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Clinton News-Record, 1973-06-14, Page 11Clinton, Ontario Second Sect ion Clinton News-Record Thursday, June 14, 1973 108 Year 24 Bias relief wood shows creativity John Reimer of Mitchell shows the beautiful effect that bias wood relief creates on a picture frame made of cedar, Mr. Rauser uses a special technique that is unique in North America to create the effect. (News-Record photo) All of the work displayed by John Rauser at the Clinton Fair shows the skill and dedication needed to do bias relief. He has to work outside in all kinds of weather conditions to attain the effect. (News-Record photo) ThO Infant ellnE06 darn Club put Ort an excellent display at the recent OlIntbit Trade ShOw. k y. John Brotherhood and Cheryl Soderlund are two University of Ottawa students who are in Clinton this summer working on two pilot studies for the Sport and Recreation branch of the Ministry of Community and Social Services. They report that Clinton reaction to the project so far has been very encouraging. (News-Record photo) New associate Ag. Rep. John Rauser of Mitchell doesn't consider himself an ar- tist, but to look at his work, only a person with a creative mind would have the patience and knowhow to turn out such beautiful work, Mr. Rauser, a 74 year-old resident of Mitchell, displayed his work at the Clinton Fair this year for the first time and judging by the reaction of Fairgoers, he will probably be back next year, His craft is creating pictures frames, trays and similar One of Ontario's smaller boards of education has bolted the solid ranks of school trustees and approved a con- tract with its high school teachers that deals with an im- portant working condition—the upil-teacher ratio. The unprecedented decision f the Huron County School I oard to ratify a one-year ollective agreement containing n appendix on a pupil-teacher atio was one of the greatest vorries of trustees attending he annual convention of the ntario Public Schools rustees Association held in ambridge last week. Until the Huron decision was ade final two weeks ago, On- rio school boards had refused bargain with teachers over eir working conditions such pupil-teacher ratio, class ze, number of teaching hours ch school day, selection of achers, teaching methods or urse content. Trustees claim ese things are management erogative. In January, high schools in products in bias relief wood and he claims to be the only one do so in North America. Basically, the principle in- volves soaking bare wood in a special chemical, whose for- mule is known only to Mr, Rauser. The wood is then bur• ned with a blow torch and the charred wood removed with a wire brush. Mr. Rauser says that the secret of his bias relief product lies in the special chemical, he soaks the wood in before the burning process. The chemical Windsor were barely able to operate for three weeks when 648 of 770 teachers resigned in a strike. The strike ended after Education Minister Thomas Wells persuaded the Windsor Board of Education to agree to freeze the pupil-teacher ratio for two years. Windsor teachers felt they had reason to fear that the school board would increase both the pupil-teacher ratio and class size. The general reaction of trustees here to the Huron agreement was: "It's awful," Ted Conover, a Peel County trustee and former school board chairman, told a discussion on - salary negotiations: "Huron is an example of what not to do,,.whenever anybody tells you that Huron has already done it, don't you do it." (On the other hand, James Bethune, executive assistant for economic welfare of the On- tario Secondary School Teachers Federation, termed the Huron settlement "fan- is absorbed by the heart grain only and it is virtually un- touched by the flame. After the charred wood is brushed, he puts on a wax finish and mounts the picture, as the case might be. Mr. Hauser, a quiet unassutning white-haired man, , says the process can never be done on a production line basis. "Each piece of wood has to be burned and brushed in- dividually to bring out the best grain in it," Sandblasting, he says, would have a similar ef- tastic" and "a breakthrough." Speaking in a telephone inter- view from Toronto, Mr. Bethune cautioned, however, that its significance depends not on the language of the con- tract but on how the agreement actually works.) Wilfrid Shortreed, a Huron County trustee, was so taken aback by the protests of other trustees that he commented "maybe we made a mistake that every other school board can learn from." The pupil-teacher ratio does not fix class• size, but it is the single most important factor determining the number of students the teacher will see in each class. The other important factor is which courses each