Huron Expositor, 2002-02-20, Page 5February 21, 2001
In brief
blic not
volunteering
for local
committees,
council still
looms
Huron 'East council
received only two
*Spouses to an invitation
for the public to join
various boards of
council, leaving at least
,10 more positions to be
flied, Mayor Lin Stuffier
told council Feb. 12.
"It looks as though
we're a little short in
community
involvement," she said.
Steffler said it was
disappointing to get so
few responses but that
she's confident the
;positions on boards will
be filled.
"This is a new council,
which gives people the
opportunity to get off a
ommittee they've been
n for a long time. But,
we want to get the
committees up ` and
ening again and we'd
happy to have anyone
ck who was involved
she said.
Siler said she will be
approaching people to
e on the committees
not enough people
olunteer.
Grey Ward Coun.
ivin McLellan
suggested five people
from Brussels and Grey
would be willing to
d on committees.
Snowmobile
stolen
while
owner
eats lunch
A S5,500 Indy Polaris
snowmobile was reported
stolen from a Coleman
Street restaurant where it
had been parked Feb. 16
while its owner had
lunch.
The owner and friends
stopped for lunch at
12:30 p.m. and twenty
minutes later returned to
the snowmobile had
driven away.
The owner was
wmobiling in the area
Belle River.'
Tracks indicate the
owmobile was driven
to the neighbouring
e trails.
Scott Hilgendorff photo
Gail Fricker asks tough questions of Huron Centennial School students acting out scene in
which they have bullied a classmate as they learn ways to cope with bullies in the school.
Copingwith btilles
focus 0
Students take hard look at themselves as bullies
learning about the pain they cause classmates
By Scott Hilgendorff
Expositor Editor
An angry principal calls
the students of a senior
class into a meeting in the
gymnasium.
She wants to know why
one of their classmates has
run away.
One student giggles
uncomfortably as the
principal demands answers
from the students, realizing
for the first time that one of
her pupils has been
tormented by others for
weeks.
"Is this funny to you? 1
don't feel it's very funny at
' all that you've humiliated
someone so much they don't
want to come to school,"
she snaps at the student.
Everyone is
uncomfortable as class
members begin to confess
and tell stories of their
classmate's shoes being
dumped into the toilet; of
balls being thrown at his
head; of constant ridicule
on the playground, on the
bus and off school property.
"Even if you've not done
the kicking and spitting,
you've been a witness and
you've still been part of it,"
she says, holding every
student accountable.
What does excuse the
students for their actions is
the fact they are role
playing.
A student hasn't run away
and their principal is really
Gail Fricker, a part-time
drama teacher at a St.
Mary's high school and
director of Drama Alive, a
dramatic program that offers
a variety of learning
opportunities for students
using drama.
In this instance, Fricker
used drama to teach students
about bullying and how to
make it stop.
In the weeks to follow, the
students will be going to
other classes to present skits
and presentations about the
skills they have learned to
help deal with bullying.
"We can teach about
bullying. We can talk about
it. We can punish kids
we've caught bullying. But
kids really listen to other
kids," said principal David
Higgins.
While he said there isn't
an exceptional problem with
bullying in the school, he is
S.e STUDENTS, Page 1
r •
Slippery siope
Rebecca Zenker, 10, and her brother Shane, 8, of Hullett
Township use snow piled high in the ditch for sledding.
Your community newspaper since 1860
t.K
Scott Hilgendorff photo
Homeowners
maybe cause
of area's
sewer backups
Huron East to investigate
illegal sewer hook-ups
from eavestroughs, sumps
' By Susan Hundertmark
Expositor Staff
Illegal hook-ups of sump pumps to the sanitary sewers
could be the cause of flooding in Seaforth, Brussels and
Vanastra, said Huron East's Public Works Coordinator John
Forrest.
"That's what we figure is the problem in all three
communities. If there are a whole bunch of sump pumps
draining into the sewage system, it creates a big shock load to
the system and compounds everyone's problems," he said.
Heavy rain Feb. 9 caused sewers to back up in Seaforth,
Vanastra and Brussels, affecting about 20 homes in Vanastra,
a dozen homes in the north end of Seaforth and a handful in
Brussels, including JR's Restaurant.
Brussels Ward Coun. Greg Wilson said he knows of
several illegal connections of
sump pumps and eavestroughs
to the sanitary sewers in
Brussels and said they're
causing sewer back-ups.
Wilson said he arrived home
from work Friday, Feb. 9 to
complaints from three people
with sewage' in their
basements because of the
flooding.
Because of the sewer back-
up, the sanitary system had to
be released into the Maitland
River, he said. Bypasses are a
process many municipalities follow to alleviate flooding
problems but are considered illegal by the province.
"We only have to bypass into the river about once a year,"
said Wilson. "But, our system is only 20 years old and should
be able to handle the sewage. We shouldn't have to dump it at
all but there's too much storm water getting into the sewers."
Wilson said he's warned several people that their sump
pumps and eavestroughs should drain' onto their lawns
instead of into the plumbing of their houses.
"We might have to do some door knocking," he said.
Forrest also said Huron East might have to do some
investigating to determine how many people are draining
storm water into the sanitary sewers.
Huron East Clerk -Administrator Jack McLachlan told
council at its Feb. 13 meeting that a meeting will be held with
Azurix North America, the municipality's new water
company to discuss the flooding problems and any possible
solutions.
Coun. Joe Seili told council that "there are some unhappy
people who couldn't get a hold of anyone to get the pump
going" on Feb. 9.
"A main concern is being able to get a hold of someone
So* MAYOR, Peg. 2
Quoted
'We might have
to do
some door
knocking,' --
Greg W1lson.
Brussels Ward.
Councillor
Snow days taping their toll
on Seaforth and area parents
By Scott Hilgendorff
Expositor Editor
Six snow days in one of
the hardest winters in about
20 years is taking its toll on
parents who have not been
able to send their students to
school but have still had to
get to work.
"It certainly has impacted
everyone," said Shirley
Brooker, administrator of
Seaforth Cooperative
Children's Centre.
"It's stressful for a parent
on a snow day if you work
outside of home," said Carol
Leeming, a parent with two
children who ride the bus to
Huron Centennial School
near Brucefield.
She has been fortunate to
find relatives who wilt care
for her children while she has
to go to work and, even as a
member of the children's
centre, is not able to send her
children there. Only her two-
year-old, who regularly goes
to the centre, gets in on a
snow day.
Starting at 6:30 a.m. on a
snow day, the phone begins
ringing at the centre from
parents looking for a place to
send their children.
"We only service the
programs and families we
normally service on those
days," said Brooker, having
to turn away angry parents.
"We're getting a lot of
requests for kids that are
supposed to be at school,"
said Brooker.
Parents of students from
town have been asking why
the schools aren't open when
buses haven't run.
While roads were not
always closed, buses were
pulled off because of blustery
and poor driving conditions
Quoted
'It's stressful for
a parent on a
snow day if
you work
outside of
home' --
Carol Looming,
Seaforth area parent
or, in the case of Feb. 8 and
Feb. 9 because of ice.
But Brooker said some
parents have been upset
because the conditions were
not unsafe for town children
who normally walk to
school.
"They're wondering why
See UNHAPPY, Page 2