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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1978-03-23, Page 1• ttin, Ontario 30 cents Thursday, March 23, 1978 Weather 1978 1977 ►�� l HI 10 O MARCH 14 39 31 50 36 15 32 26 58 32 16 31 19 44 33 17 31 15 34 26 18 32 5 32 24 19 35 15 39 13 20 36 6 32 27 Rain .98 Snow 3" 113th Year —No. 12 Board to open high schools Tues... BY JEFF SEDDON - Huron County's five secondary schools will be open March 28 but whether or not there will be any formal classes that day is up to the county's 274 secondary school teachers. The county board of education lifted `the lockout of its secondary school teachers Monday night in a special board meeting meaning that the striking teachers can go back to the classrooms to teach if they choose to. The lockout was imposed by the board February 23 after the teachers began a series of rotating strikes February 15 protesting two unsettled clauses in the 1977-78 board -teacher contract. ' The move by the board is aimed at getting county secondary school students back in the classroom as well as re -opening contract negotiations which ended February 14. Board negotiating team chairman Cayley Hill said Monday night that the next move is up to the teachers. He said he was confident the board's new position opened every avenue for a return to the classroom and the negotiating table for the two parties but it remained for the teachers to accept the proposals. The board's move came on.the heels of an offer the board made March 13 requesting ,,,the teachers respond that same day. That proposal contained alternatives for the two clauses in dispute and asked that the teachers give the board an answer that same evening to permit the board to act on the reply in full session. The teacher's response that evening was no answer. Two days later teacher negotiating team spokesman Shirley Weary said the board's proposal didn't do anything to resolve the issue and would not be taken to the teachers for a vote. Hill said Monday night that had the teachers replied to the board in that fashion March 13 the board was prepared to make the moves then that it made March 20. He suggested that the possibility of ending the school lockout last week was removed when the teachers failed to comply with the board's request. The last teacher response to the board's proposal was a suggestion that the two sides consider negotiating a contract for 1978-79 as well as the pact in dispute. Weary said the teachers felt that the move may permit negotiations to become more fruitful and if successful would guarantee uninterupted delivery of education until at least September of 1979. The board's negotiating team reacted positively to that suggestion but placed some stipulations on its proposal before agreeing to it. In a letter to District 45 Ontario Secondary School Teacher's Federation president Ron Lane the board said it would be willing to negotiate the 1,978-79 contract if the teachers agreed not to take any strike action or work to rule until September of 1978. In return the board offered to pay the teachers retroactively according to the salary schedule agreed to in the 1977- 78 contract. Salaries are not in dispute in the current contract. Pay rates were agreed to early in negotiations with the teachers accepting a 71/2 percent increase in- cluding cost of living. The new rate sets the average secondary school teacher's salary at $23,200 a year. The proposal by the board negotiating team caused concern amongst some trustees since the lifting of the lockout demands that the board operate bus routes March 28 despite what the teachers do. The trustees asked if a teacher vote was required for the OSSTF District 45 to accept the board's suggestions. Some felt that if the teacher vote refused the offer the board was in the same situation it was when it im- posed the lockout. Board chairman John Elliott said he didn't think the issue required a teacher vote. He—pointed out that it was very doubtful there would he a vote before March 28 since many of the teachers used the March break to go on vacations planned prior to the lockout. The teachers are not required to remain in the county during the school March break and Elliott said he hoped the teacher negotiating team would agree to the new terms and that the 274 members would accept that and return to the classes. "They (the teachers) will have to make the decision to go teach or stay out," he said. "We've opened every avenue for their return and can only hope their concern for the students will influence their decision." In the letter to the OSSTF District 45 president the board suggested that if teachers were "earnestly concerned about the education of the students of Huron County they would agree that the dispute had gone on long enough." The letter said it was time to set negotiating postures aside and "get on with the job of education". Cayley Hill said that if the issue required a teacher vote fie hoped the negotiating team would give its mem- bership an opportunity to decide for itself. ...but teachers won't be there The likelihood of Huron County's striking secondary school teachers returning to' the classrooms Tuesday, March 28 is slim unless the county board of education makes some added changes to its latest contract proposal. Shirley Weary, spokesman for District 45 members of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation, said Tuesday that the latest board proposal didn't offer the protection the mem- bership of District 45 wanted and that Cruis jna • This group of Clintonyouths took to the- streets on skateboards when the ice began to melt Monday. What better way to spend their spring break from school? (News - Record -photo by Ashley Geddes) First column: holiday By Jim Fitzgerald Tomorrow, Good Friday, is the first holiday in nearly three months for us working stiffs, that is if you're not a student, a teacher, or had" your •holidays down south this winter (that doesn't leave