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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1995-10-25, Page 4Page 4 • Times -Advocate, October 25, 1995 Publisher & Editor: Jim Beckett Business Manager: Don Smith Production Manager: Deb Lord Advertising: Barb Consitt, Chad Eedy News: Heather Mir, Chris Skalkos, Ross Haugh, Brenda Burke Production• Alma Ballantyne, Mary McMurray, Barb Robertson Brenda Hern, Joyce Weber, Laurel Miner Transportation: Al Flynn, Al Hodgert Front Office & Accounting,; Elaine Pinder, Sue Rollings, Ruthanne Negrijn, Anita McDonald, Cassie Dalrymple The Exeter Times Advocate is a member of a family of community newspapers e1AN Cpy providing news, advertising and information leadership - A • • inion CC,W WTI Publications Mall Registration Number 0388 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: CANADA Within 40 Mies (65 km.) addressed to non letter carder addresses 633.00 plus 62.31 O.$.T. Outside 40 miles (65 km.) or any letter carrier address 633.00 plus 630.00 (total 63.00) + 4.310.$.T. Outside Canada 699.00 plus 66.93 05T (Includes 688.40 postage) Published Each Wednesday /doming at 424 Main St., Exeter, Ontario, NOM 156 by 1.W. Eedy Publications Ltd. Telephone 1.515.235.1331 • Fax: 519.23S-0766 MR105210635 • EDI'I'oRIA1 Educate the kids The idea of the Huron County Board of Education placing a limit on the number of credits students can take during Grade 11, 12 and O.A.C. is a travesty of our education system. Schools were designed for learning. The idea of having students attend schools is so that they can broaden their personal horizons and hopefully reach a conclusion with enough knowledge to become contributing members of socie- ty. Schools were not designed to tell kids you could learn...but only so much. The school board, in trying to cope with the down -loading from the provin- cial government on their budget has identified 30 areas for consideration in cost savings. The majority of items are reasonable areas for discussion: such as a no work - no pay policy for storm days and attrition. But others, such as the credit limit for high school students contradict reason- able thinking, even for a school board. Our students and teachers have en- dured several years of media scrutiny. Often the focus has been on the failing side of education in Ontario. Seldom have we examined the real problems that lay within a top-heavy bureaucra- cy. After all, which trustee will actually vote to reduce the number.sitting on a school board when they may be the one that loses their political clout? Or re- ducing the number of superintendents that collect large salaries? How about the number of "consultants" used in de- veloping school board curriculum? To even consider reducing education opportunities for our students, the board is truly showing that it has little interest in producing highly educated students. These budget cut considerations reveal more that the board is interested in pro- ducing cost effective students: a manda- tory end result with as little financial in- vestment as possible. Rather than considering placing a limi- tation on the number of courses students are allowed to take in their final three years of high school, our school board should be encouraging our students to grasp every minuscule piece of knowl- edge they can. Any advantage gained in high school will most certainly pay off down the road in the working world. The school board has every right to in- form the public about the level of down- loading from the provincial government. They have every right to complain about having to bear the responsibility of in- creased taxation. But they also have the responsibility to educate the children; not to determine what and how much they can learn. How much more will our students have to deal,witlr as they prepare for a rapidly growing competitive world? Wingham Advance -Times Your Views Letters to the editor Town hall project over budget The cost over and above the origi- nal budget is estimated to be be between $75,000 and $100,000 Dear Editor: The statements of our Reeve, Bill Mickle, over the past year, seem rather hollow. "I give my personal guarantee" and "Dead on", pertaining to the town hall project, is pure political jargon. The cost over and above the original budget is es- timated to be between $75 000 and $100 000. This increase is now being blamed on drapes, electronic equipment, office furniture, repairs to front entrance and landscaping. Most of these items were discussed, in meetings, prior to the final approval. We now end up with an abandoned police station, crumbling library and a main street building that can be purchased for $45,000. Please cancel my invitation to the official town hall opening. Ron Westman 151 Sanders St. E. Exeter A View From Queeii'SPark By Eric Dowd TORONTO -- Mike Harris seems to view governing as a 100 -metres dash and it is causing him to stumble at times. The Progressive Conservative premier and his government have scurried faster to implement policies than any predecessor in memory. A short list of their actions in four months includes cutting welfare and many social services, scrapping the former New Demo- crat government's landmark labor and em- ployment equity laws, photo radar and the Interim Waste Authority, closing halfway houses that smooth releases from jail, start- ing cutting the public service, emasculating a law to make cyclists wear helmets and freezing the minimum wage. The Tories are proud of their fleet- footedness. Deputy Premier Ernie Eves boasted they have "moved faster and on more fronts than any previous administra- tion in Ontario or perhaps anywhere." His claim to be world's fastest is hard to verify, but Tory governments from 1943-85 moved comparatively leisurely and even stood still at times when they judged this was what the public wanted. Only the Liberal minority government of 1985 under David Peterson ran even close to the Harris Tories for speed and it was pushed by the NDP which lent it votes. The Harris Tories' hurry is part of their philosophy. They are there to change socie- ty radically, know what they want and have