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Times-Advocate, 1979-03-07, Page 3Times-Advocate, March 7, 1979 Vandalism costly for board, especially in Exeter Incidents of vandalism at county schools have the Huron County board of education scratching heads with one hand and writing cheques with the other. The board received several • reports Monday from schools in the county that received property damages as a result of vandalism. Board chairman John Elliott told the board he was concerned about the costs and frequency of vandalism and warned that if the board Elementary heads get another move The Huron County board of education shuffled some of its elementary school principals around the county Monday giving them schools in or close to the community they live in. Director of education John Cochrane said Tuesday five principals had been transferred. Cochrane said the tran­ sfers reverse placings made by the board several years ago. He said in the past school principals were paid according to the size of the school they were in charge of. He said that has since been phased out of the principal’s contracts so that placements that were once regarded as promotions for the principals are now costing them money in travel expenses. John Kane, now principal of Colborne Central Public School, will be taking over duties at Victoria Public School in Goderich. Don O’Brien, now head of Victoria, will be moving to Zurich Public where Ron Jewitt is principal.Jewittwill be taking over duties at Colborne. Ron McKay will be moving from Hensail Public to Holmesville Public School replacing Robert Raeburn. Raeburn will be transferred to Hensall. The transfers are effective September 1, 1979. did not come up with some sort of preventive schemes the costs would become a real burden on the board’s budget. “In all my years ex­ perience on the school board I have never seen anything as serious,” said Elliott. Exeter area schools were hardest hit according to reports given the board by principals. Vandals at Exeter Public School slashed 100 window screens, bent and slashed five other screens and smashed two storm windows and the window of the principal’s office. Jim Chapman, principal of the school, said the said Jim Chapman, principal of the school, said in his report that damages to the screens were estimated at between $450 and $500, cost of the glass was about $70 and custodians spent about six hours repairing damages. South Huron District High School did not escape van­ dalism. During January and February the school was hit with over half a dozen in­ cidents of wilful damage costing an estimated $1,300. The damages range from 'broken windows and damaged equipment to plugged urinals in a washroom after someone poured quick drying cement Drains Continued from front page moved into his residence two years ago. He reported that diluted, raw sewage was backing into his basement. “If I hadn’t been home, there would have been a real problem”, he said. Council members agreed to continue their study of the situation and works com­ mittee chairman Ted Wright promised that council would keep the residents informed of what action taken. being into the fixture plugging the pipes. Bob McVean, plant superintendent for the county schools, said Tuesday the theory of quick drying cement was only a guess pointing out that something is in the plumbing that won’t budge. McVean said some type of material has got three of four urinals in one washroom at the school plugged solid and not even power augers can break up whatever it is. He said attempts are being made to free the drains using pneumatic hammers and if that fails there will be no recourse but to break up the washroom floor and remove the pipes. He said the floor of the washroom was terrazzo and was very costly. He added that the washroom is in the old portion of the building and the blueprints available on the structure are rather vague. He said he only has drawings of the building and Camperswill get decals Exeter will host the an­ nual campout of the Ontario Camping Association over the Victoria Day weekend in May and council decided this week to print up some souvenir decals for the occa­ sion. The request for some souvenir from the town had been made through Coun­ cillor Lossy Fuller by the chairmen of the May event, Lois and Irv Armstrong of the Ausable Nomads. Mrs. Fuller said she had priced decals and indicated they would run around 25 cents each. * While council readily agreed to providing the decals, they followed a suggestion by Mrs. Fuller and Councillor Don Cameron that they order double the 500 required so they would be available to hand out to other visitors in the future. The town will also supply maps for the campers. Mrs. Fuller said that over 500 trailers are expected at the event and noted that at last year's campout in Woodstock, a survey reveal­ ed that each camping unit in attendance left an average of $32 in the community over the weekend. < EXETER PS SPEAKERS — The top public speakers at Exeter Public School wer.e named after a recent competition. Back, left, senior winners