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Home My WebLink AboutZurich Citizens News, 1978-03-16, Page 4Paae 4 Citizens News, March 16, 1978 ..._.............. 1III nnunnnnnnunnnnun1111uuu1u1111111111111111111111111111111111111111nnnu11111111nn11n1nu11nu11wn11n1utu111nu1111nn11niunlnunii 111111nnllullmununnl_ Viewpoint 1 Viewpoint _ Z.C.N. lnu...... u1m111u1n11111„I ,.. ....„,„,„„„ ,„„„„nnluuunnuulunn„,.... uunnnnnn...... nnnunnu,..... ....„nnnuunnnlnnnnl� Good entertainment The approach of spring signals that summer theatre as present in Strat- ford, Grand Bend and Blyth is but a few short months away. The highlight of the 1978 season at Stratford should be the first perfor- mance of "A Gala Shakespeare Revel" featuring the combined talents of the Canadian Opera Company, the National Ballet of Canada and the Stratford Festival. This unparalleled assembly of talent should result in that elusive moment of theatrical magic. Out in Stephen township, the Coun- try Playhouse's theme for this year is a salute to six decades of theatrical hits. Opening the season on July 4 is Neil Simon's, The Odd Couple, the 5th Neil Simon work to be staged at the Playhouse. Other plays to appear at the Playhouse inclndP Dracula, Pajama Tops, Oklahoma! and the Man Who Came to Dinner. Playhouse officials are undecided at this point what play will finish up the season. In addition to an excellent season of entertainment, the Blyth Centre for the Arts has announced a major expan- sion for the Blyth Memorial. Hall. Plans call for the upgrading of the pre- sent building to building code re- quirements, the addition of lights and air conditioning and the erection of new dressing room and office facilities. The project is 'expected to be completed over a two-year period, depending on the availability of funds. Zurich and area residents are for- tunate to have so much good theatre available only minutes away. Instead of taking the kids to the drive-in why not try some live entertainment? Whoopse One of the things that a newspaper strives for is accuracy as the intent of a newspaper is to report events in the way that they happened. While this newspaper has been fairly successful in this respect the news editor seems to have developed a quirk of late for spelling the surnames of people incorrectly. To those people who have been so victimized, this paper offers its apologies. If at some time in the future you are confronted with an individual with clipboard and camera in hand, please be patient if he seems to take forever to get your name down in writing. The "mistake of the week" that appeared in the March 2 edition of the newspaper had the names of the three individuals spelled correctly but mysteriously only one of these persons appeared in the picture on page 2. Such are the miracles of editing a picture and a person who forgets to revise the caption under the picture. NA CNA FIRST WITH LOCAL NEWS Published Each Wednesday By J.W. Eedy Publications Ltd. Member: Canadian Weekly Newspapers Association Ontario Weekly Newspapers Association News Editor - Tom Creech Second Class Mail Registration Number 1385 Subscription Rates: $7.00 per year in advance in Canada $18.00 per year outside Canada Single copies 20¢ =11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111F ,, ,Milli Miscellaneous Rumblings By TOM CREECH Strikes, hospitals and apologies III1111IItP11I1111111I111I1111I11 One of the benefits which the teacher's strike has wrought has been an increase in the number of letters to the editor to the newspapers of Huron county sing- ing the praises of either the board or the teachers. A letter which was authored by W.J. Hogan, head of the history department at South Huron and which appeared in our sister publication stated that the hir- ing of a professional negotiator by the board has prolonged negotiations and added to the distrust between the teachers and the board. Hogan goes on to state that only members of board and the teachers should engage in the negotiations on the local level with outside people be- ing brought in only as a last resort. What Hogan fails to mention is that two members of the Toronto office of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation, Murray Brown and Bev Thompson have been involved in the dispute with Ms. Thompson acting as spokesperson for the teachers, after negotiations broke off in the middle of February. Fred Reeves, the board's negotiator is told by the board what it wants him to do and not vice -versa. Without taking anything away from negotiating team of the OSSTF local, it's becoming damn apparent that the Toronto head office of the high school teachers is orchestrating negotiations between the teachers and boards of education across the province. In both Perth county where teachers have been conducting a work to rule campaign and in Bruce county, the amount of input into the local education system by the teachers, has or is expected to become a major issue. In Perth county the pupil -teacher ratio is one area of contention. Huron county could be the pivotal point in negotiations between the high school teachers and the Ontario boards of education. If the teachers win look for at least the same number of teachers in the province in the next two or three years even if enrollments do decline. You could then expect a decline in other services provided by the boards (night classes, outdoor education facilities) as they're faced with higher costs and a numicipal and provincial sector that says "no" to increasing educa- tion costs. The teachers maintain that a lower pupil -teacher ratio and a fewer number of students handled during a working day will result in better education; what may happen if the boards of the province give in to the teacher's demands may be quite the opposite. What this writer would like to see happen in these stalemated negotiations is the following: the board should dismiss its negotiator, Mr. Reeves. The rank and file members of the Huron teachers should make it clear that Ms, Thompson and Mr. Brown are no longer required for guidance in this dispute. The negotiating teams for both parties would then begin negotiations in camera and more importantly, in earnest. A release from the office of minister of health Dennis Timbrell states that budgets for Ontario hospitals have been set at $1.939 billion for the fiscal year 1978/79 as compared to the 1977/78 budget total of $1.852 billion. For the southwestern region which the hospitals of this area are part of, the increases allotted totaled ,less than an eight percent increase. One notes with interest that the hospital that was slated to be closed a couple years ago, Clinton, will receive a larger dollar increase but a smaller percentage in- crease than South Huron hospital. The hospital in Clin- ton will receive an additional $93,754 while the same figure for South Huron is $68,242. Governments work in funny ways. There was a time not long ago when a certain writer accused a certain player on the London Knights of being a puck -hog, As the Junior "A" season nears completion (when this column was written) and as this certain player has now scored 70 goals or better, I still hereby tender my most humblest apologies to Mr. Cicarelli. (But I'll still take Wayne Gretzky any day.)