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Times-Advocate, 1980-06-04, Page 17Parents fear first ste in closing school said that his main concern was that if the Idndergarten. is taken away, it is the first step in having Grand Bend school closed. Declining enrolment has become a problem at Grand Bend Public School, This Year there are 24 grade eights graduating and only six ebildren registered in kindergarten, Many parents at the meeting and since then have expressed concern about the school closing if the kin- dergarten class is moved away. Kindergarten teacher Patricia Murdock would be transfeqed to Bosanquet school and there, would be three classes there, if the Grand Bend children are bussed in. ' Some parents said that they preferred the system in Grand Bend where kin- An attempt by Larobtaa County Board of Education superintendent Doug Barb er and trustee Gerry Edwards to keep an education meeting private was foiled Monday by Grand Bend eouneiller Keith Crawford. , Crawford told council members that he thought tkie meeting held at the public school Thursday night should'ave heemopen to the public and the press. Barber and Edwards became very upset after the meeting when they learned that Times Advocate reporter Mary Alderson had been present, They asked that nothing they had said be printed in the newspaper because they didn't know that the press was at the meeting, The meeting had been called because parents were concerned about kin- dergarten children being bussed to Uosanquet Central school this fall. There are only six children registered for the next kindergarten at present. Barber said that only the parents of the six children were invited to the meeting and that it was private, Several parents Who will have children in kin- derprten in the fall of 1901 also attended the meetin,g. Principal Betty Fitchett said that the,meeting was closed at the request of the board superintendent. She declined to be interviewed that night. Councillor Keith Crawford has a child who will be en- tering kindergarten this fall. He said that ' he is con- sidering sending his children to Mt. Cannel separate school, rather than having them go to- two different schools. " Reeve Robert Sharen also attended the meeting because he has children who will be entering kin- dergarten in the next few years. Crawford said that he was very upset when Barber and Edwards accused Sharen of inviting the press to the meeting. "We like to see things brought out into the open, the4ou get jumped on and rhonpecl on for having the, press at the meeting," Crawford told Sharen. Sharer/ said that he had not contacted the yeporter, and that one of the parents must have called her. Councillor Harold Green said that he wanted to attend the meeting but he was told he couldn't because he had no young children. Green Another concerned parent,: Dr. Robert Glaskin-Clay said that he sees the moving of kindergarten as the first step in closing the school. lie said that he came away (roan the meeting with. the feeling that the board had already made a decision, and they weren'-,t willing to put. forward a position,. Re ,,said the decisions were made strictly on economic factors, with ne concerh ler the children. Several parents from the. Grand Bend area said that they plan to attend a board Of. education meeting on dune 9, Principal Betty Fitchett was not available for comments on the situation at present because 'she was attending a. Young Authors conference where aame Grand. Bend aehool Pupils were reading their own- compositions at Lantlaton. College in Sarnia Tuesday. Some students were ale° presenting the operetta Anne of Green Gables. look into the poSaibilittes of changing bus boundaries• it was suggested at the meeting that Grand Bend school should take in pupils from a far south as the Ausable River cut, At present their buses only go to. Pinery Park. The board should be able to come up with a long term and short term plan for Grand Bend school so that Parents can react, Mrs. Lingard added. Parent Marg Patterson said that she is concerned about having the kin- dergarten class moved back to GrandiBend the following year, if it is moved away. She has a child who will be coming into kindergarten in 1981. Mrs, Patterson said that Barber assured that if the enrolment ,was high enough, the kindergarten will be returned to the village. Mrs. Patterson says she knows of 14 children who would he in the class, Crawford said, Mrs. Lingard said that she is not confident that •the board will come back to the Wants. with a decision on baaing, kindergarten., "I would like to know what kind.. of proeess.- they use to come to a decision," Mrs. Lingard. She said that she is terribly ,coneernedabotit the group of Six pupils, She says she wonders how they will fit into the system in subsequent years, if they -hayed to be bussed out for kindergarten, Mrs. Lingard said that the board should not be able to close Grand Bend school because of what they call "natural attrition." She says that they should be willing to Make changes to save the school. The situation is not natural because the board is altering other conditions and bolstering enrolment at other schools, Mrs, Lingard . said she would like to see the board large! Blass would Provide better language .000v.