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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Times Advocate, 2004-12-29, Page 11Wednesday, December 29, 2004 Exeter Times -Advocate 11 School board to survey parents on French Immersion interest By Stew Slater SPECIAL TO THE TIMES -ADVOCATE SEAFORTH — Elementary students in the Avon Maitland District School Board will bring home a ques- tionnaire at the beginning of the New Year, aimed at gauging interest in the establishment of a French Immersion program outside the board's existing Stratford -only base. Areas being surveyed include those surrounding all the board's non -Stratford secondary schools, except Mitchell. That list includes Exeter, St. Marys, Clinton, Listowel, Goderich and Wingham. Last month after a public delegation by a representa- tive from Canadian Parents for French, trustees asked AUGUST 4 •Randy Rapley knew he wanted to do something for a local charity this summer and after watching a friend struggle with her husband's illness, he decid- ed to hold a golf marathon with all proceeds going to the Alzheimer Society of Huron County. Rapley teed off at the Oakwood Inn at 7 a.m. last Wednesday and golfed for 36 hours straight, raising more than $1,100 with pledges still coming in. • More fundraising is needed for new improve- ments to be made on the MacNaughton-Morrison Trail stretching from MacNaughton Park in Exeter to Morrison Dam. More than $410,000 has been raised for the trail since the project began and another $25,000 will be needed for improvements being made over the summer. AUGUST 11 • Faced with large cost increases in its employee benefit plan, South Huron is looking at various options that could save money. Chief administrative officer Larry Brown reported to council the municipality's benefit plan renewal effective July 1, 2004, saw a 23/ per cent increase in premiums, amounting to a total of $16,228 a month. Brown said the extended drug benefit is the largest part of the premium and the biggest reason for the increase. In Huron County, drug claims make up 78 per cent of all claims. • The movement to deamalgamate Hensall from the Municipality of Bluewater took another step forward this week. A petition asking the Ontario Legislature to allow Hensall to separate from the municipality started being circulated in the village .. The petition is being circulated by the Concerned Citizens Group of Hensall. AUGUST 18 • Faced with what they say is an increase in break-ins and vandalism, Kirkton residents have formed a Community Watch program and want a stronger police presence in their village. A public meeting was held Aug. 12 at the Kirkton- Woodham Community Centre. About 60 residents attended to offer their concerns and to gather infor- mation from local police officers and politicians. • Employees of Iceculture got the opportunity to meet with representatives from NASA and hear more about a project they are working on with the space agency. The company is making pure ice samples for use in a study into the dangers ice formations could cause during space shuttle launches. AUGUST 25 • Dr. Helen Frye will not be returning to Exeter, leaving South Huron Hospital looking to recruit new doctors, while expanding hours of existing local doc- tors and at the walk-in clinic. Frye had committed to taking over Dr. Bill Steciuk's practice in June after Steciuk retired. However, after only a couple of days at the medical clinic and in the hospital's emergency room, Frye no longer saw patients and negotiations between she and the hospital began on her schedule. Monday morning, acting hospital CEO Michael Boucher announced Frye would not be returning to Exeter. He wouldn't divulge any details on why she was leaving. Boucher said Steciuk had between 1,500 and 2,000 patients. He said two local doctors (and per- haps a third) have agreed to pick up the workload starting in the fall and continuing until June. • South Huron District high school will be ready for the start of school, despite some setbacks in the summer renovations of the school. "At this point it looks like everything will be com- pleted for Sept. 7. There may be a little bit of cleanup stuff that will be happening, ... but every- thing is on schedule," said Avon Maitland District School Board manager of communications Steve Howe. administrative staff to look into the possibility of expanding the board's French Immersion program. As a SEPTEMBER 1 • When school opens next week, two area teenagers will be in schools farther away from home than they would have imagined a few months ago. Michelle Denomme of Zurich and Ann Simmons of Hensall will be starting school in Europe this Fall as part of year-long Rotary exchange programs. • Is there a big cat lurking in the area? Last week Huron OPP received a call of a large cat being spotted in the Ridgeway Road area of Bluewater. On Aug. 27 at 6:15 p.m. a woman walked out of a building and saw a large three-foot cat with a two - foot tail sitting near an apple tree. SEPTEMBER 8 • Lucan's Premium Pork Canada has gone into receivership. The company, founded in 1997, was one of Ontario's largest hog operations. KPMG has been appointed receiver for the central portion of the company, which includes the headquarters north of Lucan and half the company's livestock operations. Company chief executive Herman Lansink could not be reached for comment before the Times - Advocate went to press, but Lucan Biddulph Mayor Tom McLaughlin said he was disappointed to hear the news. • Despite intense debate at the last council meet- ing Aug 30, Bluewater Mayor Bill Dowson says council is working well. "It's working and it will work and we just have to work our way through the rough edges ... It just takes time." The debate was sparked over weeds sprayed on municipal property Aug. 16 in contravention of a resolution