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Ad-Hoc Transportation Sub-Committee Pro's and Con's of seat belts The Ad-Hoc Trans- portation Sub-Commit- tee of the Lake Superior Board of Education held a general information night last Tuesday in the gymnasium of the Ter- race Bay Public School. The session was design- ed to present visual pre- sentations and _ repre- sentatives from various resources to discuss the implementation of seat belts in school buses, as previously suggested by the Inquest recom- mendations last De- cember. Members of the Sub- Committee on hand for the session 'included Judie Cooper, Joan Ber- tin, (public at large); Laurie Stachiw (stud- ent); John Redins (student); Paul Cebra- rio, Joan Nugent and Don Burton (Trustees); and Gerry Armour, sub- committee Chairman. Guests of the panel of representatives were Ian Rogerson, representing the Etobicoke Board of Education; Al Campbell, Liaison for the Ministry of Education; Dr. Keith Wilkes for the medical profession; Horst Wetzl from the Sault Ste. Marie Board of Edu- cation and Wilf Blais, District Manager of the Ministry of Transport- ation and Communica- tions. Approximately 55 people were in attend- ance at this session to listen to the pros and cons of seat belt use in the school ubses. Wilf Blais of the M.T.C. listed his res- ponsibilities as District Manager which included driver examinations, ve- hicle inspectors, high- way carrier officers and vehicle licensing issu- ing. He went on to state that over 600,000 child- ren are currently being bused to school each day in Ontario and_ that several thousand inju- ries are received by children in school bus related accidents every year. "Because of the re- cent restrictions put on school bus drivers, bus equipment and _ the school buses themsel- ves, we have now a better standard set, than years previous." He went on to say that the safety record for school bus drivers is excel- lent. Al Campbell from the Ministry of Education stated that under the Education Act, it says that the Board MAY provide transportation for the students. All the Ministry does, is to pro- vide assistance to the Boards through publish- Wednesday, February 29, 1984. Vol.19 No.9 Terrace Bay Schreiber Public Library Terrace Bay Ontario POT 2WO C.CeTeFN. Last Monday, 13 girls from Terrace Bay 'rolled-up' from Tenderfoot to Guides. The girls were given a special ceremony where pins and badges were awarded to them. Pictured above are the girls who 'rolled-up'. [L-r. Back Row] Annadette Clarke, Bonnie Brake, Girl Guide 'Roll-Up' Renee Kaizer, France Bilodeau, Sian MacKay and Sherri Daniels. [Front Row] Bonnie Simpson, Kim Rennette, Kerry Robinson, Erica Phytila, Melanie Levesque, Kelly Wilson and Debbie McDougal. Congratulations girls! Attention cottage owners! Cottage owners on Wabikoba Lake may now purchase the prop- erty from their front property line to the lake, according to Mr. Paul Strassburger of the Ter- race Bay office of the Ministry of Natural Re- sources. However there are certain stipula- tions. (1) There must be a signed statement with a request to purchase, giving the name of the owner and the lot num- ber from each prospect- ive purchaser. If a cot- tage owner does not wish to purchase his frontage property, he also is asked to indicate this, along with his name and lot number in writing. (2) The property must be surveyed by a regist- ered Ontario Land Sur- veyor, whose name shall first be submitted to the Ministry. The cost of survey shall be borne by each property owner. "Feelers" indicate the approximate cost of each survey will be in the area of $375.00 per lot, and it appears prefer- able to have the lots surveyed in groups of four or five. The cost of the property itself, to be purchased from the Ministry, will be in the area of $250.00 per lot. Gerry Waghorn has agreed to accept writ- ten applications from the cottage owners, and will then attempt to arrange for a survey to be done early in the spring. ALL cottage owners are asked to send either their appli- cation to purchase or their statement that they do not wish to pur- chase to: Mr. G.T. Waghorn, Box 340, Marathon, Ontario POT 2E0. All replies should be submitted before March 31, 1984. Should there not be sufficient res- ponse, the matter will not be pursued any fur- ther. If anyone knows the name and address of any cottage or property owners who do not live in Terrace Bay, Mani- touwadge or Marathon, it would be appreciated if you would indicate this in your letter, so they too can be contact- ed to determine their wishes. Ian Rogerson from the Etobicoke Board of Education answered questions pertaining to seat belts on school buses, as their Board was the first and only school board to enforce this policy in Ontario. ed manuals on school bus transportation and also by payment of grants to the local boards for some of the costs incurred by school bus transportation. Horst Wetzl from the Sault Ste. Marie Board of Ed was on hand to answer any questions