- merit, stimulation and in• teraction. lie added, that the school board is doing the best possible With. the money available. Pauline Lingard, whose child Jeffery is one of the six --children, stetting kin- dergarten this fa% Said that she felt the board had already made the decision to bus the children before the meeting was called, Keith- Crawford agreed', saying that the meeting would not have even been called. if an acconnt of director Norval Cheesernan's visit. to Grand Rend council had not ap- peered. in the Times' Advocate. "I . was really disap, pointed„ We (the parenta). requested they. (board representatives) come to the Meeting, then• they tried to 'make it seem as if we were there at their request." dergarten Children wand school bar days every day, If they were bussed, they would have togofor full days every. other day, Another concern of many Of the parents at the Meeting was: the traumatic ex- perience a four or five year old child would have being bussed to a school where they, knew no one elae, Parents, felt that kin. • dergarten children had a big,, ,advantage attending a school, with older brothers and sisters end neighbours, Harold Green said that he heard. that Barber; told parents that they didnt have to send their children to kindergarten and that ahey could keep them borne. Green said that he didn't.like Barber's "flippant" attitude. In an interview after the priVate meeting, Barber said that the six, children would do better: in a larger class because they would be socializing. He said that a Page 1 A Price Per Copy 35 Cents Cove asks for snow removal, council says time to annex OPENING NIGHT — All the rehearsing paid off, when the audience applauded for a successful production of Anne of Green Gables at the Grand Bend Public School. Relaxing on stage after their performance are Crystal Rayson, Tina Humphries, Cathy Dawe, Bryan KcIding ancloJim Winegarden, Staff photo Operetta receives ovation By MARY ALDERSON Bryan fading .for his in- In their first attempt at an terpretation of the Avonlea operetta, ene.popits,pt,Gmad, ,sctiooltnaster: Bryan led the Bead Prved""Atnuilta .1elotit their With that when it comes to en- Such .great gusto . and tertainment they could be swinging of arms, that the rated along with Huron audience couldn't help but Country Playhouse. find it hilarious. 'Perhaps Their one and a half, hour Bryan has had experience in presentation of Anne of mimicking teachers. Green Gables was filled with The other comediens of the singing and comedy. And it .performance were Jim was certainly better than Winegarden and Crystal your average public school Rayson. Jim plays Mathrew production. who breaks out in a cold The award for most laughs sweat when he has to pun. of the evening should go to chase little Anne a dress with about extending the sidewalk from Grand Bend to the Grand Cove walkway. The township said that they would extend the sidewalk if the Cove residents came up with a way of clearing snow, because Stephen township does not have any snow removal equipment in that area. The Grand Cove representatives told council that they are "emotionally focussed" on the village of Grand tend, and that it is a "geographical accident" that they are in Stephen township. They said that they bring money into the village, and they asked that the village snow removal equipment keep the section cleared. ' "MMWSWRXWMINS Even though it isn't much of a problem at present,. snow removal was an issue at .Grand Bend council Monday night. A delegation from Grand Cove Estates attended the meeting to ask council's help in removing snow from a stretch of land in Stephen township. Bob Marvin, vice president of Grand Cove residents association, and past president Ralph Marshall told councillors the Grand Cove residents have difficulties walking into Grand Bend in winter because they have to walk around piles of snow at the edge of the village. The men said they ap- proached Stephen township facial expressions. David Rock did well as the miaehievempilbert Blythe,: Leanne Jennison as Dianne Barry ,gave a very convincing impression of a drunken little girl, after 'smacking her lips while drinking Marilla's cordial. Carol Albertson as Miss Stacy, Scott Wood as the Please turn to page 2A puffed sleeves, Never before has a handerchief mopped 41.1011 119,)!UntbreV;..Prystalaa plays the nosy Mrs. Rachael Lynde and even, resorts to binoculars to catch what's going on, Jackie Schottroff as Manilla was perhaps the best singer in the group, and after her rendition of "The Words" at Matthew's death, there were several tear• filled eyes in the audience. Kim Boogemans made an excellent Anne with her red hair, freckles and . good Mary's muslin sc Councillor Harold Green pointed out that if that area is used as a parking lot, than the village is losing revenue from its parking lot. He said that on the weekend there were more cars in the Ausable Holdings lot, than in the parking lot behind the village office. In other business, council: agreed to look into the cost