student chooses, since no course is compulsory under the provincial government's con- troversial HFI directive on high school curriculum. The pupil-teacher ratio also determines how many teachers each school board will hire or retain on staff. Student enrolment (which is declining feet but would require staining afterward, and the heart grain in that process wouldn't soak up as much as the indented parts and the effect would be opposite to his creation, Originally from Switzerland, Mr. Rauser and his family came to Canada in 1946 and moved near Mitchell in 1952 where they bought a farm, Four years ago, the Rausers retired to Mitchell where he started his "full-time" hobby. Careful selection of the wood is the primary consideration Mr. Rauser says. It must possess outstanding grain characteristics and even con- tain knots in some cases. He works mostly with cedar but features work made from spruce and Douglas fir. "Each piece of wood must be carefully shaped, cut or perhaps laminated before it is burned," Mr. Rauser said. The process does have its drawbacks, however. Because of the smoke and noxious gases given off in the burning process, Mr. Rauser has to work outside at all times and wear a gas mask. "It can get very cold out- side in the winter, but I don't mind, I just dress for it, he said. He does a lot of his work in his garden. Mr. Rauser prides himself in the fact that he uses only Canadian creations or reproductions of Canadian in elementary schools) and student choice of courses also determine how many teachers will be employed. The Huron agreements sets two pupil-teacher ratios, one for vocational courses and a higher one for all other courses. The vocational ratio is to be one teacher for every fourteen to 14 1/2 students. The other ratio is to be one teacher for every 17 to 17 1/2 pupils. Education Minister Wells, persuaded the Windsor school board to freeze its PTR at 17 pupils per teacher. John Cochrane, Huron's director of education, said in a phone interview the, agreed upon ratios mean vocational classes will have 18 to 20 students, while academic classes will have roughly 35 students each. The size of academic classes will vary greatly, Mr. Cochrane said. Latin classes would be smaller and English classes larger, reflecting the popularity of these subjects with students.—Globe and Mail paintings. Many of the pictures on display were painted in the 1880's and are mounted in frames that were popular at that time. Particularly beautiful are the hand painted tiles of Elizabeth Ipsen of Beachville. Most of the scenes are strictly Canadian and most are unique. 'Mr. Rauser's prices start at $3 or $4 dollars for a small frame, but considering it may take anywhere from one to six hours to produce one piece, the price is cheap. He exhibits at several fairs in the area and may return to Clinton next year, but he wasn't sure of his future plans, "I hope there will be in- creased contact between these individuals and other com- munity members which will lead to a better understanding of the need for involvement of digabled individuals in recreation," she said. So far, " Miss Soderlund said, "the interest and en- thusiasm shown by various in- dividuals in Clinton has been encouraging." She said however, that suc- cess of the project depends on the kind of participation that the people of Clinton provide. Miss Soderlund comes from the picturesque community of Wawa on the northern shores of Lake Superior and is well grounded in the recreation field. As well as working with many varied recreation groups in Ottawa, she has worked in the Ottawa YM-YWCA where County, taught high school for the Stormont-Dundas- Glengarry Board of Education, and last year worked as com- plaints officer for the Federal Department of Consumer and Corporate Affairs in Ottawa. Bill and Lynda are looking for- ward to their first child in Sep- tember. Bill will be Associate Hunting accidents in Ontario have declined during the past 10 years, In 1960 there were 146 accidents. In 1971 there were 81 accidents, This improvement is a direct result of the mandatory safety training program for new hun- ters which began in 1960, The program requires new hunters (and former hunters without proof of past hunting experience) to pass the Ministry of Natural Resources hunter safety examination before they may obtain hunting licenses. In preparation for the examination most new hunters take a training course in hun- ting 8afoty. Qualified instruc- tors provide these courses in local areas in cooperation with she was involved in swimming programs for the retarded and the physically disabled, UpOn graduation, she hopes to do similar work with special groups in the municipal field. Like Mr. Brotherhood, con- tact can easily be established with Miss