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Home My WebLink AboutThe Huron Expositor, 1998-04-08, Page 2(upi) 2 -THE HURON EXPOSITOR, April 8, 1098 Seaforth stands in unison for high school BY RICK KEW Advocate Staff Despite the Avon Maitland District School Board shelv- ing, for now, its proposal to close Seaforth district high school (SDHS), defenders of the school fired volleys of criticism toward trustees dur- ing the March 3 I st board meeting. "Who the hell do your think you are? Stealing our stu- dents, closing our school and ruining our community..., shouted Charles Smith, a Seaforth businessman and SDHS graduate as he con- cluded his presentation to the board. Smith's presentation high- lighted the accomplishments of SDHS graduates, and dis- missed the decision of the board to close SDHS as "unfair, unequitable, irrespon- sible, unjustifiable, illegal and just plain wrong." Smith had reminded the trustees that the name of the school was Seaforth district high school not the Avon Maitland District School Board trustees' school. The board had deferred vot- ing on a recommendation to close the Huron County school at its meeting March 10 and it was anticipated , trustees would vote on the recommendation last Tuesday. The board, did remove its motion to close SDHS and approved in principle the for- mation of a number of accdm- modation review committees to examine all school loca- tions in the district where enrolment or occupancy,lev- els, and the state of building repair, may be problematic. Seaforth's high school and Mitchell public school (MPS) are included in a list of 10 other locations in the district. The hoard did not, however, approve the recommendation to list the board office at 210 Water St. Stratford for sale. Trustees Bob Allen and Atje Tuyten objected to the process that brought the mat- ter of listing the Water Street building before the board. Allen, stating he had not been sufficiently informed to discuss the Water Street building said, "I don't even get the courtesy having the report (on 210 Water St.) before me tonight. I object and I object strenuously." Nevertheless, for Seaforth residents, graduates and stu- dents of SDHS and other peo- ple opposing the school clo- sure, the March 31st board meeting could have been their last chance to try and influ- ence AMDSB trustees and they showed no sign of shelv- ing the momentum they had achieved. The board had indicated in a press release, the previous day, its intention to shelve the plan to close SDHS. However, supporters of the Seaforth school, 11 delega- tidns and close to 100 observers, packed the board office to hammer home their point that Seaforth needs its high school. All 11 delega- tions were in favor of keeping SDHS open and common threads coursed through each presentation: SDHS has and continues to produce quality high school graduates; closing the school would be striking a death blow to a rural Ontario community and disapproval of the board's methods in arriving at its decision to close SDHS. Dismissing the board's so- called "school within a school" option, which Would have seen SDHS students, teachers, and administration operating as a separate entity within the walls of Central Huron secondary school in Clinton, Seaforth Mayor Dave Scott said he did' not want to see the board mimic "mega - cities" and put 1,000 students in a school. Mayor Scott said he ques- tioned the value of statements made by Paul Carroll, AMDSB director of educa- tion, which said SDHS would continue to lose students to St. Anne's, a Catholic high school in Clinton. Tuckersmith tables mowing tenders while superintendent does, report Tuckcrsmith Council opened tenders for calcium chloride, brine (dust control), roadside mowing and gravel at its March 17 meeting. Council accepted thc tender of Pollard Highway Products 'Ltd., for calcium chloride, supplied and delivered at a rate of $207.05 per flake imperial ton. The tender of 552976 Ontario Ltd., Cliff Holland, at' $21.86 per tonne for the supplying and applying, of brine dust control was also accepted. Council decided to table thc two roadside mowing ten- ders until its next gcr.cral meeting in order for the township's road superintcrn dent to do a report on them. One for $5,328.60 and anoth- er fcr $3,600, both "to com- pletely cut all municipal road allowances to fence line as practical 'n mid to late June." Both also requested "$25 per hour for any additional grass Lulling." The tender of George Radford Construction Ltd., for the supply, crushing and hauling of 23,000 tonne of granular A gravel was also accepted, at a rate of $3.50 per 'tonne for a total of $73,500 plus applicable taxes. RECREATION CENTRE The township also Cut me out. Bring into 60 Main S .. Seaforth 527-1506 and receive 1 O OFF Regular Priced Merchandl .. .4; Expire. l,)� Sat. Apr. 11 /8e approved rate increases for programs at thc Vanastra Recreation Centre. Its 1998 budget (with last year's actu- als in brackets) calls for expenditures of $189,300 ($188,760.26) and revenues of $184.540 ($180.9666.171. CONTINUED on• Page 5. "There is such a thing as a self fulfilling prophecy," said the mayor. • "Like it or not," said Scott, "we are in a competitive mar- ket for students." He said the board should promote the merits of not only SDHS but the entire Avon Maitland district school board. Calling for referendums on each school which may be closed, Mayor Scott said he hoped the board recognized the ramifications of its deci- sions to close a school, including the uncertainty and. disharmony among communi- ties Scott's sentiments were echoed by Huron County MPP Helen Johns, who said , "When I hear you (the board) are going out to look at 10 schools all over again, it real- ly, really frightens me." Johns said the uncertainty parents and students feel when hearing about school closures was evident to her as she has had parents call her office to say they have already decided to send their children to St. Anne's because of uncertainty. Johns said the children wanted to finish high school at one location without the worry that the school would be closed. Stating the budget for AMDSB provided more money for the board over the next three years, she said, "What we are hearing from the board is that they don't have enough money to oper- ate its schools. It is just not true." Johns, an accountant, acknowledged her interpreta- tion of the budget differs from that of Carroll and she sug- gested the two meet to try and reconcile the differences they see in the budget. Jackie's Rsfhe'lrflicS For Guys Only! Hi -lite Your Hair For Only $20 00 MAKE YOUR APPOINTMENT TODAY! CALL 527-17 Hurry! Special Ends soon. St. Thomas Anglican Church Jarvis St. Seaforth Rev. Robert Hiscox 482.7861 Thursday, April 9" Maundy Thursday Service at 8:30 pm Friday, April 10" Good Friday Service at 11:00 am Sunday, April 12" Easter Sunday Service of Holy Communion at 9:30 am First Presbyterian Church Goderich St. W. Seaforth Good Friday Service 10:30 am 11:15 Sunday School . during Church Service Minister: Rev. Nicholas Vanderme Sunday Apr1112" Maundy Thursday Service 7:30 April 9th at Cavan (Winthrop) Good Friday Service 11 am April 19th at Egmondvifle United EASTER Sunrise Service 7:30 am at Northside United (Breakfast to follow) Communion Services: 9:30 Cavan (Winthrop) and 11:00 a.m. Northside (Goderich St.. Seaforth) ' United Churches ALL WELCOME Seaforth Community Church, Good Friday 11 am service Easter Sunday 11 am service Join us. Have a blessed Easter Season. Full gospel with a Pentecostal Message Bethel Bible Church Meeting et Seatorth High Sunday, April 12th 7:00 pm - Centralia Faith Tabernacle Saturday, April 18th 7:00 pm - 0 Seaforth District High School (hosted by Bethel Bible Church) St. James Catholic Church Victoria St., Seatorth Holy Thursday ....7:30 pm ... .St. James Parish, Seaforth April 9 7:30 pm ....St. Joseph's Parish, Clinton Good Friday April 10 1:00 pm ....St. Michael's Parish, Blyth 3:00 pm ....St. James Parish, Seaforth 3:00 pm ....St. Joseph's Parish, Clinton Easter Vigil 8:00 pm ....St. James Parish, Seaforth April 11.... > 8:00 pm ....St. Joseph's Parish, Clinton Easter Sunday 9:00 am ....St. Michael's Parish, Blyth April 12 10:00 am ...St. James Parish, Seaforth 11:00 am ...St. Joseph's Parish, Clinton Father Dino Salvador Agreeing with trustee Ray Ford that the funding for transportation at AMDSB is cause for concern, she said she would be willing to make a presentation to the Ministry of Education (MET) regard- ing the board's transportation funding, if the board could not reallocate funds to meet transportation needs. Thanking Johns for her offer to intervene on the boards behalf at MET, trustee Wendy Anderson said she hoped Johns could see from the turnout by supporters of SDHS that closing schools in rural Ontario is unacceptable. "What I am seeing is trustees raising red flags to close schools they have want- ed to close for sometime," Johns said. Now Available BRILLIANT BASEMENTS Step-by-step paint finishes and great decorating ideas for your basement. HILDEBRAND PAINT & PAP R Interior & Exterior I Decorators Main St. - 527-1880 Seaforth; 66 ,111: t►\ -,U (t,n(+11 n 61.411. 1998-1999 ICE SCHEDULING MEETING WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 7:30 PM Seaforth District Community Centres All regular user groups must have a representative at the meeting. Any group or person wanting to book a time during the ice season should also attend the meeting. AfierLoss• L.rnina M - war wi.0>ri./ Q. My children tell me I must rid the house of my late husband's things. I can't bear to part with them. 'Is this so unusual? A. There are no rules about when to clear out closets and per- sonal articles. I advise people to do that chore when they feel ready for it and to postpone it until they feel the time is right. Our children may believe they arc doing us a favour but until we are ready for the "favour" politely decline. You will know when the time is right to make this adjustment. Questions asked during bereavement classes are answered here by the editor of Aftsrlarrr, the monthly grief -recovery HdpLetter. For your free copy of After•Loss or . one of our other helpful booklets about grief recovery, please write, call or stop by. Questions & Answers about grief recovery" Whitney -Rib ey Funeral Home 87 Goderich Street West, Seaforth — 527-1390 A number of T The Afterlass Family of Funeral Horses dedicated n helping those they serve with assistance in grief -recovery 01997 AherLoss Inc. • 800-263-9572 Easter Colouring Contest Chocolate Easter Bunny to every participant Name: Phone #: Address: Age: Hey Kids! Easter is here and you could be a winner. Colour the picture above, bring it into Archie's Service Centre and enter our colouring contest. Each participant will receive a chocolate Easter treat plus you could win 1st, 2nd or 3rd in the following categories: 4 years old and under, 5 years old, 6 years old, 7 years old, 8 years old, 9 years old, 10 years old, 11 years old, 1,2 years old. 27 Prizes to be WON! ENTRY DEADLINE - MONDAY, APRIL 13 - 6:00 P.M. ARCHIE'S Se,evece ee#toge COMPLETE AUTOMOTIVE REPAIR CLASS "A" MECHANIC 527-0881 -- 24 Goderich St. E., Seaforth TM OPEN 364 DAYS A YEAR! 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