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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News Record, 1981-06-25, Page 3Sensitive school closur BY JASON AINSLIE Human biases were the essence oI dispute among members of the Huron County Board of Education on Thursday /afternoon, when the board met for its final regular meeting of this school year. The discussion was over the establishing of a citizen review committee to oversee school closures and course cuts, and Director of Education, D.J. Cochrane, conceded that it is a sensitive issue. He reminded board members that "each board must adopt a policy which follows certain Ministry of Education guidelines 0 and which, after receiving public input, may or niay not lead to a decision to close a school" or classroom. In his policy proposal to the board, Mr. Cochrane suggested that voting members of a school accommodation review com- mittee would include two members of a Horne and School Association or two parents of children attending the school in question, these to be elected at a public meeting; t wo citizens of the area servedby the school in question,' also elected at a public meeting; one school board trustee, appointed by the board chairman, to Town agrees to help pay for Vanastra Day Care deficit By Shelley McPhee After a week of consideration, Clinton council has agreed to pay a portion of the Tuckersmith Day Care Centre's 1980 deficit, but such financial assistance in future years will carefully studied. Some nine Clinton children attend the daily nursery centre, the only one in the area, and according to the attendance figures, Clinton's portion of the payment amounted to $898.23 for the past year. The centre is also subsidized by Tuckersmith Township, the government and parents who pay daily fees. While they approved this year's payment, Clinton council is concerned that they may be subsidizing two-parent families who are both working and sending their pre-school aged youngsters to the centre and according to Clinton Mayor Chester Archibald, "I've always been opposed to the payment, unless it's for one - parent families." Councillor Rosemary Armstrong ex- plained the day care rates as, "an across- the-board sum, paid by each parent in- stead of paying according to the parents' income." She also noted that this issue comes up for discussion each year, and said that she is not willing to subsidize two parents who are, ",working for luxuries." Councillor Ron McKay reminded council, "The law does not allow you to discriminate, even if your comments are stuck in the middle I still love that white dress. It hangs in the backof my closest, preserved in a sheet of clear plastic. I haven't worn it in the past 12 years. It's now yellowed with age, and the buttons just won't meet around the old midriff anymore, but I'll always keep that dress and the wonderful memories it conjures up, every time I See it. Mum made the dress for my Grade 8 graduation from Colborne Centre School, and I'll always' remember that occasion as one of the,proudest nights in my life. ' Details of that June evening are nearly forgotten now, but memories of the limelight, the excitment, the honor, and the look of pride in my parents' eyes are still vivid. I remembering feeling just like a queen, with my new dress, my 'new shoes and new hair -do. Sitting in the front row of our big gymnasium was the ultimate honor that could be bestowed upon us, and -the applause as we marched up to the stage filled our hearts with pride and glory. The thoughts of leaving good old Colborne were nothing short of exhilerating, yet frightening. After eight years we'd grown secure in our a cc urate." W here do you draw the,line? " he asked. "You can't single people out. Council can't Morally say that someone's got lots of money so they shouldn't be subsidized for day care." He went on to say, "Day care is a necessary part of our lives," and our society is forcing both parents out to work. Clerk Cam Proctor noted that the same government •that says we can't discriminate in day care fees, says that senior citizens can pay rent geared to income for housing units. Councillor McKay suggested that until legislation is changed, council is not in the position to make value judgements and he noted that if Clinton didn't pay its share then Tuckersmith could have to. `That's not fair ball, asking someone else to pay our share. Tuckersmith uses our rec facilities and they pay their share." Members of council agreed that they did not want to cause any bad feelings with Tuckermsith Township and it was suggested that "last year's deficit be paid with a recommendation that the Day -Care Centre study its fee schedule, and warn that next 'year, Clinton may offer a donation irrlieu paying part of the deficit. "Clinton doesn't want to -:cause bad feelings with Tuckersmith, we just want them to know how we feel," Councillor Armstrong explained. shelley y mcphee little red school, the faces were all so familiar, and after nearly' a decade of watching us grow and learn, the teachers knew and understood. The .prospects of leaving . all that comfortable familiarity behind • made us apprehensive; but the adventures that high school would, offer quickly quashed those pre -high school jitters. For us country kids, the thoughts of going to town five days a week seemed nothing short of glamorous. There'd be so many new people (especially boys) to meet, an endless amount of education to learn from, the infamous high school dances to attend, and even our very own lockers. At last, that big brick fortress on the corner of South and Bennett Streets in Goderich would be ours to discover, and soon we would be just like the teenagers we so admired and awed. We weren't disappointed and high school lived up to all our expectations and dreams. Of course there were bad times, there were scary times, there were unhappy times, but now the good memories are the ones I really hold So close ....and that yellowed white dress that hangs in my closet.... • issue s CLINTON NEWS -RECORD, TirtIRSDAY, JUNE 25, 1981—PAGE 3 daces at last rrieetino represent the public school electors of the area served by the school ; and one trustee, appointed by the board chairman, from another area. It was this last provision which caused concern among