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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1977-11-17, Page 194 0 •10 Clinton, Ontario d ' Clinton NewsRecord Thursday, November 17, 1977 Second Section 112th Year No. 46 i Goderich Township Oldest county township first to adopt own crest Arie VanDer Ende, left, receives the first Goderich Township crest from -deputy- • reeve Grant Stirling at a party sponsored by the township recreation committee last Thursday night. Mr. VanDer Ende designed the crest from ideas submitted by residents. (photo by Elaine Townshend) by Elaine Townshend At almost 150 years of age, Goderich Township is the oldest township in Huron County, and now it has the distinction of being the first to have its own crest. The Goderich Township Recreation Committee, which was formed four years ago, adopted the creation of a crest°as one of its projects last year, and with the co-operation of the Township Council, the crest became official this month. In the fall of 1976, a contest was held to find a suitable design. The competition was open to all township residents and was divided into two categories - 14 years of age and under and over 14 years of age, The first age group submitted 50 entries; the second, none. The six top winners were Douglas Moffat, David Lobb, June Perrott, Cheryl Thompson, Dave Johnston and Scott Wilson,, whose names- will be recorded as contributing to the official emblem. The recreation Committee reserved 'the right to adopt or alter any entry. To obtain a professional design, the committee took the winning .entries to ,Arie VanDer Ende, a township artist.,He incorporated some of the students' ideas Board changes committee system The Hurolr County Board of Education made a move at its meeting last week that should encourage greater in- volvement of trustees in board business in 1978 and result in more debate during monthly board meetings. The board realigned its committee system drop- ping the present two committee policy and replacing it with a five committee one. The move was made after a three-day board seminar held earlier in "Novem- ber. Trustees met in a three-day private session to review its organization and method of co-operation and agreed to, give the five committee system a one- year trial period to see if it is more ef- fecitive. Director of Education John Cochrane said Monday that the five committee system is designed to make more members of the board actively involved in board business. He said the new system should encourage more debate during board meetings.and should make the public more aware of what the board of education does. Cochrane explained that under the old two committee system the bulk of the board's work was done at the committee level and only involved half of the board members. He said seven of the 16 trustees sat on the education committee and seven on the management com- mittee. The vice-chairman usually sat in on one of the committee's meetings and the chairman on the other. • "When a committee made a recom- mendation to the board to be voted on it already had half the board voting. in favor of it without the other half even. knowing about it;" said . Cochrane. ".`What .,usually happened is the other iik half would assume that if the other committee was in favor of it it must be „zip # good and voted in favor of it." 4 COMMITTEERESPONSIBILITX to create 'more debate removing that " criticism. The , five committee system was ' presented to the board by Cochrane after Cochrane went on record with the he worked with the four superintendents board as being opposed, to the two committee. system. He said the com- of - education to break- down board mittees were too ',large and weren't responsibili-ties and'set up com.�iittees to working effectively to -make all the handle them: He said, the committees. trustees aware of what the board is will each be given an area of business to "doing. He said he wasn't ge' • " to handle and, will work with a superin- completely conderr�n•the two corn�� ittee 'tendent at the committee level. He fix- plained that he basically paralleled the system and say it was ineffecti '• in committees with, the superintendents' handling board business, but he would., roles in :the education system.say that -he hoped the new system would Each committee will consist of a . be better. chairman elected'by the board an'd two . He said' that the recent Huron County members appointed ' by a striking school system evaluation report; which committee made up of the board was completed in May, was not the chairthap and, vice-chair,m.an and , the reason the .board changed its policy. He four elected 'chairmen. An executive pointed out that' the report "planked. committee will consist of the board away ,at communication problems" but chairmannd' vice-chairman, the past it was not the impetus for the change.. chairman if he or she wishes' and one or The five committee system will goon two members of the board, whichever is trial for one year and the beard will required to bring the committee evaluate its results in November of 1978. membership to four. At the January meeting the committees 'Other committees will be the fiscal will be established and should be fun - and property policies `committee, the etioning