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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1979-09-06, Page 1r ' • ... AD' • • School enrolment sags Because of variable local con- ditions, school enrolment varies considerably in " schools in central Huron County. While some schools enjoy increased enrolment, others have fewer students this year. Clinton Public School has 423 students this year, up 12 from last year, while the Clinton Christian School has 197 children enrolled, down 10 from last•year. However, attendance slipped 20 children at Hullett Central Public School when only 285 students showed up opening day on Tuesday, down 20 from last year. Hullett also welcomed a new teacher, Bill White, from Manitoba, but a native of Goderich, who will be teaching Grade 4 and French. Attendance at Vanastra Public School is down 16 pupils from opening day last year, but a school spokesman said the loss was due to the closing of fouemememmumgmossimw the townhouses midway through the school year last year. The enrolment is actually up two from last June. Because of lack of classroom space, Vanastra has only kindergarten to Grade 6, while 7 and 8 pupils are bussed 'into Clinton Publie. New teachers included Mrs. Audrey Melick teaching. French, Chrystal Jewitt teaching music, and: Mrs. Marilyn 0estreicher who is teaching full-time until Christmas when another teacher on pregnancy leave returns. St. Joseph's Separate School is enjoying eight more students this year than last, as 118 pupils showed up on opening day. They also have a new kindergarten teacher, June Holmes who has transferred from Exeter. Attendace on Tuesday at Holmesville Public School was about the same as on opening day last year, and. the school has some staff t • I • cnanges, including a nerve principal Ron McKay of Clinton, a new Grade 7 and 8 phys ed and remedial teacher, Marlene Cunningham of Clinton., a new part-time French teacher Lorrette Ayotte, and anew Grade 4 and 5 teacher, Pat Brereton. Huron Centennial Public School in Brucefield are schooling' nine more. students this year - 501 - all because of an 18 student increase in the kin- dergarten enrolment. At Central Huron Secondary School, principal Gord Phillips reported Tuesday the school had 970 already registered, and he expected the number to hit the 1,000 mark by the end of September, about 12 shy of last year's total, a normal situation at rural high schools. Central Huron has also welcomed a new Home Ec teacher, Geanette Ainslie, and a ' new office staff member, Mrs. Pat Taylor. Clin t4th Year -No. 36 on NewsmiRecord Thursday, September 6, /979 35 Cents n 14•i'":11. Doggone funny Man and animal alike: took part in the .action at the Bayfield Fall Fair parade held last Saturday In the village. Here the captain of the Santa Maria is held from falling overboard by the first mate, as the float merrily paddles along. Hot weather and tighter money Is blamed for cutting attendance at the fair this year. (News - Record photo) • I Clinton council's closed meetings uniqtte in area by Shelley McPhee While councils in the surrounding municipalities don't schedule regular closed meetings and not all Clinton councillors themselves support closed meetings, -it appears that Clinton Council will make no changes, and "behind the doors" discussions will • remain an established procedure in the town council chambers. • From a brief survey conducted by the News -Record it appears that Clinton council stands unique in their meeting procedure policy. Council schedules one open •meeting a month, which is comparable to other municipal governments. However in .addition, Clinton council meets for an hour in -camera session before each regular monthly meeting, and as well they hold one closed, committee -of - the -whole meeting each month and two closed committee meetings monthly. One Clinton councillor, Ron McKay, speculated that committee meetings aren't necessarily closed and the press and public may be welcome to attend. However, since neither the press or Clinton ratepayers have ever been informed otherwise by council, it is assumed that these are private. In a majority of other area municipalities surveyed, it was discovered that in Clinton is one of the only councils which hold closed meetings, and one of the only ones to regularly schedule ,these. Other councils explained that in their municipalities closed, meetings are not scheduled but only called on special occasions to discuss