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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1985-11-27, Page 1INDEX Births /A10 Brussels /A5 Classifieds /A14, 15 Dublin /A4 Entertainment /A17 Farm /A8, 9 Family /A10, 11 Graduations /A10 Hensall I A7 Legion /A17 Obituaries /A10 Sports /Al2, 13 Walton /A6 Weddings /A11 High school tired of chocolate bar sales. See page 43. Arena booster club to fold: See page 418 Serving the communities and areas of Seaforth, Brussels, Dublin, Hensall and Walton Hur xposito: SEAFORTH, ONTARIO, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 1985 — 18 PAGES 50c a copy 1 FiRST SNOW — Most Seaforth residents might have been less than thrilled when winter announced its presence with the first snowfall in the area last Friday, but a few were glad to see it. Becky Jane Lowdy (left) and Darren Sullivan were found enjoying the white stuff and found it had the perfect consistency for making snowballs, (Raft's photo) Wellington students living with grandma The rum 12 week-old stnke by Wellington Count } leachers has forced at least four of its students into an early acceptance of the dormitory life usually not encountered until university Lindi Wahl, Cindy ('hung, Cindy Neu - stead and Jill Bryant were Grade 13 students at Guelph's Centennial Collegiate Vocational Institute who opted to transfer out of Wellington County rather than wail out the atnke They're glad they did "A lot of friends of ours are sitting at home doing nothing." said .Jill. "and they'll probably (rise their year We lost five weeks hut at least novi we're getting credits " The girls are living aeth ,ill's grandmother Mary McLeod at RH 1. Seaforth and attend Seaforth Dist nit High School They share one bedroom and one bathroom, something they said caused problems in the beginning but they have since grown accustomed to "The worst pad was in the mornmg when everyone wanted to use the washroom We've solved that problem now through stnel scheduling." the girls agreed PERS()\ %IKTY IfIF FSIWN('E.S "At first there were real personality differences but now we re like sisters not just friends." added Cindy Neustead We're 18 and we know how to get alone.'' said Cindy ('hung. "it's too had the teachers in Wellington County didn't " The four girls came to Seaforth when Jill's grandmother offered to accommodate Jill and i friend The offer was eventually extended to four since Mrs Mic•Leod had two sets of hunk hells in her home "Jill extended her grandmother's invita• lain to us and we took her up on it," said LIndi And sn far the girls said they haven't regretted the decision to leave home although it has been difficult at times "We don't really feel homesick or miserable all the time, we miss our families of course, but it's just that it is more of a pain, packing and unpacking all the time." said Undi "Yeah. and when it's time to head back after a weekend there's a yucky feeling," added Jill More than anything the girls said they were disappointed they had to leave Guelph in order to finish high school "It was very disappointing We were all looking forward to a great final year with our friends in Guelph." said Cindy ('hung "It wouldn' ye been our last year at home and we were really looking forward to it " instead the girls only get home to Guelph every two weeks And there have been other sacrifices as well Not only have the girls marks suffered hut in some cases they've had to give up the things that interested them most "For Instance Cindy 'Chungand myself were heavily involved in music and singing and stuff." said Lindi "We were supposed to sing in a mass •'Huth concert in Roy Thompson Hall in Toronto on November 11 and we had to give it up That was so disappointing because it was a once in a lifetime chance. hut they were rehearsing it would've been so fantastic." she said Since the McLeod home has no piano the girls said it has been exceptionally difficult hut added the school has been very sympathetic and has offered them the use of a piano after school, while they await the schonlhus that will take them home iOT OF ADVANTAGES "There are a lot of advantages to going to school in a small town and one of them is JUST LIKE SiSTERS — Lindi Wahl, Jill Bryant, Cindy Neustead and Cindy Chung are four Wellington County students who are attending school in Seaforth while their teachers are on si,rke The girls, close friends before, say they are now more like sisters. (Mcttwraith photo) f• people," said Cindy Neustead "We've found you're not dealing with computers here. you're dealing with people." ' Yeah, in Guelph if you needed to talk to a guidance councillor you had to make an appointment and were lucky if they had ten minutes to spare for you Here they have time." said Undi. "Here it's all people relations. it's people to people." said Cindy Chung Up until recently the girls said they haven't had the opportunity to do much but try to catch up on the work they missed initially because of the strike But they said the teachers at the Seaforth school have made the transition a lot easier "The teachers have been really good and understanding of the work we've missed." said Cindy Neustead "Yeah, they didn't make us write tests we weren't ready for and stuff like that." added Jill When they entered Grade 13 in Guelph the girls admit they were full of high hopes for their futures, now they said they're not at all sure what they'li he doing next year. because they're not exactly sure just how much the strike has affected their chances of getting into the university course of their choice "If we have to stay the year here we might not get the same credits we would have in Guelph. just because it's a bigger school." said Undi "Right now because of the strike and the amount of school we missed before coming here we've had to take some different subjects than we were taking in Guelph " "i'm not sure what will happen. said Cindy Neustead " was hoping to go to Waterloo University and take their engineering course. Now I'm not really sure Some of my subject marks have dropped and some have gone up " "I was planning to go to Waterloo for the Ads Co-op program.' said Jill, "but my marks have dropped in everything " "i was planning to take rehabilitation medicine but my marks aren't as good as I'd expect them to he because I missed five weeks I don't know now if FII get into the course ft's a hard field to get into and i need very, very gond marks." said Cindy Chung "i was told the universities would sympathize, but maybe they'll just throw my application in the garbage " "I don't know what I'm •doing to do," said Undi "i've never known what I'm doing Some of my marks are up and some are down but i don't imagine they'll affect getting into university too much for me And despite not being able to go to school in Guelph the girls said they have enjoyed their time in Seaforth. and said they would never have been treated so well as strangers to a city school "it's not as rhnnev here In Guelph there are so many ii+ •+d (-own grade you if, n i even know, Here iaer aservbody else." said Jill : ontin'ted on earn. A16) Fire forces family from their home Fire forced a family of six from their home temporarily, on Friday, November 22. However, no one was hurt in the blaze and the main portion of their Hibbert Township home was undamaged, reports the Seaforth Fire Department. Deputy Fire Ch'i'ef Tom Phillips said Wayne Ward, his wife and four children, had gone to bed about an hour before the blaze started in their home at Lot 28, Concession 4, Hibbert Township. Although no cause has been determined, the fire began in a seldom -used wood -frame bock porch, attached to the main brick building. "We were in bed when it started. We smelled smoke. We got up, got the four kids dressed and out of the house. The back part of the house, where the Freezer was, seemed to be blazing first," said Mr. Ward. Mr. Phillips said the Wards called the fire department from a neighbor's home at 11:25 and When firemen arrived quite a blaze had developed in the back porch. Even though the fire was contained in the porch, the main part of the house was "heavy with smoke," when the family passed through, said Mr. Phillips Mr. Ward had opened the door leading from the main part of the house to the porch and saw the fire burning. "It was fortunate he was able to close the door again," said Mr. Phillips, explaining the closed door probably helped to contain the fire. It was also fortunate the porch' was isolated from the rest of the house, and separated by a brick wall, he said. The room in back was unheated and seldom used in the winter. No damage estimate is available, but Mr. Phillips said a room in the porch, approxi. mately 12 feet by 12 feet, was "gutted, and a freezer, a couch and some chairs in the porch were damaged. Although firefigthers extinguished the blaze fairly quickly, the Ward family stayed in Seaforth with relatives fora few days. Mr Ward returned to the scene later that night to watch for any reoccurrence of fire, said Mr Phillips. Seaforth Fire Chief Harry Hak said no exact cause of the fire is yet known, but Ontario Hydro is investigating The property is owned by Frank Williams, of Dublin. Teachers end strike in Perth high schools A lot of water has gone under the bridge since hast spring when salary talks between the Perth County board of education and its secondary school teachers broke off. At a press conference last week, used to announce the collective agreement reached, both sides commented on how negotiations would go in the future "Negotiations have been difficult this past year." conceded the chairman of the board's salary negotiating committee Howard Shantz "The final result is a better understanding of each other's position In future we'll start negotiations at that point " Ken Robins. negotiator for District 22 of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTFi said the difficulties between the two sides earlier this past spring were set aside Mr Shantz made no apologies though For the board's action earlier this year when it went public with the teachers in it i4eproposal, which according to board figures Was about 40 per cent. "The board was upset." said Mr. Shantz However. Mr Robins commented a collective agreement had been reached without fact finding. a point which he says is