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The Huron Expositor, 1976-11-11, Page 1•, • " 4 PAGES Whole NO45673 117 th Year ' SEAFORTH„ ONTARIQ, TtittRSPAY. NOVEM6ER 11, 1976 .449;.00 4.Vg is Advance linIc col* cents WINTER IS HERE — It may look, like mid January, but It's only.the second week in November. Seaforth was blanketed by thick snow over the weekend, as' this house and yard on Chalk Street shows, and the weatherman says winter is here to stay. Expositor staff member Henrietta Brown, who celebrated her 35th wedding, anniversary with her husband Bill on Sunday, says its the first anniversary ever that snow has interfered with plans to' drive somewhere. A family dinner in Goderich was cancelled because, the roads were too treacherous. (Expositor Photo) Strike not likely -Elementary teachers hope to settle LEST WE FORGET — A , long line of veterans who don't forget the sacrifice their comrades made in two world wars marched in a church parade to St. James' Roman Catholic Church on' sunday, lead by the Thinking of running ? Seaforth Dashwood Community Band. The annual cenotaph Remembrance Day service is on today at' 10:20. in Victoria Park. (Expositor Photo) Nominations close Monday clear this up," councillor George Hildebrand commented. The PUC's regular meeting is Wednesday afternoon. Councillor Bill Bennett asked the mayor why wage increases for PUC employees were approved at 8 per cent and then the newspaper recorded that AIB approval had been received for - " increases of up to 12 per cent, "The ,AIB don't add increases themselves," I don't think," he said. The mayor said she hadn'i had a chance to review all her PUC minutes but that she did not remember approval by: the comniission for increases of more than 8 per cent. Councillor Sinnamon got a laugh when he asked about the candles which were set tip in the centre of the council table' c'Did you expect to have the ,hydre cut off?" he asked. The mayor replied that she had bought the candles for ooranilttee theetitigs attiring, ftet'igy 0Onstr,,, nation Week last Week; "but had to give up betatiat we couldn't read our notes," a Art .intario makes misty ,..e may ios ren • is in schools for the retarded have decreased since the schools have been integrated into the regular public schools. Seaforth trustee Molly Kunder, who is on the board's negotiating committee, says the board has never been hard on, any, teacher who genuinely needed more sick days but that it prefers a policy on this, rather than negotiating the number of days in 'every contract. Mrs. K under agreed that many boards allow more cumulative sick days ...some up to 400. "But Meeting is on Arena ice Seaforth will have a ratepayers' meeting after all. Councillors agreed with Mayor Betty Card no Monday, night when she said she'd like to reconsider an earlier council decision against a ratepayers' meeting. • It will give people a chance to ask questions and candidates for office a chance to state their. views, the mayor said, It will be held on Tuesday, November 16 at The new brine cooler is working., at the arena and the ice temperature is the lowest yet, but "some are saying that the ice is a bit too hard." councillor • Bill Bennett commented tongue in cheek at council Monday night. The new arena equipment is estimated to be using about 42,000 gallons of water a month, campor ed to 2 million one month • last year, he said. Councillor Bennett said arena manager Roy .McGonigle deserves a vote to thanks for working night and day with the employees who were installing the equipment, he said. Ice time before school hours at the arena will be available at a 8 p.m., in the town hall. "We should have one even if one person is interested", councillor John Sinnathon, who is not running for re-election, said. "At least we got some interest by saying `no, we aren't having a meeting this year', if we had' said yes (in the first place) there would have been no interest at all," said councillor Charlie Campbell. hard but ISM vt Have you always had a yen, to run for municipal office? Or perhaps you are trying to persuade someone else to run for council:school board or the PUCO Well, you have until 5 p.m. on Monday, November 15, to get nomination papers signed and handed into the clerk of your town or township. Anyone who 'is ,on the voters' list in a municipality can run there. The date for adding your name to the list has passed, but if you want to make sure that you are on before starting your candicacy, they are posted around Seaforth and in the Legion, the Post Office, and the town clerk's office. Voters in the December 6 municipal election should be on the voters' list as long as they are Canadian citizens and have been a resident of the municipality before October 12, when the list was-prepared. Once you pick up your nomina- tion papers from the clerk's office, they have to be signed by a