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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1978-10-05, Page 1Buses to be offered to secondary schools for. use BY JEFF SEDDON The Huron County , Board of ,Education decided Monday that rather than sell six of its surplus buses it would offer them to its secondary schools for in-house use. Land is paid for . Mayor Deb Shewfelt asked deputy -reeve Palmer to back up a, statement she made at the September 25 meeting of council claiming that land in the industrial park had been purchased and not paid for. Mayor Shewfelt asked for the -clarification at` the' M'onddrineeting of'town- council. In speaking. about the statement Mayor Shewfelt said that deputy -reeve Palmer's claim that the, town gave away land reflected on the administration. "We had a search done on every property in the park that was sold," the mayor explained. "Everything that has been sold there is paid fpr and documented." Palmer said she failed to elaborate on her statement made at the September 25 meeting but said the basis of the statement arose from a meeting of the .Economic- Development Corn- mittee. "I'm glad it's clarified," Palmer said. "The statement vtas a quote from the economic development committee meeting that was never clarified by the committee and I didn't look into it." The statement was made during a debate at council about the red tape experienced by •rpotential tennants of the industrial park in Goderich. The procedure requires rezoning of the property and approval from council, planning board and the economic development committee. At the meeting councillor Elsa Haydon ac- cused the ecogomic development committee of being a 'most unbusinesslike committee' that has delayed projects by misleading people on procedure. Councillor Dave Gower insisted that the problems arising from that committee were initiated by council. "Council doesn't let the committee do its job. We have 40 acres of industrial land but people who want to locate there get the ring around the rosier" he said. "They have to come to council, then back to planning board, we should just zone the land industrial."" It was then that Palmer charged that land in, the park was bought but not paid for. The"'discussion arose --from the inquiries oto,,, two local businesses to locate in the -industrial park. Lakeport Steel and Goderich Glass both approached .the economic development com- mittee about the move at a recent committee meeting. Council approved recommendations from the committee on the, relocation of the industries to the Industrial Park. The request for one acre of land by Goderich Glass was sent to planning board while the Lakeport request was sent back to the economic development committee: Retarded program gets board backing The Goderich Recreation Board voted unanimously in favor of continuing the mental retardation integration program that was established in town two years ago. The Board voted in favor of continuing funding the project for the balance of the year and that the cost of operating the integration project for a full year be included in the next budget. Councillor Bob Allen introduced the motion to continue the program which had been previously funded ' by the province. The province agreed to carry the complete costs of the program. for a two-year period but after that time it was up to the municipality to carry on with the project. The program, co-ordinated by Jane Netzke, has met with great success not only in Goderich but in surrounding areas. During her two years ds program co-ordinator, Netzke has been instrumental in integrating mildly retarded adults into ongoing community programs, recreational activities and night school classes. But the program has required the services of several volunteers who have assisted the co- ordinator on a regular basis. At the meeting Miss Netzke and Betty Reid, an active supporter of•the program, produced several letters- from parents who praised the efforts of the programand 'encouraged that it be continued. The board asked that the letters be copied and, thatthe copies be sent to council for their scrutiny. Government funding for the project ended September 29 and immediate funds were needed to carry the program through to the end of,the year. Recreation director Mike Dymond estimated that carrying the program for a few months would only mean an additional $2,000 on the recreation budget. In the motion Allen suggested that the program be included in next year's recrei'ttion. -budget but accotnn odation of the ititegt>ation program may ' 'necessitate ;, cutting tither recreatio;progrars next year. Dymond said,] he cost of the program wduld not increase neilit year and could probably be carried for abo I,$16;000. F' The board hopes to cut costs at the secondary school level byfusing bpardowned buses, driven by teachers from the schools, to transport students on field trips and school teams travelling to other schools for athletic com- petition. A year long