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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1992-11-04, Page 2Page ? Times -Advocate, November 4, 1992 eion rap u: Answers sought in OPP shooting response time PARKHILL - Answers are still beim sought as to why it wok an- hour and a half for the Ontario Provincial Police to re- spond to calls of gunfire in Park- hill during Thanksgiving. According to the Parkhill Ga- zette, a series of shots were fired in the Station -Bethany Streets area beginning about 10 p.m. Thanksgiving evening. Resi- dents said police were fast called about 10:15 p.m. Three tuner calls were made but pa lice still didn't reach the scene until about 11.35 p•rn. By that time, family members were fi- nally able to reason with the man and remove the gun from the premises. Complaints have since been sent to Ontario Premier Bob Rae and the force's top officer, Com- missioner Thomas O'Grady. The OPP have been reviewing tape recordings of telephone calls and information dispatched by the OPP eornmtmications centre in addition to interview- ing micas on duty at the time. Initially, residents were i n - farmed by the- OPP that four members of the force were -tied up with two other incidents, a break and enter near Stathroy and a suspected impaired driver. Bussing cut for 158 elementary students ST. MARYS - At least 158 St. Marys elementary public school students will be walking to school next September in an ef- fort to cut $70,000 from the edu- cation budget. According to the St. Marys Journal Argus, the Perth County Board of Education announced the changes at their October 20 meeting in Stratford. Currently, students living more than 1.2 km from their schools or who have to walk more than 1.6 km because of the c guuation-of-roads-are-anti-- tled to be bussed. Under the new policy, the distances have been changed to 2 km and 2.4 km respectively. For students who have been previously bussed, a shuttle ser- vice will be provided between St. Marys Central and Arthur Meighen for those students who live inside the 2 km radius or have to walk less than 2.4 km to school. Students would walk to the nearest school and then be bussed to their own. Teachers meet on violence CLINTON - Nearly 800 peo- ple took part last Friday in the first ever violence Against Women - Sensitizing Teachers presentation held at the Central Huron Secondary School. The professional development dray for both elementary and sec- ondary school teachers was sponsored by the Huron County Board of Education (HCBE) and featured some 36 presenters. The day provided teachers with 36 workshops from all fac- ets including therapists, psychol- ogists and lawyers, as well as keynote speakers. In addition, HCBE superinten- dent Chuck Rowland also an- nounced a Ministry of Education grant had been received from the Ontario Women's Directorate to help finance the next stage of programs. The target group will be secondary school and senior elementary school students. Two candidates seeking NDP nomination LUCKNOW - Two Huron farm- ers will be vying for the position of candidate for the New Democratic Party in the next.federal election. A nomination meeting will be held -November - 12 --at the --brow Town Hall. One nominee is Ross Heming- way, a Brussels area farmer and graduate of Seaforth District High School. Hemingway is alSo an -air- craft engineer for Air Onlaria,and has served as a union' officer *Ii the Canadian Auto Workers. The other contender is Tony McQuail, a graduate of Goderich District Collegiate Institute and the University of Waterloo. McQuail has been active in local farm and community organizations, served three terms with the Huron Board of Education and has served as an executive assistant to the Ont trio Minister -of -Agriculture and Food. - McQuail has represented the Hu- ron Brute riding in previous federal elections. Cathy Hird will be the guest speaker for the nomination meeting and will conduct the elections. - Hird is a Grey County farmer, Unit- ed Church minister, and the federal candidate for Bruce -Grey. Her ad- dress will focus on the costs of the North American Free Trade Agree- ment. -. Blyth Festival avoids deficit BLYTH - Due to an overwhelm- ing response by audience, friends, and supporters of the fund-raising initiative undertaken by, the Blyth Festival this summer officials say the theatre will end its fiscal year in astable finiuidial position. The unique Auction Plan was enacted by the Festival's Board of Directors after -mid-summer pro- jections forecast a deficit of $144,000 on the season. Precipitat- ed by a sharp down -turn in Box - Office sales, Blyth's financial cri- sis was met by