Loading...
Huron Expositor, 2001-12-19, Page 22A -THE HURON EXPOSITOR, DecoasER se, 1001 r i► 1 44/ riU OKEUNG§attkit5ON May you and your loved ones enjoy all the splendor of this very special time of year. tt's been a pleasure serving you. WE'RE RELOCATING q% to 75 Goderich St. W., Goderich December 28, 2001 �.� See You At Our New Location. BOUSSEY'Szi. z, ,b' 'eaag efta ce 527-2601 � e v r�fifY ,f07, poti, iirk ,, 4n Seadod t Q4eiz Goeu tone Danica, Jim, Kyle & Staff at Nay Korners Radio Shack would like to Thank all our customers for your patronage in the past and Wish you all a Very Merry Joyous and Prosperous New Year in 2002 - Holiday Hours - Closed: Dec. 25 & 26 Open: Dec. 27 N(FTYKORNERS xk "Your Lottery Ticket Centre" 33 Main St., Seaforth 27-1680 Gloves CHOCOLATES by Better -B -Baskets CFiRDNO'S MENS WEHR News Board holding special meetings relating to schools on closing list By Stew Slater Special to The Huron Expositor Beginning in the middle of January, 2002, and continuing until the middle of February, the Avon Maitland District School Board has scheduled a series of special meetings aimed at collecting input about the board's current round of school closures. The meetings are timed to occur priorto a planned final trustee vote on the issue Tuesday, Feb. 26. Recommended dates, locations and themes for the meetings were part of a larger staff report which was approved at the conclusion of the board's most recent regular meeting, Wednesday, Dec. 12. Recommendations were also passed stating five schools Robertson Memorial Public School in Goderich, Holmesville Public School, Seaforth District High School (SDHS), and Stratford's King Lear and Juliet elementary schools < should remain on the potential closure list, while the placement of Grades 7 and 8 students into Stratford's two secondary schools should remain under consideration. All upcoming special meetings will take place at 7 p.m. They'll begin with what are being called "public community meetings," at which information will be provided about the nature of change being considered. The first, Monday, Jan. 21 at SDHS, will feature information about Huron County schools which don't face cloture, but do face some other type of change. These are Colborne Central Public School, Victoria Public School, Clinton Public School, Central Huron Secondary School and Seaforth Public School. A similar information meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 31, with a site yet to be determined, for Stratford schools facing non -closure changes. These are Romeo Public School, Anne Hathaway Public School, Bedford Public School, Stratford Central Secondary School and Stratford Northwestern Secondary School. Separate "public community meetings" will be held for each school facing closure. They take place Wednesday, Jan. 23 in Holmesville; Monday, Jan. 28 at Juliet Public School; Tuesday, Jan. 29 at King Lear Public School; Wednesday, Jan. 30 at Robertson Memorial; and Monday, Feb. 4 at SDHS. According to the Dec. 12 staff report, two additional meetings will be held, solely to allow "community members to make their views known to the board before any decision ... is made." For those schools facing non -closure changes, this meeting will take place Monday, Feb. 11 at SDHS. And for those schools facing closure, it will happen Wednesday, Feb. 13 at the same site. Pressed by questioning from Central and East Huron trustee Charles Smith, board chair Colleen Schenk agreed it would be prudent to amend the recommendation to insure more meetings could be arranged if there are an overwhelming number of requests to address the board. And a "snow date" of Tuesday, Feb. 5 has been written into the reccomendation, to allow for rescheduling of any postponed meeting. Input is also possible in the form of 10 -minute delegations at the public sessions of regular board meetings, which begin at 8 p.m. at SDHS. Regular board meetings prior to the' Feb. 26 vote are scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 22 and Tuesday, Feb. 12. Trustee's own industry expanding as Smith opposes Brillinger's stand From Page 1 quality education for students," Anderson said, suggesting the larger student base makes it possible for the board to provide a wider range of educational opportunities at Central Huron. Smith used the term "cannibalism" to describe any decision to close SDHS. He said the board has forced students away from SDHS for