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Times Advocate, 1989-03-15, Page 1Rfck.fyl ,e6 - (EXETER TOYOTA? 242 Main St.,(V. Exeter • Across from O.P.P. . Phone' 235-2353 Mit% 1111111 Gaiser-Kneale Insurance Exeter 235-2420 Grand I3end 238-8484 lIensall. 262-2119 Clinton 482-9747 Serving South Huron, Inside County budtget Goes up by almost 20. percent page .2 For the birds Raise exotic bitds Dashwood page . 5 - Bridal show Becoming a popular - tradition pages 7,8 GB. booming Signs point to record year page l0 - Zurich skaters Present annual carnival page 19 Ontario .games Julia Merner wins silver medal page 20 More assault charges - EXETER - Officers of the Exeter town and Ontario Provincial Police d t,chnlcnt'continue to investigate further allegations of sexual as- saults on Exctcr and arca women. Frazer Wayne Anderson of 88 Sanders street west in Exeter was arrested on March 1. and charged with three counts of sexual as- saults. • Since .that time, he has bccn charged with five additional sexual i hilt:. Anderson remains in cus- tody. Ile was to appear in. Provin- cial Court in Exctcr, yesterday, March 14. Exeter OPP officers have arrested . two men in connection with Fcbru- ary break-ins at the homes of Frank Christie, RR .1,..Kirkton and Arlene Wood- flail, RR 1, Granton. • Scheduled to. appear in court' in Godcrich on A}iril 3 arc -Robert• `William Lotz of London and Jamie George Suplat of no fixed address. North Middlesex & Lambton Since 1873 Wednesday, March 15, 1989 60 cents Decision corrin By. Adrian Harte CLINTON- Next week the Hu- ron Board of Education will be set- ting its official policy to deal with the provincial- government's Bill 262, legislation that removes The Lord's Prayer from Ontario. class- rooms. Thc March 21 education committee meeting will discuss -four alternatives available for put- ting utting the legislation into effect in the:county. Those four alternatives have not been made public. Stephen Central School:principal John Sicrtscma told the Times Ad- vocate his school dropped the Lord's Prayer from thc opening exercises two weeks ago. • . • "The legislation must be respect cd," said Sicrtsema, although he - said he is aware parents and staff would have liked to see it -contin- ued. A minute's silence is one of the options the province is recommend - ing to replace the prayer and S:ert- soma said several of Stephen Cen- tral's classrooms are making use of that option. Usbomc Central School principal Bill Stevenson also said his school is prepared to follow the upcoming board policy and has already re- sponded to the legislation by offer- ing a series of "thoughts of the day" which oftcn include a scripture read- ing,.and a capsule thought which • might . cover any subject from brotherly love to the appreciation of good books and authors. • He said the topics often inspire good discus- sions in the classrooms. Stevenson said he was not yet aware of how public opinion is stacking up on the subject of the Lord's Prayer in schools. "It's hard to read,"- he said, but said the community has traditional- ly shown a lot of support for thc Usbornc school, Stevenson declined to offer his own opinion of the legislation. "I think there arc two valid opin- ions; he said. "We're going to fol- low the legislation." - Zurich Public School principal Don O'Brien said his school's class- rooms are taking several different approaches -in order to gradually conform to the new legislation. i Some are still reading the Lord's Prayer without asking it to be re- peated, while others are using the minute's silence. "We don't necessarily agree with on prayer all laws we have to abide by," noted O'Brien,. who said while parents have yet to complain about -the leg- islation, he has noticed there are students asking questions about it. While the older students can-tidcr- stand the law, it proves difficult to explain to younger children. South Huron District High School principal Bruce Shaw said his school is obeying the legisla- tion as far as the abolition of uni- • son prayer. "The law says we can't do it," said Shaw, but explained t4at-the Lord's Prayer still.follows 0 Cana- da over the public address system most mornings. The difference is the prayer is simply read as a group of words and the student body is not asked to .repeat it in prayer. When =asked ifhis school's poli- cy was walking a fine line on the legislation, Shaw replied "definitely", but said the students have been asked for their opinion on the prayer and,he is prepared to drop it at the first objection. "If one person says he's offended bythis then we'll make changes," - Shaw said. Other rcadings'are used occasion- ally, but Shaw says thc Lord's Player is a good choice. "Whether it reflects Christianity or not, they're good words," said Shaw. Shaw claimed South Huron is likely to avoid much controversy over the issue simply because of the school's predominantly