immediate cut- backs, aggressive marketing strate- gies and requests for- donations through post pe rfamance appeals and a highly successful direct-mail campaign. "The outpouring of donations and levers of support was beyond belief," says Festival General • Manager, Ray Salverda. Council commended Letter to Editor Dear Sir. On behalf of. the advisory com- mittee of Take Heart Huron, I vault to commend town council for showing leadership trice again. Your recent decision to adopt the by-law limiting smoking in public areas within the town of Exeter is a very positive step towards im- proving the heart health of this community. Exeter is well re- garded for its many efforts in edu- cating the public and this new ini- tiative will further that process. Once again, congratulations! Deb Campbell, Exeter Chair -Advisory Committee, Take Heart Huron Board of Education Concerns over grade nine -"destreaming" CLINTON - While the provincial government appears ready to imple- ment changes over the next three years as part of their transition plan for grades 7-9, they seem to be keeping the Huron County Board of Education (HCBE) in the dark along with many anxious - students and parents. At a recent meeting of the Educa- tion Committee and again at Mon- day's regular Board meeting, much of the discussion revolved around changes that would take place as part of the Transition Years, partic- ularly the unstreaming of grade - -Dine -classes- 1993. "We are in a bit of a void waiting for provincial government informa- tion," said HCBE director Bob Al- lan. "But we've started locally try- ing to get as much information to the people as we can." Changes will include a core cur- riculum with limited options and no streaming in grade nine. There will be a greater emphasis on home- room groups, guidance and career development, and the integration of subjects such as math and science will be encouraged. Them is also a desire to have bet- ter and more frequent communica- tion with parents at the grade nine level. Work has already begun to send a communication's flyer to grade eight parents, and establish dates for Parents' Night. The HCBE already has three pilot projects currently on the go in Hu- ron County schools, but there is -.still..much .kis- tees as to whether they are ready to fully implement the program. "From what I've heard, the gov- ernment is ready. to implement this thing, but grade nine students aren't going to have textbooks to work from," said trustee Norm Pickell. "They can't be ready in time." London man fined $800 in Exeter court EXETER - A Landon man was given the choice of an $800 fine or 40 days in jail after pleading guilty to charges of having open liquor in a vehicle and driving with a blood alcohol count over 80 mg in Ex- eter court last Tuesday. William A. Burns of London pleaded guilty after an incident May 18. The court heard an officer stopped Burns on Concession 5 in Stephen Township at 8:50 p.m. no- ticing alcohol on his breath and finding open beer in the vehicle. A breathalizer test re- vealed readings of 150 mg and 140 mg. Judge R.O.E. Hunter gave Burns three months to pay the fine and included a twelve-month license suspension. Possession of narcotics Jeffery L. Elliot of Exeter pleaded guilty to a charge of possession of narcotics after police pulled over his vehicle and noticed the odor of narcotics. The court waits Sold Elliot said it was forfkijoriluse, and bad a val- ue of about $20. Elliot was given the choice of a $200 fine or 10 days with 60 days to pay the fine. Causing a disturbance Brian A. Sutherland of Huron Park was given the choice of a $100 fine with three months to pay or five days in jail following an inci- dent on Main St. in Exeter September 18. The court heard at about 11:40 pm. Sutherland began to cause a disturbance in the mall where he was making a lot of noise while ar- guing with another male and a female. Police were called and found Sutherland to be uncooperative. R 1,11('(11? .ce/u)()l plants tree 11) memory ')f teacher A tree -was planted In memory of former St. Patrick School teacher Janet Hem outside the window of her -old classroom Thursday morning. Hem, who was killed In a car acci- dent last month, taught at the school for many years and was fondly remembered by the students of the last class .she taught there - students who ar now in grade 7-8. Here Mn Lansink gives a reading to the students, staff, and family mbers who attended the tree planting service. Other schools where Hem taught have also planted trees in her memory. New gun laws OPP offering amnesty to illegal weapon owners .. axe ER - That military -style rifle you bought a few years ago to take care