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Times-Advocate, 1986-11-12, Page 25r LoSes by 10-3 margin Times -Advocate, November 12, 1986 Page .13A 88 board vetoes beginners class at Exeter The establishment of a Beginners Class at Precious Blood School in Ex- eter was turned down by the Huron - Perth County Roman Catholic Separate School Board Monday in a vote of ten to three. The proposal to establish the class was made at the last board meeting on October 27 by the school's prin- LOCALS IN FILM — Vulcan Productions of Toronto are shooting a film for a television pilot show at Grand Bend this week. Shown here are area actors and extras. From the left are Phil Campbell and Marc Marier, Exeter; Brian Downing, Huron Park and Brian Blackburn, Exeter. T -A photo. Farmers unconvinced hydro grid is needed Almost a full year since a provin- cial hearing began here into a plan by Ontario Hydro to string more power lines out of its Bruce nuclear facility on Lake Huron, Southwestern Ontario farmerse and other rural landowners potentially affected by the lines still are not convinced of their need. Tony MeQuail, a Lucknow area farmer who has been representing the interests of the rural landowners'. group from the start, told an Ontario consolidated hearings board panel Thursday the- issue remains a sore point with his members, particular- ly farmers who feel they are being forced to make unwanted sacrifices for wasteful Ontario power consumers. McQuail's concern - and one shared by more than 1,200 members of the Foodland Hydro Committee in Bruce, Huron and Middlesex counties - is the likelihood the lines will cross prime farmland areas between the Bruce Nuclear Power Development and the London area. The Bruce -to -London link is part of Day care centre seeking assistance By Lois Fitzgerald If you enjoy people and have some free time, the Huron Day Centre for the Homebound could really use you. The Huron Day Centre is in need of volunteers, especially in the Blyth, Goderich and Exeter areas of the county. We need drivers to bring clients to the Centre and stay for the day to help out. We pay mileage of 22e a kilometre. If you are at all in- terested, please contact us here at 482-7943. The summer and fall have been very busy as usual. with regular ac- tivities for our clients of exercises, whirlpool baths, music, footcare, crafts, cards, shuffleboard, etc. The swim therapy for our Stroke Recovery Club has now ended, however, will resume next spring. The Day Centre enjoyed several ex- cursions this summer. In July. about Stephen okay severance bid Stephen township has approved a severance application from Frank Regier at Lot 18 Concession 11 with conditions to be met. Reeve Tom Tomes who is also chairman of the recreation commit- tee will be checking into grant recom- mendations concerning the 1987 On- tario senior games. No objections were voiced to an Ex- eter Zoning bylaw and an amendment to the Grand Bend official plan. Ownership of two properties in the municipality have been vested hack to the township as the result of recent tax arrears sales. One tile drain loan application of $3.000 was accepted. Clerk Wilmar Wein will be atten- ding the annual meeting of the Iluron Municipal Officers Association to be held in Goderich, November 21. 40 clients and volunteers went on a bus trip to the Lambton County Museum. All enjoyed a picnic_ lunch there on the grounds and the displays at the museum. Our clients and volunteers delighted in a visit at the Wingham Day Care Center on July 17. On August 21, clients and volunteers traveled to Grand Bend, to the Huron Country Playhouse to see "Annie". On October 20, a Day Centre caravan travelled through the country on a "colour cavalcade" ending at the Benmiller Falls for tea and cookies. Bowling has resumed again for another year, with even more clients showing an interest. Last year's awards were presented to Bob Groves. Goderich, for high average; high single went to Murray Rollison• Auburn: high double went to Bob Thompson Londesboro: most improv- ed bowler went to Alex McMichael, Goderich. A bowling mug was presented to all of those who participated. The Huron Day Centre annual bazaar held on October 5 at the Clin- ton Town Hall was again a success. A big thank you to all of those who participated with donations of baking. crafts, and/or volunteering their time. it was all greatly appreciated. A special thanks to our volunteers who came out to our Baking Blitz. Thank you. also, to Kuenzig Food Market for their donation of a $10.00 gift certificate and to Clinton Produce for their donation of L.! bushel