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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1993-10-13, Page 1Inside Harvest -Better news for 1993 page 2 Cedar -Brite Custom wood signs page 5 HOSPITAL RUMMAGE SALE LI AUCTION Oat. 20 & 21 Gainer-Kneak Insurance Service Experience 1 Ire 35-2420 Serving Sotite Huron Cadet Hensall sharpshooter going to England page Hawks Win season opener Second front 1 Work more for children, says minister School boards' future is cooperation By Catherine O'Brien T -A staff CLINTON - Members of both the public and seperate education boards in Huron -Perth voiced their concerns with the education system at a special meeting last Wednes- day night with Mike Faman, minis- ter without portfolio for education and training. "An historic occasion," is how Faman referred to the joint meeting with the Huron Public School Board and the Huron Perth Separ- ate School Board. Faman was in the county last Wednesday touring Se Boniface school in Zurich as well as speak- ing at a poorly attended town hall meeting in Clinton. The fundamental concern Farman raised during each meeting was that. of confidence in the education sys- tem. "We need to explain to the public the good things we do," he said. "Public relations is not our ace." He said the measure of parents satisfaction with the education sys- tem is high and they are the people closest to the system. He stressed the need for all levels of government to work together in the best interest of the children rather than pointing the finger of blame for education shortfalls. Paint exchange wraps up in county It you aren't subscribing to The I Times -Advocate, you're missing out. Use the coupon below and subscnbe today! 1 Name: ' Address City Prov. I Postal Code SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada Within 40 miles • (65 km) addressed to non letter carrier addresses $30.00 plus $2.10 G.S.T. 1 Outside 40 miles - (65 km) or any letter carrier address $60.00 + $4.20 G.S.T. Outside Canada -$68.00 USE YOUR CREDIT CARD 0000CIIILILI 1 ❑0000000 Card No. 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 I Expiry Date ❑ Visa ❑ Master Card ❑ Cheque enclosed Return to: TIMES ADVOCATE ■ 424 Main St. Exeter Ont NOM 1 NM_ AM aukt 1 School fight may result in .cha5ges EXETER - Charges may result from a fight at South Huron District High School last Wednesday. Police were called to an alterca- tion at the school involving three male students. Principal Joe Wood- en said even though the board of education and the ministry requires police involvement in all violent in- cidents in scflbols, the involvement of a particular individual in the fight made it necessary. Wooden said two of the students were being dealt with through nor- mal procedures, including suspen- sion fypm school. The third stu- dent, he said, will be dealt with by police. As of Friday, acting police ser- geant Brad Sadler said the investi- gation into the fight was continu- ing, but "there's probably going to be charges laid," he said. Videos and munchies stolen from Woodham gas station". EXETER - The Exeter OPP arc investigating a break-in at a local gas station which occurred some- time overnight Friday. The theft had all the makings for a large vid- eo party. Police say the thieves broke into the Olco Gag Bar in Woodham and stole 15 assorted VHS rectal mo- -vies, approximately 50 chocolate bars, a case of Coke Classic, and assorted chips. LastI oonday, October 4, a vehi- cle went missing overnight froin the lot of Huron Motor Products on Highway 4 south of Exeter. Police say a blue 1988 Chevrolet Blazer was stolen from the lot, but note the truck was very low on gas and the keys were not in it. Anyone with information on the above crimes is asked to contact the OPP at 235-1300, or Crime Stop- pers at 1.800.2654777. Collecting paint in Stephen Township Saturday were Bob Brown (left) of Bluewater Recy- cling, deputy -reeve Bill Weber, Dan Elliot of the Centralia/Huron Ps* ions, and councillor limier Wein. ► CREDITON - The paint exchange in Stephen Township on Saturday was last one in our area dur- ing waste reduction Week this year. Although Bluewater Recycling doesn't have final numbers on its success so far, officials say they have definitely been busy. That means many garages and basements in Hu- ron County have a lot more space now that old paint, car batteries and propane tanks have been ex- changed. "I think we received more than 100 batteries so far, but it tough to estimate how much paint," said Lynda Roueau, special project co-ordintor. This year 16 municipalities in