of a groundhog prob- lem on your farm may now be a restricted weapon under Canadi- an law. The Exeter OPP, in con- junction with other police forces across the country, are offering an amnesty this month to allow those with weapons now under the restricted or prohibited cate- gories to bring them in for regis- tration or disposal. OPP constable Ray Jack said he expects many people in the area will be surprised to learn they are now breaking the law by owning firearms they legally pur- chased only a short while ago. A feder.Older lder in Cq nail has expended thelist of arms classi- fied as either prohibited or re- stricted. Before October 1, pro- hibited weapons were mainly fully automatic machine guns and sawed-off shotguns. Restricted weapons were short -barrelled arms, such as handguns and car- bines, and had to be registered with the RCMP. Now however,- many high- capacity military style weapons are now prohibited. Some can be kept provided the owner pos- sessed it before August 1, 1992, and applied for gun collector stat- us by October 1. Many other such weapons cannot be kept un- der any circumstances. But a more common problem where citizens may run afoul of the law is the list of firearms now considered restricted. Many hunters and sportsmen have bought military surplus semi- automatic rifles because of their low cost .and readily -available surplus ammunition. But because of their high-capacity magazines and possible conversion to fully - automatic fire, they have now been classed as restricted. Consequently, anyone with an AK -47 type rifle, Colt AR -15, or several other kinds of semi- automatic versions of assault ri- fles and submachine guns, will now have to get that gun regis- tered or give it up for disposal. Such restricted weapons are not usable for hunting, but can be used for target shooting. Other military -style weapons have been exempted from the re- strictions, such as the Ruger Mini -14, or the MI Garand, but after January 1 will have to be limited to only a five -shot capaci- OPP constable Ray. Jack holds a rifle similar to the one used in the Montreal Ecole Polytechnique killings, but which does not fall under new firearms restrictions. However, the 15 -round magazine he holds will be illegal for civilian use by January 1. Other military -style, assault rifles are now classed as restricted weapons and some are now prohibit- ed. ty. "Where people will get caught is if they had a fully -automatic weapon, say, a submachine gun, and it was converted to semi- automatic, and they didn't register it before August 1 and failed to apply for collector status - they don't have the right to retain that weapon," said Jack. But rather than leave such un- registered, illegal weapons in public hands, the OPP are offer- ing an amnesty to those who want to bring them in for disposal until November 30. Jack points out the amnesty is nota "catch up" period for those with prohibited weapons. If they aren't registered now, then they must be disposed of. However, the amnesty will al- low those with newly -restricted weapons, or unregistered hand- guns to make them legal for pos- session. As Jack points out, the amnesty applies not only to firearms but also to the many other weapons prohibited under Canadian law. Anyone wishing to dispose of a stun gun, illegal martial arts weapons, explosives, blowguns, or military hardware can bring it to the OPP. Old firearms and ammunition will also be accepted for disposal, but Jack emphasizes that anyone reluctant to transport a dangerous substance to the station can call ahead and arrange for collection. Likewise, the OPP will ;also give advice to those unsure of whether a firearm has been re- classified as prohibited or re- stricted. "The best thing to do is if you've ve got a gun at home and you're not sure of it, then call us," said Jack. On the other hand, the OPP will not interfere in anyone's wishes to dispose of any fuearm - so before getting rid of a poten- tial collector's item or family heirloom, they advise you ask a .gunsmith, expert, or other family members fust "Don't walk in bele, turn it in, and ask for it back later," said Jack. If gun owners find the current crop of regulations confusing, they may not be comforted to know more is on the way. As of January 1, there will be new pro- cedures for getting a Firearms Acquisition Certificate, new reg- ulations for safe storage of fire- arms and ammunition, and re- strictions on magazine capacities for .semi-automatic rifles and handguns will conte into effect. All the new gun control laws are aimed at improving public safety in the hope that shootings, both accidental and deliberate, can be prevented.