Soderlund by simply phoning the arena. Both are looking forward to full Clinton involvement. Agricultural Representative in Huron and will be specializing in' farm management with dairy farmers. Bill is impressed with the farm land he has seen so far in Huron and looks forward to meeting and working with Huron's farm families, says D. S. Pullen, Agricultural Representative for Huron County. the Ministry program. The busiest time each year for the Conservation Officers who conduct Hunter Examinations is during early fall when the hunting seasons are soon to Commence. Arranging for an instruction course and arranging for an examination appointment during the crowded fall schedule takes time. Many new hunters then wish they had taken the exam earlier in the year. To persons who are going to need an examination before fall hunting this year we room- mend arranging it early,Scheduled examinations are conducted throughout the spring and summer. Huron Board pact on ratio worries Ontario school trustees If you have been approached by two students lately asking a number of questions, help them all you can. They are two University of Ottawa students who have been working and living in Clinton for the past several weeks and they will be here until the end of the summer. Both are working for the Sports and Recreation Branch of The Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Ser- vices, each assigned to a dif- ferent phase of recreation pilot study. John Brotherhood, a 20 year- old fourth year student in the recreation course at the Univer- sity of Ottawa is surveying and composing a report on the in- volvement of senior citizens in community recreation activities and to try to increase the con- tact between the senior citizens and the community. Mr. Brotherhood said that the objective of the project was to set up a comprehensive recreation program for the senior citizens, with the hope that they could be carried out indefinitely after he goes back to school. The project is a pilot program, with only Clinton, Strathroy and Stratford in- cluded in the initial study. Should the pilot study prove successful, then the program would be extended to 40 cen- tres across Ontario next year. Mr. Brotherhood was born and raised in the Town of New Liskeard Ontario, which is about the size of Clinton. I'm interested in helping the elderly to help themselves keep active," he said. "The people of Clinton have been very receptive to the program so far, and I'm looking forward to meeting more residents in the near future," he added. Mr. Brotherhood can be reached at the arena here in Clinton and said he hopes that the program, which will par- tially originate in Clinton, will prove its worth to the whole province. Mr. Brotherhood's counter- part in a similar pilot study set up by the Sports and Recreation branch is Cheryl Soderlund, who is also a University of Ottawa recreation student. Her 15 week project involves the study and establishment of a recreation program, but in her cage, it is for special groups, such as the blind, the physically disabled and any other persons or persons with a mental or physical handicap. Like the project of Mr. Brotherhood, Miss Soderltind's project is a pilot study that in- volves only three towns in On- tario initially. Besides Clinton, the study is also being carried out in Woodbridge and Penetanguishene. Should the three initial projects prove sueceesful, many other Ontario centres would be included next year, Miss Soderlund says she hopes she developes a project for the mentally and physically handicapped person that. would involve the whale corms unity', Bill Broadworth has been transferred to Huron County Department of Agriculture and Food. from Carleton County ef- fective June 1. He succeeds Richard Farion who has gone farming in Alberta. Bill is a native of Madoc in Hastings County. He grew up on a dairy farm which specialized in purebred Holsteins. Following his 1963 graduation from the Ontario Agricultural College, Bill joined the Extention Branch of the Ontario Department of Agriculture and Food in Peter- borough County, In 1067, Bill transferred to Carleton County where he has worked until his transfer to Huron., In Carleton, Bill was coordinator of the dairy extension program, as well as coordinating the 441 Agricultural Club program, Bill has been very active in sports, He has played on several Ontario champion soft- ball teams in Nladoc. He remembers playing against Wingham, He enjoys golf and cross country skiing, Mrs. Broadworth is a McGill University graduate in Home Economies. The also has a College of Education degree from the University of 'Toronto. Mrs, 13readwortis has worked as Home Economist in Lanark Government projects start in Clinton Hunting accidents decline in Ont.