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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1998-06-24, Page 2Page 2 Tinter -Advocate, June 24, 1998N1 . WS Regional wrap up Board plans to start move CLINTON - Options are cur- rently being studied to move part or most of the Avon Mait- land District School Board (AMDSB) administration opera- tions to Seaforth District High School, reports the Clinton News -Record. Director of Education Paul Carroll says the move will help to ensure the viability of the school. The board discussed plans to start centralizing its administra- tive operations bymovingsome offices from Stratford and Clin- ton to Seaforth at its June 8 meeting. At the meeting, Ray Ford, Vice -chair for the board, said the board hopes to be using four classrooms at SDHS by Septem- ber. Administrator calls it quits SEAFORTH - Jim Crocker has resigned as administrator for the Town of Seaforth, reports the Huron Expositor. Crocker told council that he is leaving because the job is get- ting more "frustrating" with all the changes being made by On- tario's government. Council is advertising for a re- placement for Crocker and hopes one can be found before he leaves'in two months. "We have some big shoes to fill," Mayor Dave Scott said. "They have 22 -years of experi- ence and knowledge of town af- fairs." The mayor says council has arranged with Crocker to work with the town on a consulting basis if a new person is not there after he goes, or a serious prob- lem arises. Saving embankment expensive BAYFIELD - The Pioneer Park Association is working to ensure that the park's embank- ment is preserved, reports the Clinton News -Record. To help stop the erosion the park association is undertaking a project to install armor stone at the base of the bank. After that work is done, the bank at the north end of the park will be reshaped and planted with crown vetch. The price tag for the endeavor which is slated to begin in the fall is $75,000. The park association will be approaching the local communi- ty and businesses, corporations, environmental foundations and the government for funding. Doctors object to town's use of pesticides GODERICH - The Goderich Medical Society wants to know what type of herbicides and pes- ticides the town uses in their parks, reports thc Goderich Sig- nal -Star. In a letter to town council, Dr. Jim Hollingworth said the "vast majority" of the the medical so- ciety's membership is concerned about the "urban cosmetic" use of herbicides. The letter asked the town to provide information about the types and amounts of pesticides used on public parks and green spaces, as well as the approxi- mate cost of the pesticides and herbicides to the Goderich tax- payers. The town's Commissioner of Works Ken Hunter said the town agrees with Hollingworth's con- cerns. 4 Historic Ipperwash deal finally happens Native band and federal government sign Agreement -in -Principle By Katherine Harding T -A Reporter KETTLE POINT - The federal government has attempted to right a 56 -year-old wrong with the deal to return former Camp Ipperwash lands to the Kettle Point and Stony Point band. Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development Jane Stew- art and Chief -elect Norm Shawnoo of the Kettle Point and Stony Point First Nation signed the Agreement - in -Principle (AIP) which included the historic land transfer on Thurs- day. Lambton-Kent-Middlesex M.P.P. Rose -Marie Ur, Bosanquet Mayor Bill Graham, chief federal nego- tiator Ralph Brant and band council members were on hand to witness the signing ceremony. The AIP signing was a direct consequence of two difficult and intense years of negotiations be- tween the two parties. "I am pleased that the Kettle and Stony Point First Nation will be able to re-establish a thriving com- munity, ending a regrettable period in their history, and move towards healing and reconciliation," said Stewart. Chief -elect Shawnoo was also happy with the agreement reached. "This has been a long time com- ing. Hopefully we can now move onto better the lives of members of our community," he said. "We felt it was important to sign the AIP now to enable the community to start healing and to re-establish it- self." Shawnoo however did not down- play the dissension coming from within his band regarding ac- ceptance of the deal. "We expected negative feelings," said Shawnoo. "Nobody is totally happy with the deal." He hopes however that band members will accept the agreement once they've examined it in detail. The same hope applies to a group of Stony Pointers who have oc- cupied parts 'of Camp Ipperwash and refused to attend the signing ceremony. Shawnoo said when the final agreement is reached band mem- bers will be able to decide the deal's fate in a referendum. While both parties have set a tar- get date to draft a•Final Agreement by • this December, two issues threaten to impede the process. Some members of the band are calling for the return of Ipperwash Provincial Park which contains sa- cred burial grounds. The second striking point is the province's re- fusal to hold a formal inquiry into the death of native protester An- thony (Dudley) George. Stony Point Natives have been calling for an inquiry to be held af- ter