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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1979-05-03, Page 1Endofprogram could mean end of recreation job BY JEFF SEDDON Sentiments that a program operated in Goderich to integrate mentally handicapped people into the com- munity will end if the town does not receive financial help from other municipalities do not stop with the program itself. Suggestions have been made that if the program is ended Jane Netzke's position on the town's recreation department will also end. That possibility has eluded most of the discussions about the integration .program but came to Tight recently when it was discovered that the funds the town was asking' for were for both the program and Netzke's salary. Netzke came to Goderich three years ago to administer the in- tegration program under a grant from the ministry of community and social services. That grant paid for costs of the program as well as costs to ad- minister it- Netzke s salary, When the government announced it was ending the grant the Goderich recreation board, and ultimately town council, agreed to, pick up the tab for the program until the end of 1979. But that agreement was twofold. The town paid the costs to operate the integration program and also placed Netzke on the staff of the recreation department. Netzke, the rec board and some members of .council assumed that if the in- tegration program was curtailed at the end of 1979 Netzke would remain on the rec department staff. According to reeve Eileen Palmer that assumption may have been wrong. Palmer said Monday if the town doesn't get financial help for the integration program "her (Netzke's) position would have to be seriously reviewed at the end of this year". Palmer said she was only one member of council but pointed out that council may have to give some thought to,the situation because of financial problems it faces. The reeve pointed out that the position Netzke now fills on the rec department staff was created by the govern- ment integration program. She said she wanted to look at • the amount of time Netzke spends un town recreation affairs and time spent on the in- •tegration program. She said the percentage of time spent on each would have a hearing on Net- zke's future. The reeve did not mean to be critical of Netzke's work. She said the review is not intended to see if she is doing a good job for the town•b,pt only to see if her'serviees are needed Part of the confusion in the recreation resulted from the town's department if the in request to the county of tegration program is not Huroti for help in operating. operating a $14,200 in - Palmer said many of tegration program. That the questions raised by $14,200 was the total Gctst the continuance of the of the program when it integration programs was funded by the "definitely depended on financial assitance from other municipalities". "The town did not have a need for the job until the recreation program was 'affected by the. in- tegration project," Palmer noted. • Deputy -reeve Bob Allen does not agree with Palmer. He said Netzke's job "is not in jeopardy". Allen said Netzke is an "excellent person" and is a 'full-time employee of the town's recreation sell. to get some county department. money to -offset costs the province but that in- cluded Metzke's salary. If the town has since hired Netzke to its own staff the integration program would cost in the neigh- borhood of $4,000. Some of Palmer's arguements to county council when the request for funds came up suggested that she was using Netzke's job and the integration program Lig a club. Some felt that Palmer was trying a hard town has to keep Netzke on the. payroll. Palmer said that wasn't true. She said she wants the town to take a long look at the situation. Netzke said since starting at the recreation department her horizons have expanded beyond the integration program. She said she gradually took on more duties and filled in as rec director during the void between Mike Dymond leaving the post and Jim Moore arriving. Moore said Netzke has a lot of work to do in the Goderich recreation department. He said she handles all programs for the department as well as the integration project and other duties. He'said he was not familiar with what was done politically when the town picked up the costs of the in- tegration program and hired Netzke and could not comment on the matter. Town clerk Larry McCabe said he believed Netzke was a full time employee of the town whether or not the town continued to finance the integration •program for the handicapped. He said he had received nothing ,official indicating the matter was to be reviewed or that Netzke would not be an employee when the town ended its support of the integration program. He pointed out that was a, decision council would have to make. Tenders let for two NIP area streets Goderich town council accepted two tenders for street constrction and paving work in the NIP area at a special meeting Thursday. The tender of Lavis Contracting Ltd. in the amount of $27,486 for the paving of Cambria Road and Nelson Street was accepted over a second tender of $28,696 submitted by Cottrill Fuels, Kincardine. The awarding of the contract is subject to the approval of the town,engineer and the Ministry of Transportation and Communication. Ken Gerber Construction of Stratford sub- mitted the lowest of five tenders for street. construction in the NIP area with a bid of $411,801. Council accepted the tender by Gerber which is also subject to the approval of the town engineer and the MTC. Other bids submitted'for the contract were by Arnott Construction, • Collingwood,$453,459; Three Hills Contracting Company, Waterloo, $463,220; Levis Contracting Co. Ltd., Clinton, $41.7,994 