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Huron Expositor, 2006-12-17, Page 10Page 10 December 27, 2006 • The Huron Expositor News • Avon Maitland board seeking community input to update accommodation review policy Stew Slater A committee of trustees will work with administrative staff and seek input from communities over the next few months, in an effort to bring the Avon Maitland District School Board's accommodation review policy in line with new provincial guidelines governing school closures. "We have to have the policy in place by the end of March," explained education director ,.Geoff Williams, following a regular meet- ing Tuesday, Dec. 12. As is the case each year, the nine trustees decided who will serve on the board's standing committees: finance, audit, director's review, special education, school year calen- dar, student's advisory, joint health and safety, and Supervised Learning for Excused Pupils (which deals with cases of extraordinary discipline). As chair, newly -acclaimed Jenny Versteeg has a seat on every stand- ing committee. This year, in addition, there will be an ad hoc committee looking into what changes are needed to bring the board into compliance with the new accommodation guidelines. Serving on that committee, besides Versteeg, will be Tina Traschel of Perth East, Meg Westley of Stratford, Al Sygrove of. Goderich/northwest Huron, and Shelley Kaastra of Huron E ast/Central Huron. According to Williams, it's likely the new provincial guidelines will force changes in two main factors affecting potential school closures: timelines and what's being referred to as a "valuation process." In a previous meeting, the educa- tion director had noted a review ;3/411 :services ou are invited to attend these area churches St. Thomas Anglican Church A Cagregation d the Parish of TheHok Spirt Jarvis St. Seaforth 527-1522 Rector: The Rev'd Sue Malpus. M. Div Sunday, December 31 WORSHIP AT 9:30 AM CAROL SING Everyone Welcome Bethel Bible Church An Associated Gospel Church 126 Main St. Seaforth 527-0982 Sunday School 9:45 am Sunday Worship 11:00 am B&G Club Wed. 7:00 - 8:15 pm Youth Activities Wed. 7:00 pm Pastor Mark Kennedy EVERYONE WELCOME NORTHSIDE UNITED CHURCH 54 Goderich St. W. Rev. John Gould Sunday December 31st Worship 11 am Sermon: "Jesus is Different" All Welcome. Sunday School & Nursery During Worship St. James Roman Catholic Church Welcomes you 14 Victoria Street, Seaforth 527-0142 Weekend Masses: Sat 5:15 pm Sun. 11:00 am Fr. Chris Gillespie Egmondville United Church Sunday, December 31 WORSHIP 11 AM SUNDAY SCHOOL 10AM First Presbyterian Church Goderich St. W., Seaforth Rev. Henry Huberts Sunday December 31 11:15 am service Sunday Scholl & Nursery Provided. could have been :started in October under the board's old policy, and changes could be approved by, February for implementation at the beginning of the next school year. New requirements for community involvement and time between deci- sions, he suggested, probably mean "an accommodation review is (now) going to have to take place over two years in order to implement for the beginning of the school year." The valuation, meanwhile, is an entirely new element in the province's concept of accommoda- tion review. The guidelines stipulate each school board must set out a general- ized approach to determining the value of a school on various levels: economic, cultural, community- based, etc. Then, if a particular community is targetted for potential accommoda- tion changes, that generalized with Bill Sherk, the Ofd Car Detective go You V H.EARTLAND CREDIT UNION DENNIS PASCOE'S 1965 ENVOY EPIC By Bill Sherk "The Old Car Detective" It was the first car that Dennis Pascoe of Toronto drove everywhere — a 1965 Envoy, a British -built General Motors economy car that first appeared in Chev-Olds showrooms across Canada in 1960. It was the new companion car to the hot selling Vauxhall, available in Canada since 1950, through GM's Pontiac -Buick dealers. By 1965, two subcompacts were available — the Vauxhall Viva and the Envoy Epic, designed to compete with the VW Beetle. The Envoy Epic arrived in the middle of the muscle car era in North America, and it could squeal its tires, but only for a split-second if you revved it up and popped the clutch. As for horsepower, well, as my fel- low Canadian automotive historian Gord Hazlett would say, "not enough punch to pull the skin off a rice pudding." But horsepower isn't everything, especially in these days of hefty gaso- line prices. Here's what Dennis Pascoe had to say about his '65 Envoy Epic: "Four on the floor and four cylinders. An odd shade of red; I still had the tin of touch-up paint that came with it until recently. Apart from completely out -of -adjustment carburetor and timing when new, the car was pretty trouble-free once my dad dealt with these problems. He was a motor mechanic and dispatch rider in the army, so he knew all about simple engines like this one. "Since the car my dad drove was supplied through his work, the Envoy Epic was the only car owned by our family. It was essentially mine to drive to summer jobs at the Canadian Tire warehouse and around Toronto, especially on music gigs. During hot summer weather (n� air condition- ing), I would carry a thermos of ice water under the front seat so I could have it on the long drive home from the warehouse. We installed a big old radio under the dash, which picked up all the noise from the ignition. "Because my dad's work car had to be available for work even when he was on his two-week holiday, our little Epic was the family's vaca- tion vehicle. It took us from coast to coast trouble-free. To the east coast in 1965, when the photo you see here was taken at our motel in Fredericton, New Brunswick, and to the west coast in 1967. Our first time for both. Almost didn't make it up some very steep roads of those days in the Rockies. "It was later sold to a fellow who moved with it out to Nova Scotia. He got an oil change one day, drove the car a few miles, and ground to a halt. The engine was dry. Someone had forgotten to fill up the engine with new oil, so the car was junked near the Canso Causeway in Nova Scotia. Too bad. It was a great little runabout, and I could afford the gas!" Do you have any car stories or photos to share with our readers? j Send your e-mails to bill@carstory.com, approach must be adapted to refer to that particular community. Trustees on the Avon Maitland ad hoc committee will begin work immediately, but it's expected requests will be sent out soon for community members also to join the committee. By February, they will be called on to assist the trustees in adding the valuation process to its accom- modation policy. Council debates insurance claim A 7-5 recorded vote decided that Huron East will pay $1,886.10 towards the damages to a truck owned by Teatero Motor Products when a Seaforth entrance sign blew over during a winter storm. While Huron East administration recommended paying the damages, Tuckersmith Coun. Larry McGrath disagreed. "Everyone carries comprehensive insurance for a reason. We didn't create the wind storm or knock over the post. This takes us down a very slippery slope," said McGrath. Deputy -Mayor Bernie MacLellan agreed with McGrath saying the truck was parked right under the sign and that the sign blowing over was a "fluke of nature." Clerk -Administrator Jack McLachlan said that both the sign and the truck were on property that does not belong to the town or to Teatero Motor Products. "It's our sign but we were both in the wrong place at the wrong time," said Mayor Joe Seili. McKillop Coun. Andrew Flowers said he believes both parties are at fault. "But, we're paying the whole she- bang. Did they give a proposal of 50-50?" he asked. Tuckersmith Coun. Les Falconer pointed out that paying for the damages was probably the most neighbourly thing to do. "That's probably the best place for a sign and if we want put up anoth- er sign, we have to keep peace with the neighbours," he said. Voting against paying the dam- ages were McGrath, MacLellan, Brussels Coun. Frank Stretton, Seaforth Coun. Bob Fisher and McKillop Coun. Bill Siemon. Voting for paying the damages were Falconer, Grey Coun. Alvin McLellan, Brussels Coun. David Blaney, Mayor Joe Seili, Grey Coun. Orval Bauer, McKillop Coun. Andrew Flowers and Seaforth Coun. Joe Steffler. By Susan Hundertmark