Huron Expositor, 1999-06-30, Page 1In brief
First -look
at budget
shows
small tax
decrease
A first look at the 1999
budget suggests a small
decrease in taxes this year
for Seaforth residents.
Council had a first look
at the $1.9 million budget
at its June 22 meeting but
will not be discussing and
finalizing it until it meets
again on July 13.
Council needs time to
goover the budget
package and still has a list
of funding requests it
needs to consider from
members of the
community including the
Seaforth All -Girls
Marching Band.
Administrator Jack
McLachlan is
recommending council
transfer .$14,000 into
reserves front which those
requests could be met as
well as one from the
Business lmprovement
Area for $7,500 to have a
mural painted on a
downtown business wall.
McLachlan said he did
not have direction of
council when he decided
to put the money in
reserves for the draft of
the budget and said it
could be taken out and
passed along to the
ratepayers. He placed it in
the reserves as a source
for funding the band and
meeting other donation
requests that come to the
council throughout the
year but are not included
in the budget.
The savings this year
come from changes in the
county levy coupled with
community reinvestment
funds (that replace
traditional provincial
grants that have
disappeared through
downloading of services
in the past few years), an
approximate 10 per cent
savings in education taxes
and small savings in other
areas of the budget.
Council will discuss it
further at the next
meeting, including a
possible $1,000 annual
donation to the Seaforth
All -Girls Marching Band.
The first draft of the
budget shows an expected
$1.133,567 in revenue,
$1,948,590 in
expenditures and $14,000
for reserves. . .
If approved, taxes
would raise $829,023.
By Scott Ffilgendorf
Inside...
The board
office tour
continues...
Page 2
50 year
medals
awarded...
Page 12
School's out for
summer. Please
watch for
dtNdren pktylnp
Medieval munchies
Scott Hilgendorff photo
Shane Johnston, Justin Yee, Kenzie Currie and Matt Teatero watch a Vanessa Weideman
makes a medievgl treat. The Grade 4 class learned about medieval times first-hand making
age-old treats, learning about games that were played in that time period and even making
chainmail armour.
Band receives its funding
Supporters shouldn't think
donations were made in vain,
says executive member
By Susan Hundertmark
Expositor Staff
The Seaforth District High
School All -Girls Marching
Band will receive its
traditional funding of $3,700
from the Avon Maitland
District School Board for the
coming school year.
"We're very pleasantly
surprised. It was 'a shock
because we were told not to
expect anything," says band
executive member Shirley
Brugger.
Brugger says she hopes
community .groups which
have donated to the band
"won't think they've given in
vain" since the band needs to
replace about $20,000 worth
of iirstruments since 90 per
cent of the band's
instruments are older than 20
years old.
"We've got duct tape
holding the two sousaphones
together and used, they're
$4,000 a piece to replace.
Many of our instruments are
getting very fragile and when
a valve gets stuck or the
instrument just won't play.
the girls have to fake it
during a performance." she
says.
Traditionally. the $3.700
grant from the board went
towards the cost of buying
new music so that the band
could play current songs each
year and repairing
instruments. But, Brugger
says the $3,700 hasn't come
close to keeping up with the
demands for instrument
repair and replacement.
She says that before the
issue of board funding arose,
the band had determined it
was going to have to seek
corporate funding to replace,
the aging instruments.
"We were struggling to
begin with and in some ways
the bdid us a favor
beca e situation has
brought it to the public eye
what's been needed for
years.," she says.
"I can't believoire way
Huron County ame together
to support the and. The best
thing that came out of this is
the pride the community's
shown in the band and we
could become stronger
because of it," says Brugger.
Education director Lorne
Rachlis said the band will
•also be able to continue
operating the way it always
has by continuing to practise
and use storage space forfree
at the Seaforth high school
and continue to use school
board buses while paying for
gas and the driver.
June 30, 1999
(includes GST)
Local weather
Wednesday --Sunny,
cloudy periods. High 21.
Thursday --Mainly cloudy,
chance of showers. High
near 21
Friday --Sun and cloud.
High 29 Low 18
Saturday --Cloudy,
showers, chance of
storms. High 29. low 20
From Environment Canada
No jacuzzi
in office
Education director
dispells oak wall rumours
on tour of board offices
By Susan Hundertmork
Expositor Staff
Stacks of boxes fill the space origin -ally planned to
accommodate a shower in the washroom off of education
director Lorne Rachlis's offige at the new headquart rrs of the
Avon Maitland District School Board.