and Wayne Lowry Contruction Ltd., Kincardine. $417,941. The street construction program in the north- eastsection of town .will include ,storm and, sanitary sewers for a number of streets bet- ween Victoria and Albert Streets. Clerk,, Larry McCabe estimated. that Ministry approval for the projects would take between two and four weeks with work beginning in the early part of June. 132—YEAR 18 THURSDAY, MAY 3, 1979 • 35 CENTS PER COPY rogram good.. but not for county • BY JEFF SEDDON Huron County council did not dispute the worth of -an integration program for mentally handicapped people in Goderich but balked at. supporting the program because it is not county wide. Council accepted the recommendation of its executive committee Thursday. and turned down a request from the Goderich Recreation department for funds. The executive com- mittee heard the request in March and turned it down at that time but council was asked to delay final decision on the matter until a more complete preseptation could be made by the Goderich rec department. At the stroke of midnight on Friday evening, Laurie Nurse, 17 -year-old daughter of Mr. and Mr's. Gerry Nurse of Goderich township, was fr crowned high school queen at the annual At Home dance by last year's queen, Una Costello. (Photo by Joanne Buchanan) Goderich reeve Eileen. Palmer persuaded council not to make fipal decision on the request without hearing a presentation from Jane Netzke, program -,co-ordinator in _the Goderich rec department. Palmer said the mentally handicapped people in the program were from Goderich and the surrounding area. Sire said she did not know exactly how many handicapped were involved in the program or .how many municipalities were involved but asked that a decision' be delayed until that information could be presented. Netzke said Thursday she had met with the development committee and given it the facts and figures on the program. Shesaid the entire cost of the integration, salary and ad- ministration, amounts to $14,200. She said about 30 mentally handicapped children and 15 adults are involved. She said about two thirds of the handicapped are ' from Goderich with -the remainder hailing from Saltford, Varna, Clinton, Vanastra, Auburn and townships bordering Goderi.ch. Netzke explained that the •program was started in Goderich under a ministry of com- munity and social services grant that paid all costs. That grant expired in 1978. At that time parents and people involved in the integration program .joined in an appeal to Goderich town council to keep the program operating and council responded by funding the program for at least one more year. Council's executive committee sympathized with organizers of the integration program bu felt that because it was confined to the Goderich area the county could not support it. County .Clerk Bill Hanly summed up' the Con- cerns of oncerns.of the committee when he told council Thursday that recreation was the responsibility. of each municipality. Hanly said that if the county got involved in this sort of thing there would be "no end to the requests for funds and the county would be in a difficult position to turn them down". The committee recommended that Goderich seek assistance from its neighbors. It felt that the program should be operated on a user fee basis suggesting that Goderich appeal to the municipalities in• which the handicapped people live. Reeve Palmer appreciated -the fact that the Goderich. request was for a program that was confined to one area but reminded council that Goderich was the county's largest contributor of tax dollars. She told council she was "very disappointed again" that the committee refused the grant__._. Imanse new manager The Goderich Recreation Board named Peter Imanse as the new arena manager in a motion passed at a regular monthly meeting of the hoard, Thursday. Imanse has been an employee at the arena for the past year and a half and succeeds Chuck Jewell who resigned as arena manager April 1 to accept a managerial position in Sarnia. 4 As Community Centre manager, Imanse will he paid a starting salary of $13,540 and after a six-month probationary period it will increase to $14.040 according to a Level I position in the town's wage grid. An interviewing committee of board chair- man, Mary Donnelly, Bob Gibbons. John Doherty, Mayor Worsell and recreation director, J-im Moore reviewed 17 applications received for the job. Four applicants were; selected for interviews before Imanse was; recom ended for the post. The hppointment is effective Mayl 1. Palmer said the program was very wor- thwhile adding that despite the fact that the county funds would be isolated in the Goderich area she had "no reluctance whatsoeverrn asking for a gdrant from the county". . .Usborne reeve Bill Morley told council that he -felt government had a responsibility to the handicapped people. He said he felt the com- munity should support programs like the Goderich one adding that he" was confident municipalities around Goderich would provide the funds necessary to keep it operating. He added that if the program was in his area his council would look at it very seriously. These were the,soldiers in the operetta, His Majesty's Pie, performed at Holmesville Public School last week during the spring concert .there. The concert, which featured three choirs and the school band, was part of Education Week, The soldiers were played by Michael Lobb (captain), Gary Fox, Fraser . Abbott, John Wubs and Ken Davis, (photo by Joanne Buchanan) Inside the Signal Election fever in Grade 5 m m m o o Page 12 Oldtimers win bronze m m o o ®m m o o Page 15 United plays Saturday m o a m o e Page 16 Teachers hedge on morals o q o Page 1A Foreign ownership big concern Page 7A