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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1978-02-16, Page 1Teachers leave classrooms empty BY JEFF SEDDON Secondary School teachers in Huron County waited until the eleventh hour before taking strike action Wednesday morning after contract negotiations with the Huron County Board of Educations, ended Tuesday. Teachers at South Huron Secondary School in Exeter walked out of the classrooms Wednesday morning in a legal work stoppage. Bev Thompson, chairman of teacher negotiations, would not say Tuesday night at a press conference what action the teachers would take Wednesday claiming the negotiating team had not decided then what action to take. She said the teachers had three alternatives: work to rule, mass resignation or with- drawal of services. She said the action would be announced Wednesday mor- ning at 8:45 when teachers were due in the classrooms. The protest at South Huron is not necessarily an indication that teachers plan a series of rotating walkouts ac- cording to Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation spokesman Mark Berry. .He said Wednesday that Ms. Thompson was unavailable for comment. on future actions by teachers adding that the only information he had was con- cerning South Huron teacher protests. The breakdown of talks Tuesday ended almost a year of negotiations Clinton, Ontario between the OSSTF and the board. Last week teachers indicated in a secret ballot that they were in favor of strike action by an 89.5 percent margin and the OSSTF informed the board that as of February 15 the teachers were in a legal position to take strike action. Although both sides are giving the problem a different name the main bone of contention • is teacher working con- ditions.• The problem has to do with a clause in .the 1976-77 contract concerning average class size and the maximum number of students a teacher is required to be responsible for. The teachers feel the conditions they propose are a fair non cost item to the board that would serve to better the Huron education system. The board wants the clause deleted and is con- cerned about what the conditions clause will do in the future. The board also regards it as an erosion of its managerial rights. A second clause concerning sick leave gratuity is also unsettled. The teacher proposal for working conditions is for the board to include in the contract that efforts be made to set an average class size of 30 students for commercial subjects, 25 for general credit subjects, 20 for technical courses and home economics and 15 for special education. Coupled with that the teachers want the maximum number of students taught by one teacheryto be 180 for commercial courses, 155 for general credits, 140 for tech and home ec and 100 for special education. The board argues that by including the clause in the contract, the board will' be permitting teachers to determine how the education system will be operated. The bdard's negotiation committee chairman Cayley Hill said Tuesday afternoon that he felt the problem was a question of "who has the say about teacher workload and who manages tie system". The board recognizes the teacher claim that the workload proposal is not a cost item on this year's contract. The board's concern is for the future. Hill said the board is projecting what the addition of the clause will do in five or six years when declining enrolment is considered. He said the problem may never develop but added that the board felt that it should retain the right to determine teacher workload and class size as part of its responsibility to the taxpayer. The teachers argue that the contract being negotiated is a one year pact. They feel that the clause is fair and is a non cost item this year. They claim that the matter can be negotiated in the future if it becomes a problem for any reason. 30 cents Clean walking Clinton residents finally had some sidewalks to use last week, when the town's new snowblower arrived and proceeded to munch its way through the three-foot drifts covering the walks. Here Jim Edwards blows on Highway 4, south on a recent sunny day. (News -Record photo) Telephone system to expand. Due to the rapid growth in the Village of Bayfield the Tuckersmith Telephone System is going to have to expand in order to accommodate its subscribers, Tuckersmith Council has learned. Last Wednesday night, February 8, Mel Graham secretary -treasurer was granted permission by the council to obtain debentures of not over $150,000 for the expansion. However, before, the debentures are issued 10 per cent of the independent telephone's systex A plug ben ,f4Yp.r. of the extension.. They will vote, on the matter at the annual meeting to be held on March 29, after which Tuckersmith Council will issue or not issue the debentures. Graham noted to the council that the extension will include 280 new lines, which should make a total of some 700 lines. The additional lines should service any new subscribers for the next five years. In addition, some of the debenture money will be used to bury all the ser- vice cables. This, Graham noted will cut down on trouble calls. In the past just the bad services have been buried, but now the telephone workmen plan to go up and down each road and bury them all. Graham explained that in 1976 ex- pansion of 100 lines was put into the Bayfield office. At that time, it was Spring can't be far away now. Although we haven't had any reported sightings of robins yet, another sure sign 4Dis hockey playoffs. Several of the minor hockey teams are already into them, and the Mustangs close out their regular season this weekend, with a pair of tough games. This weekend's games will determine who plays who in the first round, and Clinton must win two to finish in first. + + + February has, so far, been a perfect month, with long sunny days, little wind, and almost no snow. But it has been cold, and so far