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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1986-09-10, Page 1Allegations against chief librarian rased at council By Alan Rivett Bill Partridge, the chief librarian for Huron County, says he is prepared to resign his position over allegations of mismanage- ment by stafat the county library head- quarters in Goderich. At the county council meeting on September 4, Partridge told council that at the end of his holidays in July, he was told to attend an emergeency meeting of the Library Board on July 15. In the closed meeting, he and the board discussed two let- ters addressed to board chairman Tom Cun- ningham signed by six library head - quarter's staff members, dated June 11 and July 10, which outlined a variety of concerns over the operation of the headquarters by the head librarian. After the meeting, Partridge said he con - suited with a law firm from London to repre- sent him during any discussion by the board on any matters regarding the allegations. "I'm not ashamed of the service, I've given in Huron Ct unty. I think I've given full worth in my 14 Oars here. I will consider leaving because Qf the situation at head- quarters. I hope this clears up some of the questions," said Partridge at the council meeting. In an interview on September 5, Partridge said he has given both a verbal response to the allegations and has furnished the Library Board with a letter from his solicitors, Siskind and Cromarty of London, regarding his position on the matter. In the letter, dated August 22 and address- ed to Board Chairman Tom Cunningham, Partridge says he is prepared to give his Goderich resignation to the Library Board conditional upon the board granting him as much time. as needed to find a similar position with another public library board, which he ex- pects will take an estimated six months. He also expects the board to give him a "fair recommendation" for his 14 years of service as head of the county library system. He said if the Library Board will not ac- cept the proposal, it will be "in for a fight like they've never seen before" in order to clear his name and resolve the situation. Partridge said he has yet to receive a rep- ly from the board regarding his proposal. Tom Cunningham, chairman of the library board, said it is a personnel matter the board intends to resolve within the board, without making it public until all the parties have been heard. "The board felt it should be dealt with in - camera, and it should stay that way. We ask for council's indulgenceas we feel it's a per- sonal matter and we intend to hear all sides of the matter... We have not taken a position and we will not until all sides have been heard. "We do not want to wash our dirty laund_ y in public and we don't want to make anyo 'e feel bad in public," said Cunningham. Bayfield Reeve Dave Johnston questioned the board's refusal to make the situation public, so council can deal with, and possibly rectify, the ordeal. "The people on the streets seem to know more than the people on county council. The board can only recommend measures while it's the job of county council to act on these Turn to page 2 SIGNAL STA 138 YEAR - 37 GODERICH, ONTARIO, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1986 60 CENTS PER COPY National Film Board will humanize the young offender's lif'e BY SUSAN HUNDERTMARK A film by the National Film Board of Canada set in the Bluewater Centre for Young Offenders will humanize the situa- tion of an angry young man, says director John N. Smith. "It's an issue that can't be shoved under the carpet. When a boy has problems relating to the community; his problems can't be solved in the isolation of prison. He has to come back into the community to deal with them," says Smith. After researching the film for six mon- ths by talking to judges, lawyers, proba- tion officers, social workers, prison of- ficials, psychologists and hundreds of kids in five other facilities in Ontario and six in Quebec, Smith says he's come up with 'a composite story of a youth who is sentenc- ed to the Bluewater Centre for committing a crime. Family conflict and peer pressure will be contributing factors. leading up to the crime, The story will cover two parts of the young offender's life. The first will deal with the first three months in prison and the second will cover the year leading up to his sentence. "We checked the composite story with the experts to make sure it rings true. Of course, it will be very individual and very particular as it is the story of one person," he says. The actor playing the main character has already been hired by the National Film Board but as many as 75 local youths will be needed to fill out the facility since federal legislation says that actual young - offenders cannot be identified tothe public. Auditions started on Saturday at the Goderich District Collegiate Institute for youths needed in the film. Auditions have also been held at Central Huron Secondary School in Clinton and will continue to be held locally until the