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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1998-11-18, Page 7$1199., "$72,56/month • EXETER 370 Main Street, S. 235-0996 STRATFORD 165 Downie St. 273-7374 LONDON: 1074 Dearness Drive 681-9895 AMD 266 SERIES • Mid tower case • 512 KB cache RAM • 266 AMD K6 II CPU • 32MBSdram • 1.44 MB FDD • 3.2 GB ultra DMA hard drive • 1 MB video card • 14" digital SVGA colour monitor *Win 104 keyboard • Windows 98w/disks and manua: • Mouse, microphone and pad • 24x CD-ROM • 16 bit sound card • 70 watt (PMPO) speakers Monthly payments for $1199. & $1529. based on 18 months Monthly payments for $1869. & $2549. based on 24 months AMD 300 SERIES • 15" digital monitor • 4.3 G8 ultra DMA hard drive • 300 AMD K6113D CPU • 32 MB Sdram • 32x CD ROM •3.51.44FDD • 16 bit sound Card • 4 MB AGP video card •56KV.90modem • 70 watt NEC speakers • Logitech 3 button mouse • Windows 98 • Mid lower case • Microphone • 104 keyboard $1529.0, ""$92.53/month PENTIUM II 333 SERIES • 15" monitor • 4.3 GB ukra DMA hard drive • Pentium 11333 CPU • 32 MB Sdram • 32x CD -Rom • 3.5 1.44 FDD • 16 bit sound card • 4 MB AGP video card • 56K V.90 modem • 70 watt NEC speakers • Logitech 3 button mouse • Windows 98 • ATX case • Microphone $1869. 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""$118.80/month • • Pay the GST and PST down at time of order, balance on delivery. •' OAC 15% down, equal monthly payments, first payment due 30 days after purchase 310:441040. mitk 4:******4010413411t**** TKA :-iY: I EMS THE HURON EXPOSITOR, NOVEMBER 18, 1996-7 Hospital commission visits new partnership BY TIM CUMMIING Mitchell Advocate Staff The commission responsible for shaking up the way hospitals arc nun in Ontario visited the Huron - Perth District for the first time on Monday with a trip to the District Health Council offices in Mitchell. One of the big questions is whether the provincial Health Services Restructuring Commission will approve the new partnership between Perth and Huron's eight hospitals or ask for changes. The question will probably remain unanswered until the commission releases a set of directives, possibly before Christmas. "We didn't come away with any sense that they're (either) going to leave us alone or make any changes," said Jim Whaley. Executive Director of the Grey - Bruce -Huron -Perth District Health Council. "They're playing their cards pretty close to their chest." Mc eight hospitals in Perth and Huron counties recently created a legally -binding partnership with a single chief executive officer at the helm. The provincial commission's directives will inform the local partnership, and other similar rural hospital networks, whether their structure is acceptable or needs to be changed. Lead commissioner Dr. Duncan Sinclair, respected and feared as one of.the most powerful figures of change in Ontario health care, was accompanied by three staff members during the visit. They first met representatives of the District Health Council and later met with Bonnie Adamson, the new CEO of the eight -hospital partnership, as well as a trustee from each of the eight hospitals. Later, the lead commissioner met with the hospital chiefs of staff and Community Care Access Centres of Perth and Huron counties. Whaley said the commission appeared to be clarifying certain aspects of a written submission made by the hospitals during the summer and the DHC's perspective on how the eight hospitals are working together. He said the meetings were more informal than he expected. The DHC's executive director said the eight -hospital partnership conforms with one of the suggested governing models put forward by the province and appears to he shaping up well. For instance, he noted that trustees across two provinces were able to decide upon one CEO. Whaley said Perth and Huron hospitals have voluntarily created a_restructured partnership Catholic board passes its $2.9 million budget BY GREGOR CAMPBELL Expositor Staff The Huron -Perth Catholic District School Board passed a $29,889.518 budget for 1997-98 at a special meeting in Dublin'Nov. 9, its first under Ontario's new' education funding model. .• The near $30 -million figure is 87.7 per cent of the board's budget last school• year,in which revenues and expenditures balanced at $34,098,416. Superintendent of business and treasurer Gerry Thuss said this was in a large part because of, the capital required for construction of St. Anne's Catholic Secondary School 'near Clinton in the previous 'budget. , He said enrollment in the system is down slightly. to about 4,800 full-time student equivalents, and called this year's budget "tight" when outlining it for the board. "There are not a lot of new initiatives and there have been major changes in the process." For instance. the province now sets the mill rate. the board treasurer said. "Essentially were maintaining 1997 levels." He said the financial position" of the board should get better soon. as increased provincial funding now being phased in with a "mitigating factor" comes closer to actually 1000 on the .$1. GRANTS UP 56 % • General legislative grants are up significant,ly and account for by far the hulk of this budget's revenues. with salaries and benefits up slightly and accounting roughly 71 per cent of expenditures. General grants. are $29,297,691 of revenue in the board's new budget, with the remaining $586.$27 from vari,ous sources, such as: transportation recoveries ($230.343,). other operating grants (55.000), school rentals (52.000). lottery revenue ($125.000), interest income (510,000), reserve ' funds ($215.484) and other revenue.. General legislative grants are 156 per cent, over last budget's total of 518,743,577. ,Salaries account for $19,304,03f) of this year's budgeted expenditures, 112.6 per cent, compared to $17,151,517 in 1997. Benefits as expendjtures are up 4.6 per cent. to $2.038,914, from 51.949.034 to the previous budget. The hoard's total expenditures • on transportation are budgeted to increase _6.3 per cent; to 53,666.143 this budget. from $3.450.160 •in 1997. Thuss said this. budget was difficult. and the revenue statement was preliminary; "as adjustments have been made to the funding formula subsequent to its release. but the forms • have not yet been changed. MANY ASSUMPTIONS "The hoard had to make a number of assumptions