con- troversial or delicate matters such -as property transactions or personnel problems. In Goderich, the town council discusses all matters in open meetings, including the budget. Goderich Clerk Larry McCabe ex- plained that all committee meetings are open to the public and closed meetings are only held once or' t a year, to discuss one and only one particular issue. According to Exeter Clerk Elizabeth Bell, the town council there schedules no closed meetings. However, in this municipality a half- dozen committees meet in private monthly and the budget is usually discussed behind closed doors before it is brought out into the open. "Councillors feel that they can speak • more freely when the press isn't there," she explained. Goderich Township Reeve Grant Stirling has a different opinion, "The odd time you need to think the situation over, but as far as I'm concerned you should say what you have to say no matter who's at the meeting." He explained about his council: "We try. ngt to do anything behind closed doors. We usually have nothing to hide." With this in mind, Goderich Township Council holds two open It's not often that yours truly lets my personal life creep into my column, but after the death of my father last week in London, I can't help but thank all those wonderful people who offered their sym- pathies during our bereavement. A • special thanks goes to cohort Shelley who came back from vacation to put last week's paper out. - Death, as we all know too well, is inevitable, but none the less is still shocking. +++ Now on to more happier things, including the first annual Family Street Dance this Friday night at the granclgtand. A new idea being tried by the Kinsmen and Kinettes, the night starts off for the kids from 7 pm to 9 pm with movies, popcorn, and Freshie being some - of the features. At 9 pm, the kids will go home and the adults will start into the swing of things in the manner of the popular dance held last year under the new grandstand. Community and and , social life is once again moving into high gear, as clubs re -group, reorganize, and start meeting again. Aniong those who will be getting going very shortly is the Clinton Cub and Scout pack who will be holding their registration next Thursday night, September 13 at Ontario Street United Church from 7 to 9 pm. If possible, parents are asked to accompany the boys. Arid too, Clinton's first minor hockey school gets underway ,this corning Monday at 'the lint n tarena,an as of Wednesd y, t e ; lice was g ing in in good ti O a ci the soiindf bouncing 0 ks and scrapitig skates -will soon fill the air here. Short summer, waSn't it! + And the return to school this week also marks the return to our pages this week of the Central Huron Chronicle, under the editorship of Michelle Corbett. Each year the high school page gets a new editor, and there are some in town here that say it wouldn't be a bad idea if this paper did likewise. The main street wit, on the oc- casion of the return to school, of: fers this pearl of wisdom: "Parents who encourage children to follow in their footsteps have probably forgotten a few." Welcome back to the Clinton band, who just returned on Mon- day. What with the holiday and all the rushing around, we haven't yet had time to do a story on their trip. So watch this paper next week. August, as mot farmers will tell you, was a dry, slightly cooler month than normal here in Huron County. Rainfall was extremely variable, with one end of Goderich Township, for instance, receiving almost none, while another area received nearly four inches. • According to Graham Campbell of the Goderich weather station, August's average temperature this year was 18.2 degrees C, 3/1 of a degree below normal, while the rainfall at Goderich was 63.8mm, slightly below the average of 671 Sunshine Was just above the usual. Because of the cooler than normal summer, most agricultural exPerts are helping for another month Of frostifree weather to mature the COM, although the city sunny weather is speedirg up the white .bean harvest, w idh got Lind ; 1"14 ay on Monday, ' 4 1 council meetings regularly with no closed sessions, other than the ex- ceptional special. meeting to discuss a specific item. In the township, budget discussion is done in open council. ' • In Seaforth, any special meetings are *open, unless declared closed once council has met and agreed to this. Seaforth council meets monthly and according to Clerk Jim Crocker, four committees meet