many of us, does it!) Which means that just about everything will be closed on Friday and re -open on Saturday, with the exception of schools and government offices, which will also be closed for Easter Monday. The post office will be closed both Friday and Monday, but will have reguldr delivery service on Saturday. +++ The hockey season is fast drawing to a close (with the exception of the NHL who will go until June), and next weekend the ice comes out of the Clinton area for the summer. I'm personally looking forward to the baseball season with eager an- ticipation, but by the looks of the snowbanks on the diamond, it may be quite awhile yet. But before the arena is closed, one team that is providing good en- tertainment before large crowds, some as large as at some junior games, are the Clinton Cougars of the Christian Church league. The Cougars are battling Drayton for the league championship, and last AP* I 'Tuesday night packed the arena for their first win. The two teams can he seen next Tuesday night again here in Clinton, when the Cougars hope to bring home all the marbles. + -1- + THE SOUL OF WIT ... The Lord's Prayer contains 56 words, the Get- tysburg Address 266, the Ten Com- mandments 297, the Preamble of the U.S. Declaration of Independence 300, and a recent U.S. government order setting the price of cabbage, 26,911 ... As some wit said: If Moses had been a government worker we'd have 20,397 commandments. + -i-+ An important meeting of the Meals On Wheels committee will he held next Tuesday afternoon in the hoard room of the hospital, and I'm hoping that as many interested parties as possible can attend, as it's a very worthwhile service to keep running in town. + + Today marks the final day that journalism intern Ashley Geddes will be spending' in the News -Record newsroom and returns to Conestoga College. Shelley and I are not looking forward to going back to the old ways of running the newsroom before he came along a month ago. It's too much like work! she personally wasn't satisfied with the hoard's offer and plans to hold a negotiating team meeting to discuss the issue. Weary said she felt no compulsion to hold an emergency session of the negotiating team because of indications received from the board that the teachers couldn't refuse the last offer. She said she had not had time to digest the proposal having just returned from an OSSTF convention in Toronto. She had just received the board offer at the time of the interview. The hoard met in a special session Monday night to announce its offer and to lift the lockout of the teachers that was imposed February 23. The board agreed to pay teachers retroactively on the salary schedule agreed to earlier in negotiations and set up a workload committee if the teachers agreed to return to classes March 28 and not take any more strike action until at least September of this year. The hoard offered to establish a committee composed of one teacher, one trustee, a senior education ad- ministrator and a perincipal to decide on teacher workload during the contract year. The committee would make recommendations to the director of education that, if approved, would be rubber stamped by the hoard and put into effect. The hoard felt the move would give the teachers input into decisions on teacher workload, the main issue in the strike. Weary said she was satisfied with the committee system but was hesitant to agree to the proposal*, since it set guidelines to work from. She said a policy statement passed by the board setting the terms of reference for the committee did nothing to set a workload goal for the committee. She said the Turn to page :1 Firemen to cover Vanastra Depending on a decision handed down last night (Wednesday) by the Clinton Area Fire Board, the Clinton fire department may begin protecting half of Vanastra. The move to protect the industrial half of the former air force base carne on the request of Tuckersmith council, and should the fire area hoard approve, most industries at Vanastra will see their fire insurance premiums cut from 10 to 50 percent. The volunteer fire brigade, gave their approval to the scheme last week in a vote, and Tuckersmith at their council meeting last Tuesday night agreed to ask the fire hoard for their final approval. Should the hoard approve, fire protection at Vanastra, now all covered by the Brucefield brigade, would he split down the middle, with Toronto Blvd. being the dividing line. The east half of Vanastra, the residential half, would still' he protected by Brucefield. The move will cost Tuckersmith council a'n extra $1,500 a year, and would up their percentage of the fire hoard's budget from 4.64 to 7.62 percent. Resident at Vanastra last fall had asked that a fire department he established there, but council balked.,at the idea when they learned it would cost heteween $100,000 and $150,000 to do so. Russ Archer, president of Archers Farm Sales and Services, one of the Nigger plants at Vanastra, said the news was "wonderful," and though he didn't have exact figures said it would mean a suhstancial saving on his fire insurance premiums. Robbie the robin found agood spot to perch on the shoulder of Erma Hartley, of 68 North St. in Clinton. Mrs. Hartley. found Robbie seven years ago after a rainstorm, starving and featherless, and has given him a place to board ever since. (News -Record photo by Ashley Geddes) Spring eternal with Robbie By Ashley Geddes Young Robbie of Clinton had the same chances everybody has when they come of age. He had grown to a respectful youthful maturity, young enough to need perhaps a little coaching on the complexities of life, but old enough to leave the nest and go out into the world on his own, seeking adventure and knowledge and at- tempt to set up shop on his own. But alas, Robbie wanted no part of it. He had no desire to venture forth into the unseen dangers lurking out in the big, cruel world. R bbi�e was a homebody. With understanding perseverance, Mr. and