George was killed on Sep- tember 6, 1995 during a confronta- tion with an OPP tactical squad at the gates of Ipperwash Provincial Park. - Because issues arising from the Ipperwash Provincial Park fall un- der provincial jurisdiction Stewart could only comment on the issue of a formal inquiry on George's death being called. "I would hope the province lis- tens to the fact those concerns exist and they will take action to elim- inate them," she said. "There has to be some approach that rec- onciles the issues." The Stony Point Reserve was ap- propriated from the Kettle Point First Nation by the federal govern- ment under the War Measures Act in 1942. A 1981 Order in Council committed the, government to re- turn the lands when no longer needed for military purposes. In the February 1994 budget, the fed- eral government indicted it would negotiate the return of the land and the environmental investigation and cleanup. Features of the Agreement -In -Principle • • All Camp Ipperwash lands, including the beachfront property surrendered. in 1928, would be returned to the First Nation. • The Department of National Defence and the First Nation would jointly investigate and clean-up the and, with a continued program of monitoring by the First Nation. • $12.9 million would be provided for community restoration and infrastructure to rebuild the com- nnunity at Stony Point. • $10.7 million would be provided for community enhancement purposes that include economic de- velopment, community healing and payments to those First Nation members most affected by the 1942 appropriation. • $2.7 million would be provided for a four-year property management agreement whereby the First Na- tion would provide specified services at Stony Point during the environmental investigation and clean-up. • The First Nation would fully release and indemnify Canada against any claims by it or its members re- ating to the 1942 appropriation and dismiss all related lawsuits. Politically united. From Left, Chief -elect Norm Shawnoo of the Kettle Point and Stony Point First Nation, tambton-Kent-Middlesex M.P.P. Rose -Marie Ur, Bosanquet Mayor Bill Graham and Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development Jane Stewart attended the historic Agree- ment -in -Principle signing on Thursday. Future of school sports up in air ar Continued from front page are "ongoing." "The dialogue is continuing," Carroll said. "There are some diffi- culties, but that is expected in any negotiations. They usually work themselves out." O'Rourke said he too was hope- ful the impasse could be breached, but teachers are already resigned to some changes to how they have operated sports programs. "The general consensus among most coaches is that there will be some cutbacks," he said, including less teachers coaching even if teaching time• requirements "go back to normal." O'Rourke also said there's the possibility some sports simply won't be offered at some schools because teachers just won't have the time to coach on top of after hours marking and classroom preparation. Despite the uncertainty, O'Rourke said teachers that coach want to be back out on the court and field again next school year. "1 do know there seems to be a lot of anxiety," he said. "But people want to see things go (ahead as nor- mal). Both sides (teachers' unions and school boards) have to come to an understanding on workloads and what is required." Though teachers are negotiating with school boards, the changes to teaching requirements come from the province based upon their man- date and monies it passes down to school boards. One issue O'Rourke said must be resolve is whether coaching will continue to be viewed as a volun- tary duty or one that is mandated and included as something teachers are officially paid for. O'Rourke said despite the per- ception there is still more to cut from education programs, the breaking point is near. "(The province) says there's money there to cut from programs," he said. "The reality of it is there is less and less money all the time and more and more is being done by teachers and students by way of fundraising and user pay." A decision on the future of the sports season by the Huron -Perth Conference needs to be filed to WOSSA by Sept. 21, O'Rourke said. Though the future of high school sports and other extracurricular activities arc up in thc air at the moment, a lot could change during contract negotiations between now and the fall, O'Rourke said, and the crisis may be resolved. - Next school year O'Rourke will be vice-president of WOSSA. O'Rourke coaches senior boys and girls basketball and boys rugby at South Huron. Noted South Huron soccer coach George McEwan said although he is not adversely affected by the workload changes (he teaches four blocks of four in the fall and two of four in the spring freeing him up to coach senior boys soccer), he will not coach if the current situation continues to support his fellow teachers. "It's either all of us or none of us," he said. McEwan, a science teacher at South Huron, said environmental sciences extracurricular activities he had planned for the fall are also on hold till the end of the negotia- tions. But McEwan is hopeful the road- blocks will be removed come the start of