that concerned parents may have had in regards to the Soo's bus trans- portation policy. He stated that their Board has never seen a need to look into the issue of seat belts in their bus- es and hoped that they would not have to do so unless the government made this type of legis- lation effective. Ian Rogerson from the Etobicoke Board was present to discuss the implementation of seat belts in school buses; as the Etobicoke Board was the first and only Board to enforce the use of seat belts in their school buses. This they did back in 1975 through recommendations made to them by various com- mittees, boards and pa- rent groups. "The question of the pros and cons of seat belts will be an issue as long as there are school buses trans- porting our children to school on an_ every- day basis," he said. he made reference to the October 1982 school bus accident which claimed the life of a local high school girl and said this, 'Had that bus rolled down the embankment into the lake, how likely were their chances of survival, if they had been wearing seat belts? What were their chances of extricating them- selves from the bus? There are as many pros as there are cons, and both must be presented in order to come up with a sound and responsible recommendation to your local Board."' Dr. Keith Wilkes felt that had the student been wearing a_ seat belt, she may have been alive today. Speaking as the doctor who treated the victims of the bus accident and also as a member of the Inquest panel, he related to the audience that he felt seat belts should be mandatory in school buses. "Injuries caused by seat belts as a result of an accident, aren't the issue here. If they save a life, this is what we should be looking at," he replied. One member of the audience felt that seat belts should be enfor- ced by the government as they are in all other passenger vehicles. If everyone from newborn to the elderly are requir- ed to wear seat belt res- traints at all times, then why hasn't the govern- ment made the same legislation in regards to passengers of school buses. School bus driv- ers are required by law to wear seat belts so why not the children? Other questions pre- sented to the guests were: (1) If seat belts were enforced and made man- datory, who would be responsible for ensuring that each and every student was wearing them. The answer to this was that the driver of the bus was there to safely transport the children, not to check and double check that the children are buck- led up. This would have to come from parental reinforcement. (2) What vandalism would occur with seat belts (e.g. using them to hit other students, etc.) and also what upkeep would be done to main- tain the proper working order of the mechan- isms on the restraints? The answer to this question was given by Ian Rogerson who stated that since 1975, only one student has mistreated his seat belt - that no vandalism has occured to the belts and that to date approximately 2 hours per week is spent on ensuring that the retractable belts are cleaned, oiled and main- tained in proper working order. Other questions pre- sented included the re- quirements of the M.T.C. regarding the licensing of school bus drivers, the frequency o!' medical examinations, defensive driving cour-: ses and the years be- tween the re-testing of | the drivers. All of these - issues were answered: accordingly by Wilt Blais of the M.T.C. In a film entitled: "Broken Bus" which showed a study conduct- ed by UCLA on schooi bus safety as well as accident impact studies, the following recom- mendations were made: (1) School bus interior criteria must be stand- ardized. (2) That safety regula- tions must be uniform at all school buses. (3) That there are no standees or improvised seating on school buses. (4) That all seats be designed for maximum safety (e.g. sufficient padding, height of seats), and (S) That all bumpers of all passenger ve- hicles, trucks and buses be standardized in order to prevent over-riding and under-riding of other vehicles. Basically what the film concluded, was that the problems in regards to bus safety have been identified. It is now up to the individuals, the parents, and the local school boards to tell the government and the school bus manufactur- ers what they want to see and done in terms of bus safety. The Sub-Committee will take all of this information along with presentations made to them through groups and individuals and compile a report to sub- mit to the Lake Super- ior Board along with their recommendations on the seat belt issue. On Tuesday evening at 7:00 p.m. a Pre- sentation Night will be conducted with the sole purpose being to allow the opportunity for indi- viduals or groups to make written or oral presentations to the Sub-Committee. If you are concerned over the issue of seat belts, then please plan to attend this session. INSIDE THIS WEEK... . "Hemlo Gold" to be televised = -Local historian writes on "Isbester's Landing" |' -Rossport engages in fire prevention oa RT SEIN