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December IS No Christmas cheer here I was hoping to bring cheering news by Christmas that the regional council was beginning to meld into a cohesive unit of government But no joy thats not the way it is my friends The abuse and criticism they heap upon the county council becomes ludicrous in the context of their own hardening image It is not a hearten ing thing to see One of the most obvious emerging defects and theyre not going to like me for saying it is the unbelievable political naivete of some of the new members At the last meeting Forhan of Newmar ket became quite agitated about councils lack of control over the hiring of staff Not once but three times it was explained to him in preparing budgets for the coming year department heads are obliged to staff needs and province funds for their remuneration The budget is sub- milted to the departments committee for scrutiny and paring where possible From there it goes to the finance committee in this case the whole councilj for further examination and thats done it becomes the responsibility of the department head and the committee to inter view and hire such additional staff as has been approved in the budget STILL UNCERTAIN Even after the explanation Mr still seemed uncertain How a man can serve two years on a council without absorbing basic prin ciples of municipal administration I fail to under- of Richmond Hill again demonstrated a most peculiar lack of political Evelyn Buck- the alary moved that they receive for the year to compensate for the three months of 1970 served without pay and that the basic salary be for a total of Bill 102 clearly states that the first three months of office would be without pay Considering the work load it appears to have been an unfair condition But it should have been opposed before the passing of the Bill The resolution was seconded by Hi rie who has yet to speak in any debate Later in the meeting council was informed that had resigned from the personnel committee His action passed without comment Yet it sets a precedent If every councillor takes the same privilege who will do the business Twice during the meeting strolled away from the council to chat to a mem ber of his own council who was in attendance Parliamentary rules do not permit a member to leave the chamber or cross the floor while another member is speaking Ten min utes before the meeting adjourned Lazenby packed his briefcase and left The man never POLLOCKS MAIDEN SPEECH Bob Pollock was at the last meeting He made his maiden speech The subject council salaries He rejected He favored on the grounds that he had resigned his position with the Board of Education to devote full time selves by the members of OttawaCarlton and Ni agara Regions They have three times the popu lation to support the cost WALKING ON EGGS But thats not all the bad news of coun cil The chairman and administrator are like men walking on eggs They are bending over back wards to avoid any action which will provoke fur ther bursts of outrage They have not been com pletely successful To please everyone and to facilitate pro cedure minutes of committee meetings have been attached to committee reports A commit tee report is always a report of the majority Any member who dissents is entitled to rise in coun cil and speak against the report Thats not en ough for Dick of Aurora He wants ail the minutes read In effect he wants com mittee discussions rehashed in council I dont know why We dont do it that way at home If we did thered be i But Dicks have smarted under his scathing public denunciations of their decisions They especi ally resent the fact that he was absent from the meetings where the decisions he objects to were made They have just about reached the point that proposes the council opposes Its not a good thing to see but it was predictable ABSENT FIGHTER A case in point was the moving allow ance provided for the new planning commis sioner Dick was absent He was later quoted in a local newspaper that that item would not pass without a damned good fight from me The item had passed even though many of the coun cillors were obviously unhappy about it If llling worth had turned to his colleagues instead of the press he might have had a chance to change the decision But he didnt and the council to a man thwarted his attempt to raise the question for reconsideration In reaction he blustered that if they would not listen to him in council they could hear what he had to say on the Richmond HUT radio at six that evening Unfortunately neither the press nor the broadcasting can support him where it counts in the council The sensational headlines may be good for himself and the media The public may indulge in their favorite sport of roundly de nouncing their elected representatives But a price will he exacted and Richard will pay If he genuinely wants to contribute to the formation of the region the next two years could be the most miserably frustrating and hu miliating experience of his career if he doesnt change his tactics And fast Too many stay in school McKay AURORA Society may be keeping too many people in school for too long a period the chairman of York County school board told a din ner meeting last week John McKay Nowadays said it be that the and the age of has swung too s u a 1 far They stay in equipment and even com- verstty because its a mus be utilized in cosy environment and school they dont want to face He pointed out the challenges of the he asked Mr McKay was speaking to the York Chap of Engineers on Edu cation its escalating cost and relevance to the world The school board chairman indicated there are many reasons for the rising costs such items as But the children are used to these amenities in the home and must be provided with the same environment in school Mr McKay refer red to the problems created by heavy subdivision de velopment The growth of classes for and emotionally disturbed children were also cited as expensive programs Bui they were in response to public pressure and imple mented at a time when money was easy The board tight of changes response hundreds in a matter of months and where is the money to come from to build the schools The pro- to public complained of the lack of day they receive their tax bills and expressed his ap preciation of the uni ty to give an accounting Among the fac tors listed by Mr McKay were salaries that part of the budget is not flexible and represents of the total Schools for retarded children classes are small and schools are few teach ing and transportation costs welfare constant Essential and en Human lives are involved and changes cannot be imple mented blindly in a way that may harm a students He recalled that in his day all that was needed in school was a desk and with the present sys tem we have no alternative but to add the costs to the tax bill Vocational schools are very expensive but Mr McKay argued they are an investment in children who would otherwise be come dropouts and a charge to the community as Special money siuation and trying to cope with it But we cant curtail programs in a way that will make us suffer a few years hence We hear people criticize the cost of education and I dont want to preach but we never hear anyone com plain about the high cost of liquor Its a question of community values and what prepared to spend our money on Mr McKay was thanked by Mr Clyde Len- drum a consultant engineer from King but not without a reminder that a bot tle of liquor produces in taxes and that goes Into somebodys kilty After the chair man left to attend a second tyre a school administra tion official took the hot seat to face a barrage of I questions from the dis gruntled engineers Why are young people taught they have no future without a university degree What about job of cranedriver Mens lives depend upon his skill The engineering profession depends upon him Why are young people taught to have contempt for supportive skills the onslaught He referred to changes in social stand the need for educators to be constantly aware of the changes and respond to them He confessed he is a traditionalist himself and shared many of the engine ers misgivings We dont know all the answers Too often we are the ones who have to do the talking ing in Aurora Friday even ing school board trustee Keith Nisbet told a gather ing that ion costs to the community had not in creased Ten years ago the municipalitys share of school They do nothing but fo ment unrest In the commu nity and the schools What use is a guidance counsellor when they know no other career but guidance counselling As an educator to PRESCRIPTIONS CALLED FOR AND DELIVERED I DECORATE YOUR HOME WITH J Cyclamens Azaeas THE PERFECT GIFT I Main St FABRIC FOR XMAS You will want some of these FUN FUR pieces for various use VELVET yd For those special Festive Blouses from EMBROIDER MIHICA COTTON 198 359 398 Dresses 40 wide MANY MANY MORE BARGAINS ENTER OUR LUCKY DRAW SEW RIGHT FABRIC MILL OUTLET 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