by February of next year. instructional personnel policies corn- "We'll have to stub our toes and make mittee, the schopl -programs policy some changes as we go along," said committee and t ' e. student policies Cochrane. "We'll have to see how it. committee. Each will have a chairman goes." and two appointed members. Cochrane said no trustee will sit on The board also changed the format for more than one committee ensuring'that its meetings to permit more time during board sessions for debate. Meetings now every trSastee has responsibilities to handle. He said the committee will have start at 1:00 p.m. with committee of the to review any material offered on a "whole and the public portion begins at recommendation and then sell it to the:.00 p.m. Now the committee of the board at the regular meeting: It will whole will meet on the third Monday of then be up to the remaining trustees to. ,each month and that session will be ask questfs on the subject and ensure followed by the four committee that the decision will be beneficial to meetings, held simultaneously in the their constituents. board offices. "The biggest ' criticism the board The monthly meetings will begin in receives is . that it rubber stamps public session at 1:00 p.m. on the first things,'" said Cochrane. "This is bound with his own to -form a distinctive Goderich Township crest. The shape of the crest is a stylized apple, representing the fruit growers in the township. The top half of the crest features a red sunset in a yellow sky over blue water. According to Mr. VanDer `Ende, some of the most beautiful sunsets in the world are found along the shoreline between Goderich and Bayfield. The colour blue is also emblematic of the waterways that affect the township: Lake Huron on the west, The Maitland River to the north and the Bayfield River to the south. The bottom half of the crest is green, depicting the agricultural land, and in the centre is a large blue tractor, showing the farmers' methods of cultivation. On each side at the bottom is a stalk of yellow wheat, representing the produce of the land. Corn could, have been used, but the artist chose the wheat for its aesthetic effect. Finally, at the bottom in the centre is a snowflake. "What would a Goderich Township crest be without a snowflake?" joked Mr. VanDer Ende. Many of the students used a recreational theme, but the Committee wanted a wider representation for the township, something every resident could identify with. To some people, the water and the snowflake indicate summer and winter sports,, and cottage- owners recognize the sunset over the shoreline. But the main theme of Goderich Township is its agriculture and its orchards. "Of course, we couldn't include everything, Township Reeve Gerry Ginn said, "but we feel we have come up with a distinctive crest. Hazel McCreath, a member of the Recreation Committee, will be in charge of distribution. Chairman Grant Stirling explained a crest will be given to township residents as recognition of a $2 donation He and Gerry Ginn presented the first two official crests at, a card party sponsored by the Women's Institute in the Holmesville School on November 10. The first complimentary crest went to Arie Vanller r.nae, the aesigner, and the second to Elaine Townshend f fi"✓J � Cai.F k���ky;. The new Goderich Township crest incorporates many of the `things the township is well-known for, including water, brilliant sunsets, apples, agriculture, and even snow. (photo by Elaine Townshend) Monday of every month. Separate board ignores own ruling by Wilma Oke The Huron Perth County Roman Catholic Separate Schoolboard meeting didn't get underway Monday until 10 p.m. as the trustees ignored their resolution of September 28 to start their regular *meetings at 9 p.m. The meeting was preceded by the board meeting in committee - of -the -whole in camera and a presentation by Mary Lit - wilier, community school co- ordinator at St. Patrick's School in Dublin. Miss Litwiller who was accompanied to the meeting by Ronald Ferguson, of the community school executive, outlined her work during her first year. Fresh out of college when she began her duties last winter, she said she started to wirk with the children in St. Patrick's School and through them she started to know the parents. She said 28 high school students who took her 46 leadership training program completed the course in program planning and ad- ministration, crafts, quiet games and active games, safety and discipline, drama and story telling, music and special events. The program is being held again this winter. She held a summer program attended by 30 to 35 children with a $2,200 government grant that enabled her to hire three girls for six weeks. She held programs for three days during the spring break for children and hopes to repeat it during the Christmas holiday break. She said she is hoping to get craft programs going such as quilting, crocheting.... She has, sports programs in the school during the noon hour and a sports night for high school students once a week and is starting the same for adults. She said she has had no success in getting the senior 'citizens out for programs. "They are "wishy-washy just now, but I think possibly this winter they will come to the school to play