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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1991-01-09, Page 2Page 2 INNIk Ti :. • vocate, January 9, 1991 TW THF NPWS First meeting newlocai c�i EXETER- - Ken Hermann says he has Aostood pa- rade f routes I �ti in the area and seen marching bands from far and wide perform for local crowns. He has wondered why Exeter itself does not have its own band. He has also heard other people ask the same question. "People say 'what's wrong with Exeter, why don't we have our own band?' I've heard that so many times," said Hermann. Next month, however, that may all change. On J ebruary 4, Her- mann is hoping enough volunteers with a musical bent will arrive at South Huron District High School to create a musical ensemble Exet- It's all over - Trevor Obre and Mike Schwindt left the land of candy and Nintendo to retum to Exeter Pub- lic School on Monday. No doubt more than a few parents were relieved to see the end of the longer - than -usual Christmas break. HP board has no promises to hold'scho�l taxes down EXETER - When council asked for a promise to hold education tax increases to inflationary levels, Huron Perth Separate School board representatives at Monday's council meeting couldn't give one. Councillor Ben Hoogenboom put the question to trustee Mike Ryan and Dr. James Brown, the new administrator for the board. Both attended the meeting at coun- cil's request. Fire caught just in time CREDITON - A Crediton area man feels very lucky that his water meter was being checked. On Fri- day, while Bill Muller was asleep: Ron Pickering showed sip to do his usual meter check for the Stephen Township PUC. While running the test he noticed smoke coming from Muller's barn which houses his livestock, mostly cattle and pigs. The tephen Fire Department was calla out but Pickering hadr the small blaze well in hand. "It wasn't much of a fire" said Muller, "but if it had of gone for a while it might have been bad". The fine apparently started when an electrical cord for a light fell to the floor and ignited some wood. Muller says that the only signifi- cant damage was done to the cora and that can be easily replaced. Even schools won't escape the GST CLINTON - Huron County : I. 1 of Education director 13ob Al �: said for the most pari - the board ill fall victim to the newly- legislat- 1 seven percent Goods and Services Tax. Howev, the board will be eligi- ble for tax rebates of up to 68 per- cent on most of the items pur- chased. After the rebates are figured into the accounting books, the board will be paying out an extra $263,532 in GST overall, said Al- lan. Allan also noted for the record that the federal government's fore- cast of the GST's inflationary im- t as one and a quarter percent ell below the board's findings. Hoogenboom asked what chanc- es there were of a budget increase of 4-4.5 percent. Brown told council there was no way of knowing what the final budget would be until -the provin- cial transfer payment were set. He said provincial increases have been at about 4 percent, but cost increases have been up around 7 and 8 percent, thus meaning the extra had to be "downloaded" onto the municipal ratepayers. Ryan noted about 75 percent of the board's budget is for wages. "What we do know is our costs will continue to rise," said Brown. He said GST applies to some board purchases and teacher con- tract settlements have been around- six round six percent. Negotiations with the Huron Perth teachers are presently 'under way. "Education is highly labour in- tensive," said Brown. "I'm, not dodging your question, we simply do not know." he con- cluded. Brown said the bo d must firstly look after the inter() is of the chit dren, keep salaries attractive enough to good teachers, and also look after interests of those who have to pay the to es. Reeve Bill Mickle ed if there was any chance the board could re- ject provincial progtams it thought were too expensive and of little val- ue. "If we have to supply something, have to supply tt, period," said n, who sugges provincial s will pile up until sombl th'";'. the public eventually rebel. n said education initiatives are , ten used as election plat- forms, on the belief that such pro- grams will win votes - and added that the 20 -pupil -per -teacher ratio in the primary grades was such a platform. Extra provincial grants have only covered staffing, not the buildings needed to house addition- al classes. But Brown said school boards cannot stand up against the minis- try of education simply because of__ their control over funding. Beyond that, Brown noted school boards also face fixed costs which cannot be cut by any thrifty action of a budget. He noted fuel oil and electricity are two items which have drastically increased in price, but which must be used to keep the schools open. set for cert band er can call its own. The Legion have put up some funds to help get the project off the ground and advertisements are run- ning in an effort to attract all com- ers to the first meeting. "It's going to be available for eve- ` ryone: male, female, old or young. ,There are no restrictions on it," said Hermann. Because Hermann and . cohort Bob Dinney hope the band will also draw interested people from the surrounding communities, they bre reluctant to label k as an exclusive- ly Exeter band. As of yet, the or- ganization does not have a name. Nor do the Legion lay any claims on its designation. "It's not going to be a Legion band," said Hermann. "But they are providing us with the seed mon- ey to get it started up." He suggested a competition may even be held to come up with the best name as well as to boost public interest in it. But not wanting to count their chickens before they hatch, Her- mann and Dinney are firstly con- cerned with finding the band mem- bers. They aren't even sure how many they'll need. "I don't know how many mem- bers - as many as we can get," said Hermann, who noted that conduc- tor 'Rob Robilliard is even willing to give instruction to anyone who wants to play but have little or no musical experience. "Rob feels they'll pick it up pretty fast," said Hermann. It is expected that once the band is up and running, they will become a regular feature in local parades, Remembrance Day services, and the occasional concerts. Rehearsals will likely be once a week. Board of education told to prepare for "profound changes" CLINTON - "We are witnesses to profound changes in World Or- der," said chair Joan Van Den Broeck in her inaugural address to the Huron County Board of Educa- tion, Monday. Van Den Broeck said the board will be facing increasingly difficult conflicts in the 1990s. "We have now entered the final year of our current term of office," said Van Den Broeck. "There was a time when we could look back at our achievements at the end of a term with the sure and certain ex- pectation that the New Year would bring 'business as usual.'" Van Den Broeck's speech hinted at the discontentment the board was experiencing because of in- creasingly stringent provincial gov- erment legislation including jun- ior kindergarten and class -size restrictions. She said when the board set the 1990 budget, they did not realize how much their role would "ex- pand and diversify". 