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The Times Advocate, 2004-07-07, Page 2020 Exeter Times -Advocate Wednesday,July 7, 2004 Reports of vandalism EXETER — On July 2 at 3:15 p.m. the Huron OPP in Exeter received a complaint about vandalism and theft at the Exeter Cemetery. The officer was told two ceram- ic angles placed by a gravesite had been stolen some- time in the last two months. Other reports of flowers and items being knocked over have been reported in the past. Then on July 4 at 9 a.m. police were called to a Victoria Street residence in Exeter over vehicle damage. Sometime through the night someone entered the drive- way of the residence and smashed a hole in the front windshield of a brown 2002 Pontiac. with a shovel. The shovel was found a short distance away from the car. Many cases of vandalism have been reported in the county recently. If you can help solve any of these crimes call the OPP or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222- 8477(TIPS). Speeder caught SOUTH HURON — A Huron OPP officer on patrol in South Huron June 29 observed a pickup truck travel- ling on Mount Carmel Road in South Huron at a high rate of speed. Radar was activated and the vehicle was picked up doing 165 km/h in a 90 -km/h zone. The offi- cer stopped the white 1999 Chev S-10 pickup truck and issued a summons to the driver, a 21 -year-old male from the Parkhill area. He will attend court in Goderich Aug. 19 charged with the speeding infraction. Window smashed HENSALL — On June 28 at approximately 2:30 p.m. the principal of Hensall Public School contacted police over vandalism. The officer learned sometime over the past weekend someone went to the west entrance door of the building and smashed the upper section of the door window. Several beer bottles were found in the area. Damages are estimated at $200. Trailer destroyed by fire BLUEWATER — Huron OPP are investigating an arson that occurred on Elm Crescent in Bluewater. The fire took place in a cottage subdivision located off Centennial Drive west of Bluewater Highway on Elm Crescent and was discovered June 26 at 5:30 a.m. The cottage was a 20'x32' trailer placed on a cement foundation. It was under renovations and did not have electricity when the fire took place. The fire was discovered by a citizen on the way to work at 5:30 a.m., who spotted the fire, went to inves- tigate and then woke a neighbour in the area who called the Bayfield Volunteer Fire Department. The cottage, valued at $63,000, was totally destroyed. The owner of the cottage did not have any insurance. Huron OPP are investigating the fire on Elm Crescent, which is located at the end of a dead end road. Several reports have indicated local youths were using the empty structure to party. If you have information or can help solve these fcas- es, please call the Huron OPP or Crime Stoppers at 1- 800-222-8477(TIPS) Break-ins and thefts LUCAN BIDDULPH — Middlesex OPP report there have been numerous break-ins and thefts in Lucan Biddulph recently. A shed at a residence on Frances Street near Saintsbury in Lucan was broken into June 18. Stolen were a chop saw and a generator. The shed had been locked. A vehicle parked at a residence on Frances Street was entered the same night and a CD player was stolen. A garage to a residence on Market Street was also entered overnight June 18. Three cans of spray paint were stolen. The thieves left behind stolen items in the garage, which were returned to their owners. A pickup truck was stolen from the driveway of a res- idence on Granton Line in Granton overnight June 18. The theft was reported the following day to the OPP. The pickup is described as a blue 1988 GMC with licence number 7257HR. Male arrested SOUTH HURON — On June 12 OPP were called to the Motor-Plex on Grand Bend Line in South Huron to respond to reports of an intoxicated male. Officers found a partially -clad man suffering from hypother- mia, who had been found by security inside the com- plex grounds. He was given medical attention and found to be on probation breaching one of his condi- tions. He was also trespassing at the event. The 32 - year -old man of Langton -Norfolk County was held overnight and released in the morning charged with breaching probation, trespassing and a liquor viola- tion. He will attend court in Exeter in August. Bryanston Birr Optimists host Canada Day party By Muriel Lewis GRANTON CORRESPONDENT GRANTON - The Bryanston-Birr Optimists held their Canada Day cel- ebrations at Prince Andrew School on Thurs., July 1. The party featured all kinds of activities for children. Dylan Jones of Granton was very lucky and won a bicycle. Many from Granton enjoyed beef on a bun for supper and later attended the fireworks display. The Bryanston Area Firemen held their breakfast at the firehall in the GRANTOR morning which was also very popu- lar. Sympathy from the community is extended to the family of Ethel Grose who died at Wildwood Care Centre, St. Marys on Mon., June 28. The funeral was held at the C. Haskett and Son Funeral Home in Lucan on Wed., June 30. Interment was in North Nissouri Cemetery. At the Granton Wesley United Church on Sun., July 4, Lay Pastor Val Hodgins led the service and the sermon was the story of King David's life. NEWS Page Foran lit the Christ Candle and Mary Waters gave the Minute for Mission. The theme was the music of the Psalms and the reflection was on Psalm 42 (As the Deer) and Psalm 62 (My Soul Finds Rest). Happy Birthday was sung for Ina Harlton. There was no service at St. Paul's Anglican Church in Kirkton on Sun., July 4, but the congregation was invited to attend at St. James Anglican Church in St. Marys. Board hopes funds can save two programs By Stew Slater SPECIAL TO THE T -A SEAFORTH — Over the objections of past chair- person Colleen Schenk about pending reductions in two programs, and with two trustees absent from the June 22 meeting, an amended version of the Avon Maitland District School Board's 2004-05 budget was approved by a slim 4-3 margin. "It would have been nice to have the whole board present" for the vote, Schenk told reporters after the meeting. Vice chairperson Randy Wagler and Stratford trustee Doug Pratley weren't in attendance. Original plans had board staff presenting the budget at the regular June 22 