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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1994-01-05, Page 1Serving South Huron North Middlesex & Lambton Since 1873 Wednesday. January 5, 1994 (a4c , 6c G S.T.) 90 cents r___.___, ▪ SUBSCRIBE! ▪ 11 you aren't subsarbing to The 'Tunes -Advocate, you're missing out Use the coupon below and subsarbe today/ 1 Name: ' Address City 1 Prov. 1 1 1 ▪ Postal Code I SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada 1 Within 40 mules (65 kin) addressed to non letter carver addresses 130.00 plus $2 t O G S 1 Outside 40 miles - (65 km) cx any letter carrier address 160.00 . 14.20 G S T Outside Canada -199.00 r...1 ►ae so r.,wy.r 1 1 1 1. USE YOUR CREDIT CARD ' DDDDDDDD DDDDDDDD Card No 1 IExpiry Date 0 Visa ❑ Master Card 1 0 Cheque enclosed ' Return to: TIMES ADVOCATE ■ 424 Main St Exeter, Ont NOM 1S6 ■ am i — — dm — rma mu Piggy banks worth over $1,500 stolen from house CENTRALIA - A break and en- ter into a Centralia home December 27 resulted in the theft of two piggy banks, valued at over $1,5(X). The OPP say the home of Larry Gibson at 236 Victoria Street was broken into, but the only things tak- en in the theft were a large ceramic fire -hydrant shaped piggy bank, contaning about $1,500, and a Ken- tucky Fried Chicken bank contain- ing about $35 in one -dollar coins. Nothing else was missing from the residence. The OPP say their investigation is continuing. Grand Bend man charged 'with son's stabbing GRAND BEND - A Grand Bend man has been charged with at- tempted murder after his son was stabbed New Year's Day. Pinery Park OPP say that about 8 am. 22 -year old Joseph Duby of London was stabbed before 8 am. at the Coral Reef Inn on Ontario Street, where he is an employee. Duby was taken to Strathroy General Hospital where he was in satisfactory condition Sunday. Charged with attempted murder later Saturday was Ralph L. Daby, 46, of Grand Bend. He is the vic- tim's father. A bail hearing was scheduled for 10 am. in Sarnia court on Tuesday. Police were releasing no further details about the incident, including the nature of Duby's wounds, nor the cause of the stabbing, saying that the maucr was still under in- vestigation. Peggy Brownlee and Jarrett Palen blast down the slopes at Morrison Dam Thursday af- ternoon. Weather conditions were just about perfect for some fun with toboggans, crazy carpets, snow racers, and whatever else was slippery and hard to steer. More toboggan- ing fun is on page two. a 30 km/h , streets only rules frequently ignored Property owners complain as snowmobiles break bylaw EXETER - A snowmobile rider, hidden under a black helmet, guns the engine of his machine and ac- celerates down the hard -packed snow of Albert Street. With its en- gine revving near its limit, the snowmobile is going about 60 kilo- metres an hour, maybe more. Thc streets arc empty, so what's the harm?' Only a few minutes lat- er, the unmistakable sound of the engine can be heard on the far side of town, again racing down the empty streeLs. Naturally, many homeowners ob- ject to these antics, and complaints about snowmobilcrs have been corning into the town office, partic- utarly in the last few days when snow conditions brought the ma- chines and riders out in force. "All this snow is bringing the snowmobilcrs out and we're start- ing to get complaints of them going across private property," said town clerk -treasurer Liz Bell. Exeter does have a bylaw limit- ing snowmobile use in town. Not only are the machines forbidden from sidewalks and private proper- ty, but they are restricted to 30 kilo- metres an hour on the streets. All snowmobilcrs within town have to be licensed drivers, and have their licenses with them. Also, the use of snowmobiles isn't allowed between midnight and 7 am., unless heading straight for home. - However, a quick walk along Ex- eter's back streets and you will spot snowmobile tracks following side- walks and cutting corners across lawns: the kind of bylaw violations that get the phone ringing at the town office. Having a bylaw is one thing, en- forcing it is another, admits Bell. Getting police to stop and check snowmobilers is easier said than done, but some enforcement may be necessary to remind snowmobile owners of their responsibilities while in town. "It is more courtesy than any- thing," said Bell of the bylaw's re- quirements. The only town park closed to snowmobiles is MacNaughton Park, but Bell said since the bylaw was drawn up in 1972 more might be added to that list if it were re- done today. "There could be some updating done to it," said Bell. Any decision to revise or update the bylaw rests with town council. All eight Huron Schools JK full despite controversy By Catherine O'Brien T -A staff EXETER - Monday was a significant day for educators in Huron County. It was the first day for the controversial Junior Kindergarten pro- gram. And' while