The Citizen, 2002-12-04, Page 23Daddy's hands
Teaghan Coultes had a strong hold on dad Mark's hands as
he helped her around the arena. The pair were amongst the
many who took advantage of the free family skate at the
Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre Saturday
evening. (Janice Becker photo)
The Blyth Firefighters would like to express their
sincere appreciation and thank you to all those
who donated towards the purchase of the thermal
imaging camera - including private individuals,
anonymous donators, the municipalities of Central
Huron, Huron East, Townships of North Huron and
Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh and the businesses
and service groups who came forward with their
contributions to this worthwhile cause.
We are pleased to announce that with all your
help the camera is now paid for.
It is all very much appreciated and gratifying to
know that you all felt that this was an important
piece of equipment for the department.
Again - thank you all and have a Happy and Safe
Holiday Season!
Seamtn/3, Oteetincp,!
- Blyth & District Firefighters -
THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2002. PAGE 23
Smith tells of fire code update
Parent asks for
re-instatement of
special ed teachers
By Stew Slater
Special to The Citizen
Charles Smith eventually got
around to what he said was his main
point, about the need for trustees to
have up-to-date financial
information when they're faced with
the prospect of closing schools.
But on the way to his point, he let
the public know about an
unexpected $650,000 fire code
upgrade to St. Marys DCVI, several
weeks before the news would likely
have been released by the Avon
Maitland District School Board.
Smith. trustee for East/Central
Huron, was concerned that the board
now shows a surplus of just over $1
million on its 2002-03 budget,
largely as a result of higher-
than-expected tuition revenues
from its internet-based distance
education service. He suggested
staff must have had that
information — or at least had
some indication that there would be
a surplus — prior to submitting a
report to trustees on Oct. 22,
recommending that they move
forward in a process which could
ultimately have seen the closure of
five schools.
Trustees voted against moving
forward at the Oct. 22 meeting.
"The numbers may not have been
there (when the budget was
approved last spring), but I can't see
how the information could not have
been there on Oct. 22," Smith said.
Louis Lacoursiere, the board's
controller, assured Smith that the
first financial numbers were made
available to the board on Oct. 28 or
29, and the first draft of financial
statements was sent to the auditor on
Nov. 4.
"So, seven days (after the Oct. 22
meeting), the financial information
existed," responded a disbelieving
Smith, who suggested communities
shouldn't have been put through the
stress of having to consider possible
school closures, when the board
obviously had enough money to
defer them for at least a year.
Director of Education Lorne
Rachlis then stepped in, saying
trustees have already asked that the
accommodation review process be
looked into, to see if more useful
financial information couldn't be
made available before they're asked
to make major decisions regarding
possible closure.
Aside from Smith's comments,
there was minimal discussion about
what to do with the $1.008-million
surplus, which will now be placed in
a working reserve fund.
Just one member of the public
appeared before the board to offer a
suggestion. Heino Molls, in what
was possibly the shortest ever public
delegation to the board, used up just
a couple dozen seconds to request
the reinstatement of 1 1/2 full-time
special education instructors at
Hamlet Public School in Stratford.
The educational assistant positions
were lost to the school at the
beginning of the 2002-03 school
year.
The expense which suffered the
most drastic cut during last spring's
budget deliberations, meanwhile,
was Tech 21, a career-oriented
delivery method for the Grades 7 and
8 science and technology
curriculum. The board suggests
over $700,000 was saved by
revamping the program, which saw
students travel to three centralized
sites for training from specialized
teachers.
But instead of hearing calls for a
reversal, trustees heard a fairly
glowing report about the in-class,
kit-based, much less costly delivery
method which replaced Tech 21 this
year.
Don Potruff, the co-ordinator hired
to put together and administer the
new program, reported high levels of
satisfaction so far•.
"The kids have started calling me
The Kit Guy," Potruff joked, as he
displayed one of 40 separate kits,
with four copies of each, being
distributed out of the board's
Stratford Media Centre.
