The Huron Expositor, 1999-03-31, Page 1Your Community Newspaper Since 1860 Seaforth, Ontario
March 31, 1999 — $1.00 includes OST'
Judith Sprihgett leads the Egmondville
United Church ,Congregationin a special
Palm Sunday service where Glen Haney
arrived on horse back as . Jesus,.
surprising the. congregation. Ashley
Coleman held a sign with scripture for
everyone to repeat upond Haney's arrival.
HILGENDORFF PHOTO
Home,
Garden
Show,
April 7, 8
The 15th Seaforth
Agricultural Society Annual
Spring Home and Garden
Show will have a wide range
of exhibits next Wednesday
and Thursday, April 7 and 8
at the Agri-plex, says
organizer Paul Dodds.
Running frdm 5,9:30 p.m.
Wednesday and 3:30 to 9
p.m. Thursday, the Home
and Garden Show will have
exhibitors coming from as
far away as Lambton and
Perth Counties. Admission is
a donation to the local food
bank.
1
Clocks jump ahead
Don't forget to set your
clock ahead one hour before
going to bed Saturday night.
Sunday. April 4. the time is
restored to Daylight Standard
Time.
0
Band will get 'due
BY SUSAN HLNDERTMARK
The Seaforth District High School
All -Girls Marching Band will be
given "due consideration" when it
applies for funding under a new
policy passed March 23 by the Avon-
- Maitland District School Board with
a 5.4 vote. • • •
But, while the band will go through
the process, executive president
Shirley Brugger said she's not very
hopeful it will receive any funding.
"We're geeing cut." she said after
the board passed a motion giving`
administration the power to'
determine which groups will be
funded. "(Education director Lorne)
Rachlis.has already told us he doesn't
consider us a worthwhile group and •
he now has the power to decide who
receives funding, not the board."
The board defeated an amendment
to the motion. brought forward by
trustee Abby Armstrong, that would
have ensured the board made the
final decision about which groups •
receive board funding.
"When this is such a sensitive
issue, it's important that the board
make the final.
decision..1 couldn't
support it.otherwise,"
said Armstrong. If it-appears—
When trustee Ray the sacred
Ford said the board
will then have the
problem of groups
"coming out in clumps
and saying they 'want
the money and they'll
make the most noise,"
Armstrong answered
that "as
representatives of the
public. that's exactly
what . boards of
education should do.
It's a 'matter of
responding to local
needs." Anderson asked why the
Rachlis said he board shouldn't trust
considered defining where groups fit administration to make decisions
into the board policy and whether or about which outside grofps continue
notthey receive funding to be an to receive board funding.
"administrative procedure." "I'm sorry she (Brugger) feels that
The policy defines school-based the band's been cut but it's an
activities as those .supervised by a equitable policy for' everyone and I
teacher or principal as part of their suggest they can seek other avenues
regular responsibilities and intended for funding such as seeking non -
for the students of the school, co- profit status and approaching service
curricular activities as those clubs. There are other resources in
Credit card
ambulance
tour arrives
.Providers say ambulances•
won't be able to charge
for services to patients
BY SUSAN HUNDERTMARK i'the hosptourital at 10 a411: as part of
The ambulance being used
on the province -wide tour is
painted with U.S. styling and
credit card logos. -
Recent changes to the
Ambulance Act have given
the"Americanization" of _ upper tier -municipalities,
ambulance services- in: such -as' Huron County
Ontario. Council. responsibility for
But. a local : private. land ambulance services.
ambulance provider says the Huron County is, facing a
tour is" 'fear -mongering"
since despite
recent changes
to •. the
Expositor Staff
Dubbed the credit card
ambulance, a union=
sponsored . tour' coming
- through Seaforth today plans
to fight privatization and
Ambulance
Act. both
private and
p �u b, l i c
ambulance
providers v'ill
continue-tobe
paid the same
way - they
always were.
"It's still
against the law
for ambulance
operatorsto
bill patientst
don't want
people to be
afraid of that." says Brad
Lucas, owner of Seaforth-
Clinton Ambulance Service
and Zurich Ambulance
Service.
--While-_ a ----union. _press
release describes American
ambulance services as "pay-
as-yougo" with private
companies "overcharging for.
decision between three
choices: contracting with
e xist i n g
a-mbulance
provid'ers;-
providin.g
ambulance
s e -r v is a s:.
themselves or
tendering to
s e .l e: c t
ambulance
`It's still
against the
-law for
ambulance
providers to
bill patients'
--Brad Lucas, providers.
owner of Seaofrth- It's the third'
Clinton Ambulance t peon of
tendering, .or
Service and Zurich using a ,
Ambulance Service - "request for
• proposal
process," that -
has unions
such as the Canadian Union
of Public Employees (CUIPE)`
and the Service Employees
international Union (SEIU),.
worried that the ambulance
system will become'
Americanized -by --private---
operators.
"As paramedics in Huron
County, we're concerned
extras like .oxygen and lights about private ambulance
and sirens," Lucas argues • providers profiting off of the
that even in the U.S., it's
illegal for ambulance
attendants to deny service,
regardless 'of a person's
ability to pay.
"I guess you don't really
need a credit card to- get an
ambulance in the States but
apparently it helps," says Val
Poisson. president of the.
CUPE Local 2702, who is
speaking at the Seaforth
misfortunes of people and we
don't feel that's right," says
Mark Bormann, a CUPE
representative.. and paramedic
from Wingham.
Bormann - says private
companies : need for a profit
margin of 10 to 15 per cent
will hike the cost of
ambulance services to the
county. He adds that the
CONTINUED on Page 3
consideration' for funding
cows must
now be
slaughtered,
can you at
least have a
barbecue and .
help raise
some money
for us'
--Shirley Brugger,
band president
including field trips that the cornmunity," said Anderson.
support 'curriculum and Brugger said the band has been
are initiated by the approached by other groups such as
school and the -"Trillium foundation -with -offers. --extracurricular as school of. funding. The Town of Seaforth,
bands, choirs, teams and she said, told the band it wanted to
clubs. Co-sponsored wait and see what the school board
activities are defined as would do before offering any
those involving Avon funding. .
Maitland student's but Anderson said it would be
supervised and interesting to see how many groups
organized by community come forward with funding requests
groups. Only co- - now that a policy is in place.
sponsored activities "How many more groups are there
out there that fit the criteria and don't
get board funding? What's the
'potential?" asked trustee Atje Tuyten.
The board also heard last night from
Keith Elston, presidertt of the
Belgrave, Blyth and Brussels School
Fair, which has been operating for
78 years with board funding. He said
the fair brings together more than 300
students from three communities to
compete in different educational
areas and is the only school fair still
in existence in Ontario. it must now
also apply for its S900 annual budget
which the board has traditionally
funded.
"if you as trustees cannot ensure
DooPage 7
must apply for board
funding; the other
activities will be funded
through schools or
central board funds.
Board chair Wendy