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The Wingham Advance-Times, 1979-11-14, Page 1N J BOOK TOUR IINMT/R VAt� T10N hWW I A©, - .0 i latch y� osz*.aric _'-; Call Toll Free 14M26&3220 If FIRST SECTION , Wingbass. Wedaeada Wvember 14, 1979 --,�. -- Sim$* Copy Net Over age Public v - otes to renovate B1 V e'V The Bluevale Community Hall will be saved, voted area residents during a public meeting held at the hall Monday evening. 14� 11W1 e S 11 b ve About 50 a turned out for • people Louise Marritt, who acted as equipment storage room and a Per cent could be applied for the meeting to hear the renova- spokesperson for the committee, suspended ceiling with light Through either Morris or Turn - tion committee's proposals and told the audience that the hall's panels would be necessary. berry Township Councils. to vote on the issue. biggest obataCle was that it didn'tTurnber T Interest rote hikes odd X60,000 to education costs By Jeff Seddon Consumers in Huron County may guard against high interest rates through careful spending, but it appears taxpayers won't be able to avoid the high rates. Roy Dunlop, superintendent of education for the county board of education, said last week that high interest rates have already cost the board about $60,000 and will probably cost more. He said the board is 'about $60,000 over budget because of recent hikes in the interest rate and appears to have little choice but to keep paying the cost. Mr. Dunlop told the board methods used to finance its operation make borrowing a necessity. He said the board had budgeted about $120,000 to pay interest costs for the year, but that quickly .disappeared when the rates went up: He explained the board requisitions money from municipalities in the county, but they don't necessarily pay that bill when they receive it. He noted many towns and townships collect taxes twice a year and after the taxes are collected, send their portion of education costs to the board. Until the money is received, the board has to borrow to pay its bills. That borrowing is now being done at a 15 per cent in- terest rate. Mr. Dunlop said there is little the board can do to get out of the jam. He said if municipalities pay their bills early they are rewarded with a rebate, but added most municipalities collect- their taxes, invest the money until it has to be sent to 'the board and enjoy "windfall" returns. Get listings in for community directory Lochl,groups which would like looking for new members or to be listed in the community provides a community service directory to be published .by The send in: the name of the group Wingham Advance Times have and a brief description of its aims until the end of this week to send or service; membership � in the:n..We lope to restrictions or fee if any; and a ublish' pIbe dhWtory Wore the phone number at which it can be end of this year and will need reached or the names and phone some time for the necessary numbers of two oontact persons. material preparation and typesetting. All material should be sent to There is no charge to groups . The Advance -Times, Box 390, listing in the directory and it is Wingham. We cannot accept this not limited to Wingham information by phone, however organizations but is open to all any inquiries may be made by groups within our circulation phoning 357-2320 between 9 a.m. area. If your organization is, and 5 p.m. Mon hosl italized following occident A Wingham man was admitted to Wingham and District Hospital and another received treatment there following an auto accident last Friday. Police report George Evans was eastbound on Albert Street and about to tarn south on Shuter Street when the car he was driving struck a vehicle being driven by Ralph Nixon, who was travelling south along Shuter. The accident caused an estimated $2,100 damage to both vehicles and injured both drivers. Mr: Evans was admitted to hospital for treajment while Mr. Nixon was treated and then discharged. Mr. Evans has been charged with failure to yield the right of way as a result of the mishap, which occurred shortly before noon on Friday. On the upper _ level two rY —&—up Reeve, meet fire or health regulations. washrooms should be installed 1� Eadie warned the voters, These problems would have to bels' along with a suspended ceiling "You must work as a group," rectified before it Could generate with light panels, portable stage,, adding that the township was its own revenue. Otherwise its storm windows and a hot waterinvolved in other areas and existence would be threatened. heater. . therefore would not fund the An estimated cost of $50,000 for It was noted that suspended project. However if an changes and renovations would ceilings would cut down on organization were formed it have to be applied to bring the heating costs and a portable could then approach council for a hall up to standard. stage would result in more floor Community centre grant. The committee recommended space when the stage was not in After the committee explained that a new insulated concret floor use. that h lot behind the hall should be installed on the lower level. The committee also proposed Be purchased for the proposed Also two washrooms, an en- that the kitchen be relocated and Please turn to Page 2 closure around the furnace, an equipped on the upper level, the walls be insulated to cut down on the heating bill and that the floor Town could get be refinished. Repairs were a1w new service club Three fires hit recommended for the north side of the roof.LIW- ngham could soon have a eight- service club to join the Lions Belgrave area It was decided that an foot addition be constructed on Kinsmen. The Optimist Club Wingham firefighters were the front and south-east corner of r -,Middlesex London is at - called out to fight three blazes, the building. This would result in $tempting to find enough mem_ all in the area around Belgrave, covered entrances and stair- kers here to charter an Optimist last week. ways. Sidewalks extending to the Cub of Wingham and District. Last Tuesday night the firemen street and a parkinglot at the Several prospective members were called to a fire in the garage south side may be necessary in turned out for a breakfast at the and workshop owned by Clarence the future. Wingham Golf and Curling Club Hanna in the village. No one was 'A 3,000 -gallon septic tank and last Saturday to learn more about home at the time and the fire was 500 feet of tile for a weeping bed the Optimists. Representatives reported by a neighbor. Fire would be required to meet health from the sponsoring club and Chief Dave Crothers said the regulations. from the zone executive outlined blaze apparently started in a fan- Mrs. Marritt explained that the some of the aims and activities of type heater. Damage to the electric source is inadequate and this club, which is open to all building and , contents is would have to be increased. Also adult males and is involved in estimated at $500. • fire doors must be installed on all many areas of citizenship and At 5:25 a.m. last Saturday the entrances and exits. community improvement. firemen .,,ora .