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The Huron Expositor, 1983-12-14, Page 1Incorporating Brussels T ost 50c per copy -e a SEAFiTH, QNTARIQ, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1983 - 28 PAGES xpo-rizor CHRISTMAS is a Happy occasion ..but two-year-old Brian Eckert doesn't think so. Brian was one of many youngsters who visited Santa Claus during;- the annual Seaforth Santa parade on Saturday. Over 30 floats and three bands participated In the event. (Wassink photo) Friday is last day for principal After 1Q years as vice-principaf''and principal of Seaforth public school,''Paul Carroll, 39, will "graduate" on Friday; Dec. 16 to begin his new job as superintttndent of special education in Huron County on JBit. 2. But Paul Carroll's claim to fame is a prime example of local boy makes flood. Paul is one of a few, maybe the only principal and now superintendenfin Ontario who doesn't have a secondary school graduation diploma,' He was short one credit of graduating from grade 12 when he decided to drop out because "it was 'more important that 1 be working than being in school." "1 didn't fit the education system," says Paul. "I was one of those teenagers who didn't conform to the expected norm." His father was injured. in an industrial' accident. Paul is the oldest of a family of five. He has two brothers and two sisters. "My father's accident had an effect on family income and his ability to raise five children." At the age of 17, Paul knew what the word work meant. He had part-time summer jobs since the age of 10. Working with Goderich fishermen, Paul was also bagboy in grocery stores. But his first big job was as a welder's helper, helping convert lake freighters to storage barges. When he quit school, he -worked in the gold mines in Timmins for two months. "I will always remember that because 1 was the only one who spoke English. The rest were Italian," says Paul. Realizing a life in the mines was not for him, Paul became involved in the media. He worked as a combination reporter -photo- grapher -advertising manager for the now defunct Hayfield Bulletin. He then enrolled in a manager training am with Woolworths. "1 quit that e use my job equired moving around the rice.' s last ' before he married Mary. a s1 hool teacher, was as a nursing attendant at he Goderich Psychiatric Hospital. "I gait after two years because 1 physically couldn't cope with night shift." It was at this point. Paul decided to enroll in teachers college. TEACHER HAD INFLUENCE "What he saw what 1 was doing in school probably influenced him to teach." says Mary. '1 put him through teachers' college." pro Having been turned down several times from entering the college because of his lack of education, Paul enrolled in Wilfred Laurier University as an adult student. He took a course in economics and got an 'A' for his efforts. With credit in hand, Paul sent a resume to the ministry of education in Toronto "and they accepted me as a student at Stratford(' Part way thmigh hi s tidies Paul thout his career as a teacher was doomed. "The dean of women discovered 1 didn't have my grade 13 and she said 1 couldn't be a student." But Paul was' allowed to stay because of his high grades. "1 graduated with the highest marks." '" HIRED IN '67 In 1967. he was hired in Goderich as a gra one teacher and was there until 1973. Pa 1 continued his studies, acquiring his Bachelor of Artsegree in four years as a part-time studetit. He enrolled in graduate • studies and received his degree in Master of Education. Paul also completed a summer course for his principal's certificate. PART OF SYSTEM To qualify for a superintendent's position, Paul completed personal studies in 1979. "More recently,. I have been teaching courses instead of taking them," says Paul, - Paul learned early that if you can't beat them, join them. "I accepted the reality that if 1 wanted to have an effect on the educational system, then I would have to be part of the system instead of being on the outside and squawking." His secondary school views carried on into university. "University was a necessary evil. 1 didn't find it relevant to meet the needs of teachers. But a lot of things have changed and a lot need changing. "_he says. "Looking back, it's the hands-on experience that helped me grow the most." DEVELOP OWN STYLE "I enjoyed being a teacher because was allowed to shape programs with ministry guidelines. As a principal, 1 had the freedom to develop styles I was comfortable with and 1 hope I can continue to work in the same way." Paul Carroll doesn't have any radical master plan. "The most important thing 1 can leave behind is a climate for learning. where positive things happen between students, teachers and the community. This PAUL CARROLL will end his career as principal of the Seaforth public school on Friday. His new pbsition is superintendent' of special