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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2001-06-27, Page 22 -THE HURON EXPOSITOR, AIM 27, 2001 FABRIC CLEARANCE! Same Up to... Oo/ OFF All Fabrics, Notions CI Yarn 1bz Thr Square, Goderich lzacf n Summer Fun Programs . July Focus: Water & Sun Safety, and Canada Day Special Activities Include: Canada Day Parade, Salt Pictures, Salad Spinner Art, Sun Visor, Edible Finger Paint, Ice Cube Painting, Crab Walk, Beach Ball Toss, Jelly Fish Glide, Bubble Blowing, Musical Instruments, Going to the Circus Special Outings: Every Friday picnic & swimming in the park, Hiking to the bush August Focus: Camping, Vacations, Fire Safety, Solar Syatems Special Activities Include: Pine cone painting, Tissue paper camp fire, Airplane stand ups, fire dog, leaf rubbing, fireworks painting, Explore objects that sink & float, Sparking stars & moons, Sun puppets, Frisbees, Whoosh Rings Special Outings: Every Friday picnic & swimming in the park, Bus trip to Lions Lag000n Park & Water Play in Waterloo. Fees Toddler Preschool School Age Full day (9 Hour) $25 $22 $15 1/2 day (5 Hours)....$16 $13 $9 Weekly Rates $110 $100 $65 Programs are designed recognizing the changing needs of families. Flexible child care needs are accommodated. For more information CaII 527-0682 Agar plans to `shock' • everyone at meeting From Pogo 1 Campbell adds that anyone still interested in returning their survey and having their say can do so until Thursday evening (lune 28) when the next meeting of the accommodation study committee will be held in Clinton. She says another strong response in the survey is an agreement of about 90 per cent of respondents that SPS is currently overcrowded. "Almost everyone says it's too crowded and wants the (two) portables gone," she says. Another concern voiced by some is if the public school is moved to the high school site, children have to travel past a parking lot and roadway behind the school to get to the fields to play. "If they go out for recess they have to cross that roadway used by school board staff and there's a fair amount of traffic there," she says. And, some parents from Walton and Egmondville are expressing the concern that their children will have to move to another school so soon after being moved to Seaforth. Seaforth District High School council chair Maureen Agar says she didn't distribute a similar survey because she "didn't want to insult our public again." "We've gone through this before so we know it's just for show. A lot of people are tired of filling out surveys." IN GREENHOUSE SPECIALS NOW ON!! We have everything you need, including... • Annuals • Hanging Baskets • Perennials including 40 kinds of Hostas ursery Stock • Potted Containers • Geraniums & more! EMMNS 50" SALE on Selected Nursery Stock Returns! 4 WE'VE BEEN GROWING YOUR STRAWBERRIES FOR 19 YEARS. Pick Your Own STRAWBERRIES or Ready Picked Please call for crop update. You may pick in your own containers as we sell by the pound. Supervised children welcome but no pets please. Orders taken. Weather permitting. • SEAFORTH DISTRICT HIGH. Avon :' Maitland would like to say XYO to the following businesses for their partici 2000-2001 Co-operative Education pp ograionl�in the Archie's Service Centre, Bluewater Interiors, Cap Products of Canada, Den's and Friends, Durl Hopper Ltd., Eckerlea Acres. Seaforth Veterinary Clinic, Hullett Conservation, Huron Tax Consultants, Province of Ontario Savings, Seaforth-Clinton Ambulance, Seaforth Public School, Teatero Motor Products, Seaforth Community Hospital, Seaforth Co-operative Children's Ar Centre, South Huron Veterinary Clinic, Total Image II, Forbes, Flower Magic, The Huron Expositor, Tulip Health Services, Watt Maintenance, W.D. Hopper & Sons, The Apple Core "Last year, all the schools (studied for possible closure) did so many surveys and presentations and got closed anyway. We would have been among them if it hadn't been for the court challenge," she says. While the Avon Maitland board voted to close SDHS and SPS last year, the Seaforth community successfully fought that decision in court. "We told four Ontario judges why Seaforth District High School is so special - how many people do we have to tell?" "I've been talking to people on the street and the sentiment is the same - we need a high school," she says. Agar says she's watching the court battle in Windsor between the school board and the community, which is hoping to prove school closures are unconstitutional, as well as the Ottawa - Carleton school board, which is submitting an illegal deficit budget to the province. "This is a widespread problem and there are a lot of other forces involved," she says. Meanwhile, Agar plans to use her allotted five minutes for a presentation at Thursday night's meeting to "attack the issue from a different angle." While she wouldn't expand on what she meant, Agar says she plans to "shock a few people and after my presentation people might say let's get this over with once and for all." Scott Hilgendorff photos Gavin Bowers uses a sponge full of water to help his relay team fill a bucket while Kevin Hunking goes through an obstacle course race during Seaforth Public School's play day held June 19. Hiring practice questioned at council By Scott Hilgendorff Expositor Editor Personnel issues almost dominated the discussions at