The Citizen, 2000-03-01, Page 7THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1,2000. PAGE 7.
WPS chair says vote to close no surprise
By Janice Becker
Citizen staff
Now that the announcement
has been made official, pend
ing the outcome of the court
challenge, staff, students and
parents of Walton Public
School will now begin to
accept and deal with the clo
sure of their school.
“Everyone is kind of disap
pointed about the closure ,”
said School Council Chair
Dianne Van Vliet. “It is not a
great deal of a surprise. We
realize this is the decision of
the board and we have to
make it the best transition we
can.”
Van Vliet says there is a fair
amount of work ahead for the
transition team as they work
through what needs to be
moved to Seaforth as well as
deal with matters related to
orientation sessions for the
Walton children.
Though children living in
Walton and Morris Twp. were
given the option to go to Blyth
rather than Seaforth and Grey
Twp. students could apply to
attend Grey Central Public
School, Van Vliet says most
families are just waiting to see
what becomes of the court
case.
A group of Seaforth resi
dents ischallenging the
board’s right to close the
schools. A decision is to be
announced March 8, which is
also the deadline for applica
tion to another school.
Regardless of the eventual
outcome, Van Vliet says the
staff and volunteers at Walton
Public School will do every
thing to ensure the rest of this
year is as “undisrupted” as
possible and to start to prepare
the pupils so next year can be
as good as possible.
Letters
THE EDITOR,
In a letter to the editor of
The Citizen (Feb. 15) the
writer concludes that those
who want to work, without
being forced to take the flu
vaccine, are selfish people.
I don’t know all the nurses
who were interviewed in the
report, but I do know Linda
Loder, and I know that there is
not a selfish cell in her body.
She is the most kind, gentle,
compassionate and selfless
person I have ever known. So
if selfishness is not the reason
for their protest, let us ask the
question, why?
It's obvious this stand is not
to make themselves popular!
Could it possibly be out of
concern for their patients? It is
possible that these people and
many more like them believe
they can stay healthier and
more able to care for their
patients, if they refuse to take
the formaldehyde and alu
minum, and thimerisol con
tained in the flu vaccine into
their bodies.
Who is safest at the nursing
home, the patient who was
cared for by Linda Loder who
hasn’t had the flu in years, or
the one who is cared for by a
nurse who has been vaccinat
ed. but comes down with the
flu anyway? There is
absolutely no proof that a vac
cinated person is any less con
tagious than one who is
unvaccinated.
I believe it s a violation of
human rights to make vacci
nations mandatory in order to
work during a tlu outbreak.
Common sense suggests that
if the vaccine works, the
unvaccinated person presents
no risk to a vaccinated person
who is supposedly protected.
One need only to take a casu
al glance around at the hospi
tals and nursing homes during
a flu season to see that the
vaccine certainly isn’t doing
what its proponents claim it
will do.
I believe we need more
research along this line, but
until that is done, let’s not call
people selfish who refuse the
vaccine. They must have very
good reasons, and after all
there are no guarantees that
the nurses who are vaccinated
are any less apt to carry the flu
to a patient than those who are
not.
Marion Cook
THE EDITOR,
In response to Mr. Vos’s let
ter to the editor of Feb. 16:
If we don’t worry about and
look after ourselves first, we
won’t be able to look after
anyone else, be it our frail
charges, or our children or our
families.
We do care about our nurs
ing home residents. It takes a
special kind of person to work
with the elderly. Their com
fort, their dignity, and their
well-being is what our jobs
are all about. We are definite
ly not selfish.
Debbie Trollope H.C.A.
THE EDITOR,
How do you feel about the
phrase “youth volunteers?”
Many people feel that these
two words do not belong
together. In fact, some people
have written off the youth in
their community completely.
Repeatedly, teens have been
generalized as people who are
selfish and unaware of their
own community.
To prove otherwise, 10 stu
dents representing the coun
ty’s high schools have teamed
with the Huron United Way to
create a committee, Huron
Youth Cares. Working togeth
er, they have created an excit
ing event coming up on May
27, which will positively
affect the entire community.
The project is called the
Day of Caring. At least 2,000
volunteers will break into
teams and work on a project
that will benefit their commu
nity.
It is open to any student or
adult who wishes to partici
pate in this spirit building
activity.
If anyone knows of any
projects that could be includ
ed in the Day of Caring, call
the United Way at 482-7643
and register the project. The
deadline to register is May 12.
Also, if you are interested in
getting a team together and
participating in the Day of
Caring you can contact The
United Way for more details.
This project is our chance to
show the rest of the communi
ty exactly what a positive
impact youth can have in
Huron County. The Day of
Caring will also prove that the
county can come together and
Trustee praises service
do something that will benefit
everyone in our community.
Sincerely,
Wendy Latimer
Committee Chair
Sharing a
Healthier
Future™ , v/itn
PaRTIClPdCTIOn
Continued from page 1
fault” that schools have
excess capacity and pointed
to the “ever-changing
face of rural Ontario” as the
reason.
Stratford-area trustee Ray
Ford said that while there’s
“absolutely nothing easy
about this process,” it would
be easier to “sit back and do
nothing” than to close
Survey received
huge response
Continued from page 1
He added, “I would have
been surprised by any com
promise, but we felt someone
should object to this and at
least attempt to get them to
reconsider.”
“Huron is such an impor
tant agricultural area it’s ludi
crous that it’s not going to
have an office.”
Saying that his council was
schools.
Ford added that while each
of the schools on the list is
unique and serving the needs
of its students well, all
schools in the system are held
in similar esteem.
“No matter what the out
come of the vote, there will
still be good teachers deliver
ing a good program to our
students,” he said.
overwhelmed by the response
(175 municipalities represent
ing a cross-section of vil
lages, townships and cities
endorsed the resolution)
Dunbar believes however, the
fight is over.
“They’ve made their minds
up. We’ve shown them this is
not a good direction for the
ministry, but they’ve clearly
decided otherwise.”
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