HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1980-01-17, Page 1No, these pictures weren't taken March: They were to read a book while sitting on
taken last Tuesday, January 15, asthe rea basked under childrenat her post as crossing
'sunnyskies, above freezing temperatur and snowless Street. (News -Record photo)
conditions. Marg Hoskin of Clinton took th • s s ortunity
Of 7.3 per cent
Teachers a
BY DAVE'SYKES
TR' Huron. County Board of
Education announced ratification of a
one-year deal with its elementary
teachers, Friday giving the teachers
an average 7.3 per cent . salary in-
crease for 1979-80.
The teachers ratified the new one-
year contract in Clinton last Thursday
-
"tharfaises the average salary to
$20..,7.62. Salaries for the• 340
elementary teachers now range from
$11,210 to $29,000. -
Fourteen• of the county's 24
elementary -principals are earning the
$35,555 maximum :on the pay grid
while the other 10 are spread
throughout the grid at an average of
$34,460. The average increase on the
principal's salary grid was 6.75 per •
cent.
The elementary'
without a contract,
and a factfinder w
ers had been •
:peptember 1
pinted at that
time to assist negtatpns. The new
contract, which expn'es 'August 31,
will cast the board v'eti $7 million.
Brenda; Schedl negotiator
for the' elementary teachersr, said -the
group initially sought an increase
close to 10 .per cent while the board
limited its offer to four per cent.
The board and the teachers could
not come to terms since negotiations
began in April- and a factfinder was
appointed. '
"The old agreement was open to
interpretations," Schedler said. "And
we feel it wasn't until after the fac-
tfinder report that negotiations.
became serious."
Board negotiatior, Shirley Hazlitt,
cited several reasons in the failure of
the'two sidesioteach an agreement.
"The teachers request came after
April. We couldn't come to immediate
terms and negotiations were -
suspended over the msum.mer," she
said: "We resumed- in September and
a factfinder was appointed although
he was slow with his report. We were -
so close but , you . •. 'Can't go to a
ratification meeting until it's
finalized."
Schedler said that 75 per cent of
"`'eligible teachers voted on the. new
contract and it was ratified by more.
than 80 per cent.
first
a lawn chair waisting for
guard at John and Albert
ll tndreds of other residents also took advantage of the
Spring-like conditions to do chores they usually leave
Until. April. Here Cheryl Welch took advantage of the
sunny day last Tuesday to wash the- car. Although the
snowfall is much below normal so far in J ri(uary, the
temperature for the first 15 days of January- has been
average (News -Record photo)
aise
Other highlights of the contract
include improved transfer con • 'flans.. -
within the county school system s
well as tenure and redundanc
clauses. The teachers also have an
improved accumulative sick leavb
plan in which a teacher can ' ac-
cumulate 20 sick leave days per year
to a maximum of 220 days. This
brings sick leave in line with that of
their secondary counterparts.
Hazlitt said the board tried to come
up with .a fair offer for' the 'area. In
December the board settled contract'
. negotiations with • the secondary
school teachers in a one-year deal
calling for a seven per cent increase.
Schedler claimed the Huron County
elementary teacher's salaries were in
the bottom half of the provincial
scale.
Weather
980 1979
HI LO HI - LO
JANUARY
8 -6 -10 7 11.5
9 -8 -12 . -9 -16.5
10 -3 -19 -9 -13
11 10 -.4 -8 -18
12 0 ..1' -11 '24
13 3 - 2 -11
14 2 •3 0`-12
Thursday, January 17, 1980
Snow- I8 cm .
Education Brd.'
sets priorities
• By Jeff Seddon
The Huroncounty board of
education made 1980 the year of the
problem Monday when it set its
priority list for things it wanted its
senior administration to tackle this
year,
The list, which ranges froiii bussing
to field trip policies, is designed to
give ` the board's senior staff a
framework from which to work when
establishing the direction the county
system is to take in the cominglears.
• Director of Educatip- John
Cochrane told the board st staff
had met with principals and teachers'
groups to suggest "thrusts" the board
could rea ^* to in 1980.