"In here is everything a science
teacher needs to teach for eight
weeks," he explained.
Asked by trustees if he could
compare this year's program to Tech
21, Potruff responded that he
couldn't make that comparison,
since he is new to the board.
The fire code upgrades at St.
Marys DCVI, which weren't
supposed to be on the agenda at the
public portion of the meeting,
. ended up taking up the bulk of
discussion. Smith wondered
about the financial implications,
while Northwest Huron
representative Butch Desjardine
pushed for answers about the
safety implications.
The upgrades became necessary
due to a report from a consultant,
hired by the board to conduct an
annual review of fire safety
contingencies in August.
According to Business
Superintendent Janet Baird-Jackson,
the consultant's report listed various
deficiencies, and the board was then
advised by its architect that a recent
personnel change at the Ontario Fire
Marshall's office could make it more
likely that an order to close the
building would be issued.
"We're attempting to pre-empt an
order," Baird-Jackson said, stressing
that no order has yet been issued,
and that the board has no reason to
believe students face undue
risk.
An accrual process has been
initiated for the work, meaning a
plan is in place to pay for the
estimated $650,000 project out of
the existing 2002-03 budget. Baird-
Jackson expects most of the work
will be done over the summer of
2003.R
Smith hints at controversy
By Stew Slater
Special to The Citizen
A possible future for the former
Seaforth District High School
(SDHS) building will,be explored by
the Avon Maitland District School
Board in early December, but the
trustee from the area provided an
early hint that there may be some
controversy during the discussion.
At a regular meeting Tuesday,
Nov. 26, Charles Smith cited
"rumours" as part of his reason for
being concerned about expansion of
administrative space within the
facility.
Smith raised the issue under the
"New Business" section of the Nov.
26 meeting. Despite the fact that
more than one other trustee seemed
aware that a staff report on the issue
was scheduled for the board's
upcoming December meeting, Smith
said he wanted "to let people know
about it, because there have been
some rumours circulating."
South Huron representative Randy
Wagler suggested Smith should wait
until the staff report to express his
concerns, while another trustee
-wondered aloud what role Smith
himself,had in the communication of
those rumours.
Director of Education Lorne
Rachlis echoed Wagler's suggestion.
But he then went on to engage Smith
in a shorn discussion_ about the
potential for expanding
administrative space within the
building, which housed SDHS until
that school closed in June, 2002.
"Our indications are that the
community wants the students (from
Seaforth Public School, who are
currently housed in the pre-existing ,
elementary facility) moved here, and
we hope to reflect that in the report,"
Rachlis said.
"But even with the (elementary)
students -here, there will be vacant
space, and we need to address
By Mark Nonkes
Wingham Advance-Times
The Wingham and District
Hospital board was given some
unexpected news about their
financial position for the year at their
regular monthly meeting last
Thursday.
Mike Lapaine, the hospital's
system leader, said the hospital was,
at the end of October, $227,194
ahead of budget.
"We're in reasonably good shape
at the end of October but we're still
in deficit," Lapaine said.
The hospital's current deficit for
the year is $98,863. -
The budgeted deficit • was
projected at $326,057.
that."
Smith wondered how a
recommendation to expand
administrative space could even be
contained in the report, since trustees
voted to have the report done as part
of a student accommodation review
process.
"The matters are intertwined,"
Rachlis responded. "You can't
separate them out."
Lapaine said almost all operating
expenses were under budget with the
biggest difference of $49,013 in
salaries, wages and benefits.
Supplies and other expenses were
also down $33,358.
Site Administrator Margret
Comack said the hospital was still
waiting for news on how money
would be allocated from a Ministry
of Health announcement of $300
million.
Dr. Sanford Clare sail the news
was welcome. He said at a recent
medical advisory committee meeting
a presentation on the hospital's
financial position was "discouraging
to say the least".
"Hopefully it's a little better now,"
Dr. Clare said.
Hospital board gets
unexpected news
regarding budget