meeting, with a vote to take place at a special meeting a week later, June 29. But with no other items on the June 29 agenda, and with a strong turn -out of trustees at a Finance Committee meeting June 19 (including Pratley, who's not a voting mem- ber of the Finance Committee, and Wagler, who's the committee's chairperson), it was decid- ed to try for a resolution June 22. Reached later at his Stratford home, Pratley said he would have sup- ported the budget, making it unlikely Schenk's chal- lenge would have received sufficient support even with full trustee atten- dance. The North Huron trustee's opposition stemmed from the pend- ing partial elimination of two programs: Team Read, aimed at enhancing early literacy, and COPE, which targets secondary school students at risk of dropping out or failing to succeed. An expansion of Team Read, labelled Team Read 2, began in February thanks to mid-season cash injections from both the former Conservative and new Liberal governments. These were one-time grants aimed at "literacy and numeracy" ($131,000) and "rural and remote" schools ($170,000). This money allowed the board to expand the program from 12 original schools — identified as needing improvement in provin- cially -standardized tests — into 12 more sites. A Junior Language Resource Teacher was also hired to work among older stu- dents in four elementary schools. But those were one-time grants. Now, under the 2004-05 budget, Team Read will once again only serve 12 schools. Similarly, COPE will revert to its original format of serving only senior sec- ondary students, and not those in Grades 9 and 10. "We were not aware of any option, other than cut- ting (the programs), in order to achieve a bal- anced budget," said board chairperson Meg Westley, speaking on behalf of the Finance Committee. Huron County trustees Emily Milley and Shelley Kaastra joined Schenk in her unsuccessful bid to block the budget. Director of education Geoff Williams noted a considerable amount of funding has been promised by the provincial government for 2004-05, but has not yet been pro- vided. After the meeting, busi- ness superintendent Janet Baird -Jackson told reporters most of the money which could still be provided will be targeted to specific areas, with no leeway provided for boards to spend it on pro- grams of their choice. These expected grants include money for "keep- ing good schools open," the "community use of schools," and "cleaner, safer schools." "I think the only hope we have (for reinstating Team Read 2 and COPE for Grades 9 and 10) is the Learning Opportunities grant — that when it's released, it's flexible enough for us to spend it in those areas," she said. Total 2004-05 expendi- tures are projected at just over $145 3 million, up from $141.5 million in 2003-04. According to Baird -Jackson, trans- portation and Special Education remain the key areas in which the board spends more than what's provided by the provincial government. The situation with trans- portation is improved compared to past years, during which the board sometimes took as much as $1 million out of other areas of expenditure to cover shortfalls in funding. According to Baird - Jackson, a new funding model being "test-driven" by the government this year "has given us some additional funding .. . We're making progress. Improvements are apparently not being made, however, in Special Education funding. In order to balance the 2004- 05 budget — and in hopes of convincing the govern- ment to release about $200,000 in previously - committed funding — the board's entire Special Education Reserve Fund of over $750,000 was drawn down, thereby cov- ering a deficit in funding for those programs. "The education minister seems to have a concern, coming out of the 2003- 04 fiscal year, that a num- ber of boards have a reserve of Special Education funds," Baird - Jackson said. As a result, she explained, funds from the so-called "Cycle 5" assessment of the needs of Special Education stu- dents have not been released. Baird -Jackson suggested the Avon Maitland board is owed considerably less than some counterparts, mainly because it was "diligent" in assessing as many students as possible during the previous fund- ing -allotment cycles. Still, she argued, "it would appear that the minister doesn't understand the concept of reserves" — namely, amassing money for later use on major one- time expenditures. Trustees' support for one amendment, before passing the budget, eased the situation somewhat for Special Education funding. Brought forward by West/South Perth repre- sentative Carol Bennewies, a member of the board's Special Education Advisory Committee, the amend- ment ended the traditional practice of carrying for- ward extra principal and vice-principal expendi- tures — incurred due to a higher -than -average enrolment of Special Education students in cer- tain schools — from the previous years budget. Instead, about $140,000 in 2003-04 expenditures will now be reflected in the soon -to -be -completed year-end totals from 2003-04, most likely through a drawing down of the Working Reserve fund. And from now on, those additional administrative expenses will be charged to the year in which they occur. According to education superintendent Marie Parsons, however, "even by doing that, we're going to still have to work very hard, after all the reserves are used, to not end up in a deficit position in Special Education funding." One area in which cut- backs had been threat- ened was Distance Education, the name given to the board's pio- neering Internet -based course delivery system. Earlier this year, board staff had warned that rev- enues earned by AMDEC (Avon Maitland Distance Education Centre) haven't equalled costs, and some reduction in service could be expected. Indeed, the 2004-05 budget shows a deficit of about $150,000 for AMDEC, to be made up from other areas of expen- diture. However, no major cutbacks are proposed in the service, which draws enrolment from across Ontario as well as from international locations such as Canadian Forces bases. According to Williams, "we're willing to carry that (deficit), because we now know that the (Education) Ministry is looking very closely at this over the next year. 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