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fci rfi Mall Bag GEORGETOWN HERALD THURSDAY SEPT 1971 Pane Says Education Board Robin Hood in Reverse The County Board of Attn The Director Member of the Board Subject Allowing that groups and In dividuals within groups manifest idiosyncratic approaches to the problems with which they are from time to time confronted I had not hitherto seen fit to comment on the peculiar ap proach to budgetary and aesthetic conundrums which apparently plague the local Board of Education It seems you have financial problems We had of course been aware that the various symp toms of Dickensian frugality reflected the state of the coffers we did not however realize that remedial measures extended to the removal or continued ab sence or doors on the toilets in the High School for example An ugly rumour persists that when removed they were placed end to end to form one long board around which committees gather to ruminate over matters of great moment hence the ex pression minutes of the board I can only speak for myself but even after an Illspent youth five years in the navy and an ex posure to certain indignities upon which I shall not belabour I still have mild aversions to being the focal point of attention when publicly seated upon the thun- The privy after all is one of the few remaining places where one can find a few moments refuge and solace Is even that temporary respite to be denied your charges Personally I object violently to sitting with my drawers around my ankles while talking to myself and pulling faces to the amusement or disgust of whomsoever may have the privilege or mis tor tune to pass my way The possibility of my morning ritual coinciding with the playing of our National Anthem conjures consequences too ghastly to contemplate Is it possible that there is something I am missing That no doors on the John Is some new enlightened educational concept and nothing at all to do with economies CLEARING HOUSE We speculated further that since superficially it has become more difficult to Identify girls from boys that perhaps this is a sort of clearing house facilitating he only positive means of identification a few bars of O Canada and the secret is out We team however that few of your students recognize the tune anyway much less know the words and Utile is done to incur heir interest in such trivia Ruined that theory Further my wife assures me that the ones with ragged thatches are boys and the ones flaunting a near naked are the female genus generally peaking that Is Praise beta God that the subjects themselves are able to separata apples from oranges apparently with only occasional error Small wander that some faculty members appear perpetually confused except where some wonders come larger than others and the answer to the equation self corro borative Which brings me to my most recent dilemma and a serious question By what right and on whose authority without disc ussion or any consultation to my knowledge was the arbitrary decision made to terminate school bus service for high school students domiciled in this Im mediate area Distances in some instances approximate miles not an unhealthy walk at present but in inclement weather in a town where snow removal is occasionally something less than expeditious and sidewalks are usually impassable many can look forward to a long walk on snow covered and icy pavement presenting sporting targets for that fraction of society who appear not to be in control of their mental processes much less the vehicles they drive or rather aim ALTERNATIVE note that an alternative is benevolently offered private transportation at twenty cents each way per student per diem To take a case In point a house hold wherein no less than five arc scnooi at amounts to cents per diem or per week Assuming say 30 weeks of school you have in effect Just levied a tax of per annum on one household Regardless of semantics and whichever way you cut it that is precisely what your nunoevre amounts to an unconstitutional piece of demag which might be difficult justify It Is my understanding that your Board received representations in the form of one or more petitions to which the courtesy of even a cursory acknowledge ment has never been extended We have speculated that this may be a an oversight or b that you are preoccupied with the solution of the mystery of the itssing lavatory doors to the exclusion of all else Whichever your commentary Is earnestly solicited Perhaps If the problem of basics such as acuities for dignified ablutions and safe transportation for students is the genuine of an irreversible malady it is beyond the scope of the board and warrants referral elsewhere Lavatory doors and logistics are after all a serious business Arbitrary changes In the methodology of taxation and disposition of municipal funds is a moral and legalistic equation of monumental proportions from which shrink in pallor However all I do know for sure is that I am In work many are not or are currently In poor cir cumstances and despite the Students Told Year Ahead Of Bus Cutoffs Continued from Page Education to