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The Wingham Advance-Times, 1983-05-11, Page 1Blyth Branob Library Box res it lyth, :+nt, N.®M 1B* n 4 The local share of the budget for the Huron County Board of Education is in- creasing by 10.5 per cent this year under a budget adopted last week by board trustees. This amounts to an ad- ditional 537.05 in property taxes for an average rate- payer with a property as- sessed at $3,110. Ratepayers are being asked to pay 511.6 million of a $35.3 million total budget; last year the local share was 510.5 million on a budget of 532.2 million. The total budget this year is up by 9.5 per cent, however the share paid by the Ministry of Education is up by just five per cent to 521.7 million. The remainder of the budget, about 51.6 million, will come from tuition fees paid by the province or other school boards, rentals, night school fees and supplementary taxes. Chairman Dorothy Wal- lace said trustees reviewed the budget thoroughly. "In by view of decreased government support and increases in the Canada Pension Plan, unemploy- ment insurance and the seven per cent sales tax (on school supplies), I per- sonally can't see that this board could have done any better and kept its obligations to the students," 1 .5 Mrs. Wallace sand.. In her inaugural address in January, she had forecast a 17 per cent increase in the budget; this was later cut to 15 per cent after items such as an increase in the French core program, additional coordinators and capital projects were cut. A major budget cut in - in eluded roof repairs at the Clinton, Exeter and Zurich public schools and the Goderich and Clinton high schools, as well as a new boiler for the Brussels Public School. The budget still contains roof repairs to be done at the Robertson Memorial Public School in Goderich and the MYTH ucation Turnberry Central School at a total cost of 5105,900, to be fully paid by local ratepayers with no funding from the ministry. Education Director John Cochrane said federal make- work grants could be used to complete the roof repairs at the two schools. The board had initially udget planned to spend $706,880 on capital projects this year, including purchasing five school buses at a cost of 5150,000. However a letter from the Education Ministry received April 26 informed the board there would be no provincial funds for the construction projects, al- though money had been set GIRL GUIDE COOKIES went on sale last weekend, with Pathfinders, Guides and Brownies going door-to-door on Saturday which was Cookie Day. Cookies also are available at the Town Hall and Zehrs. Getting ready for the sale last week were Guides Kirsten Keil and Michelle Cummings, Pathfinder Terri Shaw and Brownie Tharen Keil. Parents are upset over film shown at Exeter high school "Caring and Sharing", a film shown to Grade 12 students at the South Huron Secondary School in Exeter, has several parents and at least one board of education trustee upset. Trustee Dennis Rau of Zurich has asked the board to investigate the showing of the film to students in the Grade 12 family studies course. During a board meeting last week, he said a group of about 50 people saw the film at St. Boniface School after it had been shown at the local high school. He was one who saw it and he described the film as being in "bad taste". Stating that he was being frank with the board, Mr Rau said the film mainly discusses masturbation and pre-malrital sex. What of- fended him was the film's acceptance of masturbation as healthy and the suggestion that pre -marital sex is good and helps people to find the right partner. "There was nothing about love," he said. While he himself is a Catholic, Mr. Rau said parents from other denominations also saw the film and were, in some cases, even more upset than the Catholic parents. It was acknowledged that the film undermines the moral standards taught by the Catholic church. Mr. and Mrs. Clare Regier from Zurich and Joe Miller from Dashwood were at the board meeting and asked who is responsible for allowing the film to be shown at the school. "Is there not a committee here that reviews films?" Mr Miller wanted to know. "if not, there is somethi wrong with the board of education." Mr. Regier said he is sic of fighting against books and films being used in the school system. "You're corrupting my kids!" he charged. The meeting turned into a shouting match as Board Chairman Dorothy Wallace tried to assure the parents that administrators would look into the matter, to which Mr. Regier replied, "It's too late!" Robert McCall, superin- tendent of program, said teachers are responsible for films shown in their class- rooms and administrators don't attempt to monitor them. It was noted that the film is not available through the board's media centre, and Mr. Rau said the teacher had obtained it from the Huron County Health Unit. • • Mrs. Regier said she has five students attending the Exeter high school, with two in Grade 12. She added that she was responsible for having the film shown to the group of parents. The board has referred the matter to its education committee. Mrs. Regier concluded she will just have to "wait and see" what the board does. At Huron County Council on the following Thursday, the film was commented upon by Stanley Township Reeve Paul Steckle. He had been approached by a number of parents about "Sharing and Caring" and asked Medical Officer of Health Dr. Harry Cieslar for his comments. "It's meant for older stu- dents," said Dr. Cieslar, not- ing the film provides straight forward information and is not judgmental. "It's been around for 10 years ... I can't understand the sudden furor," said Dr. Cieslar. He added that if people think the film is inappropri- ate, it could be dropped. Only a small group of people, he said, are opposed to the film. Homemaker select '83-'84 exec