•n�-� '-- �. ______f•.L LL. edA Out io a ui Vl'UCt" A\7WA1rAlO�l ...am ine purpose of starting a new home owned by Ted Moran on renovations and changes all of club here is not to compete with Morris Con. 4 in Belgrave, where the interior on both levels with the existing service clubs but to an electrical malfunction burnt the exception of the furnace e'upplement their activities, Jim out a fuse panel and filled the would have to be removed. Nother of the zone executive basement with smoke. Damage Mrs. Marritt explained that explained. He said the Optimists was estimated at $150. removal of the interior, - iound there are people here who Later in the afternoon of the decoration of the building . find : would like to -get involved in same day a fire was reported at- site landscaping would have to be VSM141ce lects but haven't been the dwelling of Arnold Mathers acemplipbed by members of ih.,moo- the -Lions or on Morris Con' 2. A daze, sus- community on a volunteer basis, � en, and also noted there petted of starting in the. elec- Otherwise costs would total Walk". ate lots of projects which could trical wiring, caused damage to above $50,000.1 bgkled without duplicating the attic and roof. Fire and water To help foot the bill, the com- the wgrk of the existing clubs. damage is estimated at $5,000. munity could apply for it Win- Thirty-five members are Prompt action by neighbors in tario grant. If received it would needed;' to start the new club. removing furniture from the cover 25 per cent. Membership is open to residents house kept the damage from A community centre grant, � of Wingham and the surrounding going higher, Mr. Crothers noted. which would fund an additional 25 area. "WINGHAM HERE WE COME! " Ting comes to The Advance- Times With the disappearance of The London Free Press from our area many readers have especially missed the delightful editorial cartoons by Ting which invariably gave their mornings a lift. The Advance -Times is happy to announce that car- toons by Merle (Ting) Tingley will now be available - - carried on its pages, if not weekly at least frequently. Along with his tiny mascot Luke .Worn$ who ,, , , ,,; „ti, to fascinate children and adults alike, 1'tslq eonrtilrues .to take a humorous look at the foibles of mankind. Rather than being vicious his cartoons get the message across with a light, friendly touch. It is eAd tinct pleasure for the Advance -Times to be able to e,wq Ting cartoons. We hope you will enjoy them as �V" as ahs do. LEST WE FORGET—Dr. George Howson and other Legionnaires came forward one by one to pin their poppies to a wreath in memory of their comrades who fell in battle. The placing of the final wreath, followed by'Last Post', a long two minutes of silence and then 'Reveille', concluded the Remembrance Day service Sunday. Service pays tribute -to fallen.*, The sacrifice of the 47 men and one woman from Wingham who lost their lives during the First and Second World Wars was recalled and honored once again during the annual Remembrance Day service at the Cenotaph Sunday. Despite chilling winds and the threat of snow, many gathered to hear the names of the fallen read out and to pay tribute through the placing of memorial wreaths. Firefighters, municipal councillors, Scouts, Cubs, Guides, Brownia_and others joined the Legionnaires and members of the Legion Auxiliary in the parade to the Cenotaph. The service began with the singing of 'O Canada' and con- tinued with a civic welcome from Mayor William Walden, the prayer of invocation by Rev. Barry Passmore and scripture reading by Capt. Iain Trainor. Rev. John Swan then led in the singing of 'The Battle Hymn of the Republic', followed by the laying of wreaths. As in years past, the most poignant moment of the service came as the Legionnaires filed forward to each pin a poppy onto a wreath in memory of their fallen comrades, followed by the notes of `Last Post' and a seemingly endless silence. Finally the notes of `Reveille' rang out to break the silence and the service ended with the benediction and the singing of the Royal Anthem. ' Report recommends contract, terms for Huron teachers By Henry Hess The teachers should moderate their salary demands, the board should raise its offer, and both sides should work together to ease the problems created by declining enrolment. This is the gist of the fact finder's report on contract negotiations between the Huron County Board of Education and its secondary school teachers. The report by David Moore of Toronto recommends an across -the -grid salary increase of between 6% and seven per cent, approximately equal to the 63'4 per cent increase awarded by an arbitrator following the strike two years ago and midway between the teachers' request for 10 per cent and the board offer of four per Cent. It also recommends against inclusion of a cost of living allowance in the contract, Indexing of salaries for principals and vice principals and ang substantial changes to the pupil -teacher ratio formula. On the other hand it urges the board not to insist on writing in a management rights clause or making other changes to the exisTing agreement which might give rise to new difficulties and it suggests that: "aa many devices as possible should be used to minimise the impact of declining enrolment". The report ends by noting.that,both sides will have to modify their position* sub- stantially in order to arrive at a settle- ment. "Each party must sincerely attempt to perceive the difficulties faced by the