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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1983-03-30, Page 1. — • . ! • • . , d• • GODERICH, ONTARIO, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30,19 50 CENTS PER COPY t ' .4. er Employee given Oct. 31 target date • , The adininistrator of:the,:luewater Centre for the pevelopmentally Handicap ,, 'cl advised employees to Set a target date/ Of Octeib :1.'31, 1983 as the closure date for the centre ata Meet glaStWeek. Bluewater Centre a _ , strator, Bill Gregg em- phatically stated that emplO . ees haVe net been given official notice by the minist -• _snd that the closure of iy the ceare has net beenann Unced,..HOwever, Gregg, $aid he arbitrarily choseth , October 31 date to give employees a time framework te adjust to. While the cerdre has net Officially been closed, the_ closure is expected to beeffTter[Within the calendar year. , Community -and Social Services deputy minister Robert McDonald met Witkparents and employees January 12 and suggested tPecentre would close by the end of 1983. Gregg said Ihe emplofees should be prepared for that. • 'fro, "The employees haven't b given notice and the *sure hasn't been announced yet," Gregg said Monday. "A general staff lmeeting was held last Wednesday and [selected '0 target date of October tit 31 as a closure date. It's nay . rget date:" Gregg explained thatlf ; reasoning behind the arbitrary selection of a tar et date was to give em- plo,yeeS a form of referent* rid to alleviate sorrie of the tincertabity of the situatt . - "rye arbitrarily selec , that date because the empleyees need some datc to Work to," he said. "DePuty minister McDorialtsaid the centre would close inipte late frill of thisi ear when he met with parents * _January so they're aware. R's only a targetdateat this point and is not firm." The ministry has promised employees six months notice aad-Gregg expects (pat nOtification will be forthcothing in April or Map' Since that meeting with • staff a week ago, Gregg saidthe rumor mill has been active offkially Citing histarget date as the closure Tranquility A lone fisherman is silhouetted against the morning sun as he quietly fishes the Nine Mile River at Port Albert on a chilly morning. While the fishing season is a few weeks off yet, the crazy winter weather has had a marked effect on the habits of fish making their, way to spawning grounds. ( photo by Dave Sykes) 1 d date for the centre. • - That, he said,, has been unsettling fOr parents, residents and employees. Meanwhile, parents of. children in the six regional centres for the developmentally 'handicapped have succeeded in securing a meeting with Community and Social Services Minister Frank Drea. But, the group of..concerned ;.parents formed. March 12, are now demanding that Premier William Davis meet with them and place a moratorium on the closing of the six regional centres. The parent committee is now seeking a meeting with Davis to hear the government's justification for closing the centres over the next five years and moving many of the residents into community group homes. Committee chairman B.M. Bhuta of Pickering said the parents are seeking a tempora0 moratorium on the ministry's five-year plan. Bhuta explained that parents are . not necessarily opposed to the government's planl but they wantthe government to extend the courtesy of explaining the procedure before it is qiniplemented. The parents stilt face concerns that many residents will not beable to function in group home settings and , there is also the concern that the support services, such as group homeS, will not be sufficiently in place when centres are closed. In such cases, parents fear their children will simply be transferred toy larger institutions. Gregg also cautioned that Drea promised that residents would not be moved until adequate support services were in place in the community. Those services would include placement and daycare for all , residents. Gregg said those services- may not be ready until November or December, e. This week the -Star contains two apeclal tablold suppleinents for your rfedillg,,Plaa aura, • The month of April is can***414Cana4441:41 the Signal -Star presents *annual ciiiKeg'4094 HOPE. The editioneatureP„ news from the local branches ortbe. Canagfill Cancer Society in Huron County as wellastegdirnankananature:Andeii and informative articles on Ole detection, treatment and numof the dreatied disease. .; • Soon many Cancer Society volunteers will be canvassing for linicia19 aid in the research Progess‘ In litironCoati0:44allanktalaing.abjectiv,a has been Pet at $7.7i000 up front144$00eStarg4, of$71,000 in tbe, ,Recreation.SSOLIPA ..at the paper, Itnadeta will find*Olianlaulnilt4atit section,c, -111e, final day of adjaniFonalitgailFcallada Week. .two,page secteukTeatureS..thentOrtes an4pictures of the B and C Division ebamplopabip games Saturday. The 34th edition of the 0°0110 Lions „ Young Canada Week r*Yfee\HOOPY.:,Tal#110114941aa a successful one one,;lndtba Goderich team played .welI, capturing the BAlniiiioh consolation championship Saturday. Goderich bef$ part of port study The port of Goderich willbe part of ,a joint study undertaken by the federal government and the pra- vince of Ontario to determine the present and future needs of ports in Ontario. , Transport . Ministers JeanLuc-Pepin and James Snow announced that each ministry would contribute $225,000 to the study which will examine - 60 Ports in Ontario including 37 which come under „federal jurisdiction. The consulting firms of Peat Marwick and Part- ners, Stevenson Blucher) Associates Ltd. and Dillon Consulting Engineers and Planners have been retained to complete the harbour study. The minister said