positions are filled. The filmmakers are also looking for peo- ple to play prison staff such as guards and other officials like psychologists and social workers. "This is a different kind of film we're making because we don't give anyone a script. So, people trying out for parts have to have enough background that they can be the part. If a person is going to play a psychologist, he's going to have to know something about that so he can sound like one," he says. The filming will take a total of two and a half months, three weeks of which will be spent filming in the Bluewater Centre and five or six weeks for the year leading up to prison. "We don't want to provide solutions with this film. We want to raise questions. There are no simple solutions; they're multi -dimensional," says Smith. From his research, Smith says the main problems leading to imprisonment centre around troubled family situations and drug and alcohol abuse. "We want to show the positive elements that can come up of being locked up and being isolated from bad influences. In 'a closed facility, the kids can take a look at themselves and can make contact with the sensitive people that work there." "We also want to look at the moral ques- tion that however bad their circumstances are, these boys do decide to break the law. Lots of kids are in the same circumstances who don't break the law so why do young offenders choose to? We'll look at how they have to take responsibility for their own actions;" says Smith. In the film, bonds will be formed bet- ween the boy and other people which will "take the sting out of the boy's anger." Before he enters the facility, he will have a relationship with a girlfriend and a friend who is a "partner in crime." Once in prison, he'll develop a relationship with a prisonTofficial. "We hope the prison experience won't be totally negative or positive. But, a strong bond will be formed and the boy's behavior will change. At the end, the audience will not be sure if he will carry on with crime and head off into the adult system or straighten his life out," saysSmith. He says that his research has shown that one of the great dangers of imprisoning people will) break the law is that the im- prisonment can become a pattern. "Canada has shockingly, bad statistics for creating permanent residents in our prisons. The repeater rate in Canada is among the highest in the world." But, he says that experts are making much stronger attempts to deal, with the real causes of youth breaking the law by finding out about family situations and healing those wounds. "We've heard it said over and over that if young offenders are sent back to the same situation when they're let out of prison, any good work done in prison will be undone," he says. Because the story will be told 'from the boy's point. of view, very little of the film will deal with the backlash against the Young Offender's Act though the restraints that officials have to work under will be shown. Tentative contract could avert strike A tentative contract reached by negotiators last Friday could avert a strike,by 9,000 workers at about 100 A and P stores in Ontario. In Goderich, approx- imately 50 workers are affected by the negotiations. Members of the United Food and Com- mercial Workers will vote on the deal later this week, possibly Sunday. They have been working without a contract since June and reached a legal strike position last Thursday. Members last month voted 98 per cent in favor of giving their bargaining committee the right to call a strike. The union represents most employees in the stores, including full and part-time clerks, cashiers and meat cutters. Main issues in the dispute are Sunday 'work hours, wages and pensions. Cashiers now earn $12.92 an hour, clerks $13.69 and meat cutters $14.63. No strike at Elevators A possible strike by 35 Goderich Elevator employees has been averted. Union and management at the company were involved in bargaining sessions last Friday and Monday of this week. On Mon- day, an agreement was reached and subse- quently voted on and accepted by the employees. Details of the contact have not been released, but the main issue in the talks was job security for the 14 part-time workers employed by the company. The union had been working without a contract since March 31 of this year 0 Vehicle makes Suncoast Mall a drive-thru The Suncoast Mall suffered over $3,000 in damages over the weekend when the rear doors were smashed and a vehicle was driven through the mall to Nakamura Pharmacy where $50 in cash and eight car- tons of cigarettes were stolen. "It certainly was expensive to get that little bit of money and those cigaretters," says Goderich Police Chief Pat King. One 16 -year-old young offender was ar- rested at the scene at 4 a.m. on Sept. 6 by Constable Brownlee who chased him on foot. A 19 -year-old man was later charged. A third person is being sought. The vehicle, owned by the 19 -year-old, was impounded by the police. INSIDE THE S1 -G N -AL STAID Director John N. Smith from the National Film Board looks on