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Times Advocate, 1995-09-13, Page 1SEIP'S valu-mart 4 & 83 Exeter 235-0262 4 r• Exeter �C Fall Fair Sept. 11011,-,;. 22,23,24 SEJP 'S valu-mart 4 & 83 Exeter 235-0262 Thanks Sup o''r►'- Ngb ----.._, SUBSCRIBE! ; ▪ If you aren't subscribing to The 1 Times-Advocate, you're messing out. t Use the coupon below and subscribe today' 1 Name: 1 ' Address ' City Prov. Postal Code I ▪ SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada I Within 40 miles - (65 km) addressed to non letter carnet addresses $33.00 plus $2.31 G.S.T. ▪ Outside 40 miles • (65 km) or any letter earner address $63.00 f $4.41 G.S.T. , outside Canada -$99.00 trxi see 40 vowaal ' USE YOUR CREDIT C.A.IIP 00000000 1 00000000 Card No. I Expiry Date 0 Visa ❑ Master Card ❑ Cheque enclosed Return to; TIMES ADVOCATE 424 Main St. Exeter, Ont. NOM 1S6� um am — ages mai um 1 1 1 Inside Kirkton Fall Fair See page 5 Classifieds See pages 17-20 Experts See page 21 • Announcements See pages 22-23 Exeter partici pates in 15th Terry Fox Run for Cancer EXETER - Exeter will he among 225 communities across Ontario participating in the 15th Annual Terry Fox Run for Cancer Re- search. The run will take place on Sun- day, September 17 beginning and ending at MacNaughton Park where participants will walk. run, rollerblade and hike to raise mon- ey for cancer research programs. in September, Exeter and the sur- rounding community are invited to run with the spirit of Terry Fox in this non-competitive event. The Run is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m., pledge sheets are availa- ble at the Times -Advocate, Exeter grocery stores and banks. Morgan gets chief's job EXETER- Councillor Joe Rider, in presenting the monthly report from the Exeter and Area Fire Board, announced that each of the municipal representatives would he recommending the appointment of John Morgan as the new Fire Chief, replacing retiring Chief Gary Mid- dleton. Exeter Council endorsed the recommendation at its September 5th meeting. Rider advised Coun- cil that there had been two appli- cants for the position. Long time fireman, Cant McLeod, was ap- pointed Deputy Chief by the Board at the same meeting. The Chief will earn slightly more than $34,000 a year. Building offered as museum site LUCAN - in a comment sheet at- tached to the latest newsletter, Lu - can council has received a reply of- fering a Main street building as the location for the Heritage Museum. Jim and Patricia Davis have indi- cated their building at 170 Main street which housed Davis Home Hardware until a few weeks ago would be available. Wednesday,September 13, 1995 (930 . 7c G r) ONE DOLLAR Standoff continues IPPERWASH PROVINCIAL PARK - There seems to be no end in sight to the standoff between natives and the OPP at Ipperwash pro- vincial park. Natives occupying the camp remain defiant Monday as they buried Anthony O'Brian George, a native killed last week in violent clash with police. Police say George was shot in self defence after a group of natives in a vehicle attempted to ram a gate injuring two OPP officers. The incident occurred after a group of 25 to 40 natives took posses- sion of the provincial campground next to former Camp Ipperwash army training camp on September 4. The natives, believed to be Stoney Point descendants, say the park contains an ancient burial site, however, authorities say there are no historical records or evidence to support their claim. At a council meeting last week, Bosanquet Mayor Fred Thomas ex- pressed concern an illegal occupation has been allowed to take place. In a news release last Tuesday he referred to the incidents as "the current reign of terror in our community...this sends out a message that illegal activities in Canada are rewarded rather than punished." "Our residents are terrified...I've heard rumors that people are buy- ing guns to protect themselves and their families," said the statement. The 43 hectare (107 acre) park is located west of Highway 21 north of Kettle Point. No danger at Central Hotel LUCAN - At the September 5 meeting, village of Lucan council- lors noted a letter received from chief building official Barry Mills regarding the safety of the burned out Central hotel. Mills said he met recently with owner Mostafa Rikhtegarzadeh to go over concerns he had with the structure and remedial steps which can be taken to ensure public safe- ty. The building official continued, "At present it is my opinion the structure does not present any im- mediate danger to anyone outside of the building, but does not relieve