The Town and Country Homemakers Agency has a , full slate of 15 board members for 1983-84. Bev Brown of Bluevale was elected chairman at the April 27 meeting. Other executive members include: Thea Trick, Clinton, first vice president; Lauretta Seigner, Exeter, second vice president; Jane LeVan of Wingham, secretary. ElaineGottschall of -Kirkton- and-TMrs..Levan- were appointed to represent the agency on the Huron chapter of the Council for Action on Alcohol and Drug Abuse (CAAD). Marie Bolton of Dublin is the board delegate to the Ontario Association of Visiting Homemakers Services, which meets in Toronto once a month. The seven working committees will be set up at a later date. The agency is setting up a display at the Huron Health Day at the Ontario Street United Church, Clinton, Thursday. The display will depict to the public the type of home help the homemakers provide in the county. The board discussed the success of the annual meeting and the many and varied' compliments which many of the board members have received on the way the meeting was conducted. "We appreciate the feedback and want to keep the annual meeting 'a social and in- formative event," remarked Paul. ¢ Steekle, Huron County's representative on the board.; The colonial lady quilt was won by Joan Duddy, Clinton, and the foot stool was won by Abbey McKague of Wingham, Jean Young, the agency's executive director and Lauretta; Siegner were guest speakera at the Kippen Women's Institute, speaking •on the services of the Town and Country Homemakers. Business figures for the month of March are as follows: 43 new clients over February; private patients still ae the principal users and account for 83.22 per cent of the business. Social services account for 7.16 per cent and homecare accounts for 9.62 per cent. der results draining tower The water ran.rusty red in some parts of Wingham Monday mor} ix ?, after the Public Utilities Col`-nission drained its star, ,pe to permit an internal ctiion of the repairs carr) out ,i}1 1981. ' + , With the tank empty, the pressure- must be main- tained using the wellhead pumps and, although this does not pose any problems regarding supply, it does stir up sediment in the mains, leading to the red water. In a related problem, a drop in pressure while the. standpipe was being drained Sunday night allowed water to drain back out of some residential water heaters, resulting in the top elements burning out. By Monday afternoon about half a dozen calls had come in to the PUC office about the problem, and local plumbers were busy with repairs. Although a complete report from the inspecting engineers will not be available for another week or''%*o;-'PiC.. Manager Ken Saxton said they appeared satisfied with what they saw inside the tank. The PUC carried out ex- tensive repairs two years ago to correct problems of concrete spalling inside the standpipe, including coating the inside of the tank with an epoxy sealant. While the standpipe has been declared structurally sound, there had been concern that the spalling and accompanying problems of seepage might lead to trouble down the road. PUC appoints two foremen The Wingham Public Utilities Com- mission has completed some internal reorganization by naming two new foremen and making the job of general foreman a management position. The appointments, which were carried out during a closed meeting last month, were explained . at the PUC's regular meeting May 5. Ken Simmons has been confirmed as general foreman and placed on salary in- stead of an hourly rate. He also now attends meetings of the utilities commission, as well as Manager Ken Saxton. Tom Robinson, who had been acting as foreman during any absence of Mr. Sim- mons, has been named foreman of hydro operations, while Harley Gaunt has been named foreman of waterworks. Essentially, the new appointments simply formalize the working relationship that already existed at the PUC but had never been written down, Mr. Saxton explained. Safety regulations require that someone be clearly in charge at all job sites, and the new organization will permit the PUC to comply, he said. Some wage and salary adjustments ac- companied the reorganization, but the net effect will not put them over the five per cent provincial restraint legislation, Chairman Roy Bennett reported. All PUC employees were awarded raises of five per cent earlier this year. MASONS INSTALL NEW EXECUTIVE ---The Wingham Masonic Lodge installed its new executive for the year at a meeting held last Tuesday evening. Executive members for 1983 are: back, Lee Grove, secretary, Denis Langridge, director of ceremonies, Scott Reid, historian, Gord Cowman, immediate past master, Dave Curzon, chaplain, Gary McCormick, senior steward, Jack Goodall, treasurer; front, George Prue, junior deacon, Fred Lewis, senior deacon, Tom Miller, senior warden, Gordon Baxter, worshipful master, Dave Hynes, junior warden and Reg O'Hagan, organist. BOOK PRESENTATION --Verna Steffler, a registered nursing assistant at thetK, inhIam. atd:D_lsiric „Hgspltal, , has written a book about the Ilisltory of RNAs'!n the pro- vince. She presented the book, entitled "The Bedside Specialist", to William Woodley, director of nursing at the hospital, last Thursday. The release of the book coincides with RNA Day which has been proclaimed for this Friday. Man is in custody on assault charge A Holyrood-area man is in custody at Walkerton, charged with aggravated assault, following an in- cident at a Culross Township farmhouse Monday af- ternoon. Rene Murray, 20, turned,, himself in to provincial, police at the Walkerton de- tachment Tuesday morning, ending a search that involv- ed members of the tactical rescue unit from London and Mount Forest and the K-9 unit from Mount Forest. A police helicopter was on its way to the scene when the man turned himself in. In a prepared