of moving sand on the beach north of the casino, after receiving 'a letter com- plaining about drifting sand from Bruce Woodley, Woodley said that the en- vironmental condition is deteriorating due to wind erosion. - voted to install two dusk to dawn lights in the parking compound behind Dale's Esso. Parking violators will have their cars towed to the compound. - voted to give their secretary Christine Smith a raise from $4.00 to $4.35 an hour. Mrs, Smith has .been working with clerk Louise Clipperton for three months. - decided to look further into what animals are classified as exotic pets, after receiving a letter from the LarnbtonHealth calling for a bylaw against the keeping of exotic pets, Reeve Sharen suggested that the group jump on the beach on Wednesday evenings as well as Sundays. He said that this would at- tract tourists to the village during the week. Wright explained that they only required about 50 square feet for a few minutes, He said that they would ask people to step out of the way as the parachutists come down. He asked if he could use the loud speaker system at the bath house to announce that the jumpers will be coming down. Sharen and Baird had to declare a conflict of interest when a letter came to council from Wayne Cranston. Cranston told council that he was pleased that the empty lots on Woodward street were cleaned up, but he complained about people parking there. lie said that when the bars close, the lot becomes very noisy with people shouting and engines roaring. Baird and Sharen are share-owners in the lot which is owned by Austible Holdings. Keith Crawford asked the clerk to forward a copy of the letter to the owners. Councillor Bill Baird told them that they should ask to be annexed into the village. Baird told Huron Country Playhouse the same thing at the last council meeting when they asked to use the village's sewage lagoon. The delegates told council that they would like to be part of Grand Bend. They said that their tax money doesn't help them in Stephen town- ship. They pointed out that residents of Grand .Cove Estates do not have school children, and that they look after their own roads. Councillor Bill Baird said that the problem of the high piles of snow results because the highway moves from four lanes to two, and the Ministry of Transportation and Communication pushes thee. excess snow into the walking area, forcing Cove residents to walk out onto the highway. Baird pointed out that if Stephen township constructs a sidewalk in that area, the MTC could not push snow onto it. Reeve Robert Sharen said that the village does not like - to extend services beyond their borders, Council said that Stephen or the Cove would have to pay for the snow removal. They would have to come to a signed agreement. When another delegation came before the meetipg, council agreed to let the parachuting club land on the beach, Bob Wright, a representative of the Solith Nursery school teachers WeeternOntarioOrganization Cathy Smith and Shared of Parachutists (SWOOP) Jacobe were very pleased asked council if they could do with the turnout at their jumps onto the beach to advance registration day on attract new students to their Wednesday. There are 27 club. children signed up for Council had already given nursery school next year. the group permission to do precision jumping on the Burgerfest weekend. Councillor Keith Crawford suggested that the group do some jumping on the beach on • June 29 before the fireworks display. He said that the beach would be The school will be roped off, and a crowd would Operating the same as it is be gathering at dusk. this year. There are classes - - BY MARY ALDERSON On slits and minis Nursery signs up large turn-out Last year they had only 15 sign up during advance registration but at present there are 39 children altogether in the various classes. There will be about 15 children in each class. five mornings a week, and three afteitoons a week. Children can sign up for two, three or five classes a week. Children can only attend for half days. Mrs. Smith says that they can't operate full days because are not licensed as a day care centre. The teachers plan to hold another registration day the end of August. Until then, parents can drop into the school and register their children at any time. The nur sery school is held in the basement of the United Church on Main Street. ANNE OF GREEN GABLES — Kim Boogemans, a grade five pupil at Grand Bend Public School starred in their successful production of the operetta. myself, "Slits are nothing." Then it struck me a whole generation of girls are graduating from colleges and high schools today, and they've never worn a mini skirt. I am a survivor of the mini skirt era, and believe me, wearing the mini was far more difficult than slits will ever be, no matter hoW high Reeve issues a challenge Anyone for dunking? For once, Grand Bend councillors are behind request from Bosanquet reeve Charlie Srokosz all the way. In fact, Reeve Srokoat's suggestion received a round of applause from All council Members, except Reeve Robert Sharen. Srokosz has asked that Sharen join him in the Optimists dunk tank on