the owner from securing an engi- neer to verify and analyze the building as to the continuing safety level during the winter months. Rikhtegarzadeh is said to have agreed and has indicated he will have these matters addressed. Recently council received a copy of the Ontario Fire Marshall's report indicating arson as the cause of the fire and that the police, insurance company and fire marshall's office no longer require the building for investigation purposes. The village has registered the property for tax sale due to non pay- ment of taxes. If the total amount outstanding is not paid prior to Feb- ruary of 1996 the property will re- vert to the village. Board facing unbudgeted funding cutback An $8 funding reduction per pupil is only the start to further cutbacks Heather Mir T -A staff CLINTON - According to Di- rector Paul Carroll. the Huron County Board of Education ex- penditures so far are 'on track' but added the board must proceed with caution. The Queen's Park update of July 21 announced $1.9 billion in cuts and reductions to be achieved by the end of the province's fiscal year. The Ministry of Education and Training has been given a $40 million in -year capital expenditure reduction target as well as an $80 million* in -year operating ex- penditure reduction. Given these targets. the $8 fund- ing reduction per pupil for 1995 and further reduction of $8 per pu- pil in 1996 is only a token start to further cutbacks and reduced fund- ing. The impact of this un - budgeted $8 cut for both ele- mentary and secondary translates into a $73,423 shortfall in the Hu- ron board's 1995 budget. Through careful management the director does not anticipate the board will have a serious problem making up the shortfall. Capital spending cuts The cuts have a greater effect on low assessment boards such as Hu- ron. Carroll said the reduction is "meaningless" for Targe boards such as Metro which do not rely as heavily on 'grants for funding their programs. "We can't forget we have a tough year coming up, 1996 is going to he a pretty awful year in terms of finance," said Carroll. In addition to grant reductions, the Ministry is also reducing capital spending. Cuts have been made af- ter some projects have already started. More of these clawbacks are possible between now and the end of the year. The Huron board has been for- tunate as a late applicant for Junior Kindergarten funding to have re- ceived $1 846 000 in JK allocation. Only $260,000 remains unclaimed. And another $356,000 in top -up funding has been verbally ap- proved. The funding has allowed an urate of the elementary facil- ities at many sites including Huron Centennial, McCurdy, Clinton, Wingham and Exeter. Projected spending The board has released a pro- jected budget for 1996 with a zero per cent expenditure increase. Pro- jected spending is down slightly from the 1995 budget estimates. "That still doesn't address our problems with grants," said Trustee for Township of Grey and the Vil- lage of Blyth, Don McDonald. To meet government reductions, the board must find more cost ef- ficient means to deliver services and innovative ventures. As bud- gets become tighter, we will hear more about school business ven- tures such as summer computer camps and complementary partner- ship between schools and private sector businesses. A Funding inadequate for local parachute students Extra costs like teacher assistants picked up by taxpayer Heather Mir T -A staff CLINTON - The Huron Board of Education is facing many funding challenges including government cutbacks and funding reductions. Another challenge for rural boards is making up the shortfall in fund- ing which occurs when crown wards or "parachute" students re- quire .additional support in the classroom. In the past, boards could apply for extra support for teacher assistants but this is no longer the case. Parachute students are frequently sent from the 'golden horseshoe' and Metro Toronto to group homes in rural areas of the province in- cluding Huron, Grey, Middlesex and Muskoka. These students are in the care of various children's aid societies, group homes and other facilities. A number of crown wards are considered high need stu- dents who require one-on-one teacher assistant support. "Why are the numbers greater here?" asked Township of Stephen Trustee Bob Heywood. Director Paul Carroll responded that the active community living or- ganizations and group homes in our geography are part of the reason there is a high number of these stu- dents in Huron. Board administration has been trying to rectify the dis- proportionate