as Clinton high schoo students Bill Rhynard and Ron Calder act out an impromptu scene as they audition to par ticipate in a film on the Bluewater Centre for Young Offenders. The film, which wil humanize the story of a young offender, will take two and a half months to film. More than 75 local people are needed to participate as actors and extras in the film. If interested, phone Sally Bockner, associate producer at 524-2107. Number of visitors to Goderich is up by 32 percent By Paul Hartman According to figures from the Bureau of Visitation, which cover the period mid- May to September, tourism in Goderich is up some 32 percent from the same period last year. Statistics reveal that 12,377 visitors registered at the tourist booth during the 31/2 month period. This figure is up from 9,343 during the same period last year, an increase of 3,034 travellers. The Tourism -Industrial Promoter for Goderich, Robin Stuart, sees the increase in tourism as a good sign but notes it's dif- ficult to pinpoint the reasons for the growth. "Part of the increase can be attributed to the differences in the Canadian and American dollars," says Stuart. He ex- plains that the exchange rate, has a two- fold effect on tourism. Firs, the lower Canadian dollar makes Canada very at- tractive to American tourists. Secondly, the higher American dollar encourages Canadians to stay home and spend their vacation dollars here. Search for new MOH By Alan Rivett While efforts have been made to acquire a new Medical Officer of Health (MOH) for Huron County over the summer recess, an official with the health unit admits the search is back to square one. Brian McBurney, the chairman of the board of health 'for the county, said the board was set to hire Dr. James Fan, the 11OH for the Western Newfoundland Health Unit for the past year, over two other ap- plicants for the position. The board recently received a letter from Dr. Fan however, stating he was unable to take the job because of "problems with immigration". The decision to hire Dr. Fan was based upon good recommendations made by the Associate -Deputy Minister of the govern- ment of Newfoundland and Labrador, the department of health, and the associate deputy minister for whom Dr. Fan had been working. Exeter Reeve Bill Muckle questioned McBurney as to what immigration pro - Stuart sees the large number of celebra- tions held in the Goderich area during the summer as another factor in the growth of tourism. "There were a lot of area events such as sesquicentennials that drew people to the vicinity, but the Town of Goderich would also receive visitors as a result of these." As well, explains Stuart, Goderich has its own share of annual events that draw people back year after year. Through pro- motion, these events also attract vaca- tioners who are in the area. Stuart also points to events such as the recently in- stalled Tiger Dunlop Days and the expand- ed Canada Day Celberation as further reasons for the growth. "The many sports events that go on in the area are also a con- tributing factor," says Stuart. Some of the credit for the increased numbers of tourists must be go to the pro- motion that has been undertaken by the Tourist Committee. A colorful brochure has been produced which details attrac- tions in the town and representatives have Turn to page 3 • is back to square one blems could be created by moving from one province to another. McBurney said Dr. Fan currently has landed immigrant status to Canada and is working on a year-to-year basis in Newfoundland. When he applied, he assured the board he would be travelling to Ottawa to "get his papers together", however, in his letter, he stated he was unable to obtain the irhmigration documents. The other applicants for the MOH position will not be looked at in order to fill the posi- tion, said McBurney, following the meeting on September 4. The board of health will continue to look for a new MOH and hope to have someone in that position by November or December of this year'. One option the board is currently inv sst'gating is hiring a fall graduate of the University of Toronto's graduate school of dieine. 'We're going to contact the registrar at the medical school to see if he can recorn- Turn to page 2 s Moving forward From the time humans first learned to walk, we have constantly been looking for new and better means of mobility and new sources of energy to make our mobility even more efficient. This week's com- munity section features'an informed look at the current technology and the future of transportation energy. Viking football The football season got underway locally this week as the GDCI Vikings gear up to defend their Huron Perth titles. Read about the prospects for this year's season on today's sports page. Mine rescue When an Ontario mine resuce team enters the national mine rescue competi- tion for the first time this year, a Goderich man will be one of eight men• representing the province. Read about the competition Which will take Brian MacKenzie to lNanianlo, B.C. inside today's Signal -Star on page 6B.