experiment at Goderich District Collegiate Institute proved that costs can be cut by locating a bus at a secondary school and making it available to that school and elementary schools near it. GDtrI principal John Stringer asked the board in October of 1977 to give the school a surplus bus on a trial basis to see if money could be saved from the school's field trip and transportation budget. In a letter to the board Stringer said the bus had travelled 3,492 miles since it was delivered to the school. and that it had been used by Goderich Cpllegiate, Colborne Central Public School, Exeter Public School and two elementary schools in Goderich. The principal indicated that maintenance costs on the vehicle had been high for the year but noted that some repai S -were` ezterisive -a`tid that tFie us should ---- be safe from major repairs for thenext several years. Despite the unusual costs the board owned bus was cheaper than the conventional method of hiring a bus and driver for field trips and athletic events. Stringer pointed out that the availability of the bus has enabled elementary schdols• to retain worthwhile field trips and has made the outdoor education program at GDCI much more effective. The principal,told the board the bus "remains a valuable asset to the GDCI students and -the elementary schoolsthat.use it". Seaforth trustee John Henderson• asked the board to give Seaforth District Secondary School one of the better buses to permit that school to operate a program similar to Goderich. Henderson asked that the principal of the school be given the chance to have a bus • if he wanted it stressing that it "be one of the better buses". Exeter trustee Clarence McDonald told the board that when the' program was first suggested he fought it but said that "if this is the way we are going to go we may as well have one at South Huron in Exeter". McDonald suggested that each of the secondary schools be offered a bus stipulating that if the principal took the vehicle costs to maintain and operate it would come out of the school's field trip budget. .. Director of education JQ.htl. _G.gch,r-ang suggested that the board "put this can of worms to bed once and for all": He asked if the board intended to make it policy to give each school a surplus bus rather than sell the vehicles by tender. "I can't see us keeping a whole fleet of sur- plus buses," commented Colborne trustee Shirley Hazlitt. Board chairman John Elliott reminded the board of the financial problems it is plagued the;,1 with. Elliott said Lhe board faces restraint in many areas adding that it already had several delegations of, department heads requesting more money for academic areas In schools. Elliott said it was obvious that something had to be sacrificed to provide funds for . board priorities and asked trustees if surplus buses was a priority the board wanted to establish. "Are we going to expand field trips or back up and use the money elsewhere?" he, asked. "Where's our priorities? Henderson pointed out that the move may be saving money the board is going to have to spend anyway. He said many elementary school students are being bussed to secondary schools for shop and home economics at a cost of 60 cents a mile. He said with a little co- operation and management the surplus buses could be used to gain big savings to the board. "The board provides buses this year and has to make cuts next year and may be forced to canoel. ..fieId-tr•ips'�-said -Elliott: ='Are -we gotrrg to cut academic costs for more recreation?" Separate school trustee Eugene Frayne pointed out that the only cost to the board was for the bus. He said the buses may have brought $700 to $1,000 through a sale but that money would have been used for field trips for Goderich. "It appears Goderich made it work," said Frayne. Board transportation manager R. L. Cun- nin4ham, pointed out , that the maintenance costs were absorbed by the school but that the board maintained fleet insurance on the bus. He said the insurance cost about $250 a year. Elliott suggested that the bus located at the school didn't save a t •jot last year when everything is considered. He said the school may save standing time costs for a driver by having a teacher operate the bus but suggested that the board paid a supply teacher to fill in for the one driving the bus. He said the supply teacher costs the board quite a bit more than the four dollars an hour a driver costs. "I'm pretty sure that a principal would not take a teacher out of a classroom when he can get a driver for four dollars an hour," said Henderson. "I'm pretty sure they're broader minded than that." It was pointed out to the board that much of the success of the surplus bus program depends on luck. If the buses can be operated without major repairs the board will realize substantial sa.vin f -If -re rs".are.-n.eaed gs.