other and ask itself: At this point in time, given the general economic conditions and given the concerns over declining enrolment and other matters, who is a fair, reasonable ,and realistic settledtent?" It also expresses the hope that 'thee contract can be resolved "without a recur- rence of the measures that,. have taken place in the past", an apparent reference to the strike and lockout which occurred during the spring of 1978. The fact finder's report was made public late last week in accordance with the conditions laid down by the provincial education relations Vmmittee. Mr. Moore was appointed as fact finder Sept. 12 whenf the two sides were unable to reach any agreement on a contract for the 1979-80 school year. Under the School Boards and Teachers Collective, Negotiations Act a fact finder is charged with gathering information from both sides and making recommendations for settlement of contract disputes, In the report Mr. Moore notes that the five negotiating sessions between the board and teachers which preceded his. appointment failed to resolve any of the more contentious items, such as salaries, class size and workload, and comments I w V J that the difficult bargaining has yet to take He also remarks that he finds it "some- what startling" that months after contract talks opened the parties have apparently not yet discussed in any dsta the financial matters at issue. SALARY GRID Teachers are paid according to their location on a 'grid' which consists of,dif- ferent classifications determined by a teacher's qualifications; within each classification a teacher's salary increases with experience up to a maximum level. For 1979-80 the, teachers have proposed that the salary for each position on the grid increase by 10 per cent, which they say would bring their present Category 4 maximum into line with other settlements. They also argued they are relatively un- derpaid when their grid is compared to others in the province. Under the present salary grid the Category 4 maximum salary is $27,275 which would rise to just over $90,000 with the proposed 10 per cent raise. The board, referring to- a number of arbitration awards dealing with salary increases, has offered a four per cent raise on the grid. In his report Mr. Moore comments that in the absence of compelling reasons he cannot go along with the large increase equested add he proposes a settlement giving an additional 6% to seven per cent. He also recommends against the in- clusion of the cost of living allowance asked by the teachers, noting that at the present rate of inflation it would result in a substantial cost to the board. He says he does not feel the board could afford to pay such an increase or that it would be in the public interest and questions whether such an allowance is required or appropriate in a one-year agreement. The fact finder goes on to reject a proposal by the teachers that salaries of principals and vice principals be indexed to the Category 4 maximum salary. He recommends instead that their grid be increased by a percentage comparable to that for the teachers. The board -has of- fered an increase of five per cent in all positions on the existing grid. He comments that this item has recently been the shibject of negotiations between the parties, at which time the present system was agreed upon. PUPIL -TEACHER O In addition to the sale a the report deals with a number o other items at issue in the dispute, the m t crucial of which appears to be the q ion of staf- fing the schools. Mr. Moore notes the teachers have Proposed five changes in that area, In- cluding a revised pupil -teacher ratio formula which would require an additional 29 teachers as compared to the number required under the existing formula. Other amendments pertain to guidance coun- sellors, pupil period contact guidelines and maximum teaching timetable loads. He does not make any specific recom- mendations regarding staffing, but does recommend generally against any changes which would substantially change the number of teachers or would remove flexibility from the present provisions. In this item as well as in others involving part-time and occasional teachers he notes the concern by teachers over declining enrolment and the effect it could have on their jobs. He recommends that as many devices as possible be used to reduce the impact of dropping enrolment, two of which include provisions with respect to,. occasional teachers and summer or night school. He says these matters ought to be negotiated between the two parties, but recommends against including any changes in the next contract which would increase operating costs beyond six or seven per cent. He also imges that a committee already established to look at the problem of declining enrolment should consider what changes in staffing might be recommended. In looking at a number if issues which do not have direct financial implications, the fact finder nwhmmO"ds that the board drop a propol6d management rights clause and the teachers do the same with a new grievance clause. He argues the former is not required or appropriate and the latter could lead to h .... , .essary disputes and difficulties. BOTH SIDES MUST GIVE In summing up Mr. Moore observes that hoth sides will have to substantially modify their positions in order to arrive at a settlement. "One of. the difficulties which I have perceived in the negotiations to date is the inability on the part of either the board or the teachers to step back from the negotiating table and place themselves in the other's position.... The teachers must recognize the fact that the board is operating under economic constraint.. By the same token, the board must recognize the concern of its teachers that their irrelative position not be unduly eroded, and that some areas raised by the teachers for negotiation, traditionally outside the ambit of the collective agreement. are appropriate matters for the negotiations at this point in time when declining enrolment and othel factors are a matter of concern. " He concludes that he hopes both sides will review their positions in the light of his comments and will resume negotiations in the near future in an attempt to irate out their difficulties. " .� -W I faoql.� Vl - -, I - � I . - I � ­- �— - ­ .1 1 . I I I - - - - - � I- ­=