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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWingham Advance-Times, 1977-09-14, Page 2lS' tihil Advance -`Mmes, September 14, 1977 County education basically sound but in need of direction, goals The Huron County education system is basically sound, ac- cording to an evaluation report released Tuesday, but it needs someone to offer some direction and goals for educators in Huron. Jay Lockerbie, project co-or- dinator for the ministry of educa- tion, told the Huron County Board of Education Tuesday that while the education system in Huron is basically sound, it needs people to offer some guidance for teachers to help reap as much benefit from the system as pos- sible. Summarizing an' evaluation report on the Huron education system, Mr. Lockerbie, along with Exeter Public School Prin- cipal Jim Chapman, told the board the general climate in the education system is good and there are many strengths in the system, but added that there are areas that need improvement. He BEDROOM'0IRE—A bedroom in the house of Duncan Scott, Edward Street caught on fire last week and resulted in extensive damage to the room. Smoke and heat rlamage to thdrest of the house was also caused by the blaze. Firemen had to chop a hole through the waii iv get io the fire. Fire causes much damcsqe tohouse A bedroom fire causing exten- sive damage to that room and more damage throughout the house was attended by the Wing - ham Fire Departmen(t'after night, Sept. 14. The house belonging to Duncan Scott on Edward Street was damaged by smoke and heat and the 'bedroom was gutted. Fire Chief David Crothers said the cause of the fire could not be de- termined due to the extent of the Another fire call answered by the department resulted in the 'men waiting for a chimney fire to go out. Mr, Crothers said more damage would have resulted if water had been put , down the chimney. The chimney fire .was at Brian Hallman's house; known as the old Currie school on the 12th con- cession oncession of Wawanosh. Mr. Crothers said he expected many more calls concerning chimney fires because of the number of coal and wood stoves being put in use again. He, said because many of the chimneys have not been used for in them' cannot be known.. Mr: Crothers warned that if anyone has a chimney fire, to call the department immediately as it could spread into the attic and other rooms of the house. He stressed that calling im- mediately in any fire is important and said many people would have had a lot less damage if the department had been called rather than attempting to put the fire out themselves first. Mr. Crothers said sometimes people cannot find the number of the department, and waste time looking for it. The number could be as near as the telephone as the = department has stickers with the number on them to pdt on the phone. These can be picked up by anyone by asking any fireman or going to the department. said the improvements needed "were not necessarily weak- nesses" but are things that could be done to make the system better. Mr. Lockerbie presented the board with a 45 page draft of the final report, representing about six months work, managed by himself and Mr. Chapman. The evaluation was commissioned by the board in February and was to be done on the Exeter 'group of schools. The Exeter area was chosen because of its unique geography in the six elementary schools and one school for the retarded all' feed into South Huron Secondary School in Exe- ter. The board hoped that by completing the evaluation on the Exeter schools it could get a good impression of how the education system is performing across the county. Mr. Lockerbie said that if he Not many changes reported from schools Continued from Page .1 up four from last year. Staff size remains at eight full-time and two part-time, with Mrs. Florence LG\It uvr replacing Mrs. Carol Oriold. They have been preparing for the Belgrave School Fair, which takes place today, Wednesday, in Belgrave and are also in the throes of setting up an academic and sports award system, he added. Principal Paul Statia at Turn - berry • Central School reported few changes, with an enrohnent of 218 and staff of 13. Mrs, Mari- lyn Elgie will be the new kinder- garten teacher, replacing Mrs. Nancy McIntyre who has moved to Lucknow Public . School. The school will continue to emphasize "just good all-round education," he promised. At Howick Central School, Principal Bruce Robertson noted a slight increase in enrolment, to 543 from 539 last June. The rise can be partly traced to the migration of Amish from the area, he felt, as the families who bought their farms are sending children to this school. Staff size is stable at 25, includ- ing one half time teacher. One new teacher, Mrs. Louise Meer - tens, will be teaching grade three to eight French. She fills the vacancy left by Mrs. Susan Cogh- lin, who is on maternity leave. A get -acquainted night for staff and parents is planned for the evening of Sept. 22 and, all in all, "We will be trying to do better the things we did before," Mr. Robertson said. Principal Mrs. Mary O'Malley of Sacred Heart School, Wing - ham, reported an enrolment for the year of 137 'students,' down seven from last year. Staff size remains the same as last year, with five full-time and two part-, time, and Mrs. Ida Martin will be teaching grades three and four, replacing Mrs. Nancy McKeon. had to pick out the one area that seemed to be troubling most people in education°it would be the goals of education. He said some teachers are wondering what they're achieving