The Citizen, 2003-02-19, Page 6PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2003.
was thoroughly enjoying the
AMD SB must be prepared says chair
Good start
Mark Wiersma
breakfast served up this past Sunday by the
Blyth Legion Ladies Auxiliary. Another breakfast
is set for March 16. Proceeds from the event go
towards updates to the Memorial Hall kitchen.
(Vicky Bremner photo)
Possible changes bring discussion
Continued from page 1
between Huron (four) and
Perth (five).
There was some discussion,
however, about other possible
changes.
Central/East Huron trustee
Charles Smith raised a couple
of reasons why the present
distribution should be
examined.
He explained that his area
of representation includes
Blyth and, therefore, the
elementary school within the
town. But it only goes as far
as the town’s northern
(Can’t see a
way out?
If you are concerned about your own, or
someone else’s use of alcohol or drugs, the
Drug and Alcohol Registry of Treatment
(DART) can guide you to the help you need.
Call us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Drug and Alcohol Registry of Treatment
Drogue et alcool - Repertoire des traitements
1-800-565-8603
boundary, and families
sending their children into
Blyth from north of that
boundary are represented by
another trustee.
He also pointed to the
relatively expansive territory
represented by South/West
Perth trustee Carol
Bennewies, explaining it is 30
per cent larger than most
other rural areas of
representation.
And finally, Smith urged
fellow trustees to be
cognizant of all possibilities.
Although Rachlis had
By Stew Slater
Special to The Citizen
Meg Westley came away
from the recent annual
symposium of the Ontario
Public School Boards
Association (OPSBA) with a
degree of optimism that the
Ernie Eves government plans
to free up more money soon
for education. And she wants
the Avon Maitland District
School Board to be prepared,
so it can take advantage of
any funds which trickle its
way.
In doing so, the board’s
2003 chair also served notice
that her style of leadership
will differ from that of her
recent predecessors.
At a regular meeting
Tuesday, Feb. 11, trustees
were presented with a Chair’s
Information Report about the
OPSBA’s 2003 Public
Education Symposium, held
Feb. 6-8 in Toronto. That type
of document has — at the
very least — not been used by
the board since the
amalgamation of the former
Huron and Perth boards in
1998.
In the report, Westley —
who teaches communications
at the post-secondary level
and has authored an as-yet-
unpublished novel —
described various sessions
explained that the Education
Act prevents the subdivision
of townships or wards for
school board elections, Smith
noted that any combination of
those basic municipalities
Looking for local heroes
There are so many people out there who do
so much to improve their community.
Now you have a chance to say thanks.
Nominate that special person for the 18th
Annual Citizen Citizenship Awards.
Each year a committee chooses an outstanding citizen from
each of the Blyth and area and Brussels and area
communities to receive an award for contribution to the
community. If you know someone you think should be
honoured, please fill in the ballot and send it in. You may
attach a longer explanation of why you think your nominee
should win, if you like. If you have nominated someone
before and he or she didn't win, please feel free to try again.
I nominate
as Citizen of the year for
I feel she/he deserves this award because
Nomination Deadline April 30, 2003.
Name and phone number of nominator
from the conference. She then
concluded with a section
entitled Taking a Pro-Active
Stance.
“A number of parties in our
district may have firm ideas
about how any additional
funds should be spent, but it
seems to me crucial that we,
as trustees, spend some time
thinking about what our
priorities for the district might
be if, for once, we had money
to improve education,” she
writes.
Westley proposed thfe board
invite stakeholders from
within its school communities
to a “priority-setting session,”
to be run by an outside
facilitator. She suggested this
be done before the pressure
mounts to complete the 2003-
04 budget, so people aren’t
forced to discuss specific
programs and can, instead,
examine the general
directions in which they’d
like to see the board move.
“Given that a priority
setting session of this ilk
would allow for some
dreaming/visioning/big
picture work, I think it would
be an excellent opportunity to
incorporate the perspectives
of representative
stakeholders,” she writes.
Stratford trustee Rod
Brown was concerned by the
optimistic tone of Westley’s
could be included as one
trustee’s responsibility.
“And there’s nothing to say
you can’t have a school board
ward that crosses a county
line,” Smith added.
introductory remarks. He
cautioned that only a small
amount of money has so far
come from the government in
the wake of last fall’s'
Rozanski Commission report
on educational funding, and
there’s no firm guarantee
about how much more will
materialize, or how much of it
will actually be transferred
from other areas of
expenditure.
“What one hand giveth, the
other hand sometimes taketh
away,” Brown said.
South Huron representative
Randy Wagler was more
supportive, however, saying
he welcomed the idea of
giving stakeholders more say.
Have a PROBLEM or CONCERN with your:
• Life and Health Insurance Company
• Home, Car or Business Insurance Company
• Securities or Mutual
Funds Provider
• Bank
Call the Centre for the Financial Services
OmbudsNetwork and a Consumer Assistance
Specialist will put you in touch with someone who
can help you resolve your problem.
This free independent service is supported by the members of the
Canadian Bankers Association, Canadian Life and Health
Insurance Association, Insurance Bureau of Canada, Investment
Dealers Association of Canada, Investment Funds Institute of
Canada and the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada.
Toll Free (English): 1-866-538-FSON (3766)
Toll Free (French): 1-866-668-RCSF (7273)
Toronto (Bilingual): 416-777-2043
Fax: 416-777-9716
E-mail: info@cfson-crcsf.ca
Website: www.cfson-crcsf.ca
Director of Education
Lome Rachlis said he would
look into different formats for
conducting such facilitated
sessions.
Buy ECO-
Visit
PITCH-IN CANADA
to find out how!
www.pitch-in.ca/green shopper.htm
Not sure where to
turn for HELP?
— CRCSfJP
Centre lot the Financial Services OmbudsNetwork
Centre du Reseau de conciliation du secteur financier