Loading...
The Wingham Advance-Times, 1984-12-05, Page 1'411110 I'braz Div. 4, ex`': Wingham, Ont 'Deo. 4 . CANADETTE FREE -STYLE WINNERS—Shannon Robinson, pre -senior; Candice Ir- win, junior; Carrie Skinn, intermediate, and Debbie Clark, senior and fire baton, were the winners of the Canadette club competition held last week at the F. E. Madill Secondary School. This was a free -style competition, in which the girls make up their own routines. with 40 points awarded for baton work, 30 for dancing and 30 for. style.• Planning to proceed on lower dam replacement Wingham Town Council has agreed to begin planning for the replacement of the Lower Town dam, with the understanding that the plans are unlikely to get off the drawing board unless sub- stantial grants can be ob- tained toward the estimated $300,000 cost of the project. Until then council will proceed only to the extent of an estimated $7,300 for a preliminary engineering study. At a meeting Monday night Ron Beecroft, chairman of the ad hoc committee studying the dam, told council . the committee is optimistic• that grants will be available, but that the study is required before things can go any further. He added it is imperative the study get underway as soon' as possible, both because of deadlines ingrant applications and of possible complications with frost later in the season. He said the committee recommends having the study done by DelCan, the engineering firm responsible for rebuilding the Brussels dam and which has sub- mitted a preliminary propos- al for replacing the Wing - ham dam. He said the com- mittee has met with Allan Stinson of DelCan and has . been impressed by his ideas. Mr. Stinson proposed designing an earth and stone weir instead of .a poured concrete one, thus cutting in half the estimated cost of the dam replacement, Mr. Beecroft noted. "We feel their ideas are what we looked for and the scope of the work could be 'carried out by local con- tractors." Provided the . necessary materials • are readily available in the area, the project should cost about $300,000, he said. Council agreed to authorize Del. Can to proceed with the preliminary study, but noted it is not .com- mitting itself to proceed with the project on its own. "Wingham taxpayers can't afford $400,000 to put the dam in," Deputy Reeve Patricia Bailey commented, Teachers in Huron average $36,200 Elementary teachers with the Huron County Board of Education will receive a four per cent salary and allow- ance increase. The board and the teachers both ratified the collective agreement' on Monday, Dec. 3. • Superintendent of Per- sonnel Peter Gryseels said teachers and board repre- sentatives met with. fact finder Emerson Lavender on Nov. 19 and came up with an agreement on that first meeting, "I think it's a good settle- ment for both parties," said personnel committee vice- chairman, John Elliott. Personnel committee chairman, John Jewitt, took no part in the contract as his daughter is an elementary school teacher in the county. "I think we're generally satisfied with what we received," said teacher spokesman, Wayne Nichols. A second teacher repre- sentative, Ila Mathers, said it is "positive" to work with the board as opposed to working against it. "Any time there is an open discussion it can only be a benefit to both sides," said Mr. Nichols. The average teacher's salary under the new collective agreement will be about $36,200. There are approximately 380 teachers affected by the one year agreement which runs from Sept. 1 1984 to Aug. 31, 1985. Mr. Gryseels said for the first time a benefit com- mittee has been set up which' will review the current benefits received under the collective agreement. Under the new agreement, the salary grid is as follows: Level D, $16,880 to $22,550; Level C, $17,860 to $26,370; Level B, $18,860 to $31,730; Level Al, $19,790 to $34,200; Level A2, $20,910 to $37,040; Level A3, $22,790 to $41,510; Level A4, $23,320 to $43,730. Vice -principals' allow- ances range from $3,510 per year to $4,280 per year. Co-ordinators receive an allowance of $4,830, prin- cipals of schools for the trainable retarded receive an allowance of $5,040 and principals receive their maximum salary plus $8,740. Allowances are added to the salary received. Huron County secondary school teachers will be going to mediation on Dec. 5. adding that applications have been obtained for a federal grant program and she hopes the project might also qualify for a provincial grant. Councillor Jack Kopas also said the potential costs "terrify me", noting if the town had to debenture the project it could end up costing over half a million dollars. Both Mr. Beecroft and Councillor Bruce :Meehan spoke optimistically of a new grant to be offered by the Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Recreation which might apply to the dam. With the town park on one side and the conservation authority lands on the other, `there is a good chance the project would qualify, Mr. Machan said. Mr. Beecroft