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Home My WebLink AboutHuron Expositor, 2000-02-16, Page 1February 16, 2000 Si (includes GST) Local weather Wednesday --Cloudy with scottered flurries. Temps falling to -8 - Cf....\.1 Thursday --Mainly cloudy Flumes sigh -4 low - .1 1 ntilitin. Friday --Cloudy het snow High 2 1pw -6 Saturdsty--'-Mix of sun and cloud ,taigh -2 LOw - 7 From ErtWortrnent Corioda • In brief Walton proposes college link -up A partnership between Walton Public School and an Early Childhood Education (ECEI program of one of four conuriamity colleges recently contacted by the Walton school council could provide .the revenue necessary to save the school.. school council chair. Dianne. Van Vliet told the Avon Maitland District School Board at its meeting last week. "These options came to us late in -the process." she told trustees. "We're continuing to work with the community colleges. They'veshown interest and have asked us to make our proposal in writing. It looks Van Vliet::saaid Walton school would lease space to a college for the ECE program. giving students access to a classroom for their theory component and allowing them to cothplete their practical component with the students. "We feel that this would be a win-win situation. The college would benefit from the extra student tuition and public relations: the Avon Maitland District School Board would, benefit from the leasing arrangements, the positive relations and the reduction of excess space," said the Walton school report Van Vliet said its too early in the process to reveal the names of the community colleges 'approached or to know exact dollars of .revenue generated by the ECE program. She also proposed a music therapy program at Walton Public School to compliment school usage. and allow Grade 5 students to remain at Walton Public School. decreasing excess space and returning the school to 80 per cern opacity. "We're quite happy in the study group that we have 'come up with something that might make the school more viable in the eyes of the board." said Van Vliet atter die inciting. "Tie trustees did ask a couple of questions so that $ maybe a positive • Bysign," die Susan Hrwderrmarik Inside... Skulls* celebrate 100 donee .ln Pictures B 4f Holed Seim— Pirss 10 Board should try enrolment ideas. Committee presents school -saving ideas, asks board to stop closures until ideas .are- tried By Susan Hundertmark Expositor Stall The Feb. 22:decision on the closure of local schools should be 'postponed to try community ideas to reverse declining enrolment. trustees were told at. last week's meeting . of ' the Avon Maitland District School Board. "If : these ideas were. pursued with •the. same energy as seems to have been pursued to close schools: our communities would not be -in this confrontational state." said' Dick Burgess ..+ member of the Seaforth study group. - and aleacher at SDHS for 14 The group --s more'th.an 500 -page report ,asks the board to .dose Walton Public School. -move Grades ' and -.. from Seafonh's public school to the high school and keep both SPS and SDHS open. extending :,_hoof borders to -draw - students from Egmondville. Haipurhey a^d the Heritage trailer park. "These recommendations follow many hours ot- -discus:ion. consultation: research and community- input. in spite of the unfair and unrealistic timelines imposed by the board."' says the report. ►' The. report also says that closing Walton Public Schciol. is 7a reluctant compromise- and ompromise"and that all three Seaforth; area schools "'would be a real possibility if'. the board adopted some of the group., iiternatne idea'. At the meeting. the grr:up aciti.ng chair :Lisa Campbell au.,ted an address, by ecL cation director Lorne Ra. hlis to .system -leaders :n August. 1999. where he gave. n example' of a community Aith tun elente--.iAr\ and one high school. creating one K-6 • school and one 7-12 school, saving ovet • S100.000 annually by closing one school: "Our proposal. identical to one proposed earlier by the .director. goes a long way toward • addressing the admin .,trjtion•s -c.,' oxer et_ess capa�it, decling enrolment." sa' . ,t,:- Seaforth ;report. The report 110 incudes close to 40 letters fr, rr, Seaforth-area businesses asking.that SDHS remain.. Soo GROUP, Page S Board may not be able to try ideas while agriculture prep school makes progress Avon Maitland school board chair Wendy Anderson says she's not sure if the board will be able to try an. of •the several ideas `being presented from the .ommunity that could potentially increase. local school enrolment.. -generate revenue and eliminate the need to •close ,, hook.• The ideas include:.cash lotteries. .partnerships with communitv.colleges and programs that will attract students from outside the district. "I'm not sure how much weight those ideas. will carry iduring the Feb '_ vote on school Jbsures That will be up to each trustee to decide.' sht -ay ;. adding that the suggestions Scott-'i{gendaff ,;hoto 100 day Students in C -rode 1 at St James line up 100 pops,cte sticks to see how for they con gc as port of o series of activities around the number 100 on the 100th day of school on Friday will be explored in a report by the board:. - administration. Since the boards financial.proies.ion, point to a possible $2.25 million :shortiali ,n next: year's budget if :no cost-sl4inv measures. such as school closures. are made: Anderson says it might not he possible to explore some of •the revvenue-eener .lt. alternatives presented •by school _ouncil. 