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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2000-03-01, Page 44 -TNR HURON IXPOSITOR, Maroh 1, 2000 41 -.0-;' . Your Community Newspaper Since 1860 Terri -Lynn Hart - Publisher Pat Armes - Office Manager Scott Hilgendorff - Editor Dianne McGrath - Subscripian/dossifieds Susan Hundertmark - Reporter Katrina Dietz - Soles & Distribution II Bowes Publishers Limited Staldwal« S.. Md.. rwPw.rr. - A Q.M. (. fr..' E-mail us at seotorth@bowesnet.com SUBSCRIPTION RATES: LOCAL 32.50 a yeor, in advance, plus 2.28 G.S.T. SENIORS: - 30.00 a year, in odvonce, plus 2.10 G.S T. USA & foreign. 28 44 a yeor in advance, plus 578.00 postoge, G.S.T. exempt SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Published weekly by Signal -Star Publishing at 100 Moin St., Seaforth Publication moil registration No. 0696 held at Seaforth, Ontario. Advertising is accepted on - condition that in the event of a typographical error, the advertising spoce occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reosonoble allowance for signature, will not be charged, but the balance of the odvertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. In the event of o typographical error, advertising goods or services at o• wrong price, goods or services may not be sold. Advertising is merely on offer to sell and may be withdrawn of any time. , The Huron Expositor is not responsible for Mc loss of damoge of unsolicited manuscripts, photos or other materials used for reproduction purposes Changes of oddress, orders for subscriptions and undeliverable copies are to be sent to The Huron Expositor. Wednesday, March 1, 2000 Editorial mad Ueslness Offices - 100 Males Street.,Soafertis T.leplsene (519) 527.0240 Pax (519) 527-2656 Mallin' Address - P.O. see 69, Seeder*, Ontario, NOK 'WO. Member of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association, Ontario Community Newspapers Association Publication Mail Registration No. 07605 Editorial Try to protect n the students from the anger, they still have learning to do The Avon Maitland District School Board has made its decision. Seaforth District High School must close. But a court decision next week could mean the process toward closing or saving the high school has to start over again. A three-month onslaught of petitions, surveys, planning and pleading came to a head with the school board's closure vote last week. The harsh reality of what could very well happen --this Mown loses its high school --has become a reality. And as it came to a head, tempers flared and emotions in the community reached a new edge. High school students are distraught. Teachers and parents are trying to deal with the aftermath of the board's decision as i1 affects the students. Community leaders are gearing up for a court battle and, hopefully, a chance to present a more detailed case toward the board. But it is starting to feel like banging the proverbial head against a wall. The school board says a host of ideas from the various communities affected won't work toward saving schools. Premier Mike Harris says asking for more funding won't work because there's already enough. MPP Helen Johns also says the board has enough and is asking it to let the provincial government audit their books to prove it. And Seaforth. is potentially about to be left without a high school. There's a lot to be frustrated about and a lot to be frustrated by. let's try not to misdirect those frustrations at the wrong people, like board employees who aren't directly involved in the decision-making process. ' And, even more importantly, let's try not to pass our frustrations and anxiety on to the children who need to keep going to school with clear heads and minds so they can continue their much-needed education in order to become the next generation of community leaders. Scott Hilgendorff How to access us l ettcra to the Editor and other submitialoita can be made to us by .noon on Mondays $ seaforth@bowesas‘coln.. All letters and submissions mutat bt and accompanied by a daytime t ti number. All submissions aro subject for both length end co , Dontfe et to check oss aMr - **wi Opinion Letters They are our children, not numbers To the Editor: I am very angry with this whole school closing issue. I have a child in Walton Public School and a second to start in the fall. All these meetings and proposals were for what; so the board members could sit with their fingers in their ears and do what they wanted anyway? All they did was patronize us all. Lorne Rachlis said he wants what is best for our children's education. Larger classes with more stressed teachers? 1 dont think so. Taking a four-year-old and putting him or her in a larger class with more students is going to be terribly frightening for my child as well as the others starting in the fall. It is hard enough for them to get on a huge school bus and then be shoved into a room with 20 or more students. Can Mr. Rachlis guarantee that my child will get the same one-on-one help in this bigger class that he will get in Walton? I doubt it. Can he guarantee that my child will know the names of all the teachers and students in this new larger school and that the teachers will know all the students by name? 1 doubt that too. Yes, Walton is •a small school, but the quality of education there is far superior to that of a larger school. The government is putting more money into post secondary education facilities, but if a child falls through the cracks in the early years because of these larger, so called better classes, who will be in these facilities? Apd who really cares if people come from miles around to see the big fancy school we have created. I thought education was the first priority, not looks. Finally, putting the schools together still does not fill the high school building to its capacity. So what happens to our children in a few years when they decide once again to close Seaforth school? Do they rip our children out and send them to yet a bigger school? That sounds rediculous. Our children are our future. and buy the sounds of things ours are going to be so shuffled around they aren't going to know where they are or where they are going to be tomorrow. They are not numbers or dollars. they are our children! Paula L. Purdy RR#1 Dublin Closing schools is a grave mistake and they will never be returned To the Editor: 1 am writing on the, subject of the untimely demise of our county education system. It seems that a few people have destroyed the school system. For, what? To save money? I have not heard that there is going to be enormous amounts of money being saved. In fact, it may be costing us more over the long term, much more than what we might save. High cost of fuel will make transporting the children more expensive. There will be a higher risk for the children. Every mile is a greater risk for personal injury and packing them in other schools will also be a health factor. So why are the schools closing? Some do need repairs to some extent. So do most of the houses we live in, but we just don't throw them away. Some