education. (Wassink photo) is the kind of climate that fosters growth." "When I first came to Seaforth, 1 found a very strong traditional school where basic educational skills were important. The school was in pretty good shape. If there has been any change, it's that teachers have tried to look at the students as individuals. where they look at their needs and address irtttr I hope we have an atmosphere that urtu s growth." Usin three basic ingredients, climate. Tuckersmith approves landfill ggre,ernent rwo breakins Tuckersmith Township council approved the terms and conditions of the municipal agreement for the establishment of a landfill operation, including the purchase of land, and the proposed budget. between the Town of Seaforth and the Townships of McKillop and Tuckersmith. Located in McKillop Township. about one mile north of Seaforth the landfill site will he purchased from John McLlwain for about $I20.000. The cost per acre has been set at 53.300 for about 38 acres plus purchase of land for an access road, - fence around property and about 585,000 for environment- al assessment costs. Council agreed to the terms and condi- tions of the option agreement for an access road to the landfill site with Herman Hoste. Christina Hoste and Eckerlea Farms Limit- ed. Council will negotiate with the Village of He salt to be included on the village's license to operate its landfill site. Passed for payment were the following accounts: Day Care at Vanastra, 56,553.06; Special Day Care at Vanastra, $4,576.91; Vanastra recreation centre, 511,065.33; roads. 547.363.29: and general accounts. 5241.141.67 for a total of 5363,700.26. Council accepted the offer of Ontario Hydro to purchase land described as Block A. Plan 133 for a cash purchase price of s700. Council will inform Phil Bisback that it has no objections to the proposed severance application on Lot 4, Plan 13, Brucefield. SHIRLEY HAGGERTY is one of the seniors Reassurance Program at the Huron Day who receive a daily phone call as part of the Centre 4.5 Council did not recommend approval of meet the conditions, of the township proposed secondary plan. Mr. Caldwell further advised council that there were some 102 other similar pieces of property within the township. and that if each one was severed, then there would be a 1000 foot restricted agricultural area around each proposed severance. Council's consen- sus was that the area should remain as a natural environment area. Council will offer to purchase from Mrs. Ethel Boycs approximately three acres on Part of Lot 12, Concession 3, Huron Road Survey, at a cost of 52,750 per acre, plus all legal and survey costs, subject to a survey SEE TUCKERSMITH/oN PAGE 3 the severance application of William Dallas who attended the council session. Mr. Dallas pointed out to council that the area on Lot 26. Concession 2. London Road Survey. he requested for severance was zoned natural environment area, and that the ministry of the environment had no concerns about flooding in this particular area. He asked council to consider rezoning the property to permit a single family residence to be constructed. Wayne Caldwell of the Planning and Development Committee in Goderich has ajvised council that the severance applica- tion, as.proposed. had been turned down by the committee on the grounds that it did not Seaforth Culling Clu 'and the Seaforth' and District Community Centres. Before 4 a.m. on Dec:, 1, S6 and change was stolen from the, curling club and a total attitude and hand work, the school still needs the support ofjarents and community. "It's a team effort, Says Paul. ONLY THREE WALLS "1 didn't want to change teaching, but to make it more open. A- school should only have three walls. The fourth should be open to the real world. If a school has four walls, SEE ' PRINCIPAL/ ON PAGE 3 net $180 1uffwS ''''' -*60,44144 Sre{4k.rthe,tecreabon director's office and the candy machine at tfi'\e, arena. Seaforth police chief, Hal Claus L says he has no suspects yet. HPSS chairman re-elected The top two positions of the Huron -Perth Separate School Board remain the same for the coming year. Ron Murray, 46, of RR2 Dublin continues as chairman of the board, while Michael Moriarty, 47, of RR2 Bayfield stays on as vice-chairman. Mr. Murray was elected at the board's inaugural meeting held Dec. 5. Mr. Murray defeated Ron Marcy of Stratford for the position. The vice-chairman was acclaimed. Mr. Murray, a McKillop township farmer, has sat on the board for seven years. He also served as chairman in 1981. Reassurance program benefits elderly Every morning at 10 for a year and a half. Alan Sourbutts received a phone call from a volunteer from the Reassurance Program at the Huron Day Centre in Clinton. After a short chat, the two would hang up until the next morning. "It was smashing. 