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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Times Advocate, 2004-03-10, Page 22 Exeter Times–Advocate Wednesday,March 10, 2004 Regional wrap up AMGH deficit GODERICH — With less than a month left until the fiscal year end, Alexandra Marine and General Hospital (AMGH) officials are still awaiting direction from the provincial govern- ment for funding. The Goderich Signal - Star reported initial AMGH budgets for next year show an estimated $650,000 deficit. Although he's con- cerned with that figure, AMGH chief executive officer Bill Thibert told board members at the Feb. 23 meeting the Goderich hospital was in better financial shape than others in the province. CCAC build- ing SEAFORTH — While the Community Care Access Centre (CCAC) offers most of its ser- vices through home visits, executive direc- tor Kathy Scanlon says the new building in Seaforth will give the centre more visibility in the community. The Huron Expositor reported CCAC's 40 employees have moved into the new building, which was built by the Seaforth community development trust behind the Seaforth Medical Clinic. Band goes to Florida BLYTH — Several Brussels and area girls will be off on a perfor- mance tour to Treasure Island, Florida March 11 as members of the Seaforth District All Girls Marching Band. The North Huron Citizen reported the band has prepared three marching drills, one based on seven popular tunes, a Beach Boys routine, and one based on Beatle music. The highlight perfor- mance of the tour will be the parade in the Magic Kingdom March 14 before 100,000 spectators. School board's agriculture program to return By Stew Slater SPECIAL TO THE T -A SEAFORTH — An agri- cultural version of the co- operative education model will return in September to the Avon Maitland District School Board, almost two years after a lack of funding forced the elimination of something called "Bridges to Agriculture." But this time, the course work will be delivered exclusively through online instruction. At a regular board meet- ing Feb. 24, trustees were informed about a pair of programs scheduled to be added to the successful Avon Maitland Distance Education Centre (AMDEC). Since its incep- tion four years ago, AMDEC has become a money-maker of sorts for the Seaforth-based school board, not only providing particular courses which might not be available at some smaller secondary schools within the district, but also attracting out -of - board and even out -of - country students — and tuition fees — because of the scope of courses and ease of use. The Feb. 24 presenta- tion, led by AMDEC princi- pal Laurie Hazzard, out- lined the online school's co-operative education section. Hazzard boasted that, because course work can be done at any time of the day or night, the AMDEC co-op model can appeal to students who might normally have given up on secondary school under more traditional constraints. "(AMDEC co-ordinators) meet the kids where they're at, and that includes running their ori- entation sessions on Saturday mornings," Hazzard explained. In September 2004, AMDEC's co-op program will grow in two significant ways: "eCo-op" and an Agricultural co-op, which is essentially a replace- ment for Bridges to Agriculture. With "eCo-op," co-opera- tive work placement hosts will no longer have to be within easy commuting distance of Huron and Perth Counties. Instead, they'll opt for having co-op students do their work remotely, through the internet. According to AMDEC faculty member Sherry Mason, this option might be particularly appealing for some of the school's out -of -board clients, such as Department of National Defense personnel in Europe. And possible work placement partners might be involved in soft- ware development, Web page design, translation, journalism, or space-age engineering. Agricultural co-op co- ordinator Trevor Riehl, meanwhile, said it's the students from within Avon Maitland territory who will benefit most from the revamped Bridges to Agriculture. That program was funded on a one-time basis from outside the reg- ular Education Ministry budget, and the board wasn't able to commit fur- ther funding of its own once that funding wound down. Riehl noted the online version of agricultural co- op won't suffer from one drawback of the Bridges program — that it was tied to a particular loca- tion and had to move from school to school around the board, with some stu- dents either waiting until it arrived in their town or driving a significant dis- tance to take part. He also said co-op edu- cation fits in well with another board -adminis- tered program called the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP); work hours com- piled while on co-op place- ment can be put toward the completion of an apprenticeship. Riehl told trustees that about 120 students went through the Bridges to Agriculture program over its three-year existence, and it filled a need among the area's businesses for building a future employ- ment base. "The Avon Maitland board needs an agricultur- al co-op," Riehl stressed. "Agri -business is demanding an increasing- ly skilled workforce, and this is one way to make sure kids are thinking about agriculture and related fields as a career." Rapid snow melt causes flood damage in SH Continued from front page MacNaughton Park. High water washed the bridge away and the municipality will consid- er replacing it. Also last week, sewage lift stations in Huron Park and Exeter overflowed. Hockey said sub- sequent water quality tests turned out good, although Hockey said the overflow is some- thing that needs to be improved. Deputy Mayor Dave Urlin said the sewage overflows are unac- ceptable and he questioned how the municipality can point the fin- ger at cottagers and farmers for polluting the lake when the municipality's own system is doing it. "We're polluting the lake," he said, adding South Huron has to take a serious look at how to stop it. "It's criminal," Urlin said. Regarding the overflow problem in Huron Park, Hockey said the problem comes from both the residential and industrial portions and will always be a problem until the aged sewage system is rebuilt. He said every improvement made to Huron Park's system has helped, but it needs to be completely rebuilt. "It needs big dollars," Coun. Harvey Ratz said of the Huron Park problem. Coun. Pete Armstrong said one of the prob- lems is the homes in Huron Park don't have sump pumps. "If you don't have a sump pump, you're part of the problem." Other notes from Monday's meeting: Intersection repairs As reported in last week's Times -Advocate, South Huron is going ahead with the re -con- struction project on the Hwy. 4/83 intersection this spring. Monday night Hockey submitted the cost breakdown of the nearly $1 million "We're po the lake.lt criminal." DEPU D project. The Ministry of Transportation will pick up $538,727 of the costs, Huron County will pay $270,889, while South Huron is on the hook for $160,940. However, about $120,000 of South Huron's costs is for a proposed Alexander Street drain project. Property owner Northlander has been asked to contribute to the costs. If Northlander declines to pay, the Alexander drain project may be scrapped, although the intersection re -con- struction would go ahead. Federal grant Council has thrown its support behind a federal grant application from the Lake Huron Primary Water Supply System that could see 50 per cent of funding awarded for eligible major projects. Chief administrative officer Larry Brown said the grant has the potential of seeing the municipality get major dollars for its planned $12 million Lake Huron water pipeline project to improve the municipality's water supply. He said if grants are awarded for the project, it could also make it financially viable for Hensall and Seaforth to join. Brown will attend a meeting today (Wednesday) to learn more about the grant. PUC building The future of the former PUC building on Main Street is still up in the air. While the property will eventually be sold, it's still unde- termined whether or not the back portion will be severed and used as a municipal parking lot. The Exeter Community Development Fund and the BIA is in favour of the parking lot idea, but council is unsure because the munic- ipality has been asked to pay half the cost of demolishing and removing the back storage building on the property. If it goes ahead, Coun. Pete Armstrong said there will be 28-32 (luting 's TY MAYOR AVE URLIN parking spots. He said the proposal looks to the future and will benefit all residents park- ing downtown. Coun. Jim Dietrich, though, said he doesn't want tax money contributed by business own- ers in Crediton and Dashwood to go to a pro- ject that will help Exeter businesses. "I don't think it's going to help them," he said of non -Exeter businesses. The municipality already has an appraisal for the entire PUC property including the back lot. Mayor Rob Morley wondered how severing the back lot would affect the property value (appraisal figures haven't yet been publicly released). Armstrong said it might be easier to sell the building if the back lot is severed because the price will be lower. Morley agreed with Dietrich it's unfair to ask the general taxpayer to pay for the parking lot. Coun. Ken Oke, who said a decision can't be made until it's determined how much the removal of the storage building will cost, said the costs could simply come out of project money already designated for Exeter. For example, instead of repairing a road, money could go towards the parking lot. Council deferred the issue until further infor- mation is gathered. Monthly report Building and development manager Wayne Dale presented his monthly building permit report to council, noting $3,607 was collected on 10 building permits worth $465,059 in February. In 2004, the municipality has collected $4,190 on 13 building permits worth $530,059. Cemetery increases Council approved an approximate two per cent increase for most fees for the Exeter Public Cemetery for 2004. EXETER AUTO SERVICE BRAKE EVENT NOW ON!! SAVE 20% OFF BRAKES! 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