our area participat- ed in the program. "No one had to go too far to exchange paint," she said. The paints are recycled and used on demolition cars or to protect wood. The cans are then compacted and recycled, Rot- teau said. The paint exchange was expanded this year to in- clude car batteries and propane tanks. The used batteries are sent to market where they are broken down into component parts for recycling to produce new batteries. Refillable empty propane tanks are sent to a Goderich remanufacturer where they are cleaned, repainted, refitted and pressure tested before being ready for resale. In 1992 it was estimated that nearly 2,000 con- tainers of otherwise hazardous waste was collected for redistribution. The program was introduced last year as an alter- native to more expensive household hazardous waste days. Middlesex looking for direction from public more LUCAN - Does Middlesex County need to take a stronger role in waste management, be less dicta- tocial in planning matters, and find u.:more efficient ways of delivering tservices? Revisions made to the County Strategic Plan since May reflect those issues, says Tim Blackburn, chairman of the county government committee. A meeting was held in Lucan on May 5 to present the Strategic Plan and gather public impressions on Middlesex's roles. Changes to the plan will be presented at the second round of public meetings, which starts Wednesday, but comes to Lu - can next Thursday, October 21. "Here's the result of what we think you said, and we want to vali- date that," is how Blackburn de- scribes these meetings. The 30 -page document will deter- mine how the county functions in the lives of its residents an how it works with its member mut icipali- ties, particularly in this post - annexation era. Blackburn said the first round of meetings indicated a desire to see less of a "top down" approach to county planning and more coopera- tion with the municipalities in re- solving planning issues. "More collaboration than dic- tate," said Blackburn. There was also a definite feeling "that someone has to take a leader- ship role in waste management", said Blackburn, noting that many municipalities do not have the re- sources to tackle the problem them- selves. In fact, county council has al- ready passed a unanimous motion to create a waste management mas- ter plan. "I see us working with municipal- ities outside of the county," said Blackburn, adding it is no secret that discussions have been started with the City of London over land- fill use. Another public demand was to see county government become more efficient in delivering servic- es and avoiding duplication with municipalities. "There was quite a bit of that [sentiment] through the public meetings before," said Blackburn. He pointed out that the Village of Lucan and Biddulph Township have already "led the way" in shar- ing equipment and services, and that has led others to wonder why the county could not also apply those same principles to its opera- tions. Next Thursday's meeting is frau 7-9 p.m. at the Lucan Memorial Centre Hall. Concerns for county's Huronwiew By Fred Groves T -A staff GODERJCH - What's going on at Huron 'County's Homes for the Aged? In the last couple of weeks a lot of questions have been asked about one of those, Huronview in Clinton. Thursday morning in Goderich at Huron County Council, councillors had concerns about demolition of the old Huronview, chaplaincy and the remit an- nouncement that a total of 27 positions bete p ronview and Huronlca in Blyth wepid ba-_ Provincial funding has been cut and Warden Tom Tomes said that could be as much as $400,000. Tumberry Township Reeve Brian McBurney said he had 30 letters from concerned people about the lass of the jobs and questioned whether or not there was a bet- ter way of eliminating the jobs. "I think there are alternatives. I'm not too pleat i$ he way it was handled," said McBurney. He suggested that perhaps early retirement and wage roll backs might have worked biN,;okturon County CfraliMigampage three. Board members told him of their concerns with fiscal restraint, the Social Contract and other non- educational priorities that make it difficult for board trustees to focus on education goals. Graeme Craig, vice-chariman of the Huron board said the new chal- lenges for education boards is to try and focus on education despite so many other diversions such as the Social Contract. "We live in a time when it is dif- !1'icult to maintain such a prima -'focus on thebd*i s,of1eftttning," he said. Farnan was told by Louise Mar- tin, chariman of the separate