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The Times Advocate, 2005-01-12, Page 66 Exeter Times -Advocate Wednesday, January 12, 2005 Opinion Forum News Seniors' perspective Continued from page 5 to June 28, 1944. He received his commission only four days before his bomber crashed in Normandy, France on the land of a French farmer. The farmer dug a grave, buried him close to his house and erected a cross. There were German troops in the vicinity, so he had to be careful. Pilot Officer Donald Stuart Whiting (Air Gunner) was killed in action on Aug. 21, 1944 at the age of 20 years. He was flying with 180 Squadron in a Mitchell aircraft # FW 124. The aircraft was shot down at Moulineaux, near Rouen, France during an attack against Ebeuf, France. Pilot Officer Donald Whiting was the son of Earl N C and Ethel M Whiting of Usborne Township. Besides his parents, his family consisted of a sister Agatha Blanche, a brother John Stanley, a sister Melba Bernice, a sister Jean Marie, and the youngest brother Norman Earl. Next week: Harold Leonard Brown Did you see that chicken? One day a travelling salesman was driving down a back country road at about 30 miles an hour when he noticed that there was a three-legged chicken running along beside his car. He stepped on the gas but at 50 miles per hour, the chicken was still keeping up. After about a mile of run- ning the chicken ran up a farm lane and into a barn behind an old farm house. The salesman had some time to kill so he turned around and drove up the farm lane. He knocked at the door and when the farmer answered he told him what he had just seen. The farmer said that he knew about the chicken. As a matter of fact, the farmer said that his son was a geneticist and he had developed this breed of chicken because the three of them each like a drumstick when they have chicken, and this way they only have to kill one chicken. The salesman said, "That's the most fantastic story I have ever heard. How do they taste?" The farmer said, "I don't know. We can't catch 'em." Mother Nature at work: On summer vacation, Josie and her son, James, went to visit Josie's Uncle Jon who owned a nice farm. While there, Uncle Jon was helping one of his cows give birth, when he noticed his four-year-old great-nephew, James, standing at the fence, wide-eyed and soaking in the whole event. Uncle Jon thought to himself: "Great, now I'm gonna have to explain the 'birds and bees' to him Well, no need to jump the gun. I'll just wait and see if he has any questions and I'll just answer them as best I can." After Uncle Jon finished helping the cow with her birthing, he walked over to James and asked him: "Do you have any questions about what you seen here tonight?" "Just one," the little boy whispered, eyes still wide with wonder. "How fast was that calf going when he hit the cow?" Looking for members of the Gordon family Dear Editor: I am trying to trace any living descendants of my great -great- grandfather, James Gordon who was married to May (Mae?) Trace and lived in the Exeter, Ont. area. They had a son, William Gordon, born in 1859 in Exeter, who is my great- grandfather. William came to Manitoba about the time of the NW Rebellion and in 1890 he married Maria Harriet Fairhall, daughter of Frederick Fairhall and Sarah Long of Lucan-Biddulph, Middlesex. I am hoping someone may still live in the area that are also descended from James and May Gordon or Frederick and Sara Fairhall. My father and I are plan- ning a trip to your area in May 2005. Thank you and best regards, BOB RUSSELL, Winnipeg Looking forward to French Immersion Dear Editor: It is with eagerness that I look forward to the possi- bility of French Immersion schooling for kindergarten and Grade 1/2 students in the local area in September 2005. My children experienced French Immersion Education in the Thames Valley and Grey County School Boards. I found it to be an excellent program. My children thrived. Now, as teens and young adults this experience continues to be a positive influence in their lives — both in education and society. In September 2005, my youngest will be of kinder- garten age; should there be a French Immersion pro- gram, I will be registering him. I am one of the 20-25 parents of kindergarten/Gradel/2 students anticipating the start of this program. Indeed it will be a bonus to our community. Sincerely, GII.I.IAN THOMAS, Kirkton Dear Editor: Speaking on behalf of a group of parents seeking a French Immersion program in Huron County with the Avon Maitland District School Board, we are very pleased with the quick steps the board has taken to distribute a parent survey system -wide, so a fall 2005 program can be implemented. We will be holding a public meeting for all interested parents Jan. 20 at the South Huron District High School library from 7 - 8:30 p.m. Our invited guests include the president of Canadian Parents for French (Ontario), administrators, teachers and school board officials who will present information and answer any questions from parents regarding French Immersion programs. Our communi- ty will only benefit from educating our children in Canada's other official language. VICKIE CANDOW Huron County Parents for French Immersion, Exeter Principal's message EXETER — Now that the Christmas Break is behind us, we are rapidly closing in on the end of the first semester. If they have not already done so, stu- dents should now start preparing for the final exams for semester one cours- es. Exams start Jan. 28 and run through to Feb. 3, followed by a PA Day Feb. 4. The second semester starts Mon., Feb. 7. The exam schedule has been posted within the school and should be avail- able on our school Web site early this week. There are two exam sessions each day, with morning exams starting at 9 a.m. and afternoon exams commencing at 1 p.m. Most exams will be an hour and a half to two hours in length, but some senior University Preparation courses will have exams up to three hours in length. Students will be advised of the details of their exams by their classroom teachers. Students are required to be in attendance only on the mornings or afternoons they are scheduled to write an exam. If they have a morning exam but not an afternoon