passed by Bluewater council not to apply pesticide on municipal property except for health and safety reasons. SEPTEMBER 15 • Both Laurie Mackechnie and her "little sister" Rebecca Slaughter say they have gotten a lot out of their match through Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Huron. Mackechnie says she decided to become involved with the program after hearing about it from her sister. She said she waited until she was sure she would be able to commit herself for the 2-3 hours a week which is recommended. • South Huron water customers are closer to knowing what their new 2005 water rates will be. In an effort to bring its water fees up to date, the municipality had Dillon Consulting analyze the sys- tem and come up with different options on what water fees South Huron should be charging. SEPTEMBER 22 • A new $700,000 flood management project in town should go a long way towards fixing Exeter's flooding problem. The project, which will include two holding ponds, was officially announced last week and will be fund- ed by the Exeter Community Development Fund (the money from Exeter's hydro sale). • Borland Farm Service hosted a customer appre- ciation night and plot tour Sept. 13. The plot tour took in four fields of corn and soy- bean varieties. NK Seeds territory rep Eric Richter and agronomist Dave Townsend discussed the con- cerns of farmers about this year's crop and spoke about the importance of having a good portfolio for the land being used. SEPTEMBER 29 • South Huron has its first "idol." Kourtney MacDonald -Webster, 16, of Exeter beat out 12 other contestants during the South Huron Idol competition. The event, which started with a prelim- inary round on Canada Day, wrapped up Sunday as part of the White Squirrel Festival portion of the Exeter Fall Fair. • There is "something out of whack" about the amount the Municipality of Bluewater is paying for water operating rates, according to a review given to council Monday night. The review was presented by, senior planner for B.M. Ross, Matt Pearson. • Four property owners are adamant they not be included in the Crediton/Centralia sewer project. As previously reported, the $4.8 million project will see a sewage system installed in both villages, resulting from concerns about high E. Coli levels in storm drains and ditches. Other problems found during studies in the villages found sewage ponding on properties and off site discharge of sewage and greywater. result, at a regular meeting Dec. 14, education superin- tendent Pat Stanley delivered a report detailing the soon -to -be -released survey. "The survey will be administered in January. Results will be available in February for planning purposes, and will be shared with the board at that time," Stanley said. The one-page survey seeks parents who "would be interested in (having their) children enter a French Immersion program at the Grade 1 or 2 level" at the fol- lowing times: September 2005; September 2006; and September 2007. It also asks in which of the six larger towns they'd like to have their children attend, and whether or not they would require transportation. According to education director Geoff Williams, the Mitchell area is not included in this survey because, for potential French Immersion students from that area, transportation into the existing Stratford site is the most logical. A similar survey was undertaken by the board before the establishment of the Bedford program in 1999. At that time, there was a definite cluster of inter- est in Stratford, but numbers were also high in the St. Marys area. According to Williams, any new Immersion program would be modeled on the Bedford site, with the first group of children initially entering at the Grade 1 and 2 levels. In subsequent years, additional grade levels would be added to allow the first group to continue their elementary studies in an Immersion environment. Questioned by trustees about the threshold number of students needed to establish a new program, Williams suggested a minimum of about 60: including two Grade 1 classes and one Grade 2 class. "That makes the most sense from a staffing perspec- tive," he offered. Trustees also wondered if recent changes in the provincial funding formula would mean subsidization for transportation to French Immersion programs lying outside the students' regular attendance area. Stanley's report noted that "the main impediment to registration (in 1999) was lack of commitment on the part of the board to provide transportation," and business superin- tendent Janet Baird -Jackson offered little hope the situ- ation would change this time around. .Williams told trustees he has heard that the Huron - Perth Catholic District School Board has found it diffi- cult to maintain its Goderich-based French Immersion program (the Catholic board also runs Jeanne Sauve elementary school in Stratford) due to low enrolment. He didn't, however, reject the notion of expanding the Avon Maitland approach. cooking with memories BY DEBBY WAGLER IT HAS BEEN A WHILE SINCE I HAVE MADE MUFFIN MIXES THAT KEEP IN THE FRIDGE BUT THROUGH THE YEARS A VARIETY OF TIMES I HAVE FOUND WITH A HECTIC SCHEDULE IT CAN BE A WONDERFUL THING TO HAVE FOOD THAT IS QUICK TO GO READY IN THE FRIDGE. THIS CAN INCLUDE BEAN SALAD, COLESLAW, STARTER DOUGHS AND MUFFIN MIX. THE FOLLOWING RECIPE IS ONE I USED THAT IS SUPER TASTING AND LONG LASTING! BRAN MUFFIN MIX 1 cup shortening 2 cup white sugar 4 eggs 4 cups buttermilk 5 cup all purpose flour 5 tsp. soda 1 tsp. salt 4 cup all bran Mix all together. Set 1 cup Bran Buds to soak in 2 cups hot water. Cool and add to above mixture. Add 2 cups raising or dates. The mix will keep a month covered in the fridge. Scoop and bake at 400 for 15 min. Have a fresh muffin on me. PREMIUM DOLLAR PAID FOR QUALITY CASH CROP LAND 50-250 acres CALL GERRY 227-4677