Loading...
The Wingham Advance-Times, 1987-02-18, Page 01`Word of mouth' gn. favored Members of the Wingham Area Fire Board have opted for a "word of mouth" campaign to attract up to five new volunteers to serve on the Wingham Area Fire Department. At its February meeting, the board decided in favor of this ap- proach to recruiting new blood for the fire department, rather than advertise. The need to recruit new firefighters was raised at the board's January meeting following discussion on the shortage of manpower at times to answer fire calls in the daytime. As a result of this discussion an ad hoc committee was appointed to study the problem. Board Chairman Jim Taylor, a member of that committee, told the February board meeting the committee had met Jan. 29 to discuss the fire board's concerns, but had concluded that perhaps the situation was not as severe as it originally seemed. "We found that when they (current volunteers) could come, they did," Mr. Taylor said. The attract recruits representative from East Wawanosh Township also said the committee had learned there had already been some work done in the area of recruiting. Fire Chief Harley Gaunt said the department had accepted a new volunteer on the previous weekend, but stressed that simply taking on more firefighters is not the entire solution to the problem of manning the daytime fire calls. "Even if we had 10 more men, it's not going to alleviate the problem of getting the men out in the daytime," he said. The firefighters are volunteers, he said, and as such could not be forced to attend at every fire call. In ad- dition, some employers insist that their employees who are volunteer firefighters are released from work to attend calls during the daytime only if they are emergencies. When asked by Wingham Coun- cillor James McGregor if two or three additional volunteers would be enough to staff fire equipment during a daytime call, Mr. Gaunt said the question was difficult to answer. "If you are asking me if those men will be there to answer a call during the day, I can't tell you that," Mr. Gaunt said. "The only way to guarantee that we could have a full crew to man the equipment tomorrow is to have them at the station on a standby basis." It was Dr. McGregor who gave notice at the January meeting of "a motion to advertise for volunteers (male or female) to increase the staffing of the fire department. He said he understood the latest ad- dition to the department had volun- teered as a result of news coverage of the January meeting and efforts should continue to see "if there are any more out there". It was pointed out that protective equipment must be provided to any new volunteers in order that theyf are properly outfitted when an- swering fire calls. A suggestion that volunteers share equipment would defeat the principle of each man being responsible for the equipment he is issued, Mr. Gaunt said. Howick Township Councillor Student -teacher relations subject of committee report Codes of behavior, physical contact guidelines, disciplinary measures and contact with outside agencies are four of the issues and areas of, address which a special committee. of the Huroh County Board of Education has examined. Recommendations on these areas are included in a study and report .entitled Student -Teacher Relation- ships which was presented by Director of Education Bob Allan at the board's February meeting. Mr. Allan reported that the study and recommendations are the result of several months of work in a sur- vey conducted by a special commit- tee of professional educators, com- prised of teachers, principals, vice - principals and the board's executive team. While all secondary schools in the HCBE system have established codes of behavior -- as well as many elementary schools — the report recommends that all elementary schools should complete the development of individual codes of behavior. The general guidelines for student behavior codes are based on the suggestion that such policies should be developed .co-operatively with the help of parents, students and staff in each school. The code should em- phasize self-worth and self- discipline in students and should clearly outline realistic and ef- fective consequences for failure to meet its standards. The HCBE '"committee identified the area of • physical contact as a "sensitive and complex 'issue" and developed a five -point guideline to cover" the subject. It was further noted that the committee strongly recommended the use of common sense in this area and in the application of the guidelines, which include: --Physical interaction' between adults and children requires com- mon sense and thoughtful intent. --It is important not to lose sight of the positive value, need and meaning of physical contact. --Controlling the excitement and - or distress of a child may require physical contact such as a hand on the shoulder or a pat. on the back. These may also provide re- assurance. --Sometimes physical restraint is required in a crisis situation to provide safety, protection from intimidation, protection of property or to protect class -school proceedings. --Defining the use of appropriate physical force is a difficult, if not LIBRARY BOOK SALE — June Thompson of Wingham was one of the people who attended the gigantic used book sale last Friday and Satur- day in the courtroom at the town hall. The' sale. which was a fund- raising event for the new library, was considered a success by organizers. impossible task. ; Regarding the physical contact issue, the committee recommended that no attempt should be made to delineate in a written policy statement what is acceptable and non -acceptable physical contact with students. School staffs must reach common understandings — through discussions organized by the principal — to understand the differences between acceptable and non -acceptable physical contact. A further recommendation sug- gests every effort should be made to encourage teachers to accept the fact that physical intervention may sometimes be necessary. it is also recommended that senior ad - (Please turn to Page 8) Norm Fairies also pointed out the,, difference in sizes between firefighters would tend to rule out sharing. Mr. Fairles also suggested the "word of mouth" approach to attract new volunteers. Wingham Councillor Ron Beecroft said the problem facing the Wingham board was no different from that faced by any other volunteer department. "Although granted, somewhere down the road we are going to have to look at having two or three full-time ( Please turn to Page 8) P ICE BUNNIES — Heidi Meir. 4 and her sister Laura. 