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Home My WebLink AboutHuron Expositor, 2004-09-29, Page 5News THE HURON EXPOSITOR, *apt. 29, 2004-5 Carnochan returns from Florida as second crew leaves Local Hydro One crew helps restore power after hurricane Frances, only to be hit by Jeanne One By Susan Hundertmark Expositor Editor After two weeks of 18 -hour days restoring the electricity in Florida after hurricane Frances, Bob Carnochan returned to Egmondville two days before the eye of hurricane Jeanne hit the same area where he'd been working. Monday morning, Mike Durst, of Seaforth, left for Florida with the second Hydro One crew out of the Clinton work centre. "He (Durst) could be doing the same job all over again. I imagine she'd (the work they've done would) be all down after Jeanne," said Carnochan Monday afternoon. Five staff members from the Clinton work centre joined a "small army" of 270 lines staff in 130 trucks from Hydro One that joined •relief efforts in Florida more than two weeks ago. Carnochan and his nephew Jared joined the convoy through a travelling crew out of London. They made the three-day trip at the end of last week. During 15 days of working in 44-46 degrees Fahrenheit heat, Carnochan said he was moved by the people of Florida and the devastation they were dealing with. "The people were very, very good. There were 'Thank you Canada' signs everywhere and they came up to you all the time with food and water. They'd give you anything," he said. "1 felt sorry for the people in Florida. Not everyone had their roofs blown off but even the places with a few shingles off had a lot of water damage with drywall and plaster falling down inside," he said. Some houses were missing Bob Carnochan, of Egmondville, is back from a two-week trip to Florida with Hydro One. roofs and walls and Carnochan said you were able to see right into the house. "People were in pretty good spirits considering they'd had to deal with three hurricanes in six weeks," he said. He said many of the motels in the area were full of people whose homes had been destroyed by hurricanes. "That's why we had to drive an hour and a half every morning to the job sites," he said. While many of the workers were acclimatized to the heat after about three days, Carnochan said they still had to drink 24 bottles of water a day to keep from being dehydrated. "Still, there were guys passing out.," he said. And, because they were working in backyard construction through the foliage, they had to be on the lookout for various poisonous snakes and spiders, biting red ants and crocodiles. "There were lots of little animals. I saw scorpions and the spiders weren't so little. Some guys saw a snake and I went the other way. I. hate snakes," he said. "But, you'd try to get that out of your mind while you were working," laughed Camochan. The highlight of the trip for Carnochan was raising more than $1,000 out of pocket for a kids' football team, which was able to use the money to buy jerseys with Hydro One symbols on the back. Carnochan said his crew was invited to use the air- conditioned upstairs hall at a football field to eat their boxed lunches. While they were eating, they watched a football tournament happening in the field below. Because the woman who invited them to use the field was the coach of one of the teams that hadn't found a sponsor yet. "When we heard that, we told her we'd take care of that," he said. "Football's like hockey down there - it's really popular." The team was named the Hydro One Redskins. "We at Port Lucie Athletic Association and the Hydro One Redskins youth football team want to thank the men sent down here to rescue us for their generous contribution to our team and to our community," said team manager Karen Weiss in a press release from Hydro Kennedy pledges support for rural schools By Laura Cudworth Stratford Beacon Herald Staff Extra support for rural schools: $31 million. Keeping schools open after hours for community groups: $20 million. Making sure school buses stay on the road: $33 million. A standing ovation for an education minister from teachers: priceless. Education Minister Gerard Kennedy didn't face the hostility former Conservative education minister Elizabeth Witmer faced in a room full of teachers. Kennedy addressed teachers and staff from the Huron -Perth Catholic District School Board at St. Mike's Friday afternoon. He was applauded for his recent announcement that standardized testing time would be cut in half and that published lists of results school -by -school would be stopped. While the testing has been controversial since its inception, Kennedy said it does serve a purpose. "EQAO has become a bit of a four letter word in education, but if we're going to move toward more funding, we need to know what the challenges are (over time)," he said. Kennedy talked about the importance of publicly funded education. He noted public schools have lost 38,000 kids to private schools and that one in four new students ends up in Write Your Ovv t 1 link Slip Are you tired of watching the years slip away white you put off creating the business (and the Fife) you dream oft' You've been thnking of making a change for a long time but you keep chickening out. Now you don't have to waft any longer. Dr. Chris Morgan, author of "The Science of Getting Rich", and "Double Your Life Expectancy", has created a powerful coaching 5 mentoring program, how to get what you really want, whether its more money more love, more luck, more confidence, your own business, or how to climb the corporate ladder. Ws a one on one program to create a blueprint for your life. Working together with a personal coach -mentor, you can bring your life into perspective, realize your vision, your deserves, your goals, receive support as you discover what you are truly capable of You will enjoy a life that is richer, and more complete. Give me 90 days of your time. Let me share with you the "Prhtcfple" of achieving Rnanctal independence and maybe even start