Burgerfest weekend. In fact. good old alphabetical order, I always had the same tall locker mate, and she kept her books on the top shelf. I still had to cope with the mini while bending over to get my books off the floor of the locker. And you always had to be careful climbing the stair- way at the end of the school where the boys had their shop classes. For some reason the guys liked to congregate at the bottom of the steps. Luckily for those of us who' had to stand outside in winter weather waiting for the school bus, the maxi and midi coats came in. You always had to remember to put your long coat on, before you could bend over enough to put your boots on. Oh, the mini had its ad- vantages, too. You could easily make a new skirt out of remnants. Sometimes the width of the skirt required more fabric than the length. You could make a new skirt Or dress in a very few home ec. classes. Then hot pants became fashionable, and we could do WI the bending and stret- ching we Wanted. Pinally, in my senior years, the principal relented, and girls were given per- mission to wear pants to school. He had given up walking around with a yard stick and measuring the distance between the hemlines and the floor years before. About a month after he gave in to pants, girls were allowed to wear jeans. That became our school uniform, and the fight with the third Was over. And girls today think that slits cause hassles. Wait tell them about the good old days when we wore micro- NURSERY scHoot ktoistRAtioN Jeff Petterson, 3, of Grand Bend was eager tit sign up for more education at Grand Bend Nursery School. Teacher Sharon Jotabe and his mother Marg Patterson look on. Registration took place last Wednesday at the school lit the United Church basement, Staff photo I overheard a college grounder in a mini. student worrying about how Especially when the boy's high the Slits in the side of diamond was right behind her skirt were the other day. the girl's. Certainly slits in skirts do But then in nee, I started present some problems --you high school. The mini was at have to be sure that your slip its highest. After my first is compatable with your day at high school, I came skirt. The slits in both must home, sat Mad/ down at the be of equal depth and must sewing machine, and Made be lined up properly. her start hemming. Occasionally strange bulges Some of the mothers were of white lace protrude from less understanding of the what should otherwise be importance of fashion. They sexy slits,refused to let the hemlines go And then it is sometimes above fingertip level. So difficult to climb in and out'each morning as the busses of such things as Bronco four unloaded at high school, wheel drives in slitted skirts, there would be a steady But when I heard this stream of girls heading into young lady complaining the washrooms where they about her slits, I thought to would roll up their skirts at the waist. This was way back in the old days. We were still struggling with nyloit stockings and garterbelts. Fishnet stockings were still in style as well as other Patterned leg wear we called long sox. I can remember standing up to Sing a) Canada' in the mornings, and being able to they go. pull down the hem of my I remember well my, first skirt without bending at all, mini, I purchased in in 1967 You had to make sure those to wear to Montreal when I garters didn't show. went with my family to visit But necessity is the mother Expo. It was pink flowers on of invention, and soon panty denim and featured a wide hose were available in small pink plastic belt. The belt, in towns, too. Then we had to fact was nearly wider than start searching for the "all- the length of the skirt. nude" panty hose, so the Still, when I arrived in dark tops wouldn't show Montreal, I found the city below ettr hems, girls were wearing them There was definitely a even shorter. Some were knack of coping with life even wearing shorts under while wearing the mini, You their minis. That style took could only use one hand to an other couple of years to reach books in the top shelf come to rural Ontario. of your locker, because you During my last two years had to hold down your Skirt at elementary school, we in the back with the other wore the Mini cautiously, hand, I think this is why the After all, we had to play high platform shoes were baseball at recess and it's invented. pretty hard to scoop up a I was lucky, Thanks to Councillor Harold Green said they should vote on whether or not Sharen should go in the dunk tank, but the reeve would hot go along with that suggestion. The reeve implied that he would have to consider the challenge. Sharen said he would like to appoint Deputy reeve Judy tibiae to act on his behalf for the Burgerfest weekend. Mrs. liable was not present at the meeting. a letter from the Optitnist club infers that Srokosz has issued Sharen a challenge. The newly formed Optimist club is hoping to have a large tank where some of the area's eatable citizens can have a quick swim if the right person hits the target with a ball. Reeve Sharen said he liked the idea, but there was one problem - "I've already had my annual bath!" amariarealaw-