minimum of 10 qualified electors. Seaforth clerk Jim Crocker recommends getting about 13 signatures on your papers though. Then, if one or two of your nominators aren't on the voters' list, through some over- sight, you won't have to scoot around looking for more nomina- tors at the last minute, or have to forget your candidacy entirely, because your papers aren't in order. Although the nomination peried runs from NO. 11 until NoV-,, 15, most clerks' offices will be Closed on Nev. 11, Remem- had to be restructured. Robert McKinnon, project officer, Ministry of Culture and ,Recreation, replied-that Seaforth would qualify. It meant Seaforth would share in the 2 to I funding which would give the town a grant Seaforth's election race came a little clearer into focus Mbnday night when Mayor Betty Cardno and Reeve John Flannery both said they ,would run for re- election. Mayor Cardno, finishing her first term, said "I don't see how I can't run", referring to the recent charges from PUC chairman Ed Daly and manager Walter Scott, who both resigned last week, that she's been interfering with the smooth running of the PUC. The mayor is automatically a member of the public utilities commission. Reeve Flannery, who has been eight years as reeve and was on council for many years before brance Day, and on the weekend, leaving only the two days, for you to hand your signed paper back in to the clerk. Candidates for the Huron County 'Board of Education can only -be nominated by public The old question of the town taking over waterworks from the PUC was revived at council Monday night, but no action was taken. Councillor John Sinnamon, who chaired the ad hoc committee set up more' than a year ago to look into the takeover, said in a prepared statement to council that he favoured a plebiscite on the takeover in the upcoming December 6 municipal elections. Councillor Sinnamon, "The waterworks is owned by the town and the PUC is paid to operate it," councillor Sitinamon said. "Since the town owns this department, it is council's place to question any expenses or increases in rates that pert ains to the system." A lot of Seaforth's ratepayers are on fixed incomes and priorities should be set for expenditures, he said. ,"The reason that the triplingl of water rates was questioned so harshly, if .l may use that term, is because we as councillors realized that the taxes would have to increase ocrisiderabiy this year because of sewer installation and other of about $90,000. The axe fell on Friday when the town clerk, Jim Crocker, received a telephone call from Mr. McKinnon stating he,had made a mistake in approving the mayor's request. In a later call Friday Mr. that, said he would like to see drainage completed in the south west portion of town. Councillor Charlie Campbell, finishing his first term, is still undecided, "If all of the present council would stay on, there'd be no question of my running," he said, Councillors tried to persuade councillor Bill Bennett, who said previously he won't run to stay on. The chairman of the arena committee said "I didn't get a chance in any other• departments, although I would have liked to." "you know what to do about that," the mayor told him. school supporters, while Huron Perth Roman Catholic Separate School' board candidates must be nominated by 10 separate school supporters. People can be nominated for more than one office, and can things which were priority items," councillor Sinnamon said. "Now may I thank you madam ' mayor for your leadership in the past two years through some "pretty -storm times. YOU have done a commendable job," councillor Sinnamon's statement ended. He is not seeking re- election in December. Councillor Sinnamon later asked the mayor why the PUC 'had to pay watcher's time, when they rented a backhoe, before they bought one this summer. The mayor said she understood that PUC empk,:ees had to watch while an operator ran the rented equipment. The resignations of PUC Manager Walter Scot and chairman of the commission Ed. Daly have gotten a lot of publicity in the daily press and mayor Caidtib' CoInmented„that she has had no official word on either resignation. She said it would have been proper for the chairman to call itstic meeting to deal with Mr, Scott's resignation and then retire himself then. "After Wednesday we can Mckinnon asked Mr. Crocker if the Seaford' arena was now condemned. Mr. Crocker said it was not. Monday. the maYar received a letter confirming Mr- McKinnon's telephone call that (Continued on Page 12) "What are you going to do for excitement if you leave?" deputy reeve Bill Dale asked him. "Read the paper every Thursday," councillor Bennett replied, to gales, of laughter from other councillors. - Deputy Reeve Bill Dale has said he will run again. Councillors -George Hildebrand, John Sinnamon, and Wayne Ellis, who was away on holidays and not at