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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Times Advocate, 2006-12-06, Page 66 Times -Advocate Wednesday, December 6, 2006 Opinion Forum News Tips to stop that harried feeling Do you ever feel harried and over- whelmed at holiday time? You're not alone. Like many Canadians, the holi- days bring added stress to already busy lives. GM Deacon, host of CBC Television's daytime talk show, The Gill Deacon Show, was one of those Canadians. "I woke up in a cold sweat in late November a couple of years ago panicking about what I still had to buy for whom and what still needed to be prepared for the holidays. I decided then and there that I had to rediscover the true meaning of the season, not just dwell in its com- mercialism, and I can't tell you how much more enjoyable the holidays are for me now." The Gill Deacon Show's family of contributing experts and host Gill Deacon herself, offer up their best advice on how to make the holidays a truly happy and memorable experience with these help- ful festive tips. The Gill Deacon Show telecasts weekdays at 11 a.m. (repeating daily at 2 p.m.) on CBC Television. Entertaining Tips from Chef Howard Dubrovsky * Don't wait until the last minute, prepare as much ahead of time as possible. Side dishes like roast or mashed potatoes, veggie casseroles, sal- ads, and desserts can all be made one or two days before. This gives you much more time the day of the party to relax and decorate. * Try something different this year. Share the limelight and try a potluck dinner party. Having friends and family bring small items like side dish- es or desserts will get you in and out of the kitchen a whole lot faster. Better yet, try a "progressive" dinner party where your guests can come early and do the cooking right there with you. Decor Tips from Do -It -Yourself Decorator Deb Nelson * Keep holiday decorat- ing simple! Use things that you already have. For example, clear vases can be filled with any colour- ful ornaments or fresh boughs or holly. Use large over- sized glass hurricanes and fill them with inexpen- sive, classic red round tree ornaments -- put them around the house or on the dining room table. * Get inexpensive bells and attach them to some beautiful red ribbon. Tie them around door han- dles to get a jingle every time someone opens the door. You can even put them on your child's bed- room door. u At PPV IUN V AV Lucky winner New truck – De Dell Seeds recently gave away a Dodge 3/4 ton Cummins diesel pick-up truck to one of their customers. Customers received one ballot for each bag of seed corn they purchased. The lucky and happy customer was Arnold Cunningham of R.R. 1 Centralia."1 have never won anything before in my entire life!" Arnold said when he drove into London to claim his prize. First he had to call his dealer Roger Blane to verify that someone was not playing a joke on him. Cunningham was extremely happy to win the truck as his 1993 truck was wearing out. (photo/submitted) School boards show small surpluses By Stew Slater SPECIAL TO THE TIMES -ADVOCATE SEAFORTH — For fans of U.S. college basketball, "March Madness" means a dizzying schedule of important match -ups. But for school board officials in Huron and Perth counties, it has an entirely different meaning: relief from the risk of significant draw -downs on reserve funds. At meetings last week, both the Huron - Perth Catholic and Avon Maitland district school boards revealed what were described as small surpluses in the finalized paper- work of the 2005-06 school year. In both cases, credit for those surpluses went largely to the cluster of so- called "over and above" funding announcements from the provincial government during March 2006. "We received a tremendous amount of other provincial sup- port that we didn't know for sure was going to be there when we set the budget," explained Huron - Perth business superintendent Gerry Thuss after a presentation to trustees Nov. 27. At that point, the board's 2005-06 financial statements had not been audited, but he expected there will be no alterations before trustees approve the audited versions, like- ly in January. In creating the 2005-06 budget back in the spring of 2005, Thuss had predicted the government would come through with funds part-way through the year for some key initiatives. But no details were available at the time, so administrative staff had to plan for taking as much as $500,000 out of the board's Working Fund Reserve. Thanks largely to what Avon Maitland business superinten- dent Janet Baird - Jackson terms "March Madness," however, that never happened. She noted there were a couple of announcements in February and separate relief from the government when transporta- tion -dependent boards were hit with high fuel costs, but most of the extra money flowed in March. Thuss tallied the amount allocat- ed throughout the year to the Huron -Perth board by the govern- ment, over and above what was initially provided in the 2005-06 education grants, at $1.9 million. We received a tremendous amount of other provincial support that we didn't know for sure was going to be there when we set the