HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2000-05-17, Page 1May 17, 2000
Si
(includes GSI
Local weather
Wednesday --Cloudy,
scattered showers,
High 21.
Thursday --Periods of
rain. High 20. low 12.
Friday --Mix of sun,
cloud. High 17. low 7.
Saturday --Mix of sun,
cloud. High 20. Low 6.
From Environment Canada
In brief
Judicial
review
on Friday;
Members of the" Avon
Maitland District School
Board and the Seaforth
community will be in
court. Friday seeking a
resolution to a civil case'
launched against --the
school board early this
year.
A judicial review, by
three -judges in London.
will determine whether or
not the school board
treated the community
fairlyby the process it
followed during the past
year to reach a decision to
close Seaforth District
High School.
The case was heard this
winter in a Stratford court
but was referred to. a full
judicial. review.
The" judicial review is
expected to determine
whether or not the board
will have to revisit its
decision to close the high
school, .giving the
community more time to
prepare alternative plans
to school closure for
-which- the board. will have-
to consider . before it
could again decide
whether or not the high
school should be closed.
Lightning
may have
started fore
Seaforth firefighters
responded to three calls
over the weekend.
Two calls at. 4 a.m.
Satprday morning could
have been storm -related,
says Fire. Chief George
Garrick.
A barn which burned
down at Lot I. Concession
1 in Hullett Township,
took three hours to put out,
with one truck remaining
at the scene for an extra
' hour.
"We don't 'know yet
,.what caused it -possibly
lightning. The barn was
engulfed with flames
when the trucks got there,"
says Garrick.
He says the barn
contained no livestock or.
machinery but was
scheduled to be filled with
chickens this week.
As well, firefighters
spent an houratthe scene._
of a fire at Lot 31.
Concession 1 in McKillop
Township when a tree
limb fell over a hydro line
and ignited early Saturday
mommg.
Inside...
Mom's Day
breakfast...
Page 2
Sluzierts about
ism
manufacturing...
Page 5
Golf clinichelps
tis....
Pogo 1$
Blocks of down flooded
By Susan Hundertmark . •
Expositor Staff
Basements in low-lying areas of
Seaforth and Egmondville were
hardest hit by flash flooding from
Friday night's storm.
Homes around Optimist Park,
which was underwater most of the
weekend. and near Seaforth District
High -School received the most
damages, says Seaforth Insurance
broker Ken Cardno:
Cardno says he has had 70 claims
as a result of water and electrical
damages from the storm, ranging
from the loss of everything in the
basement to cleaning bills.
"Three insurance adjusters were
working diligently all weekend from
Friday night at 3 a.m.." he says. •
Gayle Coleman, of Jarvis Street,
says her house had three feet of water
in their finished basement, ruining
their freezer, fridge. dryer, washer,
two televisions, two beds arid
dressers.
Her two boys, whose bedrooms are
in thebasement, just happened to be
sleeping upstairs that night because
,one son had just had minor surgery.
"We were really lucky the boys
slept upstairs •but it was pretty
devastating at the time to know there
was nothing we.could do but wait
until it stopped," says Coleman.
One son woke around midnight to
the sound of boxes falling over in the
basement and the family was "able to
save its "treasures" of family
mementoes and children's artwork
while wading in water up to their
knees. However, almost everything
else in the basement ended up in a
' dumpster. .
See APARTMENTS, Page 3
Water still hadn't receded from the south end of Seaforth Saturday morning as residents began to tour the community to see the
'effects of Friday's rainfall
Scott Hilgendorff photos
Crews began working to
repair bridge§ at
Seaforth Golf and
Country Club on
Saturday morning after
12 of 14' bridges were
'washed away from their.
foundations. More than
four inches of rain felt on
the Seaforth area causes
creeks and rivers to swell
and flood several
portions of town. Most of
the damage to homes
was contained 10
basements but it will be
weeks before the total
assessment is done
between washed out
roads, flooded homes
and cars and newly
planted crops in area
fields.
Four
inches
of rain
washes
out roads,
floods
homes
By Scott Hlgendorff
Expositor Editor
Between 75 and 100 mm '
of rain (about four inches)
helped bring -Silver Creek
over its banks and back up
storm sewers unable to cope
with the water that fell
during a four-hour period.
Rob Kuhn, , a . senior
,climatologist with
.Environment Canada in
Toronto said radar estimated
that much rainfall in a band
of storms that moved
through the area Friday
night. . •
"It was a badly needed
rain but it came too fast„”
said Kuhn.
It came so fast that
portions of thetown were
under more than four feet of
water before midnight and
area roads began to wash
out.
Elsa Degroot was
travelling on Highway 8,
following her son's carhome
to Clinton .in her Volkswagen ,
after the two made a visit
See PORTION, Page !'
•
Forced extra -curricular involvement
takes away love of working
with kids
_Teacher,who could be ordered to coach teams lead school tris "It's ad
r — t extrememely sad
-" scenario'-wheil `a
believe provincial bill will take o out of wo With Students government feels it
provincial joy
By Susan Hundertmark He says the bill sets up a process where the has to mandate
principal assigns duties that "support the operation something that
Expositor Staff of the school, enrich students and advance their teachers have been
education -related goals" both on and off school 'doing- voluntarily
days and on and off school premises. for 50 to 75 years,"
"This bill disrupts public education in a massive says Seaforth
way. Teachers can't be forced to work anytime of District High
the day or night and be happy. It's absurd to order School teacher
teachers to do something they've been volunterritig Terry Johnston.
to do for decades out of love," he says. Johnston says
Robins says by forcing teachers to teach seven • what's particularly
classes a year, the ministry takes away any insulting is that the
preparation time they may have during the day, and.- province doesn't
gives them less time to volunteer for extra- provide funding,for extra -curricular activities but
curricular activities after school. - is still willing to force teachers to coach or run
He says the bill is a response to teachers in them.
Durham Region, which Education Minister Janet "I fail to see how having a coach imprisoned into
Ecker represents, who stopped volunteering when that role is going to help the kids. It would be
their collective agreement presented them with better to have a coach who loves sport and is
similar circumstances. enthusiastic about the season," he says.
"This bill is a serious attack on collective " "The province has managed to take a fantastic
bargaining rights in a democracy and it doesn't volunteer program that has functioned very well
exist in any other province. This government has and take all the joy out of it," says Johnston.
picked a fight with teachers to. save money - it has Johnston says at SDHS, students must pay user
nothing to do with improving education," says fees of $35 a year for major activities, such as a
Robins.
Local -teachers say they're insulted by provincial
plans to force them to participate. in extra-
curricular school activities.
And. a local teachers' union officer says
mandatory extra-cumcular.participation is just one
aspect of a bill that will "enslave" teachers if it
becomes law by the end of May.
"Bill 14. the Education Accountability Act
removes teachers' rights to bargain the terms bf
their employment. It will cause people to leave
teaching in droves," says Ken Robins, federation
officer for District 8 of the Ontario Secondary
School Teachers Federation (OSSTF).
Robins says the bill amends the Education Act to
dictate that teachers will teach seven classes a year
instead of the current six and to give principals the
right to assign teachers duties 24 hours a day,
seven days a'week during the school year.
"It's incredible and shocking. (Under the new
hill) teachers can be ordered to take students on a
weekend to Toronto, for example. and they have to
do it. Teachers become enslaved to principals by
this act." he says.
Quoted
'If's an extremely sad
scenario when a
government feels it has
to mandate something
that teachers have
been'dolttg voluntarily.
for 50 to 75 years, --
Terry Johnston,
Seaforth District High
Schoolteacher
See MOST, Page 20
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