Isabel Perry, Laurie Willert and Elizabeth Helm. Front, the junior best Karla Josephson, Sean Whiteford and John Wells. T-A photo Many complain about dump fees Exeter council members indicated this week they had received complaints about their recent decision to charge special fees for all people taking refuse to the local dump. Ratepayer Bill Dougherty appeared at Monday’s meeting to air his complaint personally, suggesting the fee was penalizing ratepayers who in fact provide the facility. He said the pass system would probably work as well as a fee system in keeping outsiders from using the facility. However, Councillor Jay Campbell disagreed with non- of the new make that contention, saying that if there was no charge levied for using the facility, the passes would be very easy to loan around to residents. Campbell said one intents of the regulations was to people more aware of what they are throwing out and the fact that some refuse can be recycled. He told Dougherty that ratepayers would be faced with a horrendous cost of replacing the dump when it is filled and it was prudent to ensure that only local residents were using the facility. ‘‘I don’t agree, but I un­ derstand your position,” Dougherty commented. “It’s been said governments have no business in people’s bedrooms and I don’t think they have any business in our basements or backyards,” the Gidley St. resident replied after noting not exact .blueprints which show how it was built. “We don’t know the depth of the pipes or how far we have to dig to find the traps," he said. “We may get lucky and fix the plug for less than the $1,000 or we may have to go deeper than we think and it could cost more than that. There’s a lot unforeseen.” South Huron principal J. L. Wooden said in his school vandalism report that in January two windows in the school were smashed. One was broken by snowballs and another was shattered when a beer bottle was thrown through it. In February a hole was punched in a plaster wall, an outside light was broken, an outside fire hose connection cover was removed and thrown through a plate glass window costing about $40 plus labor, and an outside drinking fountain and two windows were broken costing about $200. In other schools reporting to the board damages v/ere considerably less. Goderich District Collegiate Institute was broken into but damages were few. A door panel was broken, a window was removed to gain entrance to an office, a cupboard door was removed and paper scattered on the floor. In another incident a beer bottle was thrown through a window. Total damages for the two are $50 - John Cochrane told the board the reports received from the principals do not include the daily pranks students pull such as throwing pails of water and plugging toilets. The director said the pranks are not necessarily expensive to repair but they do take custodial time. McVean said custodial time does not always get charged against the acts of vandalism because in some cases the custodian can repair damages during his normal eight hour shift. He said the average costs for custodians is slightly less than six dollars an hour. He said in some cases overtime is required to repair damages but in many only normal housekeeping matters are delayed because of the nuisance. Cochrane said the board’s administration planned to document alh cases of vandalism to keep a record of the costs. He said principals were being asked to report all damages and costs to the board offices and a seperate ledger will be kept on them to give the board a good idea of what vandals cost. Board chairman Elliott told trustees most of the expenses vandalism were not covered by insurance. He said the board’s policies carried $5,000 deductible meaning most of the repairs were below the minimum. He said the cost for the board to carry a smaller deductible figure would probably be greater than the damages. Elliott said it appeared the only way to curb the damages was to inaugurate some sort of preventitive programs. He said the costs of van­ dalism were “drastic” and asked that trustees give some thought to what can be done to stop the damage. “How someone can get quick drying cement into a school and dump it into a urinal shows that something is fairly lax someplace," he said. Cochrane pointed out that the vandalism is not necessarily the act of students of the school. He said the urinals at South Huron were plugged sometime during a weekend when the school was open to the public for a winter carnival. Summer school John that from Continued from front page summer school. The director said students do not know their marks un­ til the end of June and until those marks are known ad­ ministration can’t pin down the number of students that may need summer school. The director said the return to basics philosopy of the ministry of education had prompted the establish­ ment of summer school. He said the ministry changed the credit system in secon­ dary schools putting more emphasis on subjects such as English and sciences. Up until now students were permitted to abandon courses they found difficult