of ap- ples which were drawn as door prizes at the Bazaar and won by Barbara Van Damme and Leslve Glover, both from Clinton. A free wheel chair repair and maintenance clinic, sponsored by the March of Dimes and the Huron Day. Centre will be held at the Iluron Day ('entre, Clinton, on Saturday, November 15 (9a.m. - 5 p.m. ). Please call for an appointment as soon as possible with make and model of wheelchair you wish repaired at 482-7943. the $427 -million system plan prefer- red by Hydro to move electicity from the Bruce facility, power which it says will be "bottled -up" unless the lines are built. Hydro has argued the lines are also needed to strengthen the Southwestern Ontario portion of the provincial power grid. But McQuail told the board Thurs- day the proposal, known as System Plan 7, should only be approved following an "independent evalution" by a U.S.-Canadian power co- ordinating council, and only after cer- tain safeguards are in place to protect farmers. The plan calls for not only the lines from Bruce to a new London area transformer station in Caradoc Township, but a 'Bruce -to -Barrie link across the Niagara escarpment. In addition, a line would connect the new London transformer station with Hydro's Nanticoke generating station. McQuail said the escarpment rpt,te is the best proposal outside of "no lines". Hydro also could avoid further agricultural impacts in Elgin and Ox- ford counties in building its badly needed London-to-Nanitcoke link by rebuilding an existing 230,000 -volt line, he suggested. "We're not against progress," McQuail conceded during the final phase of a hearing that so far has con- sumed 124 days. But any lines deem- ed necessary by. the three-member hearing board headed by Toronto lawyer Robert Eisen should avoid crossing over farmland, he urged. Chris Tzekas, the Toronto lawyer for the coalition, told the board Thurs- day that notwithstanding the likely environment impacts of crossing sen- sitive escarpment regions, the long- term benefits of Hydro's preferred system plan are at best uncertain. Tzekas said the Bruce -to -London route would be more logical from the standpoint of serving areas most in need of the lines. But McQuail said the impact of the lines on prime food - growing land, the best in Canada, was too important for the board to ignore. While farmers regard themselves as being responsible members of society, said McQuail, "we object to being forced to take the unwanted elements of that society." He said the rural community doesn't see why it has to fall in line with a growing segment of Ontario power consumers who, they feel, ap- pear to be less concerned with wasteful energy practices than in demanding Ontario llydrd be more attuned to conserva lion practices and alternative sources of energy supply. But for McQuail, that expression of concern appeared more as a lament than forceful argument. Even he ad- mitted under questioning by Eisen that some lines may be necessary. STEPHEN STUDENTS AT CCAT - A number of area elementary school students attended Wednesday's Open House at Centralia College of Agricultural Technology. Shown with Barb Shipley of the college staff arfoStephen Centrol students Darren Mason, Robert Kramer, Christine Schode and Stacey Roder ice'• cipal, Margaret Medve, on the basis of ten inquiries by parents to have the children registered who wW have their birthdays between January 1, 1987 and July 1 and would be eligible to be admitted to school on the first day of School in the following September according to Ministry of Education regulations. Mrs. Medve said the children would be registered now to attend the pre- sent Kindergarten class of nine pupils the first of January. She said there was adequate space and equipment and adequate accommodation available an present buses. Before the vote on the Beginners Class effective January 1, 1987 to June 30 for the purpose of field testing and assessing the impact of such classes, the trustees questioned the need of such a class or whether the children would be better off at home. They questioned whether it would be a disadvantage for the younger children to be put in with kindergarten children who had been in school for four months and they questioned whether the kindergarten children would be held back by these beginners. They wondered if next year they would be beseiged by parents wanting a Beginners Class started in their area. When Chairman Ron Marcy called for the vote, only three voted yes. The board approved a recommen- dation of ifs Board Accommodation Review Committee that St. Columban School and St. Patrick's