and what their goals should be and felt the system could use some human resources to work with teachers in laying down a firm philosophy for education. He said he is generally im- pressed with the system in Huron; that there seems to be a_ good climate within the system and that morale seems high. He claimed that most professionals are concerned and dedicated to education. The evaluation was a long pro- cess, according to Mr. Lockerbie. He said the first step was an internal evaluation completed by teachers, students and parents directly involved with education. The people were asked for opinions and the information catalogued. Then a gr=oup of pro- fessionals from outside the county came to Elxeter and visited schools, surveyed teachers, students and parents and compiled their findings in an external report. • Mr. Lockerbie and Mr. Chap- man then compared the two reports and wrote a final draft for the board. Mr. Lockerbie said the final draft was the only valid material. He said the internal and external reports were for background information only, iF 1t Gaunt charges gov't with win -at -any -cost attitude Pre-election attempts to lure Liberal MPPs away from -their party or out of their seats were a case of the provincial govern; ment trying to get a majority at any cost, Murray Gaunt, MPP for Huron -Bruce, said this week. The approaches formed part of. a general pattern, with the Conservatives trying to get every possible seat "at whatever cost", he said, adding he didn't realize at the time he was approached that others were also being 'felt out. The attempted manipulations show "the system has stopped working," he declared. blaming a Conservative "stranglehold" on power for its breakdown. . A Toronto newspaper last week reported Mr. Gaunt and Eddie Sargent, Liberal MPP for Grey North, were approached by Conservatives hoping to break up the Liberal power base in south- western Ontario. Mr. Gaunt told the paper Wil- liam Stewart, a former minister in 'the Davis government, ap- proached him about deflcting to the Conservatives last Novem- ber, three months after- London North MPP Marvin Shore switched to the government side of the legislature. Following the election, he said, a prominent Tory,. whom he .de- clined to name, told him that if he • had not sought re-election the party had a job in mind for him where he would make three times ht's MPP's salary of $15,000. Mr.' Gaunt says the incident that set the Toronto press digging was the recent government ap- pointment of former Liberal MPP Philip Givens to a provin- cial judgeship and the chair of the Metro Board of Police Commis- sioners at a salary of $46,000. Mr. Givens, who represented Armourdale for eight years, an- nounced his decision not to seek re-election shortly before the last election was called, Mr. Gaunt said. His seat was subsequently won by a Conservative. 026 NURSING GRADUATE Brenda Ablett, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. David Ablett of Wingham recently graduated from the Georgian College Diploma Nursing Program, Owen Sound. She has accept- ed a position in Flin Flon, Man. Brenda is also a graduate of F. E. Madill Secondary School. 0 PAUL B SMITH David E Williams Lloyd G Knight You are invited to come and enjoy an evening of inspirational Gospel music, featuring Lloyd Knight and David Williams, and a special message from Dr. Paul Smith, Television Minister of The Peoples Church, Toronto. We will be looking for you. TIME: 8:00 p.m. DATE: Friday, September 16, 1977 Education hoard delays decision on equipment The Huron County Board of Education delayed decision on a recommendation to spend $30,000 in 1977 and $42,000 in 1978 for repair and replacement of voca- tional equipment. The recom- mendation was made to the board at its Tuesday meeting after a committee looked ,into board policy' for repairing or replacing worn out or obsolete equipment in the county schools. The board set up the committee in April to meet with commercial and technical vocational direc- tors of the county to formulate a long range plan to keep equip- ment in the classrooms up to date and in sound working order. The committee met with directors of the five county:secondary schools and found many shortcomings in the replacement system used. The commercial and technical classrooms in' the . five county schools have a total inventory of $827,455 based on the original cost price. Of that, about $97,000 worth of equipment is in need of repair and about $40,000 worth in need of replacement. In 1976, the board spent $12,457 for repairs to equip- ment and allocated $18.308 of the 1977 budget for replacement of equipment. The principals of the schools. after consulting with vocational directors•suggested the board budget $14,720 for repairs to equipment annually and 845,500 -for replacement. The committee recommended that in 1977 the board spend another 812,457 for repairs and 818.308 for replace- ment and in 1978 increase the budget by 814,100 and 828,200 re- spectively to update equipment in the schools. The committee also recom- mended that a closer liaison be established between the board and the vocational directors and that the comrnitt'ee set up to investigate they natter become permanent. It suggested that a closer scrutiny of the condition of the equipment be maintained, allowing directors to become more involved with repair and replacement of equipment and the supervising of funds to meet that end. R. J. Elliott. Blyth trustee, asked the board to delay final decision, suggesting that the budget committee should .be allowed to review the expense. He said he is