many in the county strongly opposed it, the number of par- ents wanting to enrol their children was more than the number of spaces available. "What has surprised us has been the clamour to get enrolled," said Paul Carroll, director of the Huron County Board of Education. "There is still a great deal of controversy out there," he said regarding the program. "But our complaints now are just the opposite. They are cJm- ing from folks who can't get access to the programs." The board has met its target for start up numbers of students in each of the eight areas in Huron County where the program is being offered. In fact, Carroll said that in four locations they have had to turn parents away who wanted to enrol their children because there wasn't enough room. It was just over a year ago that board officials voted against implement- ing Junior,Kindergarten for the Fall of 1993 because they deemed it un- necessary. As well, many taxpayers in the county did not want the program. But the province -wide mandate to introduce it gave the board little choice in the matter. "The time for debate has passed. We are on with it and want to do the best possible job we can," Carroll said. The board opted to begin introducing the program this year and further expand it over the next three years. That way the board can receive special equipment funding offered by the province. Although it is necessary for all boards to of- fer the program, parents do not legally have to enrol their children. And while some parents have raised con- cerns that the older children in these new mixed classrooms will be involved,in activi- ties below their capabilities, Carroll said this is not the case. "What we are going to try very hard to do is nurture the social emotional and learning development of children," he said about the new combined junior and senior kindergarten classes. "Three children who are chronologically the same age will be at three very different ages with their social, emotional and educational develop- ment," he said. Carroll said he found the best comment regarding this issue on a class- room blackboard. "It said 'Children grow in stages not by ages.— He He said the program will not be successful if is geared toward teaching two different levels. - • "The most successful programs across the province seem to be the com- bined programs," he said. Carroll went on to say that such a program will allow the students to learn about the concept of co-operative learning and mentoring. And this will help students develop skills needed to work in groups. "I personally will only have a concern about the program if we revert to an inappropriate type of program that is based on an assumption that every JK child is operating at a certain level and then they go on to the next level the next year," he said. The Huron County program came about after trustees, senior board ad- ministrators and some teachers toured other school boards that have al- ready set up Junior Kindergarten. "Our original position was that, without regard to the additional cost, we look at setting up individual programs," Carroll said. "In fact most of our people felt that the separated programs would be best. But in once they got out there and started looking at the programs they changed their minds," he said. He said the program is set up in the same fashion as early childhood ed- ucation programs delivered in day cares and nursery schools. "We are building on their concept," he said. And with that in mind, the board is trying to work together with day care operations that will be affected by the implementation of the new Junior Kindergarten program. That's why the program was only set up in certain areas of the county. Thc board tried to select schools in areas where day care programs would not be adversely affected. "We arc borrowing heavily from the Grey County Board with respect to how we can combine the efforts (of day cares and schools) so that we can bring sonic kind of combined program forward" + Please see Junior, page two. "At the end of the day, I think we will be saving the taxpayers money and delivering a better program." 1994: his last year in office An interview with By Adrian Harte T -A Editor EXETER - As we begin this new year, we all can't help but wonder what lies ahead for us and for our families. Also looking ahead are the politicians over the municipali- ties they govern. This fall brings a municipal election: a report card of sorts on the performance of some of our local leaders. Exeter mayor Bruce Shaw will not be a -part of that election, having already an- nounced he will step down from council's top chair, and hand over the chain of office to the winner of the 1994 election. Monday after- noon, he stopped by the Times - Advocate office on an invitation to share some of his expectations for his last year in municipal, office. Finances: Right off the bat, Shaw made it clear that 1994 