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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Times Advocate, 2005-06-08, Page 22 Exeter Times -Advocate Wednesday, June 8, 2005 Regional wrap up Arena to get upgrades GODERICH — Council has approved a $65,000 facelift for Goderich Memorial Arena to comply with mandatory upgrades. The Goderich Signal - Star reports the build- ing is in good condition but some things need to change including the removal of stored com- bustible materials from electrical equipment rooms and the removal of fence posts leaning against an outside pre- mounted electrical transformer. Evacuation proce- dures must also be developed including the installation of signs. Woodland expansion approved CLINTON — It's taken three years to get approval and now the Woodlands Links Golf Course on Highway 8 has the go ahead to expand. The Clinton News - Record reports rezon- ing approval was granted at the Ontario Municipal Board after Huron County council voted against a nine - hole expansion. The new area will feature an island green and an Arizona - themed hole. Bands rally for kids' camp GODERICH — Three bands will perform during the first annual Tim Hortons Camp Day fundraiser in Goderich, Sun., June 8. Johnny Hardcore, of Goderich, will perform classic hits. London- based Staylefish will bring its reggae sound to the stage and the funk will be provided by Bastid Sonz of Bayfield. The show starts at 7 p.m. at the Royal Canadian Legion in Goderich. Tickets are $10 each. Money raised will go to Tim Horton Children's Foundation which will send more than 10,000 kids to camp this year. New pavilion to honour Finkbeiner By Scott Nixon TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF SOUTH HURON — The new pavilion planned for MacNaughton Park will honour the late Dalton Finkbeiner, who died in August 2003. South Huron council gave the recreation department approval Monday night to pro- ceed with the $36,000 project, which replaces the old pavilion earlier torn down due to age and the potential high costs of maintaining it. The municipality will kick in $18,000 towards the project, with the Exeter Rodeo committee donating about $9,000. Other large donations will come from the Exeter Lioness Club ($5,000) and the Exeter Lions Club (up to $4,000). Jo -Anne Fields of the Rec Department wrote to council that "Dalton was a dedicated and lifelong supporter of the Exeter Rodeo as well as a respected member of our communi- ty. We feel that with Dalton's appreciation for the great outdoors and for his admiration of family and friends, this project is perfect to honour his life and contribution to our com- munity." The new pavilion will be called "The Dalton Finkbeiner Memorial Pavilion." Contributors to the pavilion will be recognized on a plaque. Other council notes: No more Main/Sanders crossing guard Citing a lack of use by students, the munici- pality decided to discontinue the crossing guard service at the corner of Main and Sanders streets effective the end of June. The service was set up for Precious Blood stu- dents. Road superintendent Ken Betties outlined the low use of the service, reporting that in the winter months there are sometimes days where no students cross at the intersection. On nice winter days, two students cross at Main and Sanders regularly. Betties' report states "there are anywhere from zero to five children that cross to Precious Blood. During favourable weather . . . the average is four students, less if raining." The intersection already has traffic lights and pedestrian crossing lights. Also, there is a crossing guard at the Victoria and Main streets intersection in the mornings, at noon hour and after school. That service will con- tinue. The municipality will send a letter to the Huron -Perth Catholic District School Board informing them of the decision. Coun. Pete Armstrong said one possibility for the future is to have Grade 8 students monitor the inter- section to help the younger students cross the street. Hensall Union Cemetery gets support Reacting to an earlier request, council agreed to donate $2,000 to the Hensall Union Cemetery to help with repairs to old and deteriorating monuments. As previously reported, the cemetery, which is still active, is in need of financial assistance because the provincial government won't allow the cemetery access to the $46,000 it invested in a "perpetual care fund" set up by the province in 1993. At the time, the province recommended cemeteries invest their savings in the fund, but are now only allowing cemeteries to use the interest they gain on their savings. The only way to access the money is for cemeteries to expand their boundaries by buying new land, something the Hensall Union Cemetery doesn't need to do. The municipalities of Bluewater and Huron East also contributed $2,000 each to the cemetery, providing the $6,000 the cemetery estimated it needs to repair and restore 25 monuments, some that are more than 100 years old. Water bill "glitch" Not only did Exeter water customers recently experience the newly -increased water rates, a glitch in the system caused the latest bills to feature the estimated meter read-out, rather than the actual read-out. Operations manager Dennis Hockey said the problem has been corrected and the next bills will use the actual read-outs. He said most of the estimated bills were "very close" to the actual readings. Pipe quotes Council awarded the supply, assembly and shipping of two large steel pipes to low bidder Armtec at a quote of $56,400. The pipes are part of the municipality's planned McCurdy Bridge replacement project that will take place this August. Rest Home hosting 40th anniversary ZURICH — The Blue Water Rest Home is hosting its 40th anniversary this Sunday. The event will take place between 1 and 5 p.m. on the grounds at the Long -Term Care Home. "It's an opportunity to say thank you to those who have contributed to the success of Blue Water Rest Home over the years," said Rest Home board of directors chair Brian McHugh, "and also an opportunity to connect with the community, particularly those who have not had the chance to see the Home close up." The afternoon will be filled with activi- ties, including local entertainers Stephanie and Martin Gelinas, Audibly Awesome, and