significant The secondary school teachers' negotiator. the board's negotiator Stan Bowman of Toronto and provincially appoint- ed mediator Graeme McKechnie spent the past nine days in mediation sessions "The threat of a strike never even carne up and f don't see the threat of one now or in the foreseeable future." said Mr Robins DENTAL PIAS The mmjnr change in the one year collective agreement is the addition of a dental plan Elementary teachers in Perth are also requesting a dental plan in their agreement but hoard officials gave "no comment" when asked how the secondary teachers' agree- ment would affect the elementary teachers' negotiations The dental plan won't go into effect until May of next year with the board paying the larger portion of the cost The board will pay $7 60 per month single rate and $16 39 a month family rate The teachers will pay $5 07 per month single and S10 39 per month family Mr Shantz said the dental plan is a very basic one. covering checkups, fillings and extractions only The teachers will receive a 4 25 per cent salary increase over the life of the agreement This year the teachers have a split grid which gives the teachers a 3 per cent increase retroactive to September 1 and 4 5 per cent effective February 1. 1986 • Roth sides pointed out the percentage increase is Facing a 98 per cent insurance premium increase, the Huron -Perth Roman Catholic separate school hoard is taking the problem of increased liability insurance premiums to the provincial government At its November 18 meeting. the Catholic school hoard unanimously passed a resolu- tion which will he forwarded to provincial Attorney -General ian Scott The main thrust of the resolution calls for the provincial government to take action to reduce "excessive lawsuits and court awards .. The school board's superintendent of business and finance. Jack Lane, said the awards are "scar'." because of their high dollar value He blames the recently changed Family Law Reform Act Since that enactment. family members such as aunts. uncles and cousins. have been named as beneficiaries increases have to be added together and divided by two to get the average annual increase. The accompanying salary grid shows the teachers salary ranges which will be in effect February I Other significant changes include the addition of one secondary school teaching position across the county This, said superintendent of personnel. Adam Stecher. answers the teachers request to not include department heads, principals and librarians when calculating the number of teachers to he in each of the county's five high schools The teachers make this request because these positions involve administrative time on top of teaching time Other gains for the teachers are also in the staffing area. The board has a letter of understanding with its teachers to have a separate pupil -teacher ratio for basic level classes and another ratio for general and advanced classes. This recognizes that basic level (formerly occupations) classes have a lower number of students. Not in the agreement, but in a letter of intent is the provision of maximum class sizes The two sides will work out this ideal size "The changes that occur in staffing procedures are better for the students, based on the students needs." said Mr Robins "Our goal is not more staff, but a better system for students •'ost The overall cost of the agreement. from September 1 to August 31. 1986 is $12 9 million, up from $12 2 million This repro cents a 5 62 per cent increase Other changes in the agreement involve wording changes and clarifications IN FAVOR The teachers voted 90 per cent in favor of the tentative agreement "i have never seen a tentative settlement approved by such a large majority in the past !see that as a foundation for much improved relations between the parties in the future. said Mr. Robins The school board voted 10 to 3 in favor of the agreement Those in favor were David Hammond. Ron Richards, Barbara Herman. Earl Oppenh auser. Howard Shan' -' T` h v i;i Reed. Don Cmwtey, Paul Pat- . ass, Ward. and Barbara Osborne Those against were Rodney n••u i•erer Black and Bert Johnson Trustees absent from the vote + en t .inn;, Michael Griffin. Ted Loughrey and Gerald Foster Both Mr Foster and Canon Griffin would have had to declare a conflict of interest because they have relations teaching in the Perth system challenged The school board paid $8.768 for its annual insurance premium. That coveraged ended October 31 and the renewal premium is $17,322 This, said Mr Lane. represents a 98 per cent increase And that's not all School bus operators aro facing insurance premium increase oft on per cent and more. This. said the superintendent results in costly contracts with school hu - operators Mr Lane said down the mad. if court' continue to , award high costs. hahiht� insurance carriers will cancel policies That he said, could result in school hoards and municipalities becoming their own insurers However, one astronomical Grim could put a public institution into bankruptcy The resolution is seeking support from school boards across the province and municipalities in Huron and Perth Counties