will once again be a year of tight fiscal restraint in an effort to keep town property taxes as low as possible. "Our aim will be to have no in- crease in taxes," he said, adding that it may even be possible to low- er taxes. On the phis side, the town is pay- ing less for policing, now that the OPP have taken over patrol duties in Exeter. The waste management program aims to rernove garbage collection, landfill maintenance, and recycling from the taxation portion of the budget, replaced with a supposedly self-sufficient user pay system. On the down side, those user pay revenues are not what council origi- nally hoped. For 1993, the town budgeted $100,000 in sales of, S2 garbage bag tags, but has only sold about S10,000. The program is working to reduce landfill waste better than expected. Other munici- palities aro following suit, with Goderich starting this month. "It'll work, just as it has here," he said. Hopes to make the program self - ma yor Bruce Shaw sufficient may be dashed. "I would expect it to be supple- mented to some extent by the town," admitted Shaw, who added that garbage collection costs for businesses proved "too horren- dous", particularly for large retail- ers. Grants down: Also missing from the 1994 budget will be some provincial grant money, as Queen's Park continues to tighten its belt. "Government grants are going to hurt us," said Shaw, adding that some town services will likely have to be cut. Nevertheless the province is kill offering grants for large projects, such as the current sewer line, the water pipeline which may be start- ed this spring, and a sewage plant to be built in future years. Exeter has always tried to take advantage of grant subsidies, but may soon have to question that phi- losophy, said $haw. If the town cannot afford even 50 percent of the project, there is no point in tak- ing the other half from the prov- ince. On the other side of the coin, the mayor points out Exeter could have been completely outfitted with sew- er lines in the early 1970s, had council been willing to assume a debt for their pan of the project "If people had taken the chance" the work would have cost much less »titan it has over the past 20 years. Development: "At one time we hustled for business," said Shaw, adding that even though the search for new industry and commerce will go on, Exeter has to compete in a very aggressive market. The industrial land the town pur- chased, serviced and sold over the past decade proved,a good invest- ment, Shaw agrees. "We got all our money back on that, and we've got a little left over," he said, and hinted the town may negotiate for similar future de- • velopment land. What Exeter does need, right away, is a long-ra.igc plan, he stat- ed. for Please see Exeter, page two. Exeter mayor Bruce Shaw Inside Destreaming Overall reaction positive page 3 Cafeteria Jennie Rowe knows kids page 5 Baseball Masse brothers at college page 9 Precision Skating teams in training page 11 Bag tags Free tags running out page 18 Piggy banks worth over $1,500 stolen from house CENTRALIA - A break and en- ter into a Centralia home December 27 resulted in the theft of two piggy banks, valued at over $1,5(X). The OPP say the home of Larry Gibson at 236 Victoria Street was broken into, but the only things tak- en in the theft were a large ceramic fire -hydrant shaped piggy bank, contaning about $1,500, and a Ken- tucky Fried Chicken bank contain- ing about $35 in one -dollar coins. Nothing else was missing from the residence. The OPP say their investigation is continuing. Grand Bend man charged 'with son's stabbing GRAND BEND - A Grand Bend man has been charged with at- tempted murder after his son was stabbed New Year's Day. Pinery Park OPP say that about 8 am. 22 -year old Joseph Duby of London was stabbed before 8 am. at the Coral Reef Inn on Ontario Street, where he is an employee. Duby was taken to Strathroy General Hospital where he was in satisfactory condition Sunday. Charged with attempted murder later Saturday was Ralph L. Daby, 46, of Grand Bend. He is the vic- tim's father. A bail hearing was scheduled for 10 am. in Sarnia court on Tuesday. Police were releasing no further details about the incident, including the nature of Duby's wounds, nor the cause of the stabbing, saying that the maucr was still under in- vestigation. Peggy Brownlee and Jarrett Palen blast down the slopes at Morrison Dam Thursday af- ternoon. Weather conditions were just about perfect for some fun with toboggans, crazy carpets, snow racers, and whatever else was slippery and hard to steer. More toboggan- ing fun is on page two. a 30 km/h , streets only rules frequently ignored Property owners complain as snowmobiles break bylaw EXETER - A snowmobile rider, hidden under a black helmet, guns the engine of his machine and ac- celerates down the hard -packed snow of Albert Street. With its en- gine revving near its limit, the