not concerned about the recommendation but is a little concerned about the board spending the money without knowing all the details. PLACE: F. E. Madill Secondary School, Wingham, Ontario Admission Free — Everyone Welcome t1-0--0 The Arthritis Society plays a leadership role in the provision of home care for arthritis. Councillor asks building grades eng° ter checked Cow .11or David Cameron plans to consult engineer Burns Ross about the possibility of having lot elevations checked before a building permit is issued for a new house. Mr. Cameron told town council Mo'hday night there should be something in the building code providing for grade approval by the town engineer as well as the builder. As a graphic example of what can otherwise happen. he showed council pictures of his backyard under a foot of water during the recent rains. He said he had lived there for 10 yeas and never had any trouble until houses were built behind him recently. Filling arotind the houses • changed the natural grade of the land, he said, stopping the drainage off his lot and bringing the water from the other lots down on his. "I'm not complaining about my situa- tion," he emphasized. "I just Want to ensure it doesn't happen again." Councillor Angus Mowbray felt it would be difficult to regulate grade changes since sometimes it is necessary in order to build. A plan should provide for proper drainage, though, he agreed. Building. permits this month were issued to: Steffla contract- ing of Wellesley, three dwellings; Royal Homes, 12 dwellings in Maitland Estates: Carl Bondi. siding nn a warehouse; David Murray new roof; Donald Cameron, siding; - Gentlemen's Corner, awn; Ray Bateman, alteration to garage; Joe Clark, addition and swimming pool ; Owen Curtis, family room, bed- room and laundry room ; Gordon Kerr, repailrs to house; Michael Willie, siding; Wilfrid Congram, siding; Sid Adams, swimming pool; and Yvonne McPherson, siding and steps. 1 1 1 11 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 1 1 Defence: adding that anywhere the two reports agreed or anything that kept recurring in the two was put in the final draft as a recom- mendation or opinion. He said the real purpose of the exercise was not to compare the Huron system with another board, but to take a look at education in this county to gee if it meets the standards the public , and professionals want it to. He said that by doing the evaluation itself, the board and profes- sionals in the system would more readily accept the results and would have a better idea of what was needed for improvement. He said the evaluation should be useful to the entire county, despite the fact only one section of it was examined. He said people in other areas of the county could look at the 'report and offer their own conclusions, pointing out that much of what was discovered in the Exeter family of schools could be ex- trapolated for schools in the north of Huron. John Cochrane, director of education, told the board the swior executive administrators hope to take a good look .at the evaluation with the intention of offering the board methods of implementing recommendations contained.in it. He said he would eventually like to see . copies of the report go to all professionals in the system for a broader opinion of education in Huron. Walk, tog, run, skate, ski. swim. paddle. pedal don't let File catch you with boot it head down �! Fitness is fun Pafln[IPd441� Try son*. Friends Are A -Nice Thing To Have.. ti THIS EMBLEM IS THE SIGN OF GOOD BUSI- NESS AND GOOD FRIENDS. For information call: Phone 3573275 111111110 dn. MIS Mlle OM IOW Tencennial 1 Celebration at Couestoga 1 1 1 NCENN°k\'4\ Conestoga College is celebrating the tenth year of service to it's community, and you are invited to join the festivities Bring the family. ' Explore your community college Tencennial .Events September 16 • Kick -Off of Fund Raising for Athletic, Recreation and Education Facility " September 19-24 • Conestoga Displays at Waterloo. Square and Willow West Mall (Guelph) September 24 :•:Exploring Your Community" Workshop --1-Kitchener Public Llb,rary930— 12'30pm September 25 Official Opening,of new Cambridge Campus -- 3 15 p m. ,• Ten Year Club Dinner, recognizing all ten year employees of the College • September 26 — October 2 Conestoga College Week proclaimed in Kitchener. Waterloo, Stratford and Guelph September 26 — October 1 Conestoga Display at M,arket Square. Kitchener. Including models of the At retic. Recreation and Education Facility September 27 — October 1 Conestoga Display at John=Galt Mali, Cambridge • September 28 Poor Person Breakfast -- Market Square. Kitchener 7 00 -- 1000 a.m. Give yourself an Athletic Complex' September 28-29 Conestoga hosts OCAA Golf Tournament September 30 Tencennial Tree Planting at all Campuses Birthday Parties at all Campuses Homecoming Pubs for all former students, faculty. staff at Doon, Guelph, Waterloo. Stratford at 7 30 p m October 1 Exploring Your Self Workshop - St Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Kitchener 930-330pm Convocation - Kitchener Memorial Auditorium, 1 00 p m Tencennia! Homecoming Bali — Waterloo Motor Inn, 7 0(p m October 2 Open House at Doon Guelph. Stratford and Waterloo Campuses, 1.00 -- 500pm Opening ot.Art Exhibit 'Ten Years of Ontario Art - 1967-77 at Doon Campus For more information call College'and Community Relations at (519) 653-2511 or write us at 299 Doon Valley Drive, Kitchener N2G 4M4 11 1 11 1 1 111 1 1 1 Conestoga College of Applied Arts and Technology We've got a lot to snare 1 1 41■111111 11111111116 OM NINO MEP 41111111110 r