2 appear to be in a quandary as to which direction to skate 'as they take part in the skating carnival held at the Belgrave Community Centre. Kinsmen Club is mounting campaign for new members The Wingham Kinsmen Club is mounting a concerted drive for new members. Doug Layton of Wingham, a spokesman for the club, said a meeting was held last Wednesday evening to try to come up with ways to instill new purpose in the organization. In recent years, membership in the Kinsmen Club has been falling off to the point where the group even considered folding. However, as Mr. Layton points out, the Wingham Kinsmen Club is 39 years old and over the years has contributed to Carrick couple loses home in early -morning fire -A newly-wed Carrick Township couple lost their home and its con- tents in an early morning fire Sunday. Pat Weber, Mildmay deputy fire chief, said the call came at 5:21 Sunday morning to the home of Jim and Virginia Harkness, Lot 12, Con. 1 of Carrick. When the firemen arrived on the scene, the 112 -year- old stone house was engulfed in flames. The department stayed on the scene for approximately three hours, said Mr. Weber, but could not save the structure. The suspected cause is a malfunction in the wood furnace, he added. No dollar value has been arrived at for the loss, but Mr. Harkness is insured. Mr. Harkness was released Mon- day from the County of Bruce General Hospital at Walkerton where he had been admitted for treatment of burns and frostbite. Another sad note is the death of .Jerry Karl, 44, of Mildmay, who died as a result of a massive heart attack suffered while he was at the radio controls during the fire. Mr. Weber said Mr. Karl was a 16 -year veteran of the fire department. many lasting and worthwhile projects in the town, such as seniors' housing, the swimming pool, lights at the ball park and sports teams, to name a few. It would be a shame to let an organization with such a proud record of community involvement fall by the wayside, he says and for that reason it is proceeding with a membership drive. A steering committee has been formed to co-nrdinate the drive and it will meet this Thursday evening. The Kinsmen's next regular meeting will be held during the second week in March, but more details will follow. One of the biggest challenges facing the rejuvenated club will be to come up with a new community project to work toward, says Mr. Layton, but the group definitely is open to suggestions. Those interested in becoming involved with the Wingham Kins- men Club are asked to contact Mr. Layton, Bob Middleton, Murray McLennan or Rick Hodgins. Ladies interested in joining the Kinette Club are asked to contact Evonne Carter. Wingham native is president of student council Clint Pewtress, a 19 -year-old Wingham native, is president-elect of the Student Administrative Coun- cil at Iambton College, Sarnia and takes office May 1. The radio, television and jour- nalism student won the closest elec- tion in the history of the college. Of the 26.5 votes cast., Mr. Pewtress received 139 or 30 per cent of the votes cast. Mr. Pewtress says his career ambition is to be a broadcast journalist and he is busy studying programming and writing techniques. His parents are Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Pewtress of Whitechurch. STUDENTS DONATE MONEY — Mr. Sakasov's Grade 5 class at the Wingham Public School collected the most grocery tapes in a recent fund-raising drive at the school and was presented with a cheque for $50 for its efforts. Grade 5 student Melissa He wines and Mr. Sakasov accepted the cheque at an assembly last Fri- clay from Lisa Chapman, Angela Kerr, Becky Sangster and Hilary Gauld. The class donated the money to CanSave., Fire, board' gives. approval to 1987 -budget of,$.137,200 The Wingham Area Fire Board gave approval ' at its regular February meeting to a 1987 proposed budget of $137,200, a decrease of approximately 9.75 per cent from last year's budget of $152,000. However, compared to the fire department's 1986 actual disbur- sements of $162,836, the decrease is about 15.8 per cent. In actual dollars, the differences come to $14,800 in a budget -to -budget comparison and $25,636 from 1986 actual to 1987 proposed budget. Having received board approval, the budget will now be forwarded to each of its member municipalities for their approval. Largest single item in this year's proposal is $35,200 for fire pay, an increase of 12.4 per cent over the $31,034 spent in 1986. Salaries for clerical staff and officers total $14,400 and represent the next largest item. i_, Also included in this year's budget is $10,000 charged against the purchase of a pumper for the fire department's Number 2 station in Gorrie. Although the pumper was purchased in 1986, its cost has been deferred over three years. Equipment repairs have been estimated at $8,000 for 1987 while Workers' Compensation charges have been set at $4,000, down $158 from 1986 as the result of lower WCB rates. Estimated hydro costs have in- creased more than 60 per cent to $8,000 for 1987, mostly due to the Huron Liberals ready to nominate their candidate The Huron Provincial Liberal Riding Association has set March 5 as the date for its nomination meeting at the Clinton Legion Hall at 8p.m. The riding is a new electoral