snowmobile is going about 60 kilo- metres an hour, maybe more. Thc streets arc empty, so what's the harm?' Only a few minutes lat- er, the unmistakable sound of the engine can be heard on the far side of town, again racing down the empty streeLs. Naturally, many homeowners ob- ject to these antics, and complaints about snowmobilcrs have been corning into the town office, partic- utarly in the last few days when snow conditions brought the ma- chines and riders out in force. "All this snow is bringing the snowmobilcrs out and we're start- ing to get complaints of them going across private property," said town clerk -treasurer Liz Bell. Exeter does have a bylaw limit- ing snowmobile use in town. Not only are the machines forbidden from sidewalks and private proper- ty, but they are restricted to 30 kilo- metres an hour on the streets. All snowmobilcrs within town have to be licensed drivers, and have their licenses with them. Also, the use of snowmobiles isn't allowed between midnight and 7 am., unless heading straight for home. - However, a quick walk along Ex- eter's back streets and you will spot snowmobile tracks following side- walks and cutting corners across lawns: the kind of bylaw violations that get the phone ringing at the town office. Having a bylaw is one thing, en- forcing it is another, admits Bell. Getting police to stop and check snowmobilers is easier said than done, but some enforcement may be necessary to remind snowmobile owners of their responsibilities while in town. "It is more courtesy than any- thing," said Bell of the bylaw's re- quirements. The only town park closed to snowmobiles is MacNaughton Park, but Bell said since the bylaw was drawn up in 1972 more might be added to that list if it were re- done today. "There could be some updating done to it," said Bell. Any decision to revise or update the bylaw rests with town council. All eight Huron Schools JK full despite controversy By Catherine O'Brien T -A staff EXETER - Monday was a significant day for educators in Huron County. It was the first day for the controversial Junior Kindergarten pro- gram. And' while many in the county strongly opposed it, the number of par- ents wanting to enrol their children was more than the number of spaces available. "What has surprised us has been the clamour to get enrolled," said Paul Carroll, director of the Huron County Board of Education. "There is still a great deal of controversy out there," he said regarding the program. "But our complaints now are just the opposite. They are cJm- ing from folks who can't get access to the programs." The board has met its target for start up numbers of students in each of the eight areas in Huron County where the program is being offered. In fact, Carroll said that in four locations they have had to turn parents away who wanted to enrol their children because there wasn't enough room. It was just over a year ago that board officials voted against implement- ing Junior,Kindergarten for the Fall of 1993 because they deemed it un- necessary. As well, many taxpayers in the county did not want the program. But the province -wide mandate to introduce it gave the board little choice in the matter. "The time for debate has passed. We are on with it and want to do the best possible job we can," Carroll said. The board opted to begin introducing the program this year and further expand it over the next three years. That way the board can receive special equipment funding offered by the province. Although it is necessary for all boards to of- fer the program, parents do not legally have to enrol their children. And while some parents have raised con- cerns that the older children in these new mixed classrooms will be involved,in activi- ties below their capabilities, Carroll said this is not the case. "What we are going to try very hard to do is nurture the social emotional and learning development of children," he said about the new combined junior and senior kindergarten classes. "Three children who are chronologically the same age will be at three very different ages with their social, emotional and educational develop- ment," he said. Carroll said he found the best comment regarding this issue on a class- room blackboard. "It said 'Children grow in stages not by ages.