HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2002-10-02, Page 91
October 24, 2001
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In brief
Huron
East
cancels
council
to attend
school
board
•
meeting
Huron East council did
not meet last night so that
all councillors could
attend the meeting of the
Avon Maitland District
School Board.
The school board was
expected to vote on a
director's action report
that recommended the
possible closure of
Seaforth District High
School along with 17
district elementary
,schools, including Huron
East's Brussels Public
School and Grey Public
School.
"We didn't even try to
get on ' the agenda
because there wasn't
enough time but we want
to hear any discussions
that take place," said
Mayor Lin Steffler on
Monday afternoon.
Steffler said she has "a
great deal of concern"
that Huron East is facing
the possible loss of three
of its schools after losing
two schools - Vanastra
Community School and
Walton Public School -
during the last round of
closures two years ago.
"It sounds like
someone's got it in for us
and I want to know why,"
she said.
She pointed out that if
all three schools close,
Huron East, which
amalgamated two towns
and three townships last
year, will be left with one
school - Seaforth Public
School.
by Susan Hundertmark
Inside...
New book on
Steven
Truscott..
Page 7
therapy week..
Page 10
SDHS named
for possible
closure again
Two other Huron East
public schools also on list
By Stu Slater
Special to"The Expositor
Seaforth District High School, along with Grey Public
School and Brussels Public School, are the Huron East
schools that have been named for possible closure in a
director's action report put forward for approval at last
night's (Oct. 23) meeting of the Avon District School Board.
SDHS is the only secondary school but 17 elementary
schools across the district were named for possible closure
within a list of possible changes to 46 of the Avon
Maitland's 55 schools.
School council groups from all schools approved for
further study -- into closure but also into such things as
border alterations to allow for the accommodation of
students whose schools close -- have now been asked to
submit reports by the end of November.•
Then, at the board's Dec. 11 meeting, trustees are expected
to vote on another staff report, identifying a final list of
schools to be studied in advance of a projected February,
2002 vote on closure or other alterations.
The board voted to close six of seven schools studied for
closure two years ago but a Seaforth community law suit
against the board kept SDHS and Seaforth Public School,
which the board planned to move to the high school's site,
open. Schools which closed two years ago included Vanastra
Community School, Walton Public School, McCurdy Public
School near Huron Park and Falstaff Public School in
Stratford.
Secondary schools in Clinton, Wingham, Listowel and
Stratford are also mentioned in recommendations from last
night's meeting, but only for possible boundary adjustments,
either to alleviate overcrowding at Listowel District
Secondary School or to accommodate students from SDHS.
The report recommends that SDHS students be
accommodated by F.E. Madill Secondary School in
Wingham, Central Huron Secondary, School in Clinton,
Mitchell District High School and South Huron Secondary
School in Exeter.
Background to the report states seven of the board's 10
See SDHS, Page 3
r...,<_ Susan Hundertmark photo
An eerie faceless tour guide (assistant curator Kyle Rea) will be leading interested groups on a
haunted tour of Van Egmond House on Halloween night.
Van Egmond's ghost still haunts
the historic house, says local woman
By Susan Hundertmark
Expositor Staff
Whispering voices followed Marg Weber
from the Van Egmond House basement up
the stairs and through the hallway to the
second floor while she and her husband Bill
searched for vandals one night 15 years ago.
That experience convinced the lifelong
Seaforth resident that Colonel Anthony Van
Egmond is haunting the Van Egmond House.
It all began when the Webers tried to solve
a mystery of lights being turned on and off at
the house at night.
Bill was one of several workers doing
renovations on the house at the time and he
was responsible for turning off lights and
locking up the house at the end of the day.
Marg was doing the evening shift at an out-
of-town factory and began noticing that lights
were burning in windows of the house close
to midnight on her way home.
"I'd come home and ask Bill why he'd left
the lights on and he'd say he hadn't," she
remembers.
One night when the house was completely
lit up, Bill returned to the house, convinced
that someone had broken in. He found all the
switches turned on but the house was still
locked and he could find no evidence of
anyone inside.
He began going back to the house regularly
when Marg reported lights on in different
rooms and would always find the doors still
locked but the lights on, sometimes in
different rooms than the ones Marg had seen
on her way past the house.
"He thought someone was doing it
somehow and really wanted t� catch the
person," says Marg.
One evening, the workers stayed close to
midnight checking the wiring to see if the
mystery's solution was an electrical problem
but found no reasons for the lights going on
and off.
On her way home from work that night,
See COUPLE, Page 2
CTV's Rod Black at Northside's anniversary
1
Susan Hundertmark photo
Rod Black, CTV sportscaster and Canada AM co -host, asks
local children about their heroes during a talk at Northside
United Church s anniversary service on Sunday morning.
By Susan Hundertmark
Expositor Staff
CTV sportscaster and
Canada AM co -host Rod
Black's friendship with
Seaforth's Dave McLlwain
• brought him to Northside
United Church's anniversary
celebration Sunday.
And, he cited former NHL
hockey player McLlwain,
along with Seaforth's famous
figure skater, Lloyd Eisler, as
two of his heroes during a
talk about the importance of
heroes as Sunday's sermon.
"My very good friends
come from this town and
they're heroes. Dave holds a
hockey camp every year here
for kids and Lloyd does so
much for kids too," he said.
Black said he's been good
friends with McLlwain since
the two of them were
roommates in Winnipeg for
one month 10 years ago.
After being introduced by
McLlwain's mother Audrey,
Black responded,"Thanks
Mrs. Mac" to his family
friend.
Before giving the
morning's sermon, he spoke
to the children of the
congregation about heroes,
asking who their heroes are.
While they discussed
famous sports personalities
as heroes, Black shared that
one of his greatest heroes
was a 10 -year-old boy called
Madi from the West African
country of Burkina Faso.
"I met this boy about six
years ago on the Savannah in
Africa just like in the Lion
King. And, while he was as
beautiful as you kids, he had
no MacDonalds, no
Gameboy and no TV. He
didn't even have water and
food," said Black.
Madi told Black he was his
hero after Black gave him a
Canadian flag during a visit
Black was making to Africa
with the Foster Parents Plan
of Canada.
But, after Black gave the
boy a litre of water -
something the boy hadn't had
all day - Black said tears
came to his eyes when he
watched how Madi shared
the water with all of his
friends. •
"He ran off like he had the
best gift in the world - the
best Christmas gift, the best
Halloween gift, the best
Easter gift. Here was a little
boy with nothing and the
water was worth more to him
than any material good. He
could have taken it to his
little mud hut and he could
have kept it for weeks but he
gave it to his friends," he
said.
Black said he then returned
to Madi and told him that
Madi was his hero.
"Heroes don't have to be
thanked or paid. They do it
because it's right," he said.
He said his. five or six
visits to places' in Africa,
Brazil and Nepal have shown
him the "atrocious and
horrifying" conditions many
people live in where there is
so much need.
"1 get back and I can't even
Sea BLACK, Page 2