cards one .evening." She said during the professional development day on November 4 she had 51 children attending a full day activity period in the school, assisted by four Grade 8 students -- games, craft, singing and movies. She said she has applied for another $10,000 grant this year from the Ministry of Education to continue her work for1978. She said the community school concept had` a slow start in Dublin until people understood it and her role. During the regular session which got underway at 10 p.m., Director of Education Will -tarn Eckert handed 'out copies of the board's newsletter which had been completed and ready for distribution to the separate school ratepayers in Huron and Perth and other in- terested persons. The cost of the newsletter was given as approximately $500. It in- cluded the board's financial statement, which, if printed in the local weekly newspapers in the two counties, would have . cost about $1,100. Mr. Eckert said about 195 persons, including trustees and their w , represen- tative group!, of principals and teachers and their spouses, some parents and some members of the clergy will be attending the Focus on Faith Day in Dublin. The meeting is to start on November 20 at 12 noon. A letter from the assistant Bishop John Sherlock to Bishop Emmett Carter would be returning from the Vatican and invited representatives to attend a meeting at Mount St. Joseph in London on December 5 at 10 a.m. to hear a report from Bishop Carter. The regular meeting was finished about 11 I.rn. when the trustees went back behind closed doors again to com- plete unfinished business. Goderich Township; which is Huron County's oldest reeve Grant Stirling proudly wear the new crest. (photo by Township, last week became the first township to get their Elaine Townshend) own crest. and here Reeve Gerry Ginn, left and deputy - Field trips cause trustee concern A request from the geography department at Goderic.h District Collegiate Institute for a 1978 field trip caused a stir at the Huron County Board of Education last week. The request was ' for a three day excursion to Elliot Lake in Northern Ontario at a cost of $120 per student. The trip is designed to have students apply knowledge and observation and recording techniques in field map reading and preparation, analysis of land use patterns to observe mining activities. The board was asked to pay the costs _Jor busing 45 students to Kit- chener and the remaining costs for flight to Elliot Lake, food and lodging will be paid by the students themselves. Blyth trustee R.J: Elliott asked the ' board how far in advance field trips should be approved. He pointed out that the board was approving a trip for 1978 for two schools (Huron Centennial Schooi requested approval to send 70 students to Ottawa in May 1978) and that the approval .of the bewd would mean that $10,986 would change hands for the purpose of student field trips. "I'm not saying ,that's the total cost to the board but that reflects the total cost of the trips," said Elliott. Seaforth trustee John Henderson suggested that the field trips . are becorhing "more and more vast" and that the expense of the trips was something the board should consider before giving its approval. He pointed out that in the case of the GDCI request students would be going home and telling parents they had a chance to go to Elliot Lake and needed $120. "If we approve the trip we're putting pressure on parents to spend $120 when they may not want to or be able to pay that much," he said. GDCI principal John Stringer, a guest at the board meeting, pointed out to the board that the geography department at the school feels strongly about the trip. He said the department teachers feel that the trip is an important educational opportunity for students to see first hand the section of Canadian geography they are studyi,ng. Stringer added that the cost of the trip will have to be raised by the students and that is why the request is being put in so early. He added that the Goderich Lions club supports school activities and would never see a'student left out because their nnr''nts can't afford the costs. He added that the lengthy period between ap- proval and departure is .designed to give students ample time to raise the money. Colborne township trustee Shirley Hazlitt said she wondered why students couldn't learn the same things on a trip locally as they would in Elliot Lake. She said she realized the students going to Ottawa couldn't see the same things here but the students going to Elliot Lake should be able to see similar things right here in Huron County. Superintendent of education Jirp Coulter told the board that field trips are not always as extensive as the two up for approval. He pointed out that the students of Huron Centennial had been on field trips before but had stayed in the county on all of them. He said from their kindergarten years they had taken trips to the bank, to the supermarket, to a construction site, to an apple orchard, to the Huron County Pioneer Museum in Goderich and to Camp Sylvan. "What you're saying is that they've taken all kinds of trips locally but never been :away from home," said board chairman Herb Turkheim. The board approved both trips by a 13- = margin, one trustee being absent.