budget." GERRY THUSS HURON -PERTH BUSINESS SUPERINTENDENT "That's very significant," he stat- ed. As a result, no funds were taken from the Working Fund Reserve and the Catholic board ended up with another $20,402 (unaudited) after the year-end of Aug. 31, 2006. In January, a recommenda- tion will come before trustees to place that small surplus into reserves. At the Avon Maitland board, where the planned draw -down of the Working Fund Reserve wasn't as drastic, the injection of "over and above" funding translated into a much larger surplus of $568,480. After a meeting between the board's auditors and its finance committee Nov. 28, trustees subsequently approved both the audited financial state- ments and the transferral of that surplus into reserves. According to Baird -Jackson, the board's Working Fund Reserve now stands at about $1.376 mil- lion. "While that may seem like a big number for an individual, it's not much more than one per cent of our annual revenues," the Avon Maitland business superintendent cautioned. Still, she expressed recognition that the government eased the pain by allocating extra funds through the year. Principal's message I would like to start this week's column by remind- ing everyone that the Music Department is holding its annual Christmas concert this evening, December 6, in the large gym, starting at 7:00 p.m. We invite everyone to come out and enjoy some festive tunes by the jazz and concert bands and by the school choir. A free will offering will be collected for the Huron County Christmas Bureau. We are also starting our annual campaign this week in support of the Christmas Bureau. We are asking the students and staff to donate new unwrapped toys, non- perishable foods, and/or Canadian Tire money to assist families in financial need in our own communities. The Christmas Bureau campaign fits in nicely with the Board's Character Development program as two of the traits we are trying to cultivate this year are compassion and empathy. It is sometimes hard for students to realize that even in a nation as prosper- ous as Canada, there are people who are in need of financial assistance. Our support of the Christmas Bureau will hopefully make the Christmas season a little brighter for some families in our community. On Thursday we have a guest speaker coming to talk to the students about Afghanistan and our involvement in the peacekeeping operation in that nation. Richard Fitoussi, a graduate of Central Huron Secondary School in Clinton, is a journalist and film-maker who spent some time earlier this year with our troops in Afghanistan, and he will be speaking to our students and to stu- dents at Exeter Public School to try to raise student awareness about our peace -keeping role and the challenges being faced by our troops. He will be speaking to our students in the large gym, starting at 10:15 a.m. Parents and community members are certainly wel- come to attend. The second official report card of the year will be distributed on Thursday but only to students who are taking year-long courses, which means mainly Grade 9 students. The report card will contain the same marks and comments as the report issued last month for Semester One courses, but added to those will be marks and comments for the year-long courses, which were not reported last month. Finally, I would like to remind students and par- ents that this Friday is a PA Day. While students have the day off from classes, our staff will be engaged in activities related to school improvement planning, character education and citizenship, and literacy. JEFF REABURN PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE Panther Profile EXETER — Hello again, I hope you all are hav- ing a great week. Once again I have a completely random and useless fact. Did you know that Anteaters actually prefer to eat termites? Now I'm wondering why we don't call them Termiteaters. I wonder if they get offended when they hear us call them Anteaters, maybe that's why we haven't domesticated them, they simply refuse to respond to the name Anteater. In the name of fairness and animal rights, I move that henceforth the creature known as the "Anteater" be renamed the "Termiteater". Alright, down to business, on Dec. 6 (otherwise known as today) the South Huron Music department will be putting on their annual Christmas concert, come on out and hear all your favourites and more! The concert will be in the large gym at 7 p.m. and the Christmas Bureau will be collecting as well. Good news! This Friday there is a P.D. Day, so heads up! Also, Dec. 13 there will be a Blood Donor clinic. Right after you give blood you can dance till you drop at semi -formal. It will be in the small gym Dec.14 and tickets will be on sale in advance so keep an eye out for that. Another reminder to anyone who hasn't picked up their yearbook(s) / diploma to please do so, they are available in the office. The reports for the year-long classes go out Dec. 7. That's all for this week, have an enjoyable week. Coming events Dec. 6: Christmas Concert 7 p.m. Large Gym Dec. 7 : Year Long Reports go out Dec. 8: P.D. Day Dec 13: Blood Donor Clinic CRAIG SKOCHI PANTHER FILE NSKI PRO-