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: m *. „ - .« 1 1 - Orono Town Hall BOWMANVILLE LIBRARY 163 Church Street 1.1.06 Bowmanville, Ont. L1C 1P7 $1.00 GST Included Wednesday November 30, 2005 pHnliN mêRÊÈm 116 Um Hampton R 8. closure Mayor questions School Board Mayor John Mutton wants to know what the heck the School Board is doing. In his response to a letter received from Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board (K PRD S B) Chair, Diane Lloyd, regarding regarding concerns in Hampton, Mayor Mutton said, "I absolutely absolutely don't know what they're doing." Lloyd's letter letter dated November November 4th, was in response to a letter Mutton wrote her on October 19th Braedon Browne of Church Street helped his dad clear the sidewalk Saturday, before the weekend rain melted all the snow. ----' ■ V'./i* «rMhCf.'VdVle-t iiiH-Tifwii ij.iiiiHi | i>iii ** | iii imrgifi t n 111ji*T111nn'in*»won |lfl mi ii111^ - ---- 1 -- * Newcastle parade a huge success By all accounts New-cas- tle's First Annual Santa Claus Parade was a success, says organizer Mark I-lendrikx. "Everybody loved the whole parade," he said. The entire parade was over one and a half miles long. By the time the spotlights on the first float hit the end of the route, we still had 20 floats to get into the parade," he told the Orono Times reporter on Tuesday morning. "We probably probably launched between 55 to 60 floats," he said. According to Hendrikx, about 4,000 spectators lined the parade route, down North Street, and along King Street to Arthur Street on Sunday evening in the drizzle. A surprise surprise fireworks display kiek- nff tU.. nuruHi' enmi'vvhat "3~Lampton Public School requires close to $700,000 in repairs..." --Cathy Abraham KPRDSB Trustee after the 5:30 scheduled start time. One-and-a-half pick-up PARADE see page 4 Allan Kirby photo More than 50 floats were entered In the first annual Newcastle Santa Claus Parade. and was on Monday's council agenda. In his letter, Mutton states that the residents of the Hampton community have some very valid reasons to object to the Board's proposal to close Hampton Public School and accommodate those students at M.J. Hobbs Public School. "The walkway to M.J. Hobbs includes the crossing of a creek dam and using King Lane, another street with no curbs and sidewalks," stated Mutton in his letter to Lloyd. The parents are also concerned concerned about small children attending M.J. Hobbs Public School on Taunton Road, which is an extremely busy highway," the letter says. He asked that the School Board look at this issue and reconsider reconsider the closing of the Hampton Junior Public School. "1 support the parents of Hampton Junior Public School and other residents of the community and feel that their concerns are valid in objecting to this proposal," the Mayor concludes. The Board is looking at accommodation needs in the Hampton area, according to Clarington KPRDSB Trustee Cathy Abraham. "We know in that area we have three elementary elementary schools (Hampton, Enniskillen and M.J. Hobbs), where we really only need two, based on the population, Abraham told the Orono Times in a phone interview on Tuesday. "The joint Committee Committee is looking at several options options such as grade restructuring restructuring that will help enrollment issues at M.J. Hobbs and Enniskillen and it might take pressure off the septic system at Hampton." Hampton Public School requires close to $700,000 in repairs, which include a new septic system and a roof, according to -- Abraham. "This is nowhere near settled yet," said Abraham. The joint Board/Community Committee will present their findings to the School Board on December 15. In her letter to Mayor Mutton, Lloyd says she is pleased to see the Mayor acknowledge the concerns of the Hampton parents, namely crossing Old Scugog Road, lack of curbs and sidewalks and crossing the creek dam. "There are currently smaller smaller students who live close to M.J. Hobbs who walk daily on these very roads in order to attend Hampton Jr. Public. We also have students grade six to eight, walking from Hampton village to M.J. Hobbs. Safety can not be measured by SCHOOL see page 4 ' . S inside... High honours for Clarke