in the first 15 days .of February, sub -zero readings (F) have been recorded on 10 days. If this is the price we have to pay for a warm spring and a hot summer, pay on. + ++ How it happened we'll never know, but somehow, this agent and spouse Lois were invited to the Clinton area firemen's pot=luck dinner last Saturday. It was an excellent meal, and we'd like to thank the gals and guys for their hospitality and Jack Carter for his jokes. + ++ �And speaking of hospitality, there will be plenty more of it at the recreation committee's hospitality night, which will be a bubbling over with geniality this coming Saturday night at the arena. Admission is free and the company is mined, so'drop over. + -1- -1- And don't forget too, to save those unlucky Wintario tickets, as the schools and the library can use them to get discounts on Canadian books. A wor- thwhile gamble. + + + 14�w that tax time is just Around the corner, here's a little ditty: "Auditor to taxpayer. 'Shall we go over it item by item, or would you prefer to chicken out right now?" ° presumed that approximately 25 lines would be used a year, however some 50 lines' were used instead. Therefore the expansion only lasted half of its expected four years. "It will keep increasing,- Graham warned, "You can't supply services if you don't have equipment." Graham also noted that with the new expansion the main office in the old Bayfield school will be filled. In other, council business, Clerk Jack McLachlan was given permission to look into the possibilities of obtaining a community college student to work for the township in the summer. The decision was made after correspondence " was received from the Ministry of Treasury and Economics outlining a summer work project which enables college students studying sur- veying or municipal administration courses to get some practical ex- perience. Under the program, a student in these courses may be hired for a maximum'of Turn to page 3 Thursday, February 16, 1978 ll3th Year No. 7 The issue of sick leave gratuity ,has been termed the lesser of two evils by the board negotiators. The teachers would not say what action they would take if that was the only problem. The clause the board deleted from its contract proposal currently provides for a, payment of up to half a year's salary when a teacher terminates his em- ployment. The board wants a minimum age of 50 or 12 years of service to be set before that payment must be made. The ' teachers. claim that they are entitled to the gratuity under the current provisions. They say that the cash settlement is only available for teachers who have not used sick leave granted them in the contract. They are eligible for a cash settlement when leaving the system and want the practice continued. Clay Murray, a member of the teacher negotiating team, said the board demanded that the present clause be deleted from the 1977-78 contract. He said he was "absolutely astounded" that the matter would be deleted and could see no reason for it to be taken out of the agreement. Salaries for the contract year have been established. The new agreement constitutes a 7.5 percent increase or an average increase of $1,550 per year 'per teacher. The new terms set the Turn to page 3 Weather 1978 1977 HI .O HI 10 February 7 14 -1 15 -3 8 24 -10 15 -9 9 21 -15 30 12 10 25 -5 34 18 11 26 -1 37 27 1 2 2 5 16 38 28 13 28 13 35 24 No show Rain -.76 Snow 2" Twilight racing approved by rec. committee The Clinton Recreation Committee operation this year,' the Kinsmen gave their approval last Thursday night thought they would gamble and try three for a special three-day twilight race evening cards, "but we have no final meet at the Clinton raceway this sum- . okay on those dates yet from the ORC mer. (Ontario Racing Commission)." The three-day meet to be held on July Rec committee chairman Poss 13, 20 and 27, all Thursdays, will be the ;; , Livermore said- he was concerned that only twilight race meet in Ontario, with the races would interfere with baseball posttime to be 5:15 p.m. and soccer at the park and he would only Three members of the Kinsmen Club be in favor of the three nights. were at the meeting, and told the rec "If it was to be all summer, that would committee that the club hadn't been granted the dates yet and the Kinsmen had sought approval first from the rec committee. The three Thursdays will 'be in ad- dition to 15 Sunday afternoon race dates the Kinsmen have asked for, starting on June 25 and ending on October 1. Kinsmen raceway chairman Paul Kerrigan told the rec committee that with the Goderich Raceway out of be another matter," Livermore said. Kerrigan said the races would be over by 8:30 p.m. and teams could still use the lighted ball diamonds, Member Dennis Jewitt wondered why the Kinsmen or the town couldn't rent the t icetrack facilities to the Goderich Trotting Association so they could still race until their new grandstand was ready. In other business, arena manager County holds tax line BY SHIRLEY J. KELLER Warden Gerry Ginn called the 1978 budget for Huron County a "stand pat budget". Costs are up, Ginn told county councillors at the February session of council in Goderich Thursday, but the county apportionment will not increase. "That's good in these days with the inflationary trend," added the warden. County administrator Bill Hanly advised in his preamble to the budget presentation that the total expenditure in Huron in 1978 will be an estimated $8,822,650. That represents an overall increase of $322,267 or 3.79 per cent over the 1977 budget. But the county apportionment - the amount of money raised in Huron County - will remain the same, $2,630„000. This will be achieved by bringing into the 19'7-8 budget an accumulated surplus of $407,579 from 1977, and by the strict watch all county committees kept on their 1978 budget requests. All county committees attempted to keep their budget increases to within four per cent for