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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2006-11-22, Page 4dilunbini ill 52 is one o t f ese aa This bill, in part, wi strip some teens oose to leave high school before the ag vQf 18, o eirr vilege of acquiring a driver' lice `The move begs the question; wh y " It is no small secret that today's •gh-school cur- riculum is so tough that more than a few parents find themselves shrugging and smiling politely wha asked by their cdre- me Indeed, the curriculum is so overwhelming that a .record number of students -- ranging into the 32 percentile according to some estimates --,- are drop- ping out because, simply put, they aren't making the grade, and standardized testing is just enough to send them out the door. Rather than address problems with curriculum, or eliminating costly programs of questionable . f merit, like standardized testing, the government is choosing to introduce this punitive measure that will have little effect other than preventing teenagers from acquiring employment requiring a driver's licence once they leave school. In other words, Bill 52 makes about as much sense as eliminating vending machines from schools while offering up French fries in the cafete- ria. Does the absurdly high dropout rate need to be addressed? Absolutely. But, taking away a teenager's driving privilege use he/she was not m g the grade in high hool does little more than alienate that youth fur- 4 er. In essence, it could well be argued that Bill 52 is doing its part to create the rebels without a cause for the New Millennium only this time the youth aren't licensed to drive. it is bills like these thatest the duly elected officials at Queen's Park,` withgtheir sweet incomes and hefty perks, have lost touch with the electorate they claim to serve.. It also shows an unwillingness to undo the harm caused by a former leader who was himself a teacher, but only for a year, which makes one wonder if he may have had a chip on his shoulder on the education question. -- CLH Page 4 November 22, 2006 • The Huron Expositor Opinion Proprietor and Publisher, Bowes Publishers Umited, 11 Main St., Seaforth, ON, NOK 1WO Your Community Newspaper Since 1860 E-mail us at seaforth@bowesnet.com Visit our home page at www.seaforthhuronexpositor.com 0 0 Canada �.T ! . OiIEBKOR MEDIA •�-�-+�� "We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada, through -the Publications • Assistance Program (PAP), toward our mailing costs." , �.;..%. Off-season full of excitement and optimism for ball fans My apologies in advance. Here is yet another column devoted to sports. Unless your team hap- pens to be one of the select few that gets to keep playing into October, the off-season for Major League Baseball is really the most important (and sometimes exciting) time of the year for fans. This is when all of the important decisions are made; .players are released, while others are signed or resigned. Team management works around the clock for five months, look- ing for the right ingredients, attempting to mold their team into a contender before spring training arrives in March. Last off-season was one of the more exciting in recent memory for the Toronto Blue Jays, with the signing of B.J. Ryan, Troy Glaus, A.J. Burnett, Lyle Overbay and Bengie Molina. Should we expect another off-season quite like that? Well, I hope not. Firstly, they can't afford it and secondly, they don't need to since most of those named above are returning. Yet, I've been already pleasantly surprised once this off-season, when the Blue Jays By .Jeff • ileuchert Ron & bove This is stupid! There's nothing but war and violence in the paper every day! Why can't people just get alongl signed veteran free -agent slugger Frank Thomas, who last season made a improbable return to 'Big Hurt' form, when he hit .270 with 39 homers and 114 0 RBIs with the Athletics. Thomas fills what I think was one of the few glaring holes in the Blue Jays' day-to-day lineup last season - the DH. As for those other holes, starting pitching is still a problem in Toronto. (I'm really getting tired of writing that sentence.) As of now, Blue Jays' general manager J.P. Ricciardi says he'd like to resign left hander Ted Lilly, who made 32 starts. last season and went 15-13 with a 4.31 ERA and led the team with 160 strikeouts. However, Lilly's agent has already fielded offers from 14 other teams, some of which will surely out bid any offer Thronto can make. While the free -agent market does have some big names like Barry Zito, Mark Mulder and Andy Pettitte, they will likely be well out of Toronto's price range, which isn't.terribly troubling since the Blue Jays really only need to fill the four and five spots in their rotation. See FOUNDATION, Page 24 • • War and aggression are merely extensions of the sibling rivalry that children engage in to attain dominance in the family. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: LOCAL - 36.18 a year, in advance, plus G.S.T. SENIORS: - 34.17 a year, in advance, plus G.S.T. Foreign: 36.18 a year in advance, plus $181.48 postage, G.S.T. exempt U.S.A.: 36.18 a year in advance, plus $92.56 postage, G.S.T. exempt Published weekly by Sun Media at 11 Mairi St., Seaforth. Advertising is accepted on condition that in the event of a typographical error, the advertising space occu- pied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable alrowance for signature, will not be charged, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. In the event of a typographical error, advertising goods or services at a wrong price, goods or services may not be soli. Advertising is merely an offer to sell and may be withdrawn at any time. The Hurdn Expositor is not responsible for the Toss or damage of unsolicited manuscripts, photos or other materials used for reproduction purposes. PUBLICATION MAIL AGREEMENT 40064683 PAP REGISTRATION NO. 7605 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO Circulation Department P.O. 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