and still attain credits for a pass but under the new system more credits are compulsory forcing students to attain passing grades in more subjects. Cochrane said the summer school programs are designed to help students who need passing grades achieve those grades or to better the grades they achieved during the school year. He said it is not meant io allow students to pick up an extra course. The board plans to operate one bus per day from the secondary schools in Wingham, Goderich, Exeter and Seaforth to Central Huron and will tell students to find their own way to their school to catch that bus. the junction EXETER'S LARGEST DEPARTMENT STORE we keep. Decorate your home with beautiful companies We're known by the CHARGEX VISA Choose the fabrics and the styles you want and Barb Whiting will custom make your drapes for you. You can also choose matching bedspreads and pillow shams. WHITINGS WAREHOUSE Main St. Exeter 235-1964 J he usually took two or three loads of refuse a year to the dump in his periodic clean­ ing of his basement and backyard. - Pot hole creates problem for truck We have added many new lines for this season in­ cluding such famous manufacturers as KATES (as shown), LOUBEN SPORTSWEAR, MOLYCLAIRE, JEAN NICOLAS and many others. Look us over and you'll agree our lines are as good as any of the major chains in the city. Only three accidents were investigated by the Exeter OPP this week, one of which was attributed to spring driving conditic ns. On Sunday, a pickup truck driven by Rodger Finkbeiner, Dashwood, struck a pot hole and loose gravel on concession 12-13 of Hay Township and went into the ditch where it struck a hydro pole. The mishap oc­ curred north of Highway 83 the Job We'll Do Right We've Moved Our Office we are now located at our Exeter shop Whatever the project, call on us for Ready-Mix Concrete • RESIDENTIAL • COMMERCIAL • FARM (Including Manure Tanks) FREE ESTIMATES C. A. McDOWELL LTD. EXETER, ONTARIO Plant: 235-0833 Office: 235-1969 KATHLEEN HOOD Kathleen, 66 years, March 4, 1979. At the Sun Parlour Home, Leamington, former­ ly of Essex and Grand Bend. Dear mother of Mrs. Bruce Ross (Barbara), Essex; John Hood, London; Mrs. Willis Walper (Joanne), Dashwood; Mrs. Bernard McCann (Diane), Komoka; and Mrs. William Ingram (Janise), NewLiskeard, 16 grandchildren. The funeral was held Tuesday from the Kennedy Funeral Home, Essex with Rev. William Wright Mcllveen officiating. LUDWIG SCHULTZ In Huron View Home, Clin­ ton, Ontario on Saturday, March 3, 1979, Ludwig Schultz. Beloved husband of Helena (Kuchner) Schultz, in his 85th year. Dear father of Mrs. Walter (Erica) Cros'san, B.C.; Mrs. Kenneth (Lily) McCorine, Chatham and Miss Dorothea Schultz, Exeter. Five grandchildren. Two sons, one brother and a sister predeceased. Funeral ser­ vice was held Tuesday from . the Westlake Funeral Home, Zurich with Rev. J. Dressier officiating. Interment St. Peter’s Lutheran Cemetery, Zurich. and the driver sustained minor injuries. Constable Larry Christiaen investigated and set total damage at $1,100. There was one accident on Friday, involving vehicles driven by Bradley Murray, Exeter, and Robert Forrester, RR 2 Zurich. They collided on Highway 4 at County Road 6. Damage was listed at $525 by Constable Christiaen. The other accident was reported on Monday when an unknown vehicle struck an unattended parked vehicle at the Kirkton-Woodham community centre. The parked vehicle was owned by Florence Heard, RR 1 St. Marys. Constable Julling of the Sebringville detachment in­ vestigated and set damage at $150. The Exeter detachment reports this week they have an old chain saw which was found in Stephen Township. Owner may claim same by identifying it at the OPP of­ fice. * When you know how they're built. I rlA Factory trained mechanics for machine in its class 0 4-stroke DOHC triple Fully enclosed shaft drive Exclusive Transistor Controlled Ignition Adjustable front forks and rear shocks Hydraulic disc brakes r.l&A front and rear »■)• Hinged seat/rear fender Full instrumentation Harley Davidson, Yamaha, Kawasaki and Honda. ELDER ENTERPRISES RR 2 Hensall Phone 262-6142 1 mile west and 1 mile south of Hensall F MABEL JOHNS At the Queensway Nursing Home, Hensall on Friday, February 23, 1979, Mabel (Bosnell) Johns, formerly of Exeter, in her 93rd year. Beloved wife of the late Wesley E. Johns. Dear mother of Mary (Mrs. Wesley Neil) of Exeter and Howard Johns of Usborne Twp. Sister-in-law of Mrs. Alene Bosnell of Toronto. Also survived by seven grandchildren and four great grandchildren. The funeral was held February 26 from the R.C. Dinney Funeral Home, Exeter with Rev. James Forsythe of­ ficiating. Interment Exeter Cemetery. KATHLEEN CAMPBELL Campbell-Kathleen, pass­ ed away at Sunnybrook Medical Centre, Toronto, Tuesday, February 20, 1979, wife of the late Archie L. Campbell. A private service was held Friday, February 23.1979 at Exeter Cemetery. Arrangements by the Murray E. Newbigging Funeral Home, Toronto, Roll up your sleeve} to save a life... I BE A BLOOD DONOrJ ■ r....... — J CUSTOM DRAPES for the Junction has it