Chris- tian student population. While no figures are available on the faiths , of SHDHS students, Shaw was not aware of any Jewish or Muslim students who would object to the Lord's. Prayer. He speculated one or two Buddhist students might have valid objections: Jamie Ramer, ZPS - "It should be left. in," said Zurich Public School's student. council presi- dent. Ramer also -thought the prayer should start the day for even the younger- grades who might not yet beold enough to fully understadd its meaning. Kevin Kuntz, SHDHS - Kuntz said he finds many students disrespectful- and inattentive while the. prayer -is read so he feels it wouldn't mean too. much if it was eliminated. "it .would be nice to. keep it," he said. Criticize firing GRAND BEND - Dianne Mol - lard, whose resignation as clerk/ treasurer in the village was to take effect April 3, was told by council before last Tuesday's meeting to quit or be fired imme- diately. Mollard, who had resigned her position March 3 to become dep- uty treasurer in the Township of Bosanquet, was forced to quit then because of the annexation propo- sal Grand Bend is currently pursu- ing against Bosanquet and council felt it would be detrimental to the village's case if Mollard stayed on longer. Deputy clerk Christine Smith said in her report to council at last Tuesday's meeting that she was very upset the way council handled Mollard's dismissal. "It was totally unfair of council not to consider staff when asking Dianne to leave. We were depend- ing on Dianne to answer a lot of questions and she was willing to assist us in any way possible as she realized the predicament we were all in. She was willing to work with the auditor to'compete the year-end work," said Smith. After taking time to think of a solution to the problem, reeve Bob Sharen said the present office staffs tasks will be re -assigned as a form of re -organizing the office. Sharen said the re -organization of the officc will be done in stages and if things work out, the size of the staff may stay permanently at four, although he hasn't ruled out the possibility of replacing Mol - Please turn to page 3 Denise Kints, SHDHS - "It's the only time the whole class is quiet," said Kints, who thought - that South Huron students probably show" a bit more re- spect for such. things than stu- dents in many other of the prov- ince's high schools. • • Paula Watson, ZPS - Her class- room _ stopped using the prayer on Thursday. "Some were mad about it," said - Watsoni who would have - rather seen it re- tained. Otherwise she saw no problems with its replacement. "As long as people use the min- ute silence for the right reason." Sheila Dougallr .SHDHS - Dou- gall said that on the days South Huron does without the .Lord's Prayer she feels something is missing from her morning, but otherwise she is ready to repect the wishes of any non-Christian students. "I think if they are offended they should speak up," she said. Town offices to stay put for at least one more year EXETER -Council has put on hold any plans they. had to move the town's administration officcs and council: chambers to the old town hall this year. The Exctcr and District Heritage Foundation has been notificd that the lease of Ellison Travel will be , honoured and no changes made before the end of 1989, Inquiries will be made with the federal government over the future of the old post office building which is now municipal headquarters. The town's lease for the building expires on November 30, 1995. Questions to he asked of federal officials will cover the possibility of purchasing the property, leasing it again and -or allowing an addition or putting a portable building at the rear. . Reeve Bill Micklc said the cost of the project was the main reason for holding off for at least one year. He, continued, " I don't think it's the•proper time be- cause of the cost factor. The cost of money has gone up considerably since we first approached this situa- tion in early December. Exctcr hasn't been forced to go - the debenture route for eight years and i.don't think this is thc time to start." Prior to the decision to "hold off", the Heritage Foundation had .voiced concerns that the Ministry of Culture and Communications would not allow any sig- nificant structural changes to the old town gall. The Foundation has.alsaasked council for a meeting to discuss the disposition of income from the commer- cial space as well as hall rentals; from thc auditorium and to determine any future association with the old town hall. Thc situation of lack M space for office Staff at. the present town building has been described by clerk treas-. urer Liz Bell as "very cramped:". She added " It's like musical chairs around here. Due to crowding, the mayor and reeve's desks are .actually. the podium in the council chambers. When -there is an- other meeting or Snail Claims Court, then that -space is gone, too. And we don't have officc