regularly in private. He noted that budget is discussed in open council after the committees have -looked at the reports and special meetings are held t.particularly to discuss real easte or personnel issues. Deputy Clerk Marie MacLean from Wingham can't readily recall when the town council there last met behind closed doors. However, in the ease' when council wishes to discuss a matter in private-, a portion of the monthly regular open meeting is declared closed. The council remains unique in this since during the closed session, no one, including the press, is asked to leave the room. Instead, the press is asked not to take notes on the discussion and the clerk does not record the debate. The Wingham council has 10 dif- ferent committees, but they rarely meet. . Each committee however prepares their portion of the budget which in turn is discussed in open council. • In Hullett Township, council meets in open session once a month and there are few closed meetings, except for , an occasional unnannounced session, Clerk Clare Vincent -said. He added- that any special meetings that have been held are usually open and delegation's are often present at these. Stanley Township blerk Mel Graham explained that while the council in that municipality does not hold regular closed sessions, "There are certain things you have to do in privacy. Some councillors speak more openly if the preys isn't there." In Stanley special. meetings are occasionally held to meet with delegations on municipal drain projects, for instance. He noted however, that budget is discussed entirely in open council. Tuckersmith Clerk Jack McLachan said that in the last two years, the council for that municipality has met as a committee -of -the -whole, in a closed session,only twice. • "We want to keep the public in- formed," he stressed and for this reason closed meetings are a rarity for the council. While real estate transactions and personnel problems would be discussed in privacy, budget would be dealt with at one or more of the two monthly open meetings. It appears that the majority of Municipal councils questionned deal with their proposed budget in open council. However in Clinton, the practice of discussing the budget in closed session has caused con- troversy. After the 1979 budget was dealt with in an unscheduled, closed meeting, and the budget accepted when the meeting was opened ipter in the evening, News -Record Editor Jim Fitzgerald Opposed this action. As a result, at their last open meeting, council agreed that they. should have a public apology from Mr. Fitzgerald. This decision was posted in the town hall front window by council and Mr. Fitzgerald also received written affirmation about the decision requesting the game. "1 was • quite upset about the statements made in the paper," Clinton Mayor Harold Lobb said that the August 13 meeting. "It's not fair to council. I don't think we've withheld anything and I always thought we had good relatidns with the press." Councillor Rosemary Armstrong added, "We didn't think there was any point in calling- the press out at 10:30 pm for a 10 minute meeting." Clerk Cam Procotor told council, "We always give the reasons why things were done, the next day." "We do wish to represent the peOple,"tl Councillor Armstrong ad- ded. "We're not here for monetary gain or public recogonition. I'm sure — ..14,poioxavore*eamor4,9.0.6.....0 posiiipt=2.," RoTot Matentitialf*Vietiitt‘irlittili MOO MOON OISIVSISONIVO .00,110.2 1618 MN le OM IS 011111 • 10" 00101410,* INNIMI 4240#0044410/01/61*4 1111415110111131111$ V11;0115011S10411 /0/11110011111/110**0 'Llt, IMP V14A1 /1111/$94140 1114AOP1 41100001,11.1111110 r".01WPONAPI MOM WOW= IMMONWIRPAriMe$ 00E41 tamm_woom eV -AMMO WM VA* /ftff " , worm e.a.0%0 /P.M t4.1AVOra 0VCA tr.41T.W.V4 W.M1P400 TiVWOOMPKO4Mil orirw al,p4 twro4 .444-4;1 0 ;;;)11.,,,?' m.,,,pit.rtotOglooKza .