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~ronoW..Iy Tl~,s. dns4y~ Pbr*....% ....... Is notbing sacred? , Docs evil lurk in evcry shadow or dark corner? Is even the purest of hearis tarnished? Or is it simply that sorne people have WAY ta much trne on their bands. Sadly, there are people la ibis world that can turfi Uhc plain, Uic pure, the simple into twistcd, carnivorous beings, lurking and ready ta pounce. These ar te cpeople ihat delve into simplest ihings and tend to fly off the handle quite fr-equcnily. They make a big deal over notilg, while dic rest of us screw up aur eyebrows and ask, "Arc yau nuis?"» It is a growing phenornena. Insîcad of worrying about tic important issues, of which there are rnany, thcy worry about thc siiliest, most irrelevant ihings. Add ta ibis list: Gingerbrcad mcn and Bert& Braie. Don'î laugh. Wc don't wish ta offcnd these terminally anal people. Pcrhaps thcy feel thcy arc justificd by stating that gingerbread mca are offensive because they are not, well, Gingerbread... Persons? How stupid cari you get. Ites a coolac. No more. No less. They were not invented as a plot for world wide male dominance. They arc coolaes. Get a grip!! What do wc have ta do rnakc gingerbread genitalia. Then we would have the people worricd about pornography and chitd corruption in an uproar. And Bert & Ernie? Well, sorneone thinks thcy are ...hoinosexual! And apparcntly ibis makes ibcm unfit for children's catertaiineat purposes. It is bad enough that the Children's Television Workshop was forced ta pull the Ernic & Bert bit, whcre Ernie remaves Bcrt's nose and tries ta re-attach it ta other parts of Bcrî's visage. Prornotes facial abuse, I guess! I ihink we can give lads some credit here, eh. Most kids arc srnart enough ta figure out thai their pînyrnaies' nases will flot corne off with a slight tug. Most kads wouldn't even bother trying. Those that did would bc rewarded for their efforts with a sharp stomp on, the instep, and would have thus learned their tesson. Personally, that was my favorite Bert & Ernie bit. I can't sec that I've corne out any worse for it. I don'î have a nose fetish, and I don't go around pulling on peopl's bonkers. The charge of Bert and Ernie as homosexuals though, can only corne from the mind of someone campletely obtuse and clearly hornophobic. Puliing Bert & Ernie from the world's most famous street or having thern blatantly spell out the fact that they are hip happenin' hetrosexual six-year old muppets, would simply breed an intolerance la aur communty for homosexuals, and there is already too much of that. "Hi ho, Ernie. Want to sec my boule cap collection?" "Sure, Bert! But first, let me tell you that I arn completely straight and show no interest in yau whatsoevcr and amn only here to sec your boule caps!" Yeah, right! (For any person out there that wanis something to gripe about, write to your local animal rights group and suggest that Bert also seerns to bc a ltte îoo fond of pigeons!) In response to ibis, a spokesperson for Sesame Street simpiy replicd, "Bert and Ernie have no sexual orientation... They are Muppets". 'Nuf said. And lads are smart enough to realize that muppeis are rnuppets, and coolaes are just coolaes. There is no evil in cither of these simple cbildhood pleasures, which rnakes you ihink that maybe chidren are the ones-that are betier off because they can sec things for what they are, and are flot disrupted by any forms of prejudices, bc it sexual, racial, rcigious or gender-based. P.S. Happy Birthday, Jane. No matter how many anal boob- tubers there are, Camp Caribou will remala sacredf!! Welcomc ta old age, lad! Providîng unemployed wth job skills GXrant received ftor Indi"vidual The Port Hope Centre for Individual Studies bas successfülly won tbree tenders for jobsOntario tralalag grants worth about $48,000. The grants are being used ta provide unemployed people with more saphisticaied job skills, said i Sylvestcrvich, principal of .",or1inuing and alternative education with the Northurnberland and Newcastle Board of Education. The centre in Port Hope "met or exceeded the criteria in the tender proposai for providing specialized training courses" said Carolyn Campbell, county social services director and broker representative for jobsOntario. The purpose of the grants is S'tudies "wa provide training that wili help people get value-added jobs, heiping the long-term unemn- ployed," The training packages wcre workcd out afier careful consultation with local businesses and indusiry, she added. "Various people in Uic community said ibis is what >employers need. These are the skills of the future." The contract came ai a critical trne in the centres' financiai history. Last spring, the provincial goverament cbanged funding for aduli students. This meant less provincial money, for the, board's five centres for ladividual studies. The first course offered ai the Port Hope campus was an automnated office course, said Mr. Aroun-ld the Board wi*th Bob Willsher The Northumberand-Clarington Board of Education As you can see from the revised titie of this column