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Home My WebLink AboutTimes-Advocate, 1999-03-03, Page 3Wednesday, March 3. 1999 Exeter Times -Advocate Exeter area parents asked to do more homework on boundary changes by Michele Greene SEAFORTH - Exeter parents were sent home to do more homework last Tuesday night. The Avon Maitland District School Board approved a school accommo- dation review that included closing portions of some schools and initi- ated a number of studies intended to better use space in the schools. It also included a directive to South Huron District High School, Exeter Public School and Usborne Central Public School to suggest options for reducing excess capaci- ty in the area by May 18. The board has been considering boundary changes that would bring students from the Mitchell cluster of schools to these Exeter area schools. "These two school communities should not be clustered for many reasons," said Bruce Norris of the West Perth School Accommodation committee. In its report, the West Perth com- mittee included recommendations on how to eliminate the portables at Mitchell Public School and maxi- mize the use of space at Upper Thames Elementaxy_School. "The Exeter area has excess space. Those schools need to come up with plans for their schools," said Norris: Trustees agreed. Trustee Bob Allen said the West Perth area is finished all of its work and the Exeter area has just begun. "I think [West Perth] has done a lot of work and the ball is now in our court," said chairpersonWendy Anderson. The school accommodation review was an alternative action to closing several schools, which the board considered doing last fall. Instead, trustees established the community committees to look at their schools and find ways of elim- inating excess space. Besides suggesting possible boundary changes with the Mitchell area, the review included a motion to study possible boundary changes among. McCurdy Public School, Stephen Central Public School, Hensall Public School, Zurich Public School and Huron Centennial Public School. With any boundary changes that take place, Al McKnight, of the 1' ne Central School's viability coriliittee, said parents don't want the current Grade 7 and 8 students to be caught in boundary changes. He said parents want them to finish their elementary years at Usborne. He also told trustees that the school will welcome any new stu- dents who come to the school as a result of any boundary changes. "Usborne school will welcome new families with brochures, open houses and mentoring," he said. Portions of Milverton Public School, McCurdy Public School and F.E. Maddill Secondary School In Wingham will be closed or moth- balled, under recommendations approved in the school accommo- dation review. Wingham parents and town coun- cil were opposed to an earlier sug- gestion to demolish that part of the school.. "Demolition of the north wing is not worthy of consideration. We must think about the impact or new industries and new families which will increase enrolment at Madill," said Arnold Taylor of the Wingham Town Council. The Atwood location of Elma Township Public School and the Portia location of Hamlet Public School in Stratford will be closed. The Unrenovated portion of Vanastra Community School will be closed in preparation for demolition. Portables at Goderich District Collegiate Institute will be removed. A study will be initiated in the Listowel area which will look for ways to add additions to Listowel Central Public School and. Listowel Eastdale Public School. The schools are currently overcrowded. Finding ways to best accommo- date students , configure programs and use effectively limited facility funds in the Stratford schools was another study approved in the school accommodation review. Drawings for new library not .finished LUCAN BIDDULPH — Plans for a new Lucian li- brary are still up in the air as the arena board hasn't seen finished drawings for the project. Board chairperson Perry Caskanette told the T -A Monday night a meeting last Friday with London architect Glen IIerglotz didn't ac- complish anything because the drawings "are in a state of flux." The project can't go out to tender until the drawings are finished. Caskanette estimated at council's meeting last Wednesday that the draw- ings won't be finished until the end of March. At that meeting Caskanette received per- mission to accept tenders for the project as high as $300,000. The original cost for the libary was estimated to be $272,000. Caskanette was to speak to Herglotz again yes- terday after the T -A went to press. Originally, the library was supposed to be fin- ished by the end of January. Peroxide causes house fire ER problems may arise at SH hospital again Continued from front pagJe not all doctors are opposed to working in a rural area. Rural areas face tough competition, though, Adamson said. The cities of Kitchener and Windsor are both trying to recruit 45 doctors each. Huron and Perth need 12-15 more doctors. In all, southwestern will be chat= Ontario needs 330 more doctors, according to Jim Rourke, director of the Southwestern Ontario Rural Medicine Unit of the University of Western Ontario. Despite this, Adamson said she is "very opti- mistic we can work out a solution" to the doctdr shortage although she admitted it lenging. While Synth Huron was the only hospital of the eight in Huron Perth to temporarily close its emergency room last summer, Adamson said other hospitals in the partnership may be fac- ing that problem this summer. She refused to be specific. She added nurse practi- tioners - , who peorm more duties than regis- tered nurses such as pre- scribing medicine, treat- ing minor ailments and doing counselling — could help with the doc- tor- shortage problem. She cautioned, though, that nurse practitioners cannot replace doctors. KIPPEN — A house fire reaction caused by hydro- gen peroxide that was spilled on a mat. Firefighters had the blaze under control in 45 minutes but stayed on the scene till about 2 a.m. The family was home at the time but no one was hurt. The home was in good enough shape for a cou- ple family members to remain there for the night. r' Smoke damage is esti- mated at $25,000. near Rippen early Friday morning was caused by an everyday bathroom item. The Brucefield Fire Department responded to the fire at the RR3 Kippen home of Ross and Donna McBeath located on Conc. 2 after the alarm came in at 12:20 a.m. Brucefield Fire Chief Bob. Wilson said the fire was contained in an upstairs bathroom and was started by a chemical Zurich teen hurt in accident CLINTON --T-;; -1,,3 earpl ori j, boy. was -struck by a car at Clinton Central Duron Secondary School on Friday. at about 2:45 p•m,, . Huron OPP Const. Don Shropshall said Adam Snell ran out the rear school doors directly in front of a car driven by an 18 -year-old Clinton woman. The boy was running towards a bus waiting to take children back to their school from the Tech 21 program. The boy was knocked unconscious and taken to Clinton Public Hospital by ambulance for treatment of leg injuries. He was later transferred to Stratford Hospital for treatment for a serious ankle injury. Shropshall said no charges will be laid in the incident. Official poster of the IPM 4, • A photograph by Daniel Holm of Hensall was selected for the 1999 Inter national Plowing Match and Farm Machinery Show poster, unveiled at the On- tario Plowmen's Association meeting in Goderich on Feb. 22. Holm took the photo east of Hensall a few years ago. The poster will promote the IPM near Dashwood which is expected to bring over 100,000 people to the area. EVERYTHING A Excludes fresh out flowers, ouatc'ta designed fresh arrangements, and antiques. •