board that the two boards came together to identify needs and concerns they have in common. "There are areas where we have a different philosophical approach or where we would each, separately, support an alternate tactic for spe- cific solutions." Farnan praised the efforts of the ' two boards. He said there are ex- traordinary savings and achieve- ments that can take place from such a venture. "It's been a long time since it's been looked at," he said of multi - board co-operation. "Co-operation is better but not easier." The need for financial reform was a topic touched on by Huron trustee Roxanne Brown. "Basic if not total reform is re- quired," she said. "The province is not homogene- ous and there are huge inequities in funding," Farnan said. `We have to look at present reali- ties and constructively address problems at the local level rather than having something imposed." .But;,Ste. said, one could _argue that Ontario has spent generously in the area of education. Trustees also voiced frustration with the Ontario government and its treatment of rural schools. Don Rivera, vice-chairman of the seperate board, told Farnan local school boards need to have autono- my to meet the needs of the com- munity. Trustee Norman Picket] also said the needs of rural schools are dif- ferent from urban. "The current practice of requiring all schools in the province to imple- ment - identical program policies may not be the most appropriate or realistic." He cited junior kindergarten asan example: "Solutions to social problems are urban not rural and that's frustrat- ing," said seperate 'board represen- tative Jim Gaylor. ' "The ctmsultation -process with rural Ontario is not taken serious- ly," he said. A union representative said the social contract has taken its toll on teacher morale. "It would be nice if we could get on with our job without the intru- sion of the social contract," Farnan said. He said he understands the frus- tration and remembers the good days when there was greater gov- ernment spending "Salaries reflected those days," he said. "But there's a new reality." He gave the board his assurance their concerns would be acted on. Faman - work together. In local politics for 23 years Former Lucan reeve Ivan Hearn dies LUCAN - One of the most dedi- cated and active members of the Lucan community passed away during the past week. Ivan J. Hearn, owner and opera- tor of Heam's Dairy for more than 45 years was a tireless worker, not only in the municipal field, but in sports and other community organizations. He moved from his Downie township farm in 1947 to purchase the 1,Ltican Dairy. Two years later ownership of the creamery was tak- en over. Hearn who died on October 3 spent a total of 23 years on village council. After three years as a council member he moved up to take over the reeve's position on January 1 Of 1960 and continued until the end of 1965. After a short retirement of three years, he returned to again fill the reeve's chair from January 1, 1968 for,ihe next 14 years. As reeve he was the village's rep- resentative on Middlesex county council and according to present reeve Tom McLaughlin, "Repre- sented us exceptionally well and was a very :strong voice at the county level". At the local level Hearn's leader- ship resulted in much of the growth of Lucan. He played an important role in getting the new Ontario Pro- vincial Police station, the current municipal office and the present post office. During his time as reeve, the first phase of the sewer system was be- gun and he was a member of many county boards including the Lon- don Middlesex Health Unit and the London Suburban Roads commit- tee. The latter was disbanded earli- u this year wiled the latest London annexation took place and Hearn was still a very active member. He was Lucan's representative on the Ausabie-Bayfield Conserva- tion Authority from 1969 to 1988 and served as ABCA chairman from 1979 to 1982.• Hearn was very active in a varie- ty of sports as a player, coach and sponsor. In his early days in Lucan he played for the Irish Six and the Irish Nine. Later he was on the ex- ecutive of the Lucan-Ilderton Jets when they won a number of provin- cial hockey championships and coached and sponsored the Walloy- Hearn fastball team in the Lucan rec league. As a spectator he was an avid supporter of the Toronto Blue Jays. As reeve McLaughlin concluded in an interview with the T -A, " He was well regarded in the communi- ty as a politician, businessman and neighbour. In 46 years he gave a phenomenal amount of time to the community." Farmer reeve Ivan Hohn