your awn business— FOR BROCHURE CALL 5244564. a private school. "The root of that is confidence," he said. "We get our civilization based on education. We get our advancement socially based on education, so it's where you're going, not where you came from." Since coming to power less than a year ago, the Liberals have spent $1.1 billion on education. "We are not throwing money at education, but we are throwing commitment at it. We believe kids can't wait and the education system can't wait," he said. Though the minister was well received by teachers, earlier this week both the Catholic and public school boards were expressing some concern with the per -student funding formula. Both boards were happy with the injection of extra money for rural schools announced earlier this week, but said the money won't keep schools ?pen in the long term because both boards are experiencing declining enrolment in elementary schools. Until the per -student funding formula is changed, boards with declining enrolment will continue to struggle financially. administrators said. "This is a change in the funding formula. It's nothing less. It's saying there will be different provisions for rural schools than there are for other schools," Kennedy said after his speech. "We acknowledge there's more to do. There is a plan here." Kennedy said there will be a complete rural policy, which is being developed step-by-step. "There will be a separate rural funding formula and it will be much fairer than the one people have experienced. It's already fairer because of the steps we've taken." Kennedy acknowledged that changes will not guarantee all rural schools stay open, but did say the changes would make them more viable and the funding formula won't contribute to closures in rural areas. After speaking to teachers, the minister also defended thc recent "claw back" in funding for special education from the Avon Maitland District School Stop Smoking: GVMANT!EL ...or it's. FREE. Tried everything and failed? X Smokers works or it's FREE! With our 94 percent graduation rate, you've nothing to lose. You'll quit or it's FREE! ONE YE AR Stic,,CE Ss a 4.%), ././ce /WV way: chirwrysiy afWro,,, o,.,,, MrvirstSiAnd' REE INFORMATION SESSIONS SEPTEMBER 26 AND OCTOBER 3 NEAR YOU Call early to reserve your place 1-866-976-6537 toll-free Bring your cigarettes. or the smoke-breakl Every patient I have sent to X Smokers has quit with very little difficulty and remained off cigarettes. It's hard to beat 100 percent success! Terry Vanderheyden, N.D. Board. Because the Avon Maitland board carried reserve funds over to this year, the ministry took hack $619,0(X). The minister said that before the election, the criteria were changed and the number of kids identified as acute special needs jumped from 27.0(X) to 54,000 in two years at a cost of $363 million. Money taken hack from school hoards that had a "surplus" will he pooled together. In two to three weeks, boards will be able to apply to get some of thc money hack. "What it is, is us saying yes, we'll step up to the plate. Yes, we will trust boards and say that these kids have extraordinary needs, but we need you to work with us too. And that means allowing the surplus, which is probably about $50 million provincewidc, to be used for the higher purpose of helping these kids, because there is an absolute shortage of money and we can't grow at this kind of rate and have a sustainable system." "Our league wanted to honour the men for all the hard work they have done for our neighbourhood by naming a football team for them.They have gone far beyond for us and we thank them and those of you who sent them to us," she said. Another highlight for Carnochan was "distributing" the "I Love Canadian Beef" stickers he took down to Florida with him. "We plastered them on every truck we saw," he laughed. Located e tie s etVer Veieumt eou.rtite, LBERT STREET DENTURE CLINIC Denture Specialist k Dean R. McTaggart D.D. Complete and Partial Dentures Denture Repairs Relines - Additions 482-1195 50 ALBERT STREET CLINTON Church Services BEREAN COVENANT CHURCH A CHURCH PLANT OF GRACE TRINITY COMMUNITY CHURCH prangs HMI, S.North b27-0029 10 am Family Sunday School 11 em Worship Service 7 pm Prayer Meeting Pastoral Team: Pastor Bob Penhearow Pastor Ron Matthews Pastor R • al Hamel t. omas Anglican Church A Corgregatbn ol ne Parish of The Holy Spot Jarvis St. Seaforth Fr Michael Atkins Pansh Office 527-1522 Sunday, October 3 Harvest Thanksgiving Service Sunday Worship - 9:30 em Mondays - Prayer Group at 7 pm Growers Group at 730 pm Healing Service - Wed. Oct. 6 - 7 pm Eve one Welcome Bethel Bible Church An Associated Gospel Church 126 Main St. Seaforth 527-0982 Sunday Worship Hour 11 am Sunday School 9:45 am Jim Wyllie - Pastor N • RTH IDE - CAVAN UNITED CHURCHES Cavan 9:30 a m 1100 a.m. Northside Winthrop 54 Goderich St. W. Minister Rev. John Gould Sunday, October 3 World Wide Communion - Northside Church 11:00 a.m. No Service at Cavan Communion - What's That About? Reverend Henry Hubert Preaching You are invited to attend these area churches Catholic Church St. James RC Church 14 Victoria Street, Seaforth 527-0142 Weekend Masses: Sat 5:15 pm Sun. 11:00 am St. Columban RC Church Saturday Mass at 7:30 pm Father Lance Magdziak Egmondville United Church Sunday, October 3 Worship Service at 11 am Sunday School• Ages 88 up -10 em Steve Hildebrand Lay Pastoral Minister In Training Everyone Welcome Mark Saturday, Nov. 13, 2004 on your calendar!! Join us for a 'Sugar Plum Tea 8 Bazaar' 10 am -4 pm at Egmondville United Church First Presbyterian Church Goderich St. W., Seaforth Minister Rev. Henry Huberts SUN., OCTOBER 3 We will be taking pan in the World Wide Communion Service at Northside United Church at 11 am (First Presbyterian Church will be closed on Oct. 3 Baby Mexx, Kids Mexx, Krickets, OshGosh, Timmy baby, ?bmmy Kids, Masacdo, TXT. Snowsuits, hats, scarves, mitts. Sizes from newborn to size 16 Highway 4 south of Blyth (519) 523-4595 www.ttheoldmill.ca