'It would be cutting it pretty : ', se •,, •�. come of the>ih" she says. • . - .Anderson says ;hes not opnrni .. -h :, • t•., agricultural prep school'. - - -Seaforth study croup. See AGRICULTURE, Poge 5 Civil suit against school board heard tomorrow Grouppes an i I th-hour ruling will delay board decision on school closings this Tuesday A civil law suit filed against the Avon Maitland District School Board. expected to have been before the courts last Thursday in Stratford. won't be heard until tomorrow 1 Feb. 17i. Alf Ross. Carolanne Doig. MayalrDave Stott. Maureen Agar and Charles Smith. mostly members •of the Seaforth cluster study group iasked�►ith coming up with a • reason td keep local schools open. are behind the suit. They learned last week the judge set to hear the case needed one more week to look at the documentation surrounding the case: • The group is seeking to delay a decision the school board. is expected t., this Tuesday night that ,:Purer see Seaforth District High - School closed and affects on .Seaforth Public' Scho:>t and Walton Public School. . The group, is asking. the `court for snore:tine ane treated as fairly as t`: :71 -f -- - groups within the board ire:,. stating the local cluster arour • has not been Elven the .ami opportunity t0 examine .•i - schools and find po,s;h.e ways to keep them open. Because of funding issue linked to: a provincial rur1: and remote grant.the 'boar.: has said some schools roust be closed. The case will be heard in Stratford tomorrow a' 'l.+} a.m. . • If a delay is no.t made. trustees will -vote Tuesday: night on w.hat.schools should be closed. Delegations have hada chance to 'present their- - 'cases heir- cases in favour of keeptne. 'schools open last night :Feb 1st and will have a•chance again tonight' Feb '1 6 r and once more at the board s /regular meeting Tue•da:. '''-night. just' prior to making their decisions. Smarter thieves coming to town with shopping lists There•s a new. smatter breed of: thief coming to town ti► comrnit break and enters. Huron OPP told la al businesses recently • ''A lot of these guys.areon a slapping mp They know what they•re after before they come to Seaforth." said OPP Staff Sergeant George Lonsbary. Break and enters have evolved from smaller thefts by local people. more common in the 70s to large scale break and enters of homes and businesses with goods being sold to people waiting for them in outlying cities like London and Kitchener. . Today. Lonsbaty said. "It's not -local people. The bad guys are on the move." • They will target a coinm.nity or business with a specific "shopping list" of what they need to be able to sell to a fence who in turn sells it on the street. to pawn shop' or other clieets. Community Services Officer Don Shropshall said a fence will usually pay about SO cents on the dollar for the value of each stolen item and then sell it for about 75 cents oe the dollar. In even more organised cases, items like stolen cars are even shipped to black market buyers oversees or from one province to another. Shropshall said vehicles stolen from this area 10R��q 'Null. Special report Crinsproofing local buimass inside A look of the need to protect stores and staff in a changing world of cane cotdrxres onPopes2and3 hale been recosered from as far away.as Quebec. Locally. thieves bit a store to fill a specific need. When they arrive. Shropshall said. "They're in:and • Out in a couple minutes."• Such was the case last winner when the window at Seaforth Jewellers was smashed and thotrstieds of dollars in jewelry was taken. And this summer a concrete ,block was thrown through the door of Cardrio's Men's Wear to get inside and take thousands of dollars in clothing. Last winter, the window at Seaforth Jewellers was smashed and thousands of dollars Liz Cardno said it *as obvious her store was pert of an organized theft when only specific items of clothing were taken and extra large sizes were ' left behind. "They were selective." she said. 'They've got.a buyer wailing for them in Kitchener. London or Toronto." Lonsbary said. Back in the 70s. he said police used to encourage peop(e•to use silent alarms because quite often. they could catch the person, usually. from the town. • still inside the store. '• Now, the thieves are in and •out;of a store ,o quickly police can't respond to a silent alarm before they burglars are gone. And one of. the reasons they are able to go w quickly is because them have usually checked dui the store before the robbery. been inside during store hone to locate the merchandise they: want and have obferved the town for the quietest hare's to hit. In Catdno's case. it was during the. early. ' morning boars when police were not assigned to directly patrol the town. under its contract for OPP'. policing. 'These guys were professionals because they knew exactly were (the police] were." said Cardno of the bit on her some. Pressure from the business community after Cardno's and Seaforth Jeweller's break-ins has resulted in the OPP moving around their patrol Seel %W#d. 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