„A vow .44 • 10 cr,c!. t11114 INIWA (inlet but • edger, - the students Uted t. OUtStde' the do is of Tuesday Mottling as a new year stated Here some SiOttrigilte7§ tValt foe tlie tamfllar litiUntl of the (test belloutslde tInton PubH Stiliti•ti...tNeWS4ReCat'd we could all be doing something else rather' than sitting here, It really hurts for someone, to say these things". - „ Councillor ChesterArchibald noted that he was upset because of the editorial comment that the council didn't represent the Clinton people. "That's hogwash," he stated. "We all put our names up for election." (As it resulted in last November's election all council was acclaimed to serve a two year term, with the ad- dition of two new, members, Chester Archibald and the recently resigned Joe Atkinson.) "People are quick to criticize, but won't readily say, that's a job well done," Councillor McKa'y suggested. Clerk Proctor added, "Mr. Fit- zgerald wouldn't be able to set in on meetings in Toronto (Provincial) or Ottawa (Federal government) and have the budget discussed in open." Mr. Fitzgerald disagreed with this comment, saying, "All committee meetings at federal and provincial government levels are open to the press, excluding the cabinet debates." Further information was given to the News -Record by Huron -Middlesex Provincial Member Jack Riddell, who explained: "The press is never barred from • meetings. The legislature is always open and is even covered by television." He went on to say that proposed bills can either be discussed by a Turn to page :3 • inside Peggy's predictions p. 2 Historically speaking The readers write P 3 p-4 Housewives, Sluggers clash p. 6 Bayfield vandalized p. 10 Plowing matches• p. 12 Lost bridge •p 15 Barn burned p 16 Classifieds •p 18, 19, 20 Chronicle back p. 21 Bayfield Fair sags Hot weather and tight money are being blamed for a drop in the at- tendance at the Bayfield Fair last Saturday, as only about a 1,000 people visited the 123rd version of the fair, • down from the 1,500 of last year. Fair secretary Audrey Graham said that entries were about the same in most classes, with the exception of the youth classes, which were down. She said that there was an excellent heavy horse show, with ,l5 horses entries. a "We'll have to get same more special attractions next year to draw the crowds," she suggested. In the ladies' section, Mrs. H. ,Beirling collected the most points in the crafts and handwork section, while Mrs. R. Trewartha had the most points in the tube polkaing section. Mrs. Hilda Gerger'reaptured the most points, in the ceramics class, while Mrs. Bert Evans captured the prize for getting the most points in the preserves, and Kathleen Siert- sema was named baking queen after collecting the most points in that class. , Top winners in the sewing section included Mrs. C. McKay, Mrs. R. Wilson, Mrs. E. Yeo, Mrs. Evans, Mrs. Siertsema, Mrs, G. Porter, Mrs. Tom Penhale, Mrs. Ruth Talbot, and Mrs. G Fellows. In the senior citizens' classes, Esther Makins was the top point getter, while Dorothy Loney captured second. Mrs. E. Turner of Bayfield cap- tured the crown for collecting the most points in the flower show, while Mes. D. Turner was second. In the fruit section, Fred McClymont was the top winner, while David Johnston was the top exhibitor in the vegetable section. In the heavy horse show, Tom Penhale had the best matched team, while Arnold Young of Goderich had the • most points, • and in the sheep seotion, -Don Dearing and Greg r Flowers w re the top exhibitors: lin the 4H Holstein shoVi, Gerald B't and .had the top .senior calf, while •Seannie B , and had the top junior calf, and in the Sersey show, Susan Van Eg,mond hadj the top senior calf, mid Miarie Brand 'ad,the .the junior cplf, MajOr Wi ner8 in .e po 'try, I j • , * pigeon and pet stock show included J. Russell, R. Ducharme, J. Mayhew, B. Cleave, Cliff Pepper, E. Baechler, and Henry Pattison.—. In the parade prior to the fair, winners included Blue Water Centre in the pony and rig class; Danie Johnston in the pony and -rid; Janet Simmons, horse and rider; Susan Kirkton, decorated bicycles', decorated tricycles, Matthew Turner; antique cars, Don Gower; organization floats, Clinton Hospital Candy Stripers' comm-ercial float, Yogi Bear Camp; novelty vehicles, BayfielcUs Youngest jail bird; pedestrians costumed, Sarah Laudenback, Jennifer Parker, and Sherri Gordon, Paul Sesulaz, school marm and caveman. Woman to run for Warden Huron County may have its first woman warden in 1980. Goderich reeve Eileen Palmer made her intentions known to county council Thursday night announcing she intended to seek the warden's chair for 1980. To become the county's first woman warden Palmer will have her work cut out for her. She learned at the special August session that Usborne reeve Bill Morley and Tuckersmith reeve Ervin Sillery also intend to run for the wardenship. Weather 1979 1978 AUG. 111 Lo Hi Lo 28 26 15.5 28 18 29 24 48. 23 14 30 25.5 12 • 24 12 4-31 27 7 21 10 S PT. 1 31.5 13[ 24 3.5 2 27 17 28 12.5 23 10 Rala 4.01 m 3 26 16 ,Wo Rain