suddenly closed At the end of September as a consequence of a throe -month study, At that time a consulting engineer said he real) didn't know what was holding the roof up. Trusses are well out of whack. Tho work required would cost in a range of from $650,000 to $800,archi- tect Alan Avis estimated, and even then they might not be worth it since the structure of the 86 -year-old building did not app very sound. Fr. DelrCiafcio said last Wednesday that a second opinion, since obtained, con- firmed the crux of the trip nal architect's report, a even tools it further "indi ing the possibility of c !epic, in my opinion" t pdcst a+tid. He seed responses front to survey have Aliso d and the neat s for the parish, which he ported, was "a feasibit study on the future of t parish and the church hue me. 114 Rudy Jan of the St. council, repotted that as Nov. 18 it had a current ance of $5,814.73, whi IV GREGOR CAMPBELL 'tpositor Staff The oldest Roman Catholic parish in this part of the province continues to wrestle *ith its identity without a "church" and a growing feel - ;jog the future is looking IP St. Columban Church, in the parish of the sante name, was closed on short notice at the end of September when an architect's report indicated jvere structural problems qtt might not be fixable, and ould cost a pile of money, tinder any scenario. Since then moat of the parish has been worshipping at the school next door in the tiny nearby hamlet, There arc 125 families in the parish but the "community" seems to be fading away. The general store across the street, a pop- ular gathering place is also now empty on Highway 8, although new owners plan to open it again soon. The church has been fenced off. Parishioners were vocal and out in full force when they met in open mating with the two other parishes in their duster within the Diocese of London, St. Patrick's and St. Vincent de Paul, in the church hall at Dublin last 11irisimosyAight. Parishioner after parish- ioner rose to express an obvi- ous heartfelt support and expand on the comments of Gerry, Ryan, who said St. Columban feels like it is not doing anything and slowly being scattered by events, The parish was first estab- lished when the community was called Irishtown in 1832. It is the oldest parish in the counties of Huron, Perth and Middlesex. The first masses were celebrated in a tavern, A log church was built in 1858. Lighteningstruck the subsequent wite brick church that was built in 1864 and destroyed in 1908. The naw church, now closed for safety reasons, was built In 1910-1911. "We (St. Columban parish) need to get together,' Ryan said, since it is our fate and it is Important to us. "i‘t% must get at it," another parishioner aid. THRRR PARISI= "1 VII not in favour of one parish getting together to make a decision that effects the other two," Pother Tnny Del Ciancio, who is now the pdsst in charge of all three parishes, emphasized. "1 tam not going to push any decision or decide for the (81. Columban) parish communi- ty!, However, Fr, Del Ciancio said he was a passionate Italian, and added he was "responsible equally" for the more than 1,000 practising 'roman Catholics within the entire cluster, and St. Columban concerns were accounting for at least 50 per cent of his calling these days. St. Columban Parish became Fr. Del Ciancio's charge after Fr. Joseph Hardy, who was also responsible for St. James Parish around Seaforth, Was transferred to another parish by the diocese last summer Fr, Del Ciancio opened last Wednesday night's meeting by commenting on a "dis- turbing trend's towards rumour in the frustrated St, Columhan parish that Is causing more harm than heal- ing." There is too much "some- one said" about all this talk, and "distrust of 'those people in London'," he said, where the diocese le centered, "1 do not share this mis- trUst," Fr. Del aencio said. "The cemetery is not going to he moved. "We need rational rather than aenotione! argtttthcnt." He 4114/0 otttllned.ttnd ran through "the tss 1*" 10 00001 this misinf rtnotian' ha ha heard. Most of thrzac feats wars made public. a - _ coNT1NtJii lMOO "This requirement is not foreign to our thinking; we have already started in this direction as part of the intro- duction of new curriculum, grades 1-8, and in anticipa- tion of secondary school reform in other areas," Carroll stated. "It will be nec- essary to exercise caution to ensure that students are not over -burdened through any program adjustments made this way." Carroll added that it is also possible to re-examine the combination of mandatory and 'optional' units in some courses, noting that way stu- dents aren't losing the core part of their classes. Nominal adjustments in the length of the school day, the director continued, have also been passed as a possible way to make up an additional three or four full days between now and June 30, 1998. He note,d that this, which would be up to the principal's discretion, could mean having five or 10 minutes less for lunch, or small changes in other break times. Finally, Carroll stated, prin- cipals will be charged with the responsibility to monitor closely and constrain sched- uled non -instructional activi- ty and special events for recovery up to three days, "There are many events in the course of the school year; adjustments can be made to assist in recovering lost instructional time," Carroll said. "We didn't want to say you have to stop that, hut sometimes we (can) make adjustments." The director added that these events could mean CONTINUED on page 2 CWO Derek Hunt Hunt attains highest rank Derek Hunt has become only the second person in the history of the Brussels 2467 Army Cadet Corps to attain the rank of chief war- rant officer (CWO), the highest possible for a cadet. Next summer the 16 -year- old from Seaforth is going on an eight-week foreign exchange program for cadets, to either Australia or Germany. He joined the local Corps, co-sponsored by Seaforth Branch 156 of the Royal Canadian Legion, when he was 12 and began taking courses that summer to fur- CONTINUEt) on page 6