no interest in equivocation or delay. In the June election the Tories also set timetables for fulfilling many of their promises such as cutting provincial income tax by 30 per cent in three years and elimi- nating all red tape holding back business in 12 months. They promised they would not get bogged down in debates and Harris said he would resign if he failed to meet his dead- lines. The whole impression the Tories gave was that they were for drastic change and urgently and this was a large part of their The value of televising council meetings Capturing discussions and decisions of any council and bringing such information to the people is not just important, it's a constitutional right. Lucan council has just spent the past month deciding whether or not to permit a village resident to record its meetings live on television. But as the resident pointed out during one particularly heated council discussion, "It's not a matter of choice. It's a public meeting." Canada's freedom of expression rights include the privilege to collect and publish information developing from public meetings. That means print journalists with notebooks, radio reporters with tape recorders and television camera people all have the liberty to attend public meetings and report on them for the benefit of the public. The only exception, within reason, is in -camera or closed sections of meetings. Lucan Council made the right move on Oct. 17 when it quickly passed a motion to have its meetings taped live for Mitchell Seaforth Cable TV. By doing so, not only is council making its meetings accessible for those who can't attend due to illness, disability or lack of time, it's providing an excellent example of what other village and town councils could do to better inform citizens. Normally we associate televised council meetings with cities such as London. Why shouldn't citizens of smaller communities have the opportunity to keep informed of council information by tuning into their televisions? People's busy schedules don't often allow them time to attend a three-hour council meeting, but may include glimpses at the TV. A large percentage of the population now gets its general news from television reports, so why not obtain recent council news from the same easily -accessible source? The root of Lucan Council's initial resistance to the airing of its meetings appeared to be a general case of camera shyness. All but two members admitted they would simply feel uncomforable in front of the camera, later adding they could, in time, get used to being taped. Although such feelings are understandable, camera shyness is fine for those who have the choice of whether or not to appear on television but provides no excuse for others making decisions that affect a number of people. What would happen if London Mayor Dianne Haskett refused to appear on television because she felt...uncomfortable? Would the taping of council meetings be postponed until she dealt with her shyness? Obviously Lucan council feels the citizens of its village are more important in this case than the individual apprehensiveness of its members, as was shown when the motion to permit TV coverage was passed. Before this decision was made, the notion was brought up at council that citizens would also shy away from the camera and not discuss controversial issues openly if they knew they were being taped. As with council, surely the concerns of those citizens, who often represent many others in the community, override subjective feelings of self-consciousness. There seems to be a mixed reaction from village residents about this issue. According to the two councillors who initially agreed with TV coverage, people they talked to think it's a wonderful idea, a necessity. Council members who voiced their opinions against TV coverage said their personal research has led them to many people who feel broadcasting council meetings is ridiculous and useless. One citizen was noted as telling a council member, "If you were on television, do you think I'd watch you anyway?" While Lucan Council admits going live will not put it in the ranks of TV stardom or in competition with Hockey Night in Canada, hopefully it realizes what an important service it will provide those who are interested. 100 metre dash by Harris appeal. It has become a matter of pride for them to get things done quickly. The Tories also need to start reducing costs urgently if they are to meet their dead- lines for cutting taxes and balancing the budget. But the haste has brought them problems. Community and Social Services Minister David Tsubouchi has had to deliver the most abject apology by a minister in years claiming a basic change in regulations that would have cut many disabled off welfare was made without his knowledge and any way it is looked at the Tories tripped on something they could have avoided with more time and thought. The Tories are so eager to get rid of the NDP's employment equity law, which re- quired workforces to reflect the community in women, visible minorities, aboriginals and the disabled, that they raced in a law to scrap it without any clear idea what they will put in its place. Some substitute is needed because studies show these groups still face unfair barriers to jobs, but the Tories promised only to "develop a sensible, cost-effective, equal opportunity plan" and could not wait. In their haste to close halfway houses the Tories gave some inmates only a couple of hours notice they had to get back to jail, which will not make them feel society cares deeply about rehabilitating them. The Tories have rushed so that sometimes they have the cart before the horse. For ex- ample they have cut already meager wel- fare while doing nothing to reduce the many employees at the legislature who are paid year-round but work only when it sits, which is less than half the year. The Tories have incurred anger because they failed to consult some people affected before acting, but oddly will consult them later, and refused time to debate which they demanded when they were in opposition -- they are being taught that governing is not a sprint but a marathon. s= 4