The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

lust because Whilchurch - Sloufh'ille's mayor and council- lors are not on social media. it (kn-s not mean people amn't Pacebook chatting and twee-1mg about them. “I think i! change. the vulture for the better." he Susanne Hilton is the (mly councillor on Fact-bin]: but it's a personal account. However. she has mmempIau-d a professional one. But it looks like once Ihc uM'nls Its-designed website is launched in (Mabel. so too will its [321(9me and 'ancr alumnus. "You should go when: the people are." Brjan Lambie. pms dent of RL-dbrick ( hmmunica- nuns Iuld councilklns during a soda] media educational work- shop 'I‘uesday aim-moon. "It almost scams me." Ms Hilâ€" ton noting han’ng another venue for wsidems to ask Ques- tions. along with phone and e- mail. could be werwhelmingb time consuming. ()n the other hand. Mayo: Wayne Emmerson wants nothing lo do with social media. Embrace social media, expert tells council "You want In spvak with me. BY SAN ORA IOLAN alrulu nay! mg, l um come see mo." he None at the councillors is (m 'l‘witter. ln next year's municipal ('Il‘t' lion campaign. Mr. lambic mu mated aboul 90 pet (it-m of can- didates will have a social media pmscncc. Mr. limmerson won't be running for reelection in “hitchurrhSlouffvillv. “(M'Q'VPL hr will he vying for the regional chairpemm's position. "It's not going awav and you do have to go! your heads. around it." he said. Along with not bragging about his accomplishments on iiacebook or [Weeting his thoughts in I40 characters or less. Mr. limmersun does not even look at social media sites to see what is being written about him or the municipality The current chairpcmm. Bill l-‘isch. duos not have a 'I‘wittcl ’ account "If I dun'l Imuw it. thvn it ‘Ifl don't know 1!. Hum it doesn't hi! you m my heart.' dumn'! hit you in the heart." he (if ( )marin's 4-H munici- palities, 240 mill» social media. Thru- year\ ago. only 25 munici‘ paditws used Ihv (tonununk‘annn (001.5. according to Mr. lambie. ‘ Some of the tweets regarding the mayor include mngmtula Mum from Geranium Humvs un receiving a (yber safely award " and (IivicAction thanked him for pledging m gm the rvgion mm' mg. . “It is the way. I don't disagree. Mr hymn-rum said. Of the "mills and rim-s that use social media. 94 per ten! are on l-am‘clxmk. while 70 per com 1N: Twitter. If \VhiighurclIâ€"Siiiuffvilli' docs lulu: the social media plunge. more arc some things to consid- vr. [hes the municipality have a single Iwiner account 0: um: for each department? Mr, Lambie pn-fvrs one account as ii marries mom people faster. cspu‘iafly in an émergemy. ‘ "People can be fired tor what they do nn social media." ht' vau- tinned. "If you can manage ynumelf at a cocktaiva you can manage yourself an axial mama." Mr lmnh'w said hank goodness my daughter only has one more year [0 go before leaving Ontario's pub- lic education system, I caught myself thinking this week. Teachers’ last-minute ’sick’ days appalling acts of fraud I! has been a school year marred by Cancelled sports, dubs. field trips. graduation panics and proms and now my daughter tells me an increasing number of her classes are “a waste of time'_ as her teachers are calling in ‘sick”." d News the province had reached a deal. in principle. with the Ele- mentary Teachers Federation of Ontario w the lone holdoul of all the province's teachers to make nice -- was almost, inconsequen- tial. ' A contract is already in place. granted it was forced upon 76.“ elementary public school Ieachers when (heyrefusedto bmmadeal prior to the province's deadline last fall. Teachers have. hmr: lost the benefit of banking sick days â€" which is why many school boards aw record number of teachers Calling in sick. leaving them scrambling to cover 1119 absences. As my macho? friend told me. many leachcrs mmain bitter over the loss of the benefit and without incentive nm In take a sick day, [hi-y'n' taking them â€"~ sick or not. I'll be giad‘ to see her graduate from a troubled system that I think is only going to get before it gets better. ‘ But now they can have the deal the Catholic and French-speaking leachet Unions accepted, includ- ing a fiper-ccm raise, ll sick days at 100- percent pay. with an addi- tional 120 days at 90-per-cem pay and lOO-pcr-cem pay for eight weeks of matqmity leave. up from It's a sweet deal. particularly given this is the deficit-ridden province's tough-love effort to reduce its swollen tab-for public sector compensation. Sure. it's tough to lose a benefit. but many private sector employ- t-vs. too. haw: seen perks and beneâ€" fits disappear in a tough economy. .-\.s a part“. it's disheartening to hmr vnur child's studies am: being ptntpmwd duc tn :1 tcachcr'a "last- II "III Iwuur a I!)I|Illl\l(‘ dll‘l PHIII' cal will that was vastly tucking dur- ing the McGuinty years of govern- mom. ' m New Is editor in Me'of m m Rog-or: M3 Camp Sure, it's tough to lose a benefit, but many private sector employees, :00, have seen perks and bend?“ disappear in a tough economy. Research shows participa- tion in extracurricular activities can increase a student's sensv of engagement and attachment .10 their school. resulting in less fail- uresanddmpouts. in March. when a newly installed Hamlet Kathleen Wynne vowed to resolve the labour action. many teachers resumed volunteering fur extracurriculars with their union's approval. ' lstill think it's ludicrous an orga- nization purportirm to wave the banner for democracy has‘the gall to mandate to its members what they can and can't do during their own free time that I'll just give a hug shout out to the teach- ers who truly put students first by continuing to volunteet. So, in a public education syn» tem already strugling with its core tenet to offer equality of opportu- nity, some students were playing spans and going on trips and mh~ ers were not. it‘s an unmeptable situamm that won't be put to bed even if this deal is ratified by lune 23. it's an essential issue that the province ensure. extracurriculars are available in all public schools â€"-â€" and. as this labour dispute has reinfomed. they're too important to be left to the whim of teacher volunteers. Whethet it's teachers or community members doing it. the value of this work should be rung, nized and compensated. minute" absence. A5 a taxpayer. I consider it an appalling act of fraud. Sadly â€" distressingly so â€" some teachers continued to with- hold volunteering at cvemhing from track and fieid competitions to Grade 8 graduations. Wmeannhméfl rounded education. reinforcing k’S~ sonsleamed in xheclassroom. Resolving the labour issues with teachers Ecan'l simply be ulmul knuckhng under to their demands; it will require a fortitude and pnliti- cal will that was vastly kicking dur- ing the McGuian years of gourm- mcm. ‘ Debora Kelly