several years by imposing an ongoing threat of closure and by holding back adequate funds in anticipation of closure. It was Brillinger's comments, however, which really seemed to raise Smith's ire. The North Perth trustee made reference to public delegations by Sieli and Goderich clerk -administrator Larry McCabe, in suggesting the declining enrolment which predicates school closures can be brought on by an inability to attract families with school -aged children. "Twenty years ago, that municipality's leaders should have been seeking out ways Quoted 'I do that because I'm a builder, not a destroyer:— Trustee Charles Smith to attract industries to their town, instead of letting their younger population slip away and letting their towns become retirement communities," Brillinger said. "If a town does not do that, the population ages and you get declining enrolment." He praised North Perth councils, past and present, for attracting families with school -aged children, suggesting that's why the Listowel area now generally has schools which are either at or above capacity. Later in the meeting, he suggested keeping below -capacity facilities open harms those schools by using up funds which could be used to ease overcrowding or upgrade programs and facilities. Caw Front(L): Don Hoffman, John Blanchard, Brian Nigh, Mark Ktrkconnell, Linda Vogels, George Geerts, Andrew Southgate, Bill Atthill, Randy Cook, Dianne Iluether. Absent: Gary Bannan, Joan Betties, Amy Nigh, Marla Whyte 198 Main St., Seaforth 527-0770 May your home be filled with warmth & laughter throughout the season and forever after! Thank you for visiting us this past year. Smith countered that he must make a "personal response," and explained his own business is currently bankrolling an industrial expansion in Seaforth which could value up to $1.3 million. "I do that because I'm a builder, not a destroyer," he said. Smith has also repeatedly questioned the population projections put forward by the board, a tactic which was adopted by both Seili and McCabe. Meanwhile, Luke Janmaat, another Seaforth industrialist who appeared as a public delegation, said the board has only paid lip service in the past to its stated goal of working with Huron County's business community and municipal governments to attract more families. He urged the board to defer any closures until meaningful results can be taken from a recent Avon Maitland initiative called "Common Cause," which seeks to accomplish that very goal. Following the meeting, Brillinger took heat from a Huron East resident, who approached the trustee and forcefully provided a dissenting opinion on the issue of his municipality's support for industrial and business growth. All terrain vehicle stolen from truck A red 1986 Honda ATV, valued at $2,500, was stolen from the rear of a parked truck in Tuckersmith on Dec. 11 around 9 p.m. The ATV, with a licence plate 28BH5, was loaded onto another vehicle that backed up to the truck, say Huron OPP. Anyone with any related information is asked to call , Crimestoppers or the Huron OPP. Deer collisions common Six more deer collisions this month add to a total of 249 collisions this year, say Huron OPP. Police are warning motorists that collisions are occurring in the early morning between 5:45 a.m. until 8:30 a.m. and the evening from 5:45 p.m. to 10 p.m: and have involved cars, trucks, transports, vans and a local school bus. Last month, 71 collisions occurred but the total this year is still lower than last year's number of 315. Police are advising drivers oto scan the roadway and ditches, watching for glowing red eyes and remembering that deer travel in groups. Alarm scares thieves An alarm scared away thieves at a break-in at a Vanastra business on Dec. 6 at 3:15 a.m. A door leading into a garage was forced open and some items moved around but the owner reported nothing had been stolen, say Huron OPP. Drill stolen A drill and accessories, valued at $500, were stolen from a vehicle parked in a driveway on Ann Street in Egmondville on Dec. 4. The drill had a battery pack and a black carry case. Anyone with any related information is asked to call the Huron OPP or Crimestoppers. Municipality of Huron East NOTICE The Municipal Office WILL BE CLOSED December 24, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, December 27 & 28, 2001 Council would like to wish everyone a Very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!