Monday's. meeting, have all said they won't run again. There is, one vacancy on council, caused by the resignation of former councillor Jim Crticker in July. withdraw their name from nomination by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, November 16. If there aren't enough candi- dates to have at least an acclamation for each office, the (Continued on Page 3) 0 Although negotiations b,etween HUron's 360 , elementary school teachers and the Huron County Board of Education haven't been successful yet, both sides say they are hopeful for a settlement from a meeting that will take place Wednesday, after press time. Head negotiator • for the teachers, Graham Yeats, a teacher at Blyth Public School said "we have moved our position since the fact finder's report and the board has moved theirs. I hope we can come to an agreement." • A fact finder's report on the board - teacher impasse which was released Friday is quite sympathetic , to the board's position. The board offered an 8 per cent pay 'increase plus .a.1 .7 per cent cost of living allowance, which they say is equal, in percentage terms to the offer that Huron secondary teachers have already accepted. The elementary teachers consider that settlement inadequate. Fact finder Ian Hunter of Toronto says in his report that the teachers' position 'is "understandable ' but unrea- listic." Other items still not settled, according to the report, is the. $4000 allowance for principals in schools for the mentally retarded, which the teaches want increased to keep up with inflation- and an, increase in maximum cumulative sick days from 200 to 240. The board's position is that responsibilities of the principals what's it going to be like several years from now?" Representatives of both sides said theie is little likelihood of a strike. Mrs. Kunder said once the board ,makes its final offer and asks the teachers to take it to their members for a vote, a strike vote could, be held if that offer is turned down. "It's doubtful that we would even consider a strike vote," Mr. Yeats said. The staff improvement fund, a board financed levy which pays teachers who want to take - seminars or short courses for professional development is also under discussion. The board' now pays one and a half percent of the total teaching budget to the fund but wants to reduce their contribution to one half a ,..per. cent: Secondary-0' teachers accepted this cut, but the elenientarY teachers want' to see it at one per cent. M r. Rdnter 'says he doesn't think the half a percentage point (about $38,000) "will constitute an' insuperable obstacle to settlement." slippery discounted rate of $12 per hour, council heard. In other recreation business, councillor. Charlie Campbell reported that the volunteers running the minor soccer program want to retire and the rec department is looking for others who will run it. "It's a good low cost program," he said. Voluntees are also needed to set., up a weekly program for homebound people in Seaforth. Transportation and leadership is necessary and the rec director would be glad to have the names of anyone who is interested, as well as the names of possible participants. Councillor Campbell, in response to a question from Mayor Betty Cardno, said he would check into the progress of a proposed baseball diamond at the high school. Council contributed $500 to get the diamond established in 1974 A 'WHALE OF A SKATE — The Seaforth arena got Ice last weekend after a long wait while ,new ice malting oCititOmeht was being- InStal:led. The young plaVett In the Seaforth,Mt0r4iedkey League's Saturday morning hockey program skated to their hearts' content. Arena committee chairman 611i Bennett' said at council Monday night ' that everybOdy's happy about the ice "although there, were a few complaints that It's too hard," (Expositor Ph016) '0- Because Seaforth was one of ' the early victims of the provincial :'Irena sickness epidemic" it may 'b0 penalized now in receiving gkants awarded to later arena ;•• renovations. When Seaforth heeded the province's concern on safety ,standards in arenas in 1973 the town proceeded-to strengthen its arena roof to meet the standards . Set down by The province in spite no special government funding .7eavailable at the time. When the new 2 for 1 funding Wintario was announced in .early summer this year on work :done on arenas after January 1, 4975, when the epidemic was at its height and condemned arenas, were being announced every day, the mayor, Betty Cardno,wrote a letter to government officialS. She Outlined the work done by the telyvn in late 1974 and' requested special consideration for Seaforth to, receive its share of the funds. "Two other towns ,in similar positions, Wallaceburg and Simcoe, did the same. Mrs. Cardno said she thought the request was valid as the arena Mayor, reeve run again Sinnamon suggests Vote on water take over