statement, police reported that at ap- proximately 5 p.m. Monday officers from the Walkerton detachment responded fo a request for police assistance at the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Murray at RR 1, Holyrood. Contract is let for Edward St. The contract for recon- struction of Edward Street in Wingham has been awarded to Omega Construction Ltd. of London at a cost of $191,212. This includes rebuilding the street for its three -block length, as well as excavating and replacing sanitary and storm sewers, and new sidewalks. The town crew is removing the old sidewalks and paving and the Wingham PUC is renewing its water mains at the same time. Town council was pleased with the tender, which is about $20,000 below the engineer's estimate of the project cost. Council was told that engineer Burns Ross is familiar with the company and satisfied with the quality of its work. Ten bids were received for the Edward Street project, with the successful tender from Omega being the lowest. As a result of the in- vestigation, a warrant was issued for the arrest of Rene Murray, of the same ad- dress, on charges of aggravated assault. After the family had left the scene, it was reported that Rene Murray . had barricaded himself in one of the farm buildings, armed with a high-powered rifle. Police secured the scene, and at daybreak Tuesday members of the tactical rescue unit and Const. Glen O'Rourke from the K-9 unit examined the residence and the outlying buildings in an unsuccessful attempt to find the man. An OPP helicopter had been called in and was en route to the scene to assist in the search, but was called off when Mr. Murray turned himself in shortly after 9 a.m. Tuesday. Leadership hopeful visits area Progressive Conservative leadership candidate Michael Wilson stopped in Wingham Saturday on a swing through western Ontario, meeting delegates to the June leadership convention. Speaking to a small gathering at the Wingham Gpif and Curling Club, Mr. Wi son described himself as the frontrunner among the Ontario candidates. He conceded the overall lead at this point in the race to former party leader Joe Clark, but added he does not think any candidate has the support to win on the first ballot. So far, Mr. Wilson is the only one of the leadership candidates to visit ,this area. However there is a report 'that John Crosbie may be coming through the area later this month. aside for the buses. Mr. Cochrane outlined either factors which affect the 1983 budget. They include the previously -mentioned increases in benefit payments. Also, a forecast decrease of 4.8 teachers at the elementary level ac- tually amounted to only 1.8 positions, since three teachers were required for implementation of the special education package. At the secondary level, there was a net decrease of 4.2 teachers, despite the addition of one resource teacher. Declining enrolment continues to affect the budget. It was pointed out that ministry grants are paid on the number of students attending school, and for 1983 enrolment is expected to decline by about 22 students at the elementary level and 76 at the secondary level. Mr. Cochrane pointed out the board still has to operate the same number of schools and buses, in spite of the decrease. About the only good news for taxpayers is that the projected 15 per cent in- crease has been reduced to 10.5 per cent because the board collected more local taxes than it needed last year. Glen Lamb, financial supervisor, explained the over -levy of 5310,653 oc- curred because actual enrolment increased over estimates at the secondary level, resulting in more. money from the province, and also because money set aside for capital projects was not used because the ministry did not approve capital prajects_last -yearn BUDGET BREAKDOWN - A breakdown of the 1983 budget shows total ex- penditures on elementary schools at $16.6 million, up 10 per cent from 1982. Salaries and benefits for elementary school staff have increased by 11 per cent to $13.3' million. Other costs include general supplies and ser- vices, up 4.7 per cent to $465,334; school staff :and `iinprbveinent, "u► 3:3' per cent to 585.085; capital replacement, down 12.4 per cent to 5337,795; plant operation and maintenance, up 14.8 per cent to 5642,820, and transportation, up 14 per cent to 51.3 million.. Secondary school ex- penditures increased by 6.5 per cent overall to 516.1 million. There was a 10.6 per cent increase in salaries and benefits to 512.1 million; general supplies and ser- vices increased by three per cent to $1.3 million. Staff travel and im- provement costs are up 44.7 per cent to 587,934, while capital projects are down 78.7 per cent to just $105,440 from 5494,742 last year. Plant operation and maintenance costs are estimated at 5559,200, up by 10 per cent, while trans- portation costs are up by 13.7 per cent to $1.6 million. The budget for the board administration centre at Clinton has increased by 22.9 per cent to an estimated 52.6 million. This includes salary and benefit increases of 21.5 per cent to $1.8 million (including staff and trustees) ; general supplies and services, up 10.9 per cent to $310,930; travel and conference expenses, up 22 per cent to 5110,100; building operation and maintenance, up 3.8 per cent to 5113,490, and capital costs (furniture and equipment), up 16.6 per cent to 528,656. MUNICIPAL LEVIES The budget results in levies on local municipalities this year amounting to (elementary and secondary panels) : -Wingham, 5620,839; - Brussels, 5130,924; -Grey, 5408,574; -Howick, $551,217; -Morris, $307,533; -Turnberry, 5270,822; - and East Wawanosh, 5242,102. Quote of the week "We as trustees feel that the people we represent think we're a bunch of cement heads." Huron County Board of Education Vice Chairman Eugene Frayne takes issue with public criticism of the board's 1983 budget.