Mrs. Hal Hartley of Clinton did -not push Robbie too hard. It was, after all, an important time of his life and they didn't want him to get off on the wrong foot. They decided to take Robbie to the summer cottage, just south of Goderich, and let him relax for awhile. But not for long. With a little kind persuasion Robbie left after one day. Mr. and .Mrs. Hartley thought, finally he's taken the big step. He's out on his own. - Not that they wanted to see Robbie go. It was just that it was not right, they felt, that he should stay with them forever and not fly the coop, so to speak. But Robbie didn't fly the coop. He was back in five hours and he'd had quite enough - thankyou - of the world outside. The next day they sent him on his way again. This time he lasted three hours. And the third day one hour. For the next couple of weeks the routine was simple. In the morning Robbie would start out on this own and by nightfall he was back. Finally Mr. and Mrs. Hartley gave up. This was one robin red -breast that just didn't like the great outdoors. Robbie was a spoiled homebody, and there was nothing they could do about it. They'd have to keep him. Ever since that first day seven years ago when they found him - featherless and starving - after a rainstorm, he had just/plain come to like indoor living. From the time they found him in June to the time they tried to let him go in July, he had become used to the Hartleys, and had no intentions of leaving. Now, Robbie is seven years old and healthy as any of his fine feathered friends out in the wilderness. He gets let out of his cage frequently to take swirling, dip -diving flights throughout the house. And he .gets along with the dog. Lady, a 13 -year-old retriever, thinks Robbie is just fine. In fact, he wouldn't harm a feather on his poor little head, says Mrs. Hartley. The dog also. gets along with Chirpy, the Hartley's black bird. A4,144 CA,44,31,9,PA.E051CMY, it s- another story to tell about the time the Hartleys took in two cotton -tail rabbits. And then there's the snapping turtles. And the squirrels. And the skunk, Spunky - "He was sweet as the dickens." Anyway, those are all memories now. Some stayed for a while and then went on. Others stayed for a long time. But they're all gone now. Except for Lady, Chirpy and, of course, Robbie. Robbie has a typical North American robin diet. He likes ham- burger. Sometimes he gets a treat of a raw piece of steak. Other times the Hartley's feed him chicken or cooked tuna. In the summer he likes to feast on the old bird conventionals though - worms and flies. And he whistles. Not much in the winter but when he sees that old sun conte out in the spring, he perks up and lets out a shrill sound that would make any mother be proud. He likes to whistle along with the vacuum cleaner, said Mrs. Hartley. But Mrs. Hartley doesn't advise anyone to take in a wild bird. They're too much responsibility and more difficult and nervous than con- ventional bird pets like budgies. And Mrs. Hartley should know because she's had two of those as well. "I don't advise picking up birds," she said. "They're not really sup- posed to he brought inside. After all, they're a wild creature." But she adds: "I don't go around looking for birds. I'm not that crazy. But if nothing is going to look after it you can't just let it starve and die. Mr. Hartley's sentiments are about the same. He said, "He (Robbie) had a soft touch and then couldn't leave." "We're stuck with it." Tractor pull to highlight Fair By Ashley Geddes A giant tractor pull June 2 will kick off the annual Clinton spring fair with cash prizes totalling $2,500. The pull will start 6 p.m. and the event has been sanctioned by the Western Ontario Tractor Pullers Association. The Clinton fair has also joined the Western Horseman's Association this year,, so horsemen from all over the province will he coming to compete. The fair will give its own trophies and prize money for the horse events, but com- petitors can also build on their point system for the year. The three-day fair, which will run from June 2, to June 4, will have a few other changes from last year's program. Friday will see the Holstein and Jersey dairy cattle judging again this year, but the beef cattle show, which was held Saturday last year, may he moved to Sunday. Bob Gibhings, secretary of the fair hoard, said the board must have the approval of a majority of the beef breeders before the change in program is finalized. Saturday the sheep, swine and poultry competitions will take place with heavy and light horse classes in the afternoon. Sunday will he a western riding day with games involving mainly quarter horses. There has been some discussion, said Gibhings, of adding a goat show to the program this year but this has not been officially approved. The grandstand show this year will feature local talent. Gibhings said a suggestion to get professional talent from Nashville was turned down because of the expense. He aid there is enough good local talent to draw from. "I think they're going to come up with a good show," he said. Death called accidental Ontario Provincial Police are terming accidental the death Sunday ' night March 19 of M. Keith Holland, 28, of RR 4, Clinton. Mr. Holland was found dead in his car parked in a garage at RR 4, Clinton, and a post mortem examination showed he died of carbon monoxide poisoning. Police say the garage door was open, the car battery dead, and the automobile out of gas. A faulty muffler is blamed for allowing the gas to escape into the car, where police believe Mr. Holland was listening to the radio. The late Mr. Holland was the son of Bill and Wonnetta Holland of RR 4, Clinton, and is also'survived by a sister, Marilyn (Mrs. Tom McMahon) of Clinton, and two brothers, Harvey and Clifford, both of RR 4, Clinton. He is also survived by his maternal grandmother, Mrs. Elsie Henderson of Huronview. The funeral service was held from the Ball Funeral Home on Wednesday, March 22.