1 spend about 99 per cent of my time on my own and there's always a chance that an emergency could happen; the call meant someone could help ^if anything did happen." says Mr. Sour - butts. one of Seaforth's seniors. "1 really looked forward to those calls. We got to know each other quite well: we used to discuss things at length." But, when Mr. 'Sourbutt's volunteer stopped calling. a replacement volunteer could not be found because of problems with publicity and staffing for the three• year-old program. "When we started three years ago. the program was really successful. but it died down in about a year. Our volunteer coordinator left for a full-time job and we've had troubles finding volunteers and cli- ents." says Rosemary Armstrong. of the Huron Day Centre. SENIORS ALONE Mrs. Armstrong initiated the program in Huron county because of her experiences on the police force in Scotland where she saw many seniors die alone without being found for days or sometimes weeks. "We once got a call that a man hadn't been seen around for two or three weeks. It turned out that the man had fallen. broken a leg and no one had heard him calling. The saddest part is he needn't have died." she says. The Reassurance Program is designed to Dora Heard, volunteer caller, prevent such a situation from happening. Volunteers call people who are alone and elderly or sick to check how they're doing. If there is no answer, the volunteer calls a friend, family member or someone who holds a key to the client's home to find out why the phone isn't answered. If the volunteer doesn't call. the client phones him. "The call can be as little as a good morning - all you need is a voice on the other line. But.if you enjoy chatting on the phone. it can be a good break for you. It's quite a commitment thotjgh, since you have to call every single day, says Mrs. Armstrong. RELIEVES FEAR To some seniors, the call is enough to clear their minds of the fear of dying alone. One client. who is over 80, thinks the program is wonderful because she has no family living nearby and the call relieves her of the worry of slipping in the b•tthtub or falling and having no one find her. Shirley Haggerty, of Clinton, knows how fast an accident can happen. Before she began the program two years ago. a blood vessel broke behind her right eye and she had to be hospitalized. The daily call reassures her that she'll have help if it ever happens again. Some thing can happen so quickly. Once Dora (her caller) said she could tell by the sound of my voice that 1 didn't feel well. What 1 thought was a cold turned out to be pneumonia and 1 went to the hospital." she says. The program has made Mrs. Haggerty aware of other residents of the seniors building she lives in. "If I get a no:ion about someone else in the building. I'll give them a call." she says. NICE TO HAVE COMPANY Dora Heard. who lives in another seniors' building in Clinton. has become a good friend of Shirley since the two started talking on the phone everyday. When approached by the summer students who began working on the program. Mrs. Heard was given the choice of being a client or volunteer. She decided to volunteer after hearing of another senior dying alone. "You're going to die alone but it would be nicer to have some company.' she says. "f'll call anyone who is alone or sick and so far I haven't had any that haven't talked back to me." In Mrs. Heard's building the residents also go door-to-door and check up on each other..- You never know when you're going to need help." she says. One of the aims of the program is to allow , seniors who are alone to keep their independence: they can continue looking after themselves but know someone can help in an emergency. NEED VOLUNTEERS Volunteers are screened and the clients meet them face-to-face when the calls begin. The clients sign a form saying they will accept a daily call and allow the police or a key -holder to enter the house if the call is not received. But. finding both volunteers and clients will be a problem until Mrs. Armstrong gets some more help. "I'm calling clients myself and if I could find a volunteer to co-ordinate the program. I'd train her/him. There's a commercial on channel 12 cable and I've spoken to church groups. Maybe the best idea would be to let each town run their own program and use the centre as a headquarters for any problems." she says. "I'm sure there are a lot of people who would appreciate a call but we just haven't found them yet." Anyone who is interested in the program can call Mrs. Armstrong at 482.-943 or 482.9478. Cross-country ski club plans underway/ Al2 Special Santa Claus parade phiato feature/ B1 Nancy Eadie is guest speaker at Shorthorn meeting/ BS Santa visits Brussels' On weekend/ B4 Births /B6 Brussels /92, 3, 4 Classified /A14, 15 Community Calendar /133 Dublin /A5 Entertainment /A11 Family /A6. 96. 7 Farm /85 Hensall /A10 Kids /A7, 8 Legion news /A11 People /All Sports /A13, 98 Obituaries /A6 1 4 4+ T