the study will assess the short and long-term port development needs of the province and- will include recommendations for the establishment or con- firmation of certain ports as regional ports. The announcement of the Study was madelast week but it is not knownwhen the study will begin. Cash stolen from variety store Th Goderich Police Department reports that the Bluewater Variety store, which is located at the corner of Britannia and Bayfield Roads, was broken into on the weekend. . • • The front Wadi* and door of the store were smashed and over$230 in cash was taken. etter trom local association • The Goderich and District Association , for the Mentally Retarded will have to wait at least two weeks untilcouncil considers its request for rezoning to permit the establishment of group homes. • At the advice of planning board, the Association submitted a letter to council Monday asking that council amend the zoning bylaw by adding group. homes as a permitted use in residential areas. Association president, Mary Donnelly, also asked in the letter that the house at 16 Elgin Avenue be per- mitted as a group home. However, council decided to leave the matter until its April 11 meeting after endorsing a motion, in-.. A Computer kid The computerized classroom will be the thing of the future, at least the government has promised to put every student behind a ctimputer. The students of Robertson Memorial MIMIC School in Goderich got a head start on the school computer craze ith the help of Zehr's tapes. Local store manage Ray Hurd \ 'N\ AN". \ • presented the students with a cheque for $1,045 Tuesday which represents 11 for every $300 in tapes collected by the students. Here, Steve Smith, 'rim Wilson, Colin Shand and Richard Boddy demon- strate the use of the computer to Hurd. ( photo by Dave Sykes) troduced by councillor Don Wheeler, to table the matter. Wheeler suggested to council that the matter required further research before it could be properly discussed and handled. Subsequent to consultation with the town solicitor; planning board recommended that council recom- mend that the association apply for a zoning bylaw change' to permit group homes. Council passed the motion and will recommend the association apply for a zoning change despite an attempt by Wheeler to have the motion tabled. Deputy -reeve Jim Britnell countered that council knew the letter would be appearing on the agenda and he suggested the matter be dealt with. Councillor -Bill Clifford' said that considering the recommendation from planning board resulted from a meeting with the town solicitor, council should comply with the request and endorse the motion. Teachers accept new agreement By Stephanie Levesque The Huron -Perth Separate School Board has ratified its 1983-84 teachers' contract in accordance with the provincial anti-inflation restraint act. The 155 teachers of the Huron -Perth unit of Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association ratified the contract prior to the board's ratification on March 14. "There was nothing to negotiate. The government did it for us," said negotiations committee chairman trustee Ray Van Vliet. A press release issued by both parties stated, "In late January, the local unit of OECTA informed the Board that it did not wish to negotiate a new contract for 1983-84 because of the presence of the Ontario Restraint Program (Bill 179). 'Instead it asked the board to simply adjust the current contract accor- ding to the terms of Bill 179. This means a five per cent increase to the salary grid and allowances for responsibility. All other contract clauses including benefits remain identical to those in the 1982-83 agree- ment." The new salary grid ranges from a low of $16,510 in level D, up from $15,725 currently, to a high of $42,135 in Level A4 with 12 years experience up from $40,130 presently. The lowest starting full-time salary for a teacher college graduate in September of 1983 will be $19,970, up from $19,020. The full-time salary for staff at September 1983 will range from $19,970 to $42,135. Principals will continue to receive 16.6 per cent of their Sind salafy as their responsibility allowance. The average principal's salary for 1983-84 will be $46,990. The minimum principal's salary will be $25,850 while the maximum will be $49,130. The average teachers' salary for 1983-84 will be $31,940, up from the current aVerage of $30,055. "In past years, negotiators (both board and teacher) have attempted to relate salary levels to projected percentage and/or dollar changes in the Consumer Price Index," notes the press release. Gaeten Blanchette, president of the Huron -Perth unit of IDECTA'said there was a willingness among the teachers andthe board to comply with Bill 179. • Goderich wins The 34th annual Young Canada Week tournament drew to a close on Saturday with the "C" and "B" Divisions competing for various trophies. Among the winners was Goderich Pee Wees captain, Scott Garrow who led his team to a 4-1 win over Kingsville to take the "8" Division consolation title. The stories and pictures about Saturday's games appear on pages 9 and 10 in the Recreation section. First tourney This past weekend eight teams competed in the first Invitational Basketball Tournament which was hosted, by the Goderich Gee Gees. The Gee Gees played well and made it all the way to the A division championship. The story and pictdres appear err the front page of the Recreation section. Two birthdays Two Maitland Manor residents celebrated their birthdays last week. Both Hattie Van Arnim and Dolly Bruce turned 95 and Signal -Star reporter Joanne Buchanan talked to the ladies about their lives. `The stories and pictures appearon page 11 of the Recreation sectien.