Joe Overholt, who last played in Zurich for the new Arena fundraising kick-off event. At 2:30 p.m. there will be short speeches and greetings from a number of local dig- nitaries, including municipal and county councillors, as well as senior government representatives. There will be a separate children's area, including clowns, games, and face paint- ing. Tours of the Long -Term Care Home will be given by staff, and snacks and cold bev- erages will be available. "We hope this event will highlight how effective Blue Water and this community have been at taking care of the needs of seniors in the area for four decades, and how our location in the countryside near the lake provides the right environment for what we do," said administrator Martha Craig. "With the efforts of volunteers, families, friends, neighbours and a very professional staff, this Home has achieved a very strong local reputation for delivering high quality compassionate seniors care for many years." Blue Water Rest Home was founded in 1965 as a result of a community initiative to establish a local seniors facility. The doors opened to the first residents in 1966. The Home is incorporated as a charitable institution, and operates under the gover- nance of a volunteer board of directors drawn from area churches, service organi- zations and community members. Work -to -rule in effect for elementary teachers Continued from front page mentary and secondary teachers just before the deadline. (The Avon Maitland board announced a tentative agreement with its sec- ondary teachers June 3.) Kennedy, who earlier suggested the specialty teacher money would be used as an induce- ment for boards to sign collective agreements, announced he believed 22 other boards were close to a deal and would be granted "exten- sions." (The Toronto District School Board was among them and, indeed, it announced a deal with its elementary teachers June 2.) The Avon Maitland board and eight others, however, were told they won't receive the money. In the Avon Maitland case, talks broke off after a May 31 meeting by trustees to dis- cuss a late -breaking ETFO offer, with the only subsequent communication coming in the form of examining the calendar for the next suitable negotiation date. That happened quickly, however, with both sides clearing their schedule on Monday to resume negotiations. In an interview June 3, board chair Meg Westley said she believes Kennedy will stick with his decision not to extend funds to the nine boards, but only if there's no quick resumption of talks. She expressed optimism the Avon Maitland sides will reconvene soon, and there's still a good chance the ministerial suspension will be called off. "My impression is that, if we can get back to the table and show we're moving towards an agreement, and particularly if the work -to -rule is lifted, then the suspension will be lifted," she said. Doubleday echoed the optimism that a deal could be reached. The outstanding issue is so- called "grid parity" with the board's secondary teachers. This refers to the timetable under which salary increases are phased in over the length of a contract for teachers with differing levels of experience. According to Doubleday, only the most expe- rienced of Avon Maitland elementary teachers see their salary increases implemented under the same timetable as their secondary coun- terparts, and ETFO wants that changed. "Our argument is, a teacher is a teacher," he said. The union local president blamed trustees for rejecting a grid parity deal which Avon Maitland human resources officials "seemed open to" at the negotiating table. He described the proposed deal as a willingness by teachers to give up some professional development opportunities in exchange for putting that money towards phasing in grid parity over the four years of the collective agreement. "You may argue why would we pay money to get paid more, but at the bargaining table we've decided to take that approach," Doubleday said. "I believe (Avon Maitland negotiators) appreciated the gesture. But the trustees ... turned it down." Funding commitments from the provincial government had enabled boards across the province to settle such issues as salary increas- es and preparation time, convincing ETFO locals to call off Phase 2 of their work -to -rule campaigns in late March. But in the Avon Maitland case, grid parity was obviously enough to scuttle a possible deal, cause minister Kennedy to put the board on its suspension list, and lead to a heightened work -to -rule that now has teachers arriving at the schools no earlier than 15 minutes before the start of classes, taking part in no extracur- ricular activities, and leaving no later than 15 minutes after classes end. According to Doubleday, if Phase 3 continues for "a prolonged time" — what he describes as two weeks after the June 1 work -to -rule resumption — there will be "drastic changes in report cards. "June is a very hectic month in the education system," the union local president said. "There are a lot of things that go on that probably won't go on." Westley, however, disagreed with Doubleday's description of the late -breaking negotiations and subsequent rejection of the ETFO offer. "Something was put on the table by ETFO and the negotiating team said they would run it by trustees. That's how negotiations take place," the board chair said. "But there was never an agreement because it was not something that (board negotiators) could agree to without consulting trustees." She said provincial funding commitments weren't meant to tackle grid parity, meaning that, even with the ETFO concessions, the board would have to cut money from some- where else in the budget to pay for it. "We gave ETFO everything the Ministry has given us," the board chair said. "We could harmonize the grid but it could force us to cut some very important programs and we don't want to have to do that." She noted the disparity in salary increase timetables stems from the fact that, over the past several years, secondary teacher negotia- tors have put a priority on maintaining their "grid," while ETFO negotiators have concen- trated on other issues. "The grid was always a priority for (sec- ondary school teachers) and they were willing to give in other areas to get that," Westley said.