'There was a clear vision of com- munity expectations and we moved forward with confidence that we could address the issuesat band,'; she said. Van Den Broeck had a grim,fi- nancial forecast for the coming decade with the recession and the Centralla'girl struck by car EXETER - On Sunday, ber 30 a 10 year-old Centralia youth was taken to South Huron Hospital after bei struck by a car. The mishcurred on County Road 21 i rout of the Stephen Township arena when the child ran out frpm behind another vehicle. Julie Forest stepped into the path of a southbound vehicle which was able to avoid her, but was then stick by another car travelling north. Fortunately, the youth sustained only minor inju- ries. The vehicle was not dam- . aged andthem were no charges laid. The Exeter detachment reports that its holiday season RIDE pro- gram was very successful. During the month of December officers checked 7199 vehicles which re- sulted in five drinking driving charges, 12 liquor seizures and 6 twelve hour license suspensions. This year was the first for the Tie One On For Safety red ribbon pro- -TastyNu Cieto• Norte R T ........ 3.. - Atit3H CARA)*..... .....599 %. Nab R rm p Z`iCAGitb i�1n.K I IIACRII arms% Il WV HAVE A Net VARIETY oeNCiar 001411r3 rod 199 SCGaiter -Kneels Exeter Grand Bond Hensel 236-2420 238-8484 262-2119' l sag dim% WWII MON gram. Response for support of the program was excellent in the com- munity and the detachment has al- ready decided to repeat it during the 1991 Christmas season. Drivers are reminded to adjust driving habits to coincide with road and weather conditions. If you feel you must drive in poor weather contact the MTO Winter Road In- formation Centre at 1-800-265- .5407 to check conditions. Drivers arc also reminded that travelling on a closed road is an offense and may also void your insurance coverage. Carl G. Kingston OGA, 476 Main St., S., Unit #3, (Devon Building) Exeter 235-1153 Accounting, Bookkeep- ing and Corporate Tax H &O R Block New Locatio 476 Main St. S. Unit #3 (Devon Building) Exeter 235-1153 Confidential Consultations available in farm and personal income tax potential inflationary effects of the newly -imposed Goods and Servic- es Tax. "When we set the 1990 budget little did we know that the difficul- ties we faced then were but the har- binger of things to come," she said! Van Den Broeck said a key ele- ment to a successful educational program included strong communi- ty backing. "The delivery of education can not be viewed in isolation. A multi - ministerial commitment to educa- tion coupled with community dia- logue is essential if education is to be positioned to meet the challeng- es of a rapidly -changing society," she said. Van Den Broeck believes the fi- nancial implications of the 1991 agenda will be considerable. "While the public schools in the provinces have been busy imple- menting a social agenda for public education (including adult and spe- cial education programs) have we been investing the same energy in ensuring that young people are equippedwitb the necessary nub meracy Md literary skills to corn= pete successfully in a•global econo- my?" she asked rhetorically. Van Den Broeck stressed the im- prtance of properly training the ioneers for the 21st Centurynot- Villat'e looks ito 911 GRAND BEND - Residents here will be pleased to know that the vil- lage is seeking in- formation on how • to bring the 911 Emergency Phone Service to their community. At Monday night's council'meet- , ing, the village received a letter from the Township of Enniskillen, who along with other Lambton County municipalities; are consid- ering bringing\the important ser- vice to their community. The system is through Bell Can- ada and would be linked to their lines. However, Grand Bend is part of the Hay Township Telephone System, which does not have the 911 Emergency Service. Councillor Dennis Snider said he believed it would cost Hay Town- ship as much as $250,000 to get the service. "What we're wondering is if Hay can join with Bell and share diecost, said reeve Bruce Woodley. Woodley instructed acting. clerk - treasurer Tom Maier to write to En- niskillen Township for furthet in- formation. "If the costs are reasonable I• course well go ahead with it," said Woodley. ing current education finances and administrations are products of the 1960s. Van Den Broeck addressed the hoard's wish to see the provincial government develop and legislate new partnership for education in- • eluding examining the role of school trustees and their relation- ship to the community. "We wilt continue to ensure that our students receive the best educa- tion we can afford to provide," said Van Den Broeck in summation of her address, "And watch with inter- est, the development of new strate- gies for governing and financing education as they unfold in the coming year." 111 3/4%410 MS GVAIL 3-3 yr. .11N41311TRANIWERMILS VIA CHARM RANK • 1NVESTMI N 524.2773 Ga1.,1/4., 1.800.265.5503 BAILEY' S of Mensal' Ltd. • Highway 14 262-2020 home comfort people • Furnaces' Air conditioning ' • Heat pumps ' We aren't comfortable... ... until you are! On January lest something important happened at your workplace. You should know what it is! health end safety Ofl the job becameyour business. • To further reduce workplace injuries and illness, the Occupational Health and Safety Act introduced new rights and responsibilities that affect thousarlds of workplaces that were previously excluded. Even those that employ only six people are.affected by special provisions of the new law. Fres kifenwnlioa Is avails. MN *this the Touts was till los.padal kifonsatoa sembec 327.0001. !Areca sapless arae la the province e* 14004014317. I* set cal we • Ontario Ministry of _ Labour 1