The orities include tran-
sportation, the board's system of
preparing its- budget, school
curriculum, personnel relations,
communication with various levels of
government and with other boards,
declining enrolment and its effec&en
schools, a performance review of
trustees and the board as a whole and
the board's policy on stuxie'r i`lerd—
Turn to page 3
For once, we can say this and
really mean it: all you. folks that
went to Flordia to escape the
winter, you wasted' your money,
we're not having any (winter that
is, not money) . -
So far we haven't had enough
snow for a good snowball fight,
they've only plowed the roads a
.couple of times, and even then,
there wasn't much• to plow, by our
standards, anyway.
. Although the businesses that are
related to the winter 'are suffering,
some worse than others, most of
us, including yours truly, are en-
joying it.
+ +
With the Federal election corning
up, the Main Street wit says that he
agrees with the kids that . they
should continue to be allowed to
vete at 18. "After all; if they're old
enough to watch modern movies, a
little politics ctIn't hurt them."
-1- + +
And speaking of elections,' "lre
the B.S. starts to flow thio And
fast, check to make sure you're on
the voters' list. If you didn't
-receive a card in the mail, then
check in • - aad elsewhere in this
edition to see hew -you can get tn.
It's important.
Still in connectioil with the
elections, we'have to laugh at the
heads of the TV networks, who are
upset because the' can't get his
royal highness, Trudeau to get in
o the TV debate. They, say it's a
denial of the Canadians,chance at
true democracy. Well, what in the
blazes did_we do at election time
before TV? You'd think that this
country wasn't invented until TV
Game along.
+ + +
--There are several things that will
highlight events taking place in the
area , this weekend, including a
dedication of a plaque to the late
Mao Cameron this coming Sunday
at 2:30 atthehospital, and the 12th
annual Clinton Bantam 1.foc Cey
tournament gets underway tonight
(Thursday) , so see' the back page
ad for more details. •
+ + +
Mary Gibbings out at Huronview
is looking fp" stories and cold pic-
tures on th nme's past, as they
are looking at assembling a book
on the subject. So if you have ^`iv
Old 'pictt or recollections 01
place, p,. -se contact Mary out at
the home. •
+ + +
We've had several. inquiries in
the reagons 'you thin vote •at the
''advance poll. There are no real
hard and fast rules, so if ynu"feel
rrou nay to confined to the house
for whatever reason on Febr ary
18,° -vote at the advance poll, which
are coming uiln February. Watch
for the ads.
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rPe4.'�1.r�4ue
•ack of s rw pleases some, hurts others
By Jim Fitzgerald
The mild, snowless winter (so far at
least) is of mixed blessing to residents
and businesses in Huron County.
While many people are enjoying the
snowless conditions and lack of white
stuff to shovel, the bare pavement and
green grass is seriously hurting other
business people ' who depend on
Huron's . sow:,Y. wjj<nters for this
livelihood. .
A spokesman for the ministry of
transportation and communication's
patrol office in Clinton said • the ---
snowless winter is "saving .money,"
because even -though there is a
regular crew ' on, they are doing
winter work, and "when the equip-
ment is not being used, it doesn't
break down and need costly repairs,"
and no overtime is paid either.
He said the salt and sand 'con-
sumption- is also down significantly.
"Normally, the pile is half gone by
this -time in mid-January, but we've
only used about a quarter of it so far."
According to the weather office;
December was much warmer than
normal with most of the precipitation
coming as rain, and so far in January,
temperatures have been • slightly
above normal with again, most of the
precipitation coming as rain.
Hard as it is to believe, so far in the
first 14 days of January the mean
temperature at the weather recording
station at Brucefield has been -5.4 C
(22.8 F) , slighly'lower than thelong.
term mean of -5 for the first part of
January. • ' •
What has made the difference has
been the wide fluctuations in tem-
peratures in 24 heurs,,.for ekam'ile,
from a -19 C (-2.2 F) on -January 10, to
a +10 C'(50• F) on the lith, a 29 degree
Celcius (52 Fahrenheit) change in one
day!
According to Don Scruton of
Scruton Fuels in Clinton, the county
has had 200 fewer -degree days than
this time last year, which translates
into about 40 to 50. gallons fess . oil
consumption.