Huron East's June 19 council meeting where concerns about road staff, support staff pay and the circumstances of hiring a recreation department employee were questioned. Deputy Mayor Bernie MacLellan addressed the first issue with Public Works Coordinator John Forrest when he expressed concern from works department staff that their concerns are not being addressed. "It's not that they are being mistreated," said MacLellan. He said staff are concerned they have ideas and understandings of how work procedures can be done that might be better than current practices but no one is listening. MacLellan was concerned the foremen are not expressing employee concerns to Forrest. "We have had suggestions from employees about how they think things should be done," said Forrest. "Just because they make a suggestion doesn't mean we do it their way." Forrest is faced with the task of combining the five roads and works departments from the municipalities that formed Huron East in January. He has already been faced with complaints with councillors from Brussels, McKillop and Seaforth wards that their former employees are no longer visible. But Forrest has explained that the work that needs to be done is still occurring. Employees are working on projects where they need to be done but, because they can Allan Carter, Broker • Home • Auto • Commercial • Farm 522-0399 Seaforth 1-800-265-0959 Strathroy work in larger numbers, are not always seen in one ward as long as they might have been when one or two employees was working in just that region. Forrest told council last week there are still issues of identity and where the employees are supposed to work and that they are no longer working under a traditional system. To help address the concerns, Forrest said he would look into whether or not all the concerns being expressed are making it to him from the foremen. The next debate arose when council was asked to approve the hiring of recreation employee Kevan Broome who had been promoted to full-time employment by Recreation and Facilities Director Graham Nesbitt. The hiring was backdated to January 1. Seaforth Coun. William Teall was concerned the hiring process was wrong. "I have a concern when you back -date employment. We are hiring him now," he said, concerned about how they were supposed to back -date his benefits to January 1. MacLellan, who sits on Huron East's new personnel committee, said the procedure was wrong but they would have lost a good employee if they had not given him full- time employment. The employment would have been offered to him before the amalgamated municipality of Huron East was formed but it was tied up in the restructuring process. The transition board, which governed decisions bcing made by the five municipalities involved in the restructuring, had issued a hiring freeze. Earlier in the meeting, councillors were critical of Huron County administration for making an agreement with a landowner that required his property to be paved as part of the arrangements to temporarily house an ambulance station. The agreement was made without the support of county council. The question was asked about who ran county council: administration or elected councillors. "Arc we not in the same boat. Who is running Huron East?" Teall asked. While he could understand hiring Broome full time Teall said, "You have to go through proper channels." Broome was hired to replace a full time employee that left the Seaforth and District Community Centres last year but could only work part time while the amalgamation process was taking place. MacLellan said the issue was neglected by the transition board and was only now dealt with by the newly formed personnel committee. He also said it is not unusual to back date employment, adding it is done when staff negotiates new contracts. When the contracts are finally accepted. they are back dated to Jan. 1. Mayor Lin Steffler pointed out the transition board had handled all the raises for staff except for the recreation and day care staff which has been left to the personnel committee to deal with. Tuckersmith Coun. Larry McGrath and Seaforth Coun. Dick Burgess pointed out recreation issues were neglected by the new council as it spent part of its first three months dealing with roads department issues in more detail at the council table. McGrath said Nesbitt has sat at council meetings since January without being able to discuss many recreation issues. "I don't even know why he is coming," he said. A motion to hire Broome full time was approved. Also hired at Huron East council was Sherrie Oliver. a contract employee working in payroll. She was recommended fol full time employment. Coun. McGrath was concerned her pay scale was too close to another employee who has been with the municipalities for "a number of years." He didn't want any had feelings among the employees. Administrator Jack McLachlin said she was a Brussels employee for several years and brings with her a vast knowledge of that ward and that there is a difference in the pay rates. In praise of all the support staff, McGrath told McLachlan, "You arc only as good as those girls down there (in the office below the council chambers) and some days. you're not worth sh_." The comment took council and staff by surprise hut was met with laughter by everyone. including McLachlan, before a motion to hire Oliver was passed.