also passed along a request from the Turnberry Township Council for a joint meeting with the town regarding township in- volvement in the project. "They're ready to par- ticipate in some way, but they're not sure how," he said. Council agreed to try to arrange a mutually agree- able meeting date sometime in December. ingbaln �ye FIRST SECTION Wingham, Ontario, Wednesday, Dec. 5, 1984 New benefit package approved Single Copy 50c Council sets 5% guideline for 1 85 budget increase The Town of Wingham has again set five per cent as the target for its budget increase next year, about the same figure it has aimed for, in the past two years. However this does not mean that all town em- ployees can count on a five per cent raise in pay next year, town council was told Monday night. Rather than giving across-the-board increases, council wants to begin tying pay raises to job performance, with the better employees getting more. Reporting for the finance and management commit- tee, Councillor Jack Kopas told council the committee recommends increasing the amount of money set aside for salaries and benefits by five per cent in 1985 and ap- plying the same formula to its other operating costs. This would provide a "pool" of money into which the town could dip' in assigning individual in- creases to employees and departments. In making its allocations, council will indicate to the departments they are to review employee perform- ance and not necessarily give everyone the same per- centage, Mr. Kopas said, adding council should en- courage department heads to take a look at the perform- ance of their employees. Changes will not come overnight, he said, but it is a start. He added that the average wage increases in the private sector this year have not gone above four per cent and, with inflation running at between three and 3.5 per cent, "maybe there's no justification for us to automatically give everyone a five per cent increase." Councillor James A. Currie noted that by pooling the money before handing, out the increases council would also be able to address any "inequities" in its present wage schedule. He believes the town is looking at an average in- crease to its employees of about four per cent next year, he added. "That might be fairly tough to do when the police settled for 6.7 per cent. (this year)," Councillor Bruce Machan commented, saying there could • be "some repercussions". Mr. Kopas, who with Mayor William Harris also sits on the Wingham Board of Police Commissioners, agreed that might not sit well with some employees. Youth facing charges in theft of liquor, car. s A young,Wingham man is facing a series of charges in connection with motor vehicle thefts in the Wingham and Mount Forest . areas and a break-in at the LCBO store in Brussels. Darrel Cranston, 19, will be appearing at Wingham Provincial Court Jan. 23 to face charges of break, enter and theft in connection with the theft of $110 worth of liquor at Brussels. A Bluevale man, Douglas Rawn, 21, also has been charged with possession of stolen goods in connection with the incident and will appear at the same time. In addition, Mr. Cranston has been charged by Mount Forest OPP with the theft of .a truck in that area Nov. 28 and is facing charges• by the Wingham Town Police over the theft of a car during the night of Dec. 3-4. He was apprehended by the Harriston police Tuesday morning after he had been involved in an accident while driving a station wagon taken from the Jerry Marks residence on Minnie Street, Wingham. However he pointed out that at the high school, where he works, there are three dif- ferent employee groups — 'teachers, janitors and clerical staff — and rare;; do all get the same percentage increase. He promised to carry the "same signal" to the board of police commissioners and noted the police budget must come before council for final. approval. "That's where we could share our concern that there is a significant disparity." Councillor Tom Miller attempted to follow up the question of the police set- tlement, but he did not get very far. Following several minutes of discussion about whether the two council representatives on the police board were obliged to report to or answer questions from councillors, Mr. Miller finally started to• ask his question. Mr. Currie pointed out the matter was not on the agenda for the meeting and the mayor immediately refused to allow Mr. Miller to continue. Mr. Miller did later suc- ceed in getting the matter added to the agenda at the very end of the four -and -a - quarter -hour meeting, but without much better results. When he tried to ask the question, Mr. Currie im- mediately moved that the meeting adjourn, After that motion„ was defeated, Mr. Miller asked whether the police settlement reported in the newspaper was correct and whether there had been any other changes to the contract. Mr. Kopas answered that so far as he knew the report had been correct and the only change had been in the salaries. However he ex- plained