number of par- achuted kids which places part of the cost of educating these students on the shoulders of the Huron County taxpayer. "The extra expense is coming back to fall on the shoulders of Hu- ron County property taxpayers," said Carroll. Carroll gave the board an ex- ample of the costs incurred by plac- ing a -parachute student from the Catholic Children's Aid Society for Hamilton -Wentworth. In this case the students was identified as "be- havioural Al". requiring one-on- one teacher assistant support. The estimated cost of a full-time teacher assistant and supplies is $22,663 per year. The tuition fee recovery, if approved, is $14,686, leaving a shortfall of $7,977. The balance is currently picked up by local rat- epayers. Despite the funding short- fall, the board does not have the le- gal authority to refuse these students admission. Administration has worked local- ly lobbying the Ministry of Com- munity and Social Services to fund shortfalls. MPP for Huron Helen Johns has been made aware of the board's concern and the administra- tion believes there is a need to get action of the provincial level which will ensure each board funds the balance of the cost for its own stu- dents. "We have had a degree of success to get the taxpayer off the hook," said 1Carroll who is looking at a number of ways to solve the prob- lem. Safety routine of school bus drivers now to include video cameras Brenda Burke T -A staff EXETER - After her morning coffee, Pam Walper does her circle check. She examin.ts the tires, engine, lights, stop arm, crossing gate and emergency exits. After listing minor defects for the mechanic, she climbs aboard and starts up her school bus engine at about 7:43 a.m. Walper has driven her Usborne Township route for seven of her 12 years of bus driving, after taking over for her father who managed the route for 15 years. But safety procedures have changed this fall. There's now a video camera box called a Silent Observer in- stalled in the front left corner of her bus. The idea of using video cameras on schod buses was raised by Hu- ron County Board of Education management com- mittee members concerned about bus safety. All of the board's buses, including the 27 Exeter Charterways buses, will be equipped with camera box- es by the end of September with only some boxes ac- tually containing cameras. "The main purpose of the camera is for problem stu- dents," said Charterways Branch Manager Ken Og- den. "(The cameras) will be put in in random only if they're needed." Last fall the H.C.B.E. used a camera equipped bus to deal with students on one particular route. "Other boards in the region have implemented the program and indicated it has helped deter vandalism and bad behavior on buses," said the Huron Board's Superintendent of Business. Janet Baird -Jackson, last fall when the Oxford board placed camera boxes on its buses. Buses in Middlesex, Kent and Wellington counties are also equipped with the boxes that contain cameras at random. 'The kids will never know when it's on," said Walp- er. "Neither will I so it keeps an eye on all of us i guess." The camera tapes are observed by school principals and bus company managers. Walper said she's already received numerous ques- tions from her passengers concerning the cameras th.it record both image and sound. "Can they hear what we say? If we whisper can they hear us?" are just some of those questions. "Overall, I've got pretty good kids on the bus," said Walper, adding "You were (years ago) able to threaten them with a little bit of something." Walper said the kids on her bus get overly excited just before Christmas. That's when she pulls off to the side of the road and patiently waits for the noise level to decrease. "They hate getting home late...i1 usually works." she said. But according to Walper, not all the excitement is hard to handle. "Sometimes (the kids) forget themselves and in an argument they call you mom." Adjusting to video cameras and dealing with the noise level of the children may not be the most chal- lenging part of bus safety for drivers who must still deal with something a little more uncontrollable - the weather. Snow storms are typically a worry for drivers. Walp- dr Continued on page 3 Boot full of money The Exeter volunteer fin department donated $3,044 to the Muscular Dystrophy As- sociation of Canada on Thursday. The money was collected by volunteer firefighters dur- Ing a "boot toll" on Main Street last week. From left are, Dave Atthill, Treasurer, Tracy Simpson, MD District Coordinator and Dan Smith, Collection Chairperson.