regarding funding. enveloping. special, education, approvals, capital, etc." the business superintendent/treasurer's presentation to trustees states. "With the mitigation 'factor grants will be phased -in over a two-year period so that by year three the hoard will he receiving funding at the maximum grant level. ' "There arc still questions regarding the manner in which special education- is funded. Assumptions have 'been made regarding capital and dehi expenditures." Thuss,reportcd. "The hoard is required to submit a. plan for capital. which it is, currently preparing for review in January 1999. , Last week's Monday night meeting the hoard sent a letter to the provincial education ministry asking for clarification of special education grants. The hoard calculates it should he, getting $972.000 for this. but one set of ministry figures indicates this at $838.313. "1 trust you will ha 'c these errors corrected and the board will receive funding as submitted and apprgved by the ministry of education and training," the letter signed by director bf education Gaetan Blanchette states. • "Your earliest attention to. this matter would he appreciated." while other areas have been forced into making changes. "To me it just keeps getting better...there's a real will among the board members to make this work." The new CEO of the Perth -Huron hospital partnership, Adamson, said that through the partnership hospital trustees "have developed something ..:that's quite unique in rural Ontario." The next big stage, from the District Health Council point of view, is A planning agreement between the DHC and the Joint Executive Committee of the eight - hospital partnership. Whaley said he expects the agreement to he prepared in about six months. The agreement will look at how the hospitals work together and what services will be required at each hospital.. The planning will be guided by the "rural benchmarks" prepared by .the Ontario Ministry of Health and the Ontario Hospital Association. Many of the major changes to the way Perth and Huron hospitals arc run. such as the closing of obstetrics service at St. Marys, have. already taken place. • "I don't anticipate any major service changes," said Whaley. Before the province introduced "rural benchmarks" the Perth and Huron hospitals divided their facilities into three types: a referral hospital (Stratford); Community Hospitals (Goderich, Listowel, Wingham); and Essential Services Hospitals (Clinton, Exeter, Seaforth and St. Marys).. . Now, the province has introduced its own breakdown of hospital types. classified from A to D. Stratford's hospital is considered a Level C referral centre, London is a level D provider. and most of Perth ,and Huron hospitals are level B. More girls think they're good at reading in Catholic board BY GREGOR CAMPBELL Expositor Staff Far more Grade 3 girls than boys in district separate schools think they are "good" at reading and writing, and that both subjects are "fun", according to the recently -released provincial language and mathematics test results, An equal percentage of boys and girls in the grade feel math is fun. but slightly more males than females said they were good at it. Grade 3 students in the Huron -Perth Catholic District School Board system did "reasonably well" on province -wide test administered for five days last May, education chair Bernard Murray reported to trustees Nov. 9. Attitudes were pan of Ontario's evaluation., They revealed significant gender difference. Sixty-six per cent of girls thought reading' was, fun, compared to 51 per cent of boys. and 64 per cent of girls thought they were good at it, compared to 42 per cent of boys. Sixty per cent of girls thought writing was fun. compared to 48 per cent of boys, and 54 per cern of girls thought they were good at it, compared to 48 per cent of boys. Fifty-five per cent of both Grade 3 boys and girls in the system thought mathematics was fun. Forty-eight._per cent of boys said they were good at it. compared to 44 per cent of girls. MEET STANDARD A slightly higher percentage of all the board's Grade 3 students were at level 3, defined as meeting the provincial standard. as opposed to level 2 (approaching it) in all categories - 46 per cent for reading (41 per cent/approaching standard). 45 per cent for writing (41 per cent) and 49 per cent for mathematics, based on knowledge/skills categories (42 percent). Writing and math results equalled the provincial average. and reading achievement in the local system was about two per cent better. "In general terms the results are okay." Murray said. "They arc a tool to monitor. with a lot of variables. "They are not the be-all and end-all." There were 379 Grade 3 students (in 22 classes at 15 schools') within the hoard's jurisdiction in May. with 21 per cent receiving special education suppon and five per cent speaking English as often as another language at home. Special needs gets special funding, board and administration went to Queens Park last Thursday to appeal to the ministry of education for more funding. She said while, the ministry cut funding and placed caps on any increases that could be received, the ministry of social services had made changes of its own that,saw more children with special needs coming 'into' the Avon Maitland'school system. That meant the board was, left without funding for them and th educational assistants they required. When there are normally , Both the public and Catholic school boards will he receiving additional, funding for children with special needs. MPP Helen Johns made the announcement Monday. "The government wants all students. including students with special needs, to have the opportunity for a • high-quality education that will enable them to reach their full educational potential." said Johns in a press release. Avon Maitland District School Board Chair Abby Armstrong said she and other delegates from the .' . about 12 students, this year. there were 40. The government had put a four per; cent cap on an) funding increases boards could receive. Armstrong said they appealed to the ministry with.the argument that with that cap coupled with an increase in the services the hoard had to provide. it was like receiving another cutback. Armstrong, who had not 'heard the announcement yet on Monday.- was encouraged. "They've listened to what we said." she said.