district created when redistribution was approved last July. it will see the Ontario Legislature expand to 130 from 125 seats. Currently, Huron County is split into two seats, Huron -Bruce in the north, which is represented by Health Minister Murray Elston and Huron -Middlesex in the south, represented by Agriculture and Food Minister Jack Riddell. Both old seats will disappear if and when a provincial election is called. At this time, the Liberals rule Ontario with a minority govern- ment. The 125 -seat Legislature consists of 51 Liberals, 51 Pro- gressive Conservatives and 23 New Democratic Party MPP9. So far, only Mr. Riddell has said he will seek the Huron nomination. Mr. Elston is set to run for the Liberal nomination in Bruce and Liberal incumbent Doug Reycraft has indicated he will be. seeking the Middlesex nomination. Guest speaker at the Huron nomination meeting will he the Honorable Ed Fulton, Ontario mini- ster of transportation and com- munications. Delegates to the party's annual meeting in Toronto in April also will be chosen. Number 2 station coming on stream. In comparison, the department paid $4,959 for hydro last year. Also in the proposed budget is provision for the outfitting of up to five new firefighters which the department hopes to recruit during the year. In this area, the budget will set aside $3,000 for coats and $2,500 for paging.equipment. Following their approval, the Townships of Turnberrry, Howick, Morris and East Wawanosh and the Town of Wingham wiil each in- corporate their portion of the fire budget into their own municipal budget for 1987. In its consideration of the 1987 budget proposal, the board also spent considerable time discussing the philosophy of establishing a reserve fund as an effective means of offsetting future major capital purchases. Fire Chief Harley Gaunt had asked the board to consider establishing such a fund to help lessen the impact of such future expenditures as the purchase of a new fire truck. Wingham Councillor James McGregor said he was in favor of such budgeting and recommended the board consider the action based on a fixed percentage of the annual depreciation of its equipment. However, most board members were not in favor of such a firm commitment. Rather than locking itself into a fixed percentage nually, the concensus inste seemed to favor contributions based on the availability of funds 'in any given year. Turnberry Deputy Reeve Doug Fortune said although he had been opposed to reserve funds in last year's fire department budget because of the capital costs already included in that statement, he was conditionally in favor of such action now. "I think we should look at setting up a reserve fund, but we shouldn't let it get built up to some ridiculously high figure," he said. There would be that danger in locking annual contributions into a fixed percentage. Howick Deputy Reeve John Jacques also was against establishing a fixed rate for the annual contributions and introduced a motion for the board to establish a reserve account based only on the (Please turn to Page 8) Grey Township will receive letter of apology from Morris Morris council has sent a letter of apology to Grey over a mis- understanding concerning, that township's representative to the Brussels -Morris and Grey Industrial Committee. The matter was discussed at the Feb. 3 regular meeting of Morris council. in a telephone interview following the meeting, Morris Clerk -Trea- surer Nancy Michie said the in- dustrial committee was formed one year ago to try to attract new business to the three municipalities. Morris council appointed Deputy Reeve Clem McLellan as township representative and Councillors Graeme MacDonald of Grey and Malcolm Jacobs of Brussels were appointed to sit on the committee for their respective councils. When it was announced early this year that Grey Reeve Leona Armstrong would be replacing Mr. MacDonald on the committee, Hugh Hanly, Brussels clerk -treasurer and industrial committee secretary, sent a letter to Grey council. in that letter from the committee, Mr MacDonald's contribution to -the committee was praised and council was asked to consider re -appointing him. Grey Township sent back a reply, saying Reeve Armstrong is a worthy candidate to the committee and it had no intention of changing the appointment. Mrs. Michie said Morris council members were very concerned that some misunderstanding about Mrs.X' Armstrong's abilities might have arisen because of the letter and drafted a letter of apology to he sent toGrey immediately. in other Misiness at the meeting Dave .Johnston of Johnston En- gineering, Stratford, attended to, discuss replacing Brown's Bridge at Lots 10-11, Con. 9. Council gave Mr. Johnston the go- ahead to prepare preliminary designs for the bridge, which is estimated to cost $52,000 to replace. Those plans will be presented to the Ontario Ministry of Transportation and Communications for its ap- proval. Still with the roads, council learned it will receive $296,000 in subsidy from the MTC in 1987. in order to receive the subsidy, the township must spend $122,300 of its own tax dollars this year on roads, for a total of $418,300. Harry Brydges will count dogs in the township once again this year for $1.35 per animal. Fewer fatalities, traffic injuries reported by OPP A marked reduction in traffic deaths and injuries as well as in moter vehicle accidents during 1986 has been reported by OPP Com- missioner Archie Ferguson. The number of people who died in traffic accidents in OPP-patrolled areas fell from 769 in 196,5 to 705 last year, a total of 64 fewer deaths. As well, the number of personal injury accidents dropped, with 1,013 less people injured. There were more than 2,500 fewer accidents reported during last. year. According to f ransport Canada estimates for 1985, this reduction in deaths and injuries represents savings of almost. $20 million in both direct and social costa to the pesnple of Ontario.