determine policy on transporting of school pupils responsibility Is clearly laid such out In the Acts and Regulations or the Department of Education i IS The HaUon County Board of Education has taken deliberate steps to operate with municipal recreation com mittees to ensure full and responsible use of school facilities in response ex pressed community needs Since January for example facilities Georgetown District High School have been used times free of charge by the Georgetown District M C A Georgetown Recreation Com mission Georgetown Concerned Citizens Ha I ton Health Unit Georgetown Police Department Georgetown Ministerial and Priests Association Association for Children with Learning Disabilities Georgetown Ven Sheridan College Georgetown District Naturalists Christian Alliance Youth Program Mens Basketball League Royal Canadian Air Cadets Scouts and Cubs and sc on Apart from these five ma jot errors of fact your letter Is reasonably accurate Thank you very much for your penetrating and thoughtful contribution Yours sincerely Lavender Assistant lo the Director of Education Georgetown District High School The Lions Club Mrs Joan Smith Councillor Georgetown Chamber of Commerce Georgetown Herald BICYCLE CONTEST Boys and girls get your bicycles tricycles and doll carriages decorated for the fair and Join in the parade Judging after parade at Judges stand EARLY FALL SALE Prepare Your Home For The Wlnttr and SAVE 20 ON ALL ALUMINUM PRODUCTS far he home Siding Windows Doors Railing Carports AVAILABLE IN LIVING COLOR For Free Delrex Aluminum 29 Delrex Blvd Remember it always pays to deal locally foregoing satire I take damned serious exception to your Robin Hood In Reverse routine If there Is such a vital shortage of funds then why not drop the picayune penny collecting approach and do something meaningful BAD IMAGE Georgetown as an entity does not currently enjoy an enviable image nor for that matter does a large segment of Its youthful population One of Ihe principal reasons is the almost total ab sence of adequate recreation facilities most arc forced to go elsewhere to find such facilities What remains of the existing swimming pool for example isnt worth the powder to blow it to hell and aside froma teetertotters there isnt much left to discuss is there From where the kids sit their superiors appear as dynamic a soggy noodle Present day Georgetown was not planned it was a happening The kids are naive enough to suppose that those entrusted with directing their education and their future may become less parochial and take a broader view of their needs Some in their innocence even suppose that the various regulatory parlies may one day come together and look at their needs in total In stead of doing half a Job and abdicating responsibility to hard working service clubs who on a shoestring undertake voluntary to fill the vacuum created by disorganized lethargic or inept professionals whichever the case may be and I am not qualified or so disposed to judge From where the youngsters sit one thing seems apparent to them that they are as hoppy as clams and approximately as cerebral and pedestrian as thai insular little bi valve notable for lis ability to shut up In the presence of anything alien or controversial presumably on the premise that If ignored it might go away SYMPTOMATIC Doubtless you ore aware that there exists particularly in Georgetown a sociological problem much more serious than the saga of the toilet doors and the issues of transportation Those problems will not go away and are symptomatic of some thing wrong What likelihood is here of seeing a coordinated body comprising say representatives from a School Board The Munic ipality the service clubs the cornerstones a society the policeman and the doctor Oh yes and I wouldnt leave out representation from the kids themselves Right now you appear to have the doubtful privilege of being one part of an uncoordinated octopus Why not Identify some of the problems and put the youngsters on the side of authority mindful however that respect is not something to be demanded only commanded by Thank you In anticipation of some sort of a reply All but one are acceptable thats not my department That is the one obscenity that unfailingly causes my stomach to reject its con tents Yours very truly Blakesley cc Georgetown District High School Georgetown cc The Lion s Cub Mrs Joan Smith Councillor Georgetown Chamber of Commerce Georgetown Herald NORTH HALTON FORDMERCURY TAKES PLEASURE IN PRESENTING FORD AND MERCURY FOR First Showing Today Friday Saturday WITH THE ENTIRE FAMILY OF BETTER IDEA CARS WE OFFER MOTORISTS THE BIGGEST SELECTION MODELS I FORD I IN THE ENTIRE AREA Ford Galaxie Custom Thunderbird Ford Ltd Mustang Ail New Torino Ford Trucks Ford LTD 2door hardtop THE Meteor Montcalm hardtop The TOWNSMEN CHORUS Georgetown Chapter WILL ENTERTAIN OUR GUESTS This Evening Sept 23 Starting 8 pm MERCURY FAMILY Mercury Marquis Meteor Comet Montego Cougar Cortina Maverick Pinto Come and Bring Family Its fhe Biggest New Car Show of ihe Year I REFRESHMENTS FOR OUR GUESTS NORTH HALTON FORD MERCURY GEORGETOWN GUELPH STREET