But Mr..Scruton says about half of
his customers have cut back on their_
oil consumption, due to installing of
more insulation, and installation of
wood.burning applicances.
"But a cold snap could catch us up
--quicl ," he said. "It's not over yet."
The "open winter" has •drasticaly
cut into sales of tradition winter items°
like snow tires, winter boots and
clothing, and snow shovels.
Carl Hicks of Haugh Tire on the
•southerly outskirts of Clinton said
that sales 'of • snow tires were down
$30,000 because "of the mild winter,
following last winter which was also
bad for sales. He estimated that so far
this winter they_had only sold about 33
per cent of the snow tires they sold in -
1977. •
He said that unless a real blizzard
strikes the area, they likely won't sell
anymore this winter. "People will try
and make it through the rest of the
winter witfiocrrbuying tires," he said.
"We're open to"any offers of
government assistance," Mr. Hicks
said laughingly, referring,t0 a plea by
Ontarib ski' resort owners , for
government aid because of bare
slopes.
,C1`et•a Holland, of Holland Shoes in
C'li mon; said the mild 'winter has'been
•dis.astz'ous for winter boot sales, with
r->x,1.aS-•{{y�,t,�..w..z�.�.da.t.....k�4�n-L.,,d«.�+v.. ur•;-s�>t.. .l..,u.ta,.u_:
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A
sales ' f 50 per cent.
She s • ' • '°sales, were bad before
Christmas, d even with 30 per cent
off in January" d ecials, "They're just
not selling. Peopl ill wait until next
year."
`It'st.,_ ;rea;11x ..bad. (the • mild
weather) sure fixed us."
Snow. removal equipment 's also
sitting in dealers lots, gathering st.
'"Fred Lobb, of H. Lobb and S e s
Equipment, said he has sold only 2
.per . cent of what he moves in a
average winter, and noted, "It's
gettingpretty late now. Most will try
and limp through the rest of the
winter with what -they -have -now."
Noah Zeeman owner of the.l-Iome
Hardware store in Clinton, said. his
sales of winter related items such as
shovels and scrapers were down, but
because it wasn't a major portion of
his business, he wasn't really, suf,
Tering too badly.
But some merchants haven't been
hurt as badly by the mild winter as
many thought they might have been
though.
Jane Maclean,. of Jerry MacLean
Sports in Clinton, said she was happy
with ski and ski package sales,
"Because this is our first year in
Clinton, we didn't know what to ex-
pect, but it's.more than I expected."
In Huron -Bruce
She said most skis were bought.
•h)Pfore Christmas in the anticipation
of snow.
Sales of snowmobiles are also off,
and Randy Collins, owner of Hully
Gully :of-Vahna, one of the largest
retail outlets of snowmobiles in Huron
County, said sled sales are off 25 to 30
,per cen`t,. and, ..servicing and parts
sales area:.lso down substantjally.
Although he»hasn't laid -off any of
his seven full time employees, Mr.
Collins said they had to cancel any
• ter events on their trails because
of t . snowless condition-ST'w' "�
"We just have to roll with the
punches e customers who bought
'new sleds . , the avid fans aren't too
happy about it, •.o it's hard to find a
-positive side to it, M -r. Collins • said.
But the bare pa ent has lured
out the motorcycle ent siasts, which
is half of Hully Gu 's yearly
business, andmost of the wo ers are
busy either servicing used bi •s or
setting up new ones.
"We had a guy in here toda
(`Luesday) picking up.a 1,000 cc bike,
and when the roads harden up tonight
(with frost) he was going to put. a few
miles on it," Mr. Collins added. ,q`
The mild weather hasn't meant any
improvet'ne'rit inthe driving record of
Huron County drivers.
Even with the improved driving
conditions, the number of accidents •
for November, December, and the
first half. of January .stands at 92,
compared to 87 forthe same period
last winter, • according to 'Corporal
G n Graham of the Goderch detach-
ment of the Ontario Provincial Police.
"Too much, speed seems to be the
main cause of the accidents. The
weather doesn't seem to affect to
overall accident .total except when
they come in bunches during .
whiteouts," Corporal Graham ex-
plained.