some board members. Board Trustee Frank Falconer opened the debate saying "this committee would be useless", unless the final provision allows for three trustees to be appointed by the chairman of the board. He suggested the committee should have an equal number of board trustees as outside members because "we'd never get a recommendation from that sort of a committee (two trustees and four citizens) that a school be closed." "The top brass (board) doesn't have any say in that sort of system," he said. "What is our purpose of being here?" Board Trustee Jean Adams agreed. "If a parent has a child in that system, you can't explain closures or course cuts to him. Parents are biased. People who come to the public meeting - and you know who they are going to be - are completely biased. We have to educate them." But Trustee Eugene Frayne said "somewhere, we've got carried away with the power of this review committee. What we have is the public presenting its side, its feelings, and bringing recom- mendations to the board. The committee has no authority." "We want the public to be biased," he said, "to prevent the boalyd from making hasty decisions." Director Cochrane elaborated on the power of the committee. He said there are two safety valves on the route to a school closure: first, there must be approval from the reviewing cdcnmittee for any recommendations to be presented to the board; then the entire board must approve the recommendations. "I weighted the representation specifically to give the citizenry more say at the committee stage," he said. "The memo from the ministry requires that the public have input." "If we load the committee with trustees, we'll lose that input," Trustee John Jewitt said. Board Vice-chairman Bert Morin said, after considering the needs of the students and community, the purpose of the review is to examine details of cost. He said if outside citizens understand the costs of courses or schools, then they can be directly involved with the solutions to problems. "It's more than fair with the community." Board Chairman Don McDonald reasoned that where the public elects two people to sit on the committee, those elected members will be informed and rational. uron oar Trustee Marion Zinn added scene per- spective on the discussion, saying that jn the past decade only one school was dosed and it was closed by the parents who wished their children to go to schools that had more to offer. At the end of the discussion, the board voted to change the vice -ding of the com- mittee membership requirements to read that all of the trustees serving the area of a proposed school closing will sit on the committee (be it one trustee or three) as well as one other trustee not serving that area. The county's secondary schools were not included in the discussions because with only five schools serving the county, chances of a high school closure are , minimal. Health Unit looking for bad mushrooms Area grocery stores have been checked and are free of Festive brand mushrooms. The four ounce cans of imported mushrooms are being recalled because of a fear of botulism. The Huron County Health Unit has checked grocery outlets in the county for the product. The federal health department said the mushrooms, imported from the U.S., were being recalled voluntarily by their Cana- dian distributors. The recall followed a similar order in the U.S. where the food and drug administration found four tainted lots. It is not known if any of the cans found in eastern Ontario contained botulism, but residents are to return all cans to the stores where they were purchased. The ministry also wants residents to notify their local health unit if they have bought the product. The federal health department said there have been no reports of illness and only limited stocks of the brand have been imported into Canada. Four doors, Formal & Fun Mazda GLC Sedan The Mazda GLC 4 -door Sedan gives you the smart look of a formal sedan, plus the convenience of 4 doors. And you get all the features that have made our hatchback GLC the talk of the automotive world -front -wheel drive, 1.5 litre overhead cam engine and a list of standard features that would make some bigger, more expensive cars plush. See and drive it soon. We've got the cars that make deals great. THE MORE YOU LOOK, THE MORE YOU LIKE MW MOTORS LTD. 1d4 EAST ST., VOLVO-MAZDA/SALES-SERVICE GODERICH 524-2113 Receive charter The Knights of Columbus Clinton branch received their charter at a special banquet on Saturday night. Al DeWitte, left, the State Board Treasurer from Chatham was on hand to present a framed copy of the charter to Seamus Doherty, • past Grand Knight, Rene Brochu, Grand Knight for the 1981-82 term and Jim Devereaux, from Seaforth, the District 31 Deputy. (Shelley McPhee photo) TWO GET BIG SAVINGS ON BUILDING MATERIALS The Sales Tax exemption on many Building Materials, in effect since November, ENDS JUNE 30 in five shopping days. Take advantage of this, and save some more at COUNTER'S LIQUIDATION SALE Bill has reduced prices on his entire. inventory - to clear *EXTERIOR AND INTERIOR DOORS *BIFOLD DOORS *COLORLOK SIDING *ALUMINUM SIDING *LUMBER - FIRPLY- SHEATHING - PANELLING *STYROFOAM - MICAFIL *AMEROCK CABINET HARDWARE *WEISER DOOR HARDWARE *VARATHANE - BARN PAINT - STAIN DASHWOOD'S PATIO DOOR SALE ENDS JUNE 30! This is your last chance to get a $25. REBATE from Dashwood on a Patio Door BILL'S PRICE on a Breezeway Patio Door NO. 6068 is '540, and get '25. from Dashwood Be among the first 25 customers FRIDAY, JUNE 26 GET A FREE UTILITY KNIFE with a purchase of '20. or more! CASH 8. to ING SUPPLIES PRINCESS STy -EST CLINTON 482-4612 negative Colon Spee rolls ted ative 20 -Exposure and pinked All colour uee rolls pll DeVelope 2_ExPo c� and Printed 9 9 a anw Only. C41 Orders EXptr No it�m�t �� Quant �9 \ntedvelope art ame -aav Only JULY' 8' 2 pIN SI., SEFIES�?UpRE.GppERIC 2 HURON ST • • CANTON SHOP THE TRIANGLE TAMPAX IN TA I YOUR TOWN TO BEAT THE BAND AIM 100 m1. TOOTH PASTE 094 ONLY `LOVING CARE HAIR COLOURS 99 LOTION ONLY • SOFT 'N DRY SPRAY DEODORANT $1 89 OR ROLL ON 75 ml ONLY • NEW HEAD & SHOULDERS CONDITIONING SHAMPOO 350 ml PONDS COCOA BUTTER LOTION 240 ml ONLY si 79 — — 40 s ONLY MAIN CORNER MAIN CORNER CLINTON SEAFORTH TFiI.Q.Nf LE DISCOUNT,.,