---I y pal ed ohviausl3r,. _ those savingsi11 be reduced. Zurich trust Herb Turkheim told the board either "all the schools have a bus or none have one". He said it wasn't fair to discriminate and offer Goderich and Seaforth a bus and the remainder nothing. He said the board has to decide to offer a bus to each school or sell the buses and forget the program altogether. "I fought against the prograin at the time because I knew this would happen," said E lliott. 131 YEAR -40 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1978 35 CENTS PER COPY Driver escapes injury att1eIkille.d as truck crashes through rail BY JOANNE BUCHANAN Late Monday afternoon when a young boy on Wolfe Street came in from outside and told his mother that there was a cow in their backyard, she passed it off as childish jibberish and sent him on his way outside again. However, when she went to call the boy for supper a few minutes later, she discovered that his ob- servation was almost accurate --it wasn't a cow, it was a steer! And it wasn't long before police were swamped with telephone calls from many people who had seen cattle running past their homes and through town. All of these sightings were the result of a transport truck trader acciaent which occurred in Goderich on Monday about 4:30 p.m. • About 29 head of cattle had to be killed at the scene or destroyed later when the vehicle carrying them crashed through an overpass guardrail' on the Highway 21 bridge, falling 30 feet over the bridge to an embankment below. There were over 90 head of cattle in. the trailer and those not injured in the accident, ran frightened through town. Many of them were rounded up on Monday with some eluding pursuers for several hours. The search con- tinued on Tuesday with the searchers flying over town for two hours in an O.P.P. helicopter. Investigating officer, Gary Martin of the Goderich detachment of the O.P.P., reported that as of Tuesday, 54 head of cattle had been rounded up and were in good shape. After the accident, the truck's cab somehow remained on the bridge, dangling threateningly over the edge. Driver Glenn Wrixon, 24, of Starbuck, Manitoba escaped injury but a passenger, 21 -year-old Grant Olson, also of Most seek re-election. BY JEFF SEDDON All but three of 15 Huron County Board of Education trustees at Monday's board meeting announced plans to seek re-election to the board'in November's municipal elections. Board chairman John Elliott asked trustees at the end of the meeting if they would be in- terested in stating their intentions for the up- coming election. Both Goderich trustees, Cayley Hill and.Dgrothy Wallace, and Clinton trustee Dorothy Williams, said they were un- decided. Hill said he would like to run for re- election but would have to wait until closer to the October 16 nomination date before deciding. Wingharn trustee Murray Mulvey was absent from the meeting. Those seeking another term on the board are Jack Alexander of Wingham•, John Elliott of Blyth, separate school supporter trustees Eugene .Frayne and Charles Rau, Exeter trusteed Harry Hate and CIarence McDonald, .Colbgrne and Goderich township •trustee Shirley Hazlitt, Brussels trustee Don McDonald, Hayfield trjtstee R. K. Peck, Zurich trustee Herb Tprkhdtm, Ashfield township trustee Marion Zinn and Seaforth trustee John Henderson. • Starbuck, was admitted to Goderich hospital with bruises and lacerations. Constable Martin estimates that there was about $50,000 damage done to the bridge, about $20,000 to the; transport and about $12,000 worth of yearling steers and calves lost. Charges are pending, he says. The• cattle had been bound for the Chatham stock yards from Manitoba. Those not killed or maimed in the crash scattered along the high- way and into the nearby Maitland golf course. Some were seen at the Five Points corner in Goderich and others wandered as far as High- way 8. About 25 surviving cattle were corralled in a gas station lot near the scene of the ac- cident while hoists were used to haul others up the embankments. Goderich town councillor Bob Allen lassoed one animal which was wandering through the grounds at Victoria Public School. Provincial police and others spent several hours immediately after the accident, tracking groups of cattle which had disappeared into the woods and along a nearby rail line which runs under the overpass where the accident took place. ' Veterinarian, Dr. Bill Schilthuis, began examining the animals at about 5:30 p.m. and ordered those with serious injuries shot. The accident caused a traffic jam as those on their way home from work were unable to use the bridge for several hours. Onlookers watch •as the cab of a transport .truck the edge of the Highway 21- bridge in Goderich. were killed or had•. to be destroyed after the carrying them crashed through an:overpass gpa ' I • hangs dangerously over About 29 head of cattle trait .' s `trpot tritek trailer rdrail ort the bridge and fell about 30 feet. The driver escaped injury but a passenger suffered lacerations and bruises. Frightened cattle wandered through town and someeluded pursuers for many hours. (Photo by Joanne Buchanan)