this year. With in- creased assessment in Huron, some taxpayers in the county should actually experience a slight decrease in taxes for county purposes - approximately two per cent on the average across Huron. Reserve funding will not suffer, either. A total of $150,000 was added to the reserve for working capital; $50,000 to the hospital reserve fund; and $60,000 to the capital works building reserve fund. Warden Ginn said in his opinion, it was' important to, keep the reserve funds healthy. He explained that it might have been possible to achieve an even lower budget total by deleting the reserve funds for 1978, but said it was not con- sidered good business to lower a county mill rate for one year and then, perhaps, find in the next year that a sharp in- crease is necessary. Transportation services, highways at $3,749,000 and the Sky Harbor Airport at $16,000, accounts for by far the largest portion of the budget, a total of $3,265,000. Next is Huronview where the 1978 budget is an estimated $2,587,326 in total. Health is third at $889,260 including $566,340 for the health .Unit, $220,000 for 'Home Care, $52,920 for family planning and $50,000 for the hospital reserve fund. All these segments of the budget, however, are heavily supported by the provincial government. Home Care and family planning are subsidized 100 per cent by the province. • A surplus of $252,558.55 or about $62,000 higher than expected, was brought over from the 1977 road budget into the 1978. road budget. According to Chairman Ken Campbell of Stephen Township, the committee intends this year to "keep the surplus down and do a little more work". Also, the Huron allocation from the Ministry of Transportation and Com- munications was $41,000 higher than expected in 1977. Chairman Campbell said in- his report these extra funds ($103,000 more than expected totalling surplus and MTC allocation) were distributed throughout the road budget and used to reduce the county rate in- crease from 9.8 per cent to 1.34 per cent. "The additional funds also allowed us to budget for the construction of a structural plate corrugated steel culvert on Road 25 east of Walton one year ahead of the road construction in 1979," said Campbell in his report. "The new machinery, and salt dome budget was also increased to $15,000 which will permit the salt dome at the Wroxeter Patrol Yard to be completed prior to the fall of 1978,” Campbell noted. The road chairman went on to explain that the road 'budget is "highly depen- dent" on how severe the rest of this winter and the start of next winter will be as regards snow removal costs, and what prices come in as a result of paving and gravel tenders for 1978. Campbell said if such expenditures are higher than estimated in the budget, the committee will reduce the total cost by reducing the length of some of the county construction programs or be dropping some budgeted items for 1978. The Family and Children's Service (formerly Children's Aid Society) budget was also approved by council at this sitting. It calls for a total ex- penditure of $587,250 with $469,800 coming rom the province and $117,450 raised it Huron County. Tuckersmith road budget ok Tuckersmith Council at their regular meeting on Wednesday, February 8 approved a total mads budget of $241,000 for 1978. A motion was also made and approved to apply for a supplementary allocation of $20,000 for construction in 1978. Road Superintendent Allan Nicholson in his report explained the breakdown of the budget. A motion was passed to advertise for tenders for the crashing and hauling of 16,000 cubic yards of gravel and 1,200 yards to be stockpiled in the pit. The tenders -are to have their applications in by March 6. It was noted, however, that the 16,000 cubic yards of gravel would not cover the Hensall Road which is hoped to be paved this year. Councillor Nicholson explained that 5,000 more yards of gravel would be needed to cover the two mile stretch of road before a paved top is added. A delegation from the Tuckersmith Federation of Agriculture approached council at the meeting, asking for a grant of $900. In 1977 Tuckersmitl- granted the Federation $600. Council heard the three man delegation but decided to make a decision on the grant at a later date. It_ was noted that there are some 66 new potential members for the Federation in Tuckersmith, mostly young farmers that have started up business within the past three years. Tax credits for 1977 totalling $698.99 were approved by council for refunds. Five tax write offs were also approved. Building pertnits were issued to Rick LeBeau, Lot 24, Con 4 HRS, house and shed; Janes Ross, Lot 36, Con 2 LRS, lean to barn. Clarence Neilans and Livermore will visit other arenas in the county • to get specifications, prices, and contractors' names for a new arena floor. The action was taken after Neilans told the committee that the floor was heaving and cracking again, and the cooling system was leaking brine. "I don't think we have any choice but to put a new floor in and get at it right away," said council's representative Ron McKay. Neilans also reported that the bantam hockey tournament that just ended was highly successful, bringing in over $1,000 to the arena floor fund. The committee also agreed, with pleasure,to pay a bill to plumber Frank MacDonald, who is also a member, for installation of the new 2,000 gallon hot water heater. MacDonald charged only for parts and no labor. "Dr. Ellwood" Just like a doctor, Don Ellwood of the water works department of the Clinton Public Utilities Commission listens to the ground with a special- stethoscope. Don was listening to the ground on Highway 4, near Ontario Hydro, trying to locate a break in the water main servicing Vanastra. They finally found the break Wed- nesday morning near to where a hew gas line crosses the highway. Don Bartllff holds a Sheet of plywood to keep the wind from the instrument. (News -Record photo) 6