School, Dublin, be reorganized commencing September 1987 with primary grades from both schools being housed at St. Columban School (Kindergarten to Grade 3) and the Junior and In- termediate grades (Grade 4 to 8) from both schools being accom- modated at St. Patrick's School. Too, the board approved that the existing transportation service to St. Columban School be replaced, com- mencing September 1, 1987, with in- dependent buses servicing St. Colum - ban and St. Patrick schools only. Currently kindergarten to grade 8, including kindergarten pupils from Fields needing some attention Rain, rain and more rain. The fah of 1986 will go down in the books with its record breaking precipitation. Even systematically tiled land is hard pressed to firm up between downpours. Harvesting of white beans and corn silage have, in many cases, taken place under less than ideal conditions, resulting in fields be- ing compacted and rutted. This in itself is bad enough, but there is a carryover effect from this. Research has shown that it takes up to five years for freeze -thaw action to restore.compacted soil to its original state. Soil density increases with com- paction and pore space in the soil is decreased resulting in impeded root growth of succeeding crops. Water in- filtration and internal soil drainage are also reduced leading to increas- ed runoff and slower drying following periods of heavy rainfall or high snow melt. Hopefully weather conditions will improve and the remaining harvest and fall tillage can be com- pleted with minimal soil damage. Another thing to look for this fall is erosion, especially rill erosion in row crops following these heavy rains. If nothing else, this could be a good time to check these fields for areas of ex- cessive soil loss. In many cases the erosion can be minimized by altering ones tillage and/or cropping prac- tices. Such things as crop rotation, strip cropping or reduced tillage can often correct minor erosion problems. Crop rotations, especially those A containing a soil building crop such as winter wheat and legume plow down, give winter cover and add organic matter to the soil. Strip cropping across the slope can greatly reduce downslope erosion, especially if alter- nating strips can be grass -legume hay or cereal. Width and number of strips depends on the length and degree of slope. Reduced tillage can mean fewer passes in the spring when preparing a seedbed or modifying your fMI tillage problem to leave more residue cover over winter. Tillage tools such as mulch tillers or modified prong point plows can be used to leave fifty per cent or more of crop residue on surface of the soil. The More cover the less susceptible the soil is to the ravages of wind and water. Again, cross slope or contour tillage will help hold the soil against the natural flow of water on slopes. If however, the damage due to ero- sion is more severe, specialized land management control measures should also be used. Some of the most commonly used are grassed water- ways, drop inlet catchbasins and rock chutes. Grassed waterways are broad, shallow, permanently seeded channels used to carry concentrated water flows to a drainage outlet. Drop inlet catchbasins may be used to, divert surface water flow under- ground to a satisfactdry outlet. Water flow paths with abrupt changes in grade may require rock chutes in order to stop the4ormation of gullies. They are particularly useful along dit- chbanks or streams to carry concen- trated water flows. Soil erosion is a naturally occurring process that is common to all agricultural land. The use of good land management will reduce these losses and lead to an increase in long term soil productivityf have men- tioned only a few of the practices that can be employed toreduce the loss of valuable topsoil. Technical and finan- cial assistance is available through the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food. 6 St. Columban, attend St. Patrick's School in Dublin while St. Columban School has pupils in grade 1 to B. Trustee Vincent McInnes of Wingham, Chairman of the Board Ac- commodation Review Committee, outlined the history of the two schools, St. Patrick's built in 1969 with addi- tions added in 1964 and 1968 and the kindergarten class was moved In 1970 to the former Continuation School in Dublin (now the Board Office where it continues to be accommodated) . St. Columban, a fbur-room school was built in 1966. Accommodation has declined at St. Columban from 135 in 1970 to present 66 while at St. Patrick's in 1970 enrol- ment was 192 and currently 166. With surplus accommodation at St. Columban it will solve the problem of shortage of space at St. Patrick's with an overabundance of pupils by shif- ting students both problems can be solved by putting the primary grade's at St. Columban and the junior and in- termediate grades at St. Patrick's. This will ensure single grades for the most part in both schools through to June 1992 and possibly the mid 1990s. This reorganization not only creates single grades, with the odd exception, but it vacates the kindergarten space now in the board office and removes one - portable classroom from St. Patrick's and maintains the auxiliary use, other than classroom, of one por- table at St. Patrick's. 