— He He said the program will not be successful if is geared toward teaching two different levels. - • "The most successful programs across the province seem to be the com- bined programs," he said. Carroll went on to say that such a program will allow the students to learn about the concept of co-operative learning and mentoring. And this will help students develop skills needed to work in groups. "I personally will only have a concern about the program if we revert to an inappropriate type of program that is based on an assumption that every JK child is operating at a certain level and then they go on to the next level the next year," he said. The Huron County program came about after trustees, senior board ad- ministrators and some teachers toured other school boards that have al- ready set up Junior Kindergarten. "Our original position was that, without regard to the additional cost, we look at setting up individual programs," Carroll said. "In fact most of our people felt that the separated programs would be best. But in once they got out there and started looking at the programs they changed their minds," he said. He said the program is set up in the same fashion as early childhood ed- ucation programs delivered in day cares and nursery schools. "We are building on their concept," he said. And with that in mind, the board is trying to work together with day care operations that will be affected by the implementation of the new Junior Kindergarten program. That's why the program was only set up in certain areas of the county. Thc board tried to select schools in areas where day care programs would not be adversely affected. "We arc borrowing heavily from the Grey County Board with respect to how we can combine the efforts (of day cares and schools) so that we can bring sonic kind of combined program forward" + Please see Junior, page two. "At the end of the day, I think we will be saving the taxpayers money and delivering a better program." 1994: his last year in office An interview with By Adrian Harte T -A Editor EXETER - As we begin this new year, we all can't help but wonder what lies ahead for us and for our families. Also looking ahead are the politicians over the municipali- ties they govern. This fall brings a municipal election: a report card of sorts on the performance of some of our local leaders. Exeter mayor Bruce Shaw will not be a -part of that election, having already an- nounced he will step down from council's top chair, and hand over the chain of office to the winner of the 1994 election. Monday after- noon, he stopped by the Times - Advocate office on an invitation to share some of his expectations for his last year in municipal, office. Finances: Right off the bat, Shaw made it clear that 1994 will once again be a year of tight fiscal restraint in an effort to keep town property taxes as low as possible. "Our aim will be to have no in- crease in taxes," he said, adding that it may even be possible to low- er taxes. On the phis side, the town is pay- ing less for policing, now that the OPP have taken over patrol duties in Exeter. The waste management program aims to rernove garbage collection, landfill maintenance, and recycling from the taxation portion of the budget, replaced with a supposedly self-sufficient user pay system. On the down side, those user pay revenues are not what council origi- nally hoped. For 1993, the town budgeted $100,000 in sales of, S2 garbage bag tags, but has only sold about S10,000. The program is working to reduce landfill waste better than expected. Other munici- palities aro following suit, with Goderich starting this month. "It'll work, just as it has here," he said. Hopes to make the program self - ma yor Bruce Shaw sufficient may be dashed. "I would expect it to be supple- mented to some extent by the town," admitted Shaw, who added that garbage collection costs for businesses proved "too horren- dous", particularly for large retail- ers. Grants down: Also missing from the 1994 budget will be some provincial grant money, as Queen's Park continues to tighten its belt. "Government grants are going to hurt us," said Shaw, adding that some town services will likely have to be cut. Nevertheless the province is kill offering grants for large projects, such as the current sewer line, the water pipeline which may be start- ed this spring, and a sewage plant to be built in future years. Exeter has always tried to take advantage of grant subsidies, but may soon have to question that phi- losophy, said $haw. If the town cannot afford even 50 percent of the project, there is no point in tak- ing the other half from the prov- ince. On the other side of the coin, the mayor points out Exeter could have been completely outfitted with sew- er lines in the early 1970s, had council been willing to assume a debt for their pan of the project "If people had taken the chance" the work would have cost much less »titan it has over the past 20 years. Development: "At one time we hustled for business," said Shaw, adding that even though the search for new industry and commerce will go on, Exeter has to compete in a very aggressive market. The industrial land the town pur- chased, serviced and sold over the past decade proved,a good invest- ment, Shaw agrees. "We got all our money back on that, and we've got a little left over," he said, and hinted the town may negotiate for similar future de- • velopment land. What Exeter does need, right away, is a long-ra.igc plan, he stat- ed. for Please see Exeter, page two. Exeter mayor Bruce Shaw