the board's negotiating team had been given a free hand to settle within a .certain "range" and, since there had not been a full board meeting since the settlement, he was not sure of all the details. He should have a better answer by the next council meeting, he said. In a related matter, coun- cil approved a recommenda- tion for changes to its em- ployee benefits, replacing the current sick -leave plan with a plan providing short- term and long-term disabil- ity payments. The matter had been studied by an ad hoc com- mittee and council was told the new plan will give the employees vastly improved protection at about the same cost to the town. The premiums for the new plan ' run at about $13,000 a year. The police board, which also had representatives on the ad hoc committee, will negotiate separately with the police on their participation in the new plan, since benefits are written into the ' police contract. Activist teacher is fired by Human school board CLINTON — Following months of indecision, Joanne Young, the Exeter teacher who had been suspended from her duties as a result of her activities as an anti- nuclear protester, has been fired. Mrs. Young had her teaching contract ter- minated by the Huron County Board of, Education .at a special meeting held last week at Clinton. In a statement read following the unanimous decision, the board said that although an employee's' priorities may differ from an employer's, "in this cir- cumstance, after consider- able time and discussion, it is evident that Mrs. Young remains adamant in her course of action. "The previous steps of progressive discipline and BROWNIE ENROLLMENT—The Tweenies from the Tuesday afternoon Brownie group became full-fledged Deslauriers, Lisa Moody; front, Michelle Congram. Brownies last week. The girls involved are: back, Jen- Sarah Foxton, Jessica Bailey, Amy ° 'Connell and An- nifer Brown, Stacey Werth, Heather Finley, Jenny drea Smith. the decision of an impartial tribunal have not caused this teacher to alter her priorities in such a manner as to fulfill her duties. "The Huron County Board of Education has therefore found it necessary to ter- minate her employment." Before the vote was taken, Trustee Tony McQuail had stated that although he also had taken part in anti- nuclear demonstrations; he had to consider his position as a member of the board. He added that he hopes in the future other alternatives will be considered in problems between the board and its employees and that "postur- ing and personal convic- tions" would not create ir- reconcilable differences. Santa. Claus is corning to Wingham Santa Claus has sent word that his sleigh will be stopping in Wingham to see all the children at the Wingham Town Hall this Saturday between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. If you miss Santa this weekend, don't worry. He has promised to be back each Saturday before Christ- mas, again at the town hall. Following the meeting Mrs. Young said the board had made it clear to her and to the public in general that absence will be accepted for almost "any reason except participation in a non-violent protest. She also said she disagreed with a recent arbitration decision cited by the board which had found her actions "insubordinate and in violation of her duties as a teacher." "I feel very strongly that I was performing my duties as. a teacher," she said. She said her next course of action, which had been delayed by the board's Nov. 5 decision to ask permission from Bette Stephenson, On- tario minister of education, to fire her, would be to file an appeal with the Board of Ref- erence. There is also the possibility of a civil action, she added. Mrs. Young also said that because she feels there is little chance she will teach again, at least in Huron County, she probably will complete arrangements to live on her pension of about $10,000 and do volunteer work in Toronto. She added that she will continue to participate in demon- strations. Bicentennial medals to be presented Dec. 9 A total of 1,984 Ontario bicentennial medals will be presented to selected volun- teers from communities across the province in a ser- ies of special ceremonies this week. Locally those selected to receive the medals will have them presented during a ceremony at the Seaforth and District Community Centre on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. The award was established to salute the province's 200th anniversary and to recognize the contribution made by volunteers in their com- munity services. The medals, made of Ontario nickel and gold, . feature the provincial coat of .,arms on one side and the bicentennial symbol on the other. They are inscribed with the words, "For Service to the Community" and hang from a multi -colored ribbon. The medals are ac- companied by certificates signed by Premier William Davis which states they are being awarded to "those who have given of themselves, time and time again, to build a better society and enrich the lives of others."