exam, for example, they are permitted to go home for the afternoon to study. Similarly, if they have an after- noon exam but not a morning exam, they do not need to be in attendance until the afternoon. Students are required to be in attendance for each exam and failure to do so may result in loss of credit. If there is a legitimate reason why they cannot attend, par- ents are advised to contact the school immediately. In most cases, exams will be written in the large gym, but there will be some exams written in classrooms on the second floor. Students will be advised of the exam locations by their classroom teachers and lists of exam locations will be posted in the school as well. Students will not be permitted to go to their lockers in the areas where exams are being written while the exams are in session. The final report for semester one will be issued Feb. 15, but students will receive a report on only their first semester courses, not any year-long courses they may be taking. For Grade 9 students this means they will receive marks for only two courses, while Grade 10 stu- dents will have three courses reported, but they will not receive a mark in math or English. Grade 11 and 12 stu- dents will have marks reported for all the courses they are taking within the school. On Tues., Jan. 18, we will be holding our annual Grade 8 Information Night, starting with an open house at 7 p.m., followed by an information session in the large gym at 8 p.m. Students and their parents will have an opportunity to tour the school to see the facilities and to visit with students and staff who will be on hand to demonstrate some of the great things that happen at South Huron. The information session will provide par- ents with information about the programs we offer and the course selection process. It is also an excellent opportunity for parents to ask questions and fmd out more about the programs and services we offer. We hope to see a good crowd in attendance. (We have set Tues., Jan. 25, as an alternate date in case of bad weather.) The next School Council meeting will be Mon., Jan. 17, at 7 p.m. in the school library. As always, parents are welcome to attend the meeting to find out more about what is happening at South Huron and to provide us with input from a parent perspective. One of the items we will be discussing is our next community forum, JEFF REABURN PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE which is scheduled for Thurs., Jan. 27. The focus of this one will be bullying, which has certainly been a hot topic in the last few months. We have invited our Peer Mentors to tell us about an anti -bullying initiative they are about to implement, as well as Bonnie Baynham, who will tell us about a new program the County of Huron has sponsored. We welcome parent input on this topic as well, and hope a good number of parents will attend this session to share their concerns about bully- ing. Panther Profile EXETER — The first week back at South Huron was an excellent week! The semi -formal was held last Thursday, and it was very success- ful. This year's semi was held in the small gym. This may seem like a trivial fact to an outsider, but no! The semi in the gym is a crucial part to any South Huron student's life, and I heard a lot of positive feedback about it. Hiked having it in the small gym. I was also impressed with the way South Huron responded to the tsunami campaign. In one day, South Huron raised $1,179 for tsunami relief. There's only one word to describe this — amazing. Exams start Fri., Jan. 28 and end Wed., Feb. 2. Exam schedules are posted around the school. If you have a conflict, please see Mr. McEwan. Coming events: Wed., Jan. 12 • Midget girls volleyball at St. Mike's, 10:20 a.m. • Noon hour display — Big Brothers and Sisters • Mini -tournament at South Huron — boys bas- ketball: jr. boys at 9 a.m. vs. Goderich; sr. boys at 10:15 a.m. vs. Goderich; jr. boys excused at 1:45 p.m., game vs. Stratford Central; sr. boys excused at 3 p.m., game vs. Stratford Central Thurs., Jan. 13 • Reading Day • Girls hockey at St. Anne's, bus leaves at 11:30 a.m. Fri., Jan. 14 • Boys hockey at South Huron vs. SCSS Mon., Jan. 17 • Girls hockey mini -tournament at Central Huron: South Huron vs. Central Huron at 9 a.m., South Huron vs. Goderich at 11 a.m. Tues., Jan. 18 • Gr.8 Parent's Night at 7 p.m. — if the weather is bad, this will be rescheduled for Jan. 25 Wed., Jan. 19 • Boys hockey at South Huron vs. St. Anne's • Boys basketball at St. Mary's, bus leaves at 1:15 p.m. AMANDA ZEHR PANTHER PROFILE OPP Festive RIDE update ORILLIA — The Field and Traffic Support Bureau of the Ontario Provincial Police released statistics for the fifth week of the 2004-2005 Festive Season RIDE for all OPP jurisdictions in the province of Ontario. During the final week of the five-week campaign, a total of 112,553 vehicles were stopped at roadside checkpoints. A total of 135 12 -hour suspensions were issued and 63 persons were charged with alcohol relat- ed Criminal Code driving offences. Officers issued 63 Administrative Drivers Licence Suspensions immedi- ately suspending driving privileges for 90 days. A total of 450,582 vehicles were checked at roadside checkpoints compared to 511,416 during the same peri- od in 2003/2004. A total of 310 persons were charged with alcohol-related Criminal Code driving offences dur- ing the 2004/2005 campaign. Over the same period in 2002/2003, 416 persons were charged with alcohol- related driving charges under the Criminal Code. Police say 305 persons were issued with the Administrative Drivers Licence suspension and were immediately suspended from driving for 90 days. Also, 664 persons were issued 12 -hour suspensions, down from the 2003/2004 total of 955. Unfortunately, alcohol related collisions still claimed the lives of eight people during the five-week event. The Ontario Provincial Police reminds motorists the RIDE program will continue throughout the year and is not limited to holidays and long weekends. The pro- gram and other drinking and driving countermeasures are core functions of the Ontario Provincial Police and continue to be a priority. RIDE checkpoints could be set up at any place and at any time throughout the year.