of the schools might be used as schools again. If the right hand can't make them operate in the black how can the left hand make it possible. Closing the schools is a grave mistake and once it has been done they will'never be returned. I was told someone had some fish to fry over this issue. Let's gather some wood and get the grill hot; fishing season is almost over and the only thing left will be us suckers. Some people have been happy with the coming of spring. You can even smell it. On this issue of schools there is also an aroma but of decaying wood as you might get from a rotten board. As many people are on shift work it is nearly impossible to get to the meetings. I hope I have absorbed the highlights as they were presented. Bob Palin Communi meeting being planned To the Editor: Many people have been phoning to find out what the next steps will be for our children and their schooling. A meeting has been organized for all community members (of the future Huron East), parents and students. This meeting will be a chance for everyone to hear and understand what the court decision means to our children and schools. Please bring questions and/or thoughts. This is the time for our community to decide what is best for our children. March 8 at the Seaforth and District ,Community Centres. Tentative time is 7:30 p.m., Please watch next week's paper for details. Maureen Agar Government to be petitioned to phase out use of synthetic chemical pesticides To the Editor: ' An increasing number of Ontarians are concerned about the health and environmental effects of the urban use of pesticides. Children exposed to the toxic effects of commonly used pesticides have shown an increased incidence of childhood leukemias and brain tumors. There is also a significant link between the incidence of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, sarcomas and degenerative neurological conditions such as Lou Gehrig's disease in adults. The Campaign for Pesticide Reduction in Ontario in cooperation with the Toronto Environmental Alliance is planning to petition the Ontario Government to phase out the use of these dangerous and poisonous substances by 2001. In April of this year, close to Earth Day. the organizers plan to present 500.000 signatures requesting the phasing out of synthetic chemical pesticides on both public and privately -owned land by 2001. In Huron and Perth counties. this campaign is sponsored by the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment. Readers wishing to be involved in collecting signatures should write or fax me at: Goderich Medical Centre. 181 Cambria Road North. Goderich, Ontario. N7A 2R2. Fax: 519-524-8926. Jim Hollingworth, M.D., Founding Member Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment smallTALK marks its first anniversary of providing speech and language -services January marked the first year of service for the Huron -Perth program, smallTALK, which is part of a province - wide initiative designed to improve preschool speech and language services. For its first anniversary, smallTALK can boast some important milestones. In January 1999, the program launched a Huron -Perth preschool speech and language phone line. Parents can call this line with questions or concerns about how their preschool child is talking. The line also allows parents and those who provide services to children, such as doctors and early childhood educators, to refer a child for a speech and language assessment. Since the launch, 418 new referrals for assessment have been made. "We had more referrals in 1999 compared to previous years," says Mary Louise LaBerge, Speech Language Pathologist working with smaILTALK. "It's also wonderful to see that children are being referred for assessment at younger ages." In celebration, smallTALK produced a children's growth chart highlighting speech and language milestones from 12 months to four years of age. Doctors will give parents the chart at their child's 12 -month check-up. A smallTALK sticker will also be given at 18 -month check-ups. "Doctors know the importance of early identification of speech and language problems," says LaBerge. "At routine check-ups, they can talk with parents about development, and how to identify problems." One in 10 preschool children have speech and language problems. Yet it's hard for parents to know if their child has a problem. "They should trust their instincts and call smallTALK if they think their child is not learning to talk well," says Heather Kane, Public Health Nurse also working with smallTALK. "Left untreated, these children are at high risk of lifelong problems such as poor achievement in school,and increased drop-out rates." The program focuses on prevention, finding children with problems early. making sure they get treatment quickly and broadening the methods of treatment provided by speech language pathologists. "Early identification and early treatment can make all the difference." explains Kane. "Even young children - under two years old - can be helped with speech and language development." Huron and Perth community agencies and parents, together with a partnership between the Stratford General Hospital, Perth District Health Unit and Community Care Access Centre Perth County, provides direction to the development, support and delivery of this program with funding from the provincial government. The program is free and available to all preschool children living in Huron and Perth counties. For more information or to refer a child to a speech language pathologist. call 273- 2222 or 1-800-269-3683 and ask for smallTALK. Huron Stewardship Council has funding for tree planting Plant trees for a better millennium. That's the message that the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority is sending out to protect and enhance our local environment for future generations. Planting trees is still an easy and economical way of improving the air we breathe, our local water quality and reducing global warming. "Today, throughout the Ausable and Bayfield watersheds, we are still cutting more trees for commercial timber and farm land improvements than are being replanted", says Stephen Harburn, Forestry Technician. "lust look around your community and you will see roadside trees cut for line development, edges of woodlots bulldozed for farm land improvement and hedgerows cleared along fields. All these small clearing projects have a cumulative effect on our water quality, wildlife habitat and basic way of life." The conservation authority is still encouraging landowners to plant trees to connect important linkages between woodlots. Tree rows should be planted along all waterways to reduce soil erosion and improve water quality. The Huron Stewardship Council (HSC) has funding available for tree planting proJects that create wildlife corridors in Huron County. For further information about the HSC contact Steve Bowers at (519) 482-3428. If you would like more information about ABCA reforestation programs or to receive an order form for spring tree planting, contact the ABCA at 235-2610 or abca@execulink,com