space for the • new town administrator." Students plan walkout to keep principal Bruce Shaw wants to stay EXETER - An announcement by thc Huron County Board of Educa- tion of the transfcr of three secon- dary school principals has triggered some strong local reaction. Nei- ther Bruce Shaw, SHDHS's popu- lar head for the past six years, nor Shaw's predecessor Joe Wooden, wants to move at this time. Nor do the students in their respective schools want to loSie their princi- pals. The. student body in Clinton sta et k in sup- po Recpirrl* not t i$id Exet7. cr students than 'Keep Mr. Shaw" walk-out after classes resume on Whcn interviewed on Friday,. Shaw hinted he may resign rather than move. He said that once the administrative team of which he is a part decides on a particular course of action, then "if you reach the point you no longer agree with the decision of the majority, and have done everything you can to change minds, the only alternative is to leave the group". Referring to his transfer, Shaw said Godcrich District Collegiate Institete has an excellent reputation and would be easier to administer as it is basically academic. Under different circumstances, he would enjoy the challenge. However, he stated emphatically that "South Hu1ron is my life right now. I am not prepared to surrender what I have worked for for the last six years to go to another school for the sake of the 'system': Shaw stated his belief that jobs in education differ from many other • jobs.* Schools, especially in non- urban areas, are little communities unto themselves. As staff.and stu- dents work together to solve prob- lems that are sometimes monu- mental, a strong sense of loyalty and commitment i,s created. He agrees that if administration be- comes stagnant, moves arc justi- fied. He docs not think that is ap- plicable in his case. i *rt.-Yir'L .\l-t('t;-`61 - sense of community in the school... i feel 1 am still dynamic, innovative, progressive, and still have a lot to contribute...change for the sake of change isnot bene- ficial to the school"; Shaw said, ad- ding he ismore concerned with the Exctcr school than with the "system". Shaw expressed his strong bond to the Exeter school by saying "The kids and the staff are so tremendous. We've gone through an awful lot . Both groups have been really sup- portive of me in the last two years. In tum, I've tried to be helpful and provide leadership for them. Yi u can't rip apart that kind of tie." Joe Wooden is no happier with his transfcr back to SHDHS Hc had been at the Exeter high school for 27 years, 16 of those as princi- pal, before moving to Central flu, ron Secondary School in Clinton . six years ago. Last week's announcement took him by surprise. "I am not anxious to have a change,as i expect to retire in two years...i have no horrendous oppo- sition to South Huron, hut I am very attached to here", Wooden said on Friday from his of Clinton school. . - Wodden pointed out that "there is not a thole lot 10 be gained, belerrinrjre - t th three much impact for the first few years. - Everything for the first year is al- ready set". • Wooden said any principal who decided to resign rather than move would have to notify the Huron Board of Education of his intent be- fore May 31. However, he is hope- ful "the director and his colleagues may reconsider their decision. There is lots of time. The door is still open for some flexibility". Wooden reported an "amicable and profitable" two-hour conversation with Huron's director of education, Bob Allan, last Thursday. . ':1 believe mutual consent should be involved in decisions of this kind. If there is no alternative, 1 will have to decide what I really - want to do" , Wooden concluded. Hcrb Murphy, who has hccn transferred from Godcrich to F.E. Madill Secondary School in Wing - ham to replace retiring principal Ken Wood, docs not relish a change either. This would he his fifth transfer in 17 years. ' Bob Allan, director of.education for Huron County, expressed shock at an article in the London Frcc Press on March 10 intimating; the may reconsider. the planned transfers. He told the Times - Advocate he- has spoken personal l y o c rind i ;r, hr.., at e appeared,- and made clear the board stands by the decision rcachcd at their regular meeting on March 6. The only factors affecting the de- cision would be changed circum- stances such as receiving a resigna- tion by the end of May, Allan said.' "As things stand now, urrdcr present circumstances, the board has no intent to reconsider the tranfer of the three principals. The matter is not on any future board agenda. it would be unfortunate if the issue seemed to waver on as though it was an on-again-off-again thing; it's bad for the kids, and bad for the peo- ple", Allan said emphatically. Shaw had the last word. Please turn to page 3 ft - +F .' . tla:4,- "Ti5' . T ; s4ii ZI. INI s s'4 . "'"- '41741 '.w•7re _.. --I es.rnsw7ar