"A shower was planned but 1 stopped it. I didn't want it to
becotne a symbol. And; I wanted people to see that if 1 can be
sensitive to a $200 item. I could he sensitive -to all the other
expenditures," he says.
Rumours began circulating throughout the district at the
peak of the school accommodation reviews last winter,
accusing the board of creating luxurious surroundings at the
new office while talking of closing schools at the same time.
With work almost completed on the new board office in
Seaforth District High School and only the finishing touches
to be done over the summer,Jtachlis says an open house is
plaed for early September.
( he renovations) have taken a lot longer than we
expo ed. A lot of little things happened - the skyligt was
leaking and had to he sent hack. But. we wanted to wait and
show the public us at okr
best." he says. ):- ,
Rachlis says he's looking
forward to touring members
of the public through the new
offices and showing off how
the board was able to createµ
an attractive working space
"without going over the $1
million budget that cane from
the sale of two buildings in
Stratford that housed the
former Perth County hoard of
education.
"Wctyild you like to see my
jacuzzi?" he jokes -as he opens
the door to his undecorated.
white -walled two-piece
washroom,which is just large
enough to be wheelchair -
accessible.
While he points out that a
5200 shower could pay for
itself in no time. considering
that mileage for.an 80 kilomet f,round-trip between his home
and the board office would add up quickly. •
"Given the hours a director has to put in, many otheytboards
give directors suites. But that's not appropriate here where
we're looking at the possible closure of schools," he says.
The washroom off his office also has a door into the
hallway, is the only washroom on the main floor and is one of
twowashrooms that serve the 63 people working at the board
office. although he points out that staff also use the
washrooms in the adjoining Seaforth high school.
"You can't get much plainer than this. And. we got a
storage closet out of it which we really needed," he says of
the boxes stacked where the shower might have been.
Storage space is at a premium at the new office which
merges the two former school boards in less than one third of
the space they previously filled. The Avon Maitland
headquarters take up 12.000 square feet while the two
previous boards used over 44.000 square feet. -
The board's archives are now located in portables at the
back of Seaforth's high school while the computer department
and the board's big photocopier remain in Clinton because
there's no room for them in Seaforth.
Quoted
'Given the htvurs a
director has to -
put in, mpny
other boards give
directors suites.
But that's not
appropriate here
where we're -
looking at the
possible clur_e
of school '-=
Lorne Rachlis, .-
education director
' 1
See SUPERINTENDENT, Pogo t
Community gets first look at museum on Canada Day
By Scott Hilgendorff
Expositor Editor
About a year after getting the go-
ahead from council, the Seaforth and
Area Museum is open to the public
tomoirow, Canada Day.
"Everyone is invited to take a walk
through," said Jane Taylor, the town's
deputy administrator.
The focal point of the museum is
countless historical artifacts donated
by Frank Sills and his family.
Those items are part of six displays
that have been put together in various
themes from firefighting to hunting.
There will also be a replica of the
Sills hardware store where many of
the artifacts had been collected and
stored over the years before being
given to the museum.
"it's a work in progress, as is with
all museums," said Taylor.
The opening ceremonies will take
place in conjunction with the town's
Canada Day activities and begin at 1
p.m.
Presentations will be made by
Irwin Johnson, chair of the museum
committee and the Sills family. MP
Paul Steckle and other officials will
also be at the ceremony.
Visitors will have a chance to see
the displays and enjoy refreshments
before some closing remarks are
made.
Regular hours for the museum
have not been set yet but a student,
hired through a Young Canada Works
grant, will be arranging tours of the
museum for groups and
organizations.
Regular hours will be set possibly
next week. The student will be with
the museum for the entire summer.
Also at the museum will be limited
edition prints for sale.
Canada Day
In addition to the museum opening,
traditional Canada Day events are
planned throughout the day.
It all begins with the annual
firefighter's breakfast with more food
to eat than you can imagine.
At 10 a.m. families can take part in
the heritage poker walk. The walk
begins at Victoria Park and takes
people on a our of heritage sites
across the town with playing cards
picked up at each stop in hopes of
coming up with the best hand.
Participants must register by 10:30
a.m.
From 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. is the
museum opening and at dark, it all
ends with a bang at the fireworks
display at Seaforth and District High
School.
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