The warmer weather is also
causing some. concern among
agricultural officials, said
agricultural representative 'Mike
Miller of the ag office in Clinton.
Although the lack of snow cover
won't affect the winter wheat crop, -
the heavy rain causes ponding in
some fields, which then freeze and
smother the wheat, and the fluc-
tuating temperatures (from +8 on
Friday to -14 on Saturday) are hard on
e fruit trees.
it stays 'rril d1V long, then the,
trees c ` ld break dormancy, and..then
a cold sn could freeze the buds,"
Mr. Miller sa
uail to lead NDP s
Tony McQuail
by Shelley McPhee
In the party's first contest in fi-ve
years, Tony McQuail, •a 27 -year-old
West Wawanosh Township farmer,
ha's been chosen to lead the NDPs ifl'
the Huron -Bruce riding for the
February 18 Federal election.
A large crowd of over 50 NDP
supporters chose McQuail on the first
ballot over Osborne "Bernie" Fan-
sher of Bayfield at 'a nomination
meeting held in Clinton on, Monday,
Sanuat)y 14.
A third candidate, Carl Hem-
mingway 'of Brussels,declined the
norn 'nation, but offered his full
support for the party. A fourth con-
testant,, Philip Walker, a Stephen
•
.,u
•
Township farmer, who had earlier
announced that •he would run as an
NDP candidate in the riding, was not
chosen since his nominator failed to
appear at the meeting..
McQuail, a • newcomer . to the
political scene, came to Huron County
nine years ago. He received his Grade
13 education at Goderich District
Collegiate Institute and -after a year's
- travels across Canada, bought a 100 -
acre farm in West Wawanosh; where
he and his wife Fran raise goats•and
sheep. McQuail is involved in a
number of farm organizations and is a
solar energy advocate. He teaches
courses on heating with wood, win-
dpower and solar energy and has been
involved in government programs on
alternative energy and lifestyles. He
is al§o a`member of the anti-nuclear
organization CANTDU
In his norninationl address, McQuail
stressed the need : for preserving
Canada's energy sources and
research into other formsofusable
eney.
In rghis lengthy speech, McQuail told
NDP supporters, "I am appalled' by
the °dishonesty and incompetence of
bur leaders in recent yearsUnless a
change is made, Canada will•e'onlinue
to muddle about, failing to take the
opportunities which today could be
ours." • •
1 -Ie also pointed• out, "In opposition
NDP policies have been implemented
after elections, because they were
good policies. The NDP is continuing
to produce good policies 'and it is time
they got to implement them as the
Government."
McQuail told riding supporters that
present high interest rates are
crippling • small -businesses and
agriculture and .noted, "The NDP
fully ,supports the family farm as the
«Y=
tf
foundation of Canadian agriculture
which ensures that our food system
will meet human needs and not
eorporate greed.'' ,
The second nominee, Fansher told
the NDP supporters that Petro
Canada is an instrument that can be
used in exploring ether energy
sources.
He also stressed the need to lower
interest rates -arid reduce- profit
taking, thus leaving more for the
consumer, decreasing the unem-
ployment rti e— and .thocrehoing the
Gross National Product. •`
"We the voters, are like painters
who over_ . the years have painted
themselves into'a corner and can't get
out without leaving marks," Fansher -
said. 1 -le suggested that, voters leave... -
their .mark with an X for the NDP .,_-
party on their voting ballot.
Michael Davidson, MP ' for
Hamilton Centre, was the' guest
speaker. He came down hard on the
Liberal Cearid
said, "Neverand own as therervative a parties tune when
we needed ap election more:"
In :tis speech, Davidson noted that
there are no teal differences between
the Liberal and Conservative
characters or policies,
"This is a rare opportunity for •the
NDP party," he said. "Now the voters
see what the NDP have always seen.
, All we've asked for is a chute to get
the country back on the road."
The Huron.Bruce NDPs are con-
fident that their party will have a
good chance to lead thcountry. •
Paul Carroll; ri ing election
chairman and NDP par y member for
the past 10years told the supporters
that he had never felt more pride In.
being ' an NDP and stated, "People
aren't going "'to brush us aside.
They're going to listen." ,
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