your public school board has a new name. The board rcceived approval frorn the Minister last week for the naine change. While this difference wil be transparent to most, the name change is important to those of us who represent the largest municipality in the board. The change will be implemented on a graduai basis. The new niame will appear as supplies need to bc replenished, as repairs to signs and other identifiers arise. Wc can implement tbis change at minimal cost. Recently we received the trade 12 Provincial Writing Review results. When compared to thc Provincial resuits our students, generally, have donc well. There is roorn for improvement. Board staff, from the Director down to 'the Classroom Teacher, is busy analyzing the resuits and developing action plans to implement changes. There will be a report concerning the board- wide resuits prescntcd at the February Education Committee. Locally, Eva Nichiolls, Principal at Clarke High School and ber staff, have-been focusing on the resuits and preparing recommendations for improvement. Understanding the resuits, idcntifying factors that may have distorted the intcgrity of the results and devcloping action plans and communications for the comrnunity will take a little more time. You should bc seeing more about the resuits in the corning wceks. On January il 1 attended thc regular meeting with the Municipality of Claringion and the local Separate School Board. These meetings have been hcld regularly sînce the last election and are most beneficial. At the last meeting we were able to share information ranging fromn minor local issues to those that impact both school boards and the town. There are many issues that we are finding can Slyvertervich.' The second which begins in January, is on intermediate computer skills, while the third course is on advanced computer skills. more effectively be addrcssed together railier than on our own. The rnunicipality is still growing faster than sçhool boards can manage. We depend upon provincial grants to build new schools. These granîs arecflot readily available. The growth needs to be rnanaged s0 that aur cbildren -do flot spend their entire school years in portables. -These regular meetings create an understanding of each partner's responsibiities and needs. The Board has been planning a series of meetings to'obtain input from parents and the community. The purpose is to provide an open forum for community concernis. Much bas been printed in the past few years about the need for more input frorn parents and the community in general. 'This is an ideai chance for the board to listen to the community. The important part wiil be the development of action plans to implement change to address those concemns. The meeting date for the Clarke ASG bas not been set. 1 expect that a date will be available witbin the next week. I am pleased to sec that the Municipality bas agreed to set aside $15,000 in the 1994 budget, for a sidewallc to accommodate students from the Orono Estates. A safe passage for students aîtending Orono Public Scbool is essential. It is far better for students to get the daily exercise from walking to school. In addition, walking permits students to develop responsibility for ihemsclves and others. 1 hope council approves the project in the budget. THE NORTHUMBERLAND-CLARINGTON BOARD 0F EDUCATION KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION Junior and Senior Kindergarten registration for the Clarke A.S.G. Schools will be held as indicated in the following schedule. <Children currently enrolled in Junior Kindergarten need not reapply for Senior Kindergarte n.) SCHOOL Kirby P.S. Newcastle P.S. (et Lockhart Campus> TELEPHONE (905) 983-5802 (905) 987-4262 Newtonville P.S. (905) 786-2550 Orono P.S. (905) 983-5006 DATE TIMES 22 February 9:00 - 12:00 1:00 - 3:00 22 February 9:00 - 12:00 1:00 - 3:00 22 February 9:00 - 12:00 1:00 - 3:00 22 February 9:00 - 12:00 1:00 - 3:00 1 . Children four years of age on or before 31 Decemnber 1994 may bo registe-red. Proof of age (birth certificate, officiai birth registration notice, etc.> is required. The Board may require proof that the person registering the child is the legal custodian. 2. Please bring written proof of health records indicating immunization dates. 3. Proof of public school support must be produced et the time of registration tax bill, property tax, or property tax notice). 4. Precise information regarding location of residence and postal code is important. Rural residents require lot, and concession numbers. 5. Parents/legal custodians are requestsd to telephone the sohool for an appointmirent trne prior ta the date of registration. Charles W. Kennedy Superintendent of Schools SHMINE! wuh Apple's no wax finish Uncondilional Written Guarantee against *Road Salt * Oxidation * Tar * Tree Sap * Acid Ramn -Exterior Restoring - Polishing -Initerior Cleaning - Shampooing- Sealing -Engine Wash and more!, *Please enquire about our winter specials* ~USHINGCali SYSTEMS auto-boat 404-6273 "VOUR VEI-ICLE CARE EXPERTS" WE COME TO VOUI . .......... liq ... ... . .... ..10- 1 a