'Phis decision to .reorganize will better serve the students of the area, by making each school a more viable educational unit," said Mr. McInnes. He said improvement in resource allocation, staff utilization and ser- vices to students should result and these organizational units should serve the communities well into the future, he concluded. The Human Resource Development Committee gave a report of the work of that committee during 1985-86 on Monday night. Spokeman was the chairman, John M. Eacott assisted by Randy Brown, Assistant to Superintendent and Business & Finance. The committee was mostly federally funded because the govern- ment is interested id deveopment tak- ing place. On the committee were Trustees John Devlin of Stratford and Vincent Mclnnes of Wingham; administra- tion: William Eckert, John McCauley, Jack Lane and Randy Brown; teachers, Jim McDade, Carol Miland, Roberta Stemp, and Terry Wilhelm; and Government advisor, Ralph Yates. Tie committee was charged with the responsibility of establishing a human resource program for the academic staff and principals, recognizing affecting changes. In ad- dition the committee was to deter- mine joint courses or action and bring forth recommendations. Many of the recommendations have already been implemented. The board granted a two-year leave of absence for Theresa Bowins of Stratford, Religious Consultant with the board starting September, 1987. She plans to obtain her masters degree. The board will advertise for a replacement. Seek couples for seminars Calling all farm couples! If you missed it in 1986, then here's your -se- cond chance. What? Why the weekend seminars for farm couples being sponsored by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food. There will be six seminars in all (five English and one French) each con- secutive weekend from the beginning of February until the beginning of March at various locations across Ontario. Aside from offering the opportuni- ty to get away from work and family responsibilities for a mini -vacation. this weekend program offers the op- portunity to take a look at where you are going as a couple and how you will get there. Workshops will be offered in communications, goal setting and how to recognize and handle stress. The entire weekend package, in- cluding meals and two nights' accom- modation, is yours for only $135.00 per couple. For further details about dates and locations and to obtain an application form, contact the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Box 159, Clinton, Ontario NOM ILO, or phone 482-3428. INTERESTING ARTICLES — Sister Chrysosstom watches as Precious Blood students Jeff Averill and Amanda Northover, dressed in clothing from Guatemala,. examine some items from Kenya. Sister Chrysosstom is with the Holy Childhood Association, which helps children in Third World countries. Volleyball teams advance, ousted The SHIMS junior boys volleyball team won five out of their ten games in a tournament in Stratfottl, Monday. Their wins made the team eligible for Q e Huron -Perth playoffs which consNt of the top six teams. Competing against them in Huron - Perth are Stratford Central, Wingham, Clinton, Goderich and Mit- chell. The tournament takes place to- day with the top two teams advanc- ing to WOSSA. The SHDHS senior boys volleyball team won only two out of their six games played in their tournament Monday in Stratford. The Panthers split games with Stratford Northwestern and Goderich but lost both games to Wingham and failed to make the playoffs. The 'team not only played well throughout the tournament but also very well throughout the year. "Considering that South Huron hasn't had a senior volleyball team before, the calibre of play was ex- cellent," commented coach Joe Jankowski. 11.0 A BAKING WINNER -- CCAT student Assu nta Leo shows her se- cond prize loaf in the bread baking contest to Morley Hall of Exeter during Wednesday's Open House.,, T -A photo.