school in September. "I desperately hope the way will be cleared through," he said. "Coaching is part of the reason why I became a teacher." Funny face Gr. 1 student Brittany Britton hams it up for the camera last Tuesday at Grand Bend Public School's Play Day. Warren and Shannon Parker will perform at the Emmanual Baptist Church on Sunday, July 5 Gospel singers coming to Emmanuel Baptist Church EXETER-Shannan and Warren Parker, the names behind Parker Outreach International, will perform in Exeter at 7 p.m. Sunday. July 5 at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Exeter. - The Parkers are touring east- ern Canada and much of United States and are busy working on their first album together, tenta- tively called How Many Fish Have You Caught? Warren has been named Canadian Gospel Musician Association's "Instrumentalist of the Year" and his wife, Shannan has been described as having a "dynamite voice and range." Times -Advocate welcomes new reporter EXETER - The Exeter Times - Advocate is pleased to announce the hiring of their new reporter/ photographer, Scott Nixon. Nixon arrives from Harriston, where for the last year he worked ' as the only reporter/photographer at The Harriston Review. do Harris - ton, he was responsible for cover- ing councils, police and hospital boards and sports. In addition, Nix- on wrote the Review's weekly edi- torials and was responsible for the paper's photography. • Nixon, who recently moved to Exeter, is looking forward to'be- coming part of the community and welcomes the challenges his new job at the Times -Advocate will bring him. Emergency room closure at South Huron +' Continued from front page "There isn't one single thing that is causing this. There are is- sues at both the provincial and local level that have to be ad- dressed," said Currell. "Immedi- ately, however, we need more doctors to come and service the area." Exeter Mayor Ben Hoo- genboom said he was "dis- appointed" with the recent clo- sure but said he is aware the problem requires a complex solu- tion. "The bottom line is that there isn't a quick fix for this prob- lem," Hoogenboom said. "As a community we have to face up to the reality that unless we get more doctors to come to the Ex- eter area and work out of the hos- pital it is going to be difficult to have the emergency room cov- ered 24 hours, seven days a week." Both Hoogenboom and Currell arc in agreement that the newly formed community committee formed to look into the manpow- er shortage is a critical step in the right direction. Comprised of hospital board members, physicians, and com- munity representatives, the com- mittee will hold their first meet- ing on Thursday. Last Friday, a press release was sent out by South Huron Hospital administrators outlining their strategy in dealing with the short- age. The strategy includes: • Authorizing a guaranteed in- come for any doctor who will take emergency room duty while stay- ing at the hospital; • The board and local medical staff are working on policies and rules to make the hospital a more friendly work environment; • Individual recruitment is tak- ing place and arca hospitals have been contacted regarded the short- age "Unfortunately, there is not a guarantee that in the short term we will find sufficient relief to as- sure that there will be medical staff available for all shifts at our emergency room...hut we are op- timistic that we will be successful in the long term," the press re- lease states. The statement eludes to the fact that hospital officials are con- cerned that there might be more closures in July and August. "In thc short term there may be holes in covering shifts and things might get a little bumpy but in the long term 1 think we'll be OK," said Hodder. In the interim Hodder com- mented that he is doing every- thing he possibly can to avoid an- other closure. "I'm on the phone calling any- one 1 can who can help us to keep it (emergency room) open," said Hodder. President of the Huron County Medical Society Dr. Peter Englert is concerned that the manpower problem is going to get worse be- fore it gets better. Englert says there just isn't enough family physicians to go around and that most rural and even medium sized cities are ex- periencing the same shortage. "Most are only a heart beat or a broken arm away from a disaster," he said. Englert said that the College of Fancily Physicians just released preliminary' findings on the state of family physicians in Canada . and that there were "frightening re- sults." The study reports from a survey of 3,000 family doctors across Can- ada, 28 per cent reported they will be leaving the profession in 2000. Englert also pointed out that eve- ry year the number of family phy- sicians decreases by three and a half per cent put the number of spe- cialists increased by four per cent. "Couple that with 0 population that is growing by two per cent a year and you arc going to start see- ing 0 real numbers problem," he said. For now Englert advises all com- munities can do is to make their community more attractive to doc- tors. "It is a sad, sad situation that the only way to have enough doctors is that you have to steal them from other communities because we are not making enough anymore," Englert said.