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Epsom Residents Tell Board of Education "DON'T CLOSE SCHOOL" The residents of Epsom and surrounding area have sent a blunt message to the . Durham Board of Educa- tion: don't close our school ever, A report prepared by the "Epsom School Accommoda- tion Committee and pre- sented to the Durham Board February 23 states clearly that an overwhelming ma- jority of Epsom area res- idents want the school to remain open, and the school "exudes the very fibre of rural- community life and provides an unquestionably excellent educational pro- gram." : Barbara Evans, one of the three authors of the report and a mother of six children who have all attended the There was a near tragedy last Wednesday evening _ when two men on a snowmobile pulling this ice hut crashed through Lake Scugog ice near the mouth of the Nonquon River. One managed to get onto solid ice, but the other had to be pulled from the frigid waters by residents living in the area. The snowmobile and the hut were removed the next day. (See story for details.] Man escapes unharmed after snowmobile goes through ice Quick action by four Sea- grave area men probably saved the life of a 58-year old man whose snowmgbile went through the ice near the mouth of the Nonquon River last Wednesday evening. According to Mrs. Barbara Foulds who saw the accident from the window of her home and whose husband Roger took part in the rescue, Thomas Kamsma, 50 of R.R. 2, Seagrave and his 58-year old brother Peter from Wil- mington Delaware, were hauling an ice hut behind their snowmobile when it crashed through the ice. Thomas Kamsma man- aged to get out of the water onto stronger ice, but his brother Peter floundered in the freezing waters, unable to get on to the ice. Meanwhile, four residents who live in the area, Ross Phypers, Arvice Fisher, Doug MacDonald and Roger Foulds pushed a boat onto the ice and managed to pull: Mr. Kamsma into it after he had been in the water for about five minutes. Mrs: Donna Phypers also witnessed the near tragedy, stating that she and her husband Ross were watching the ski-doo light when sud- denly the hut and sled behind went through pulling the ski- doo with it. "The light went straight up in the air and we knew they had gone through the ice," said Mrs. Phypers. Both victims were wearing snowmobile suits and one had on hip waders when they pitched into the dark water. Both Mrs. Phypers and Mrs. Foulds told the Star the ice conditions are normally tricky near the mouth of the Nonquon River because of the currents, but the recent mild spell has made con- ditions extremely treach- erous. They said there are still several huts on the lake off the Nonquon River, and they expressed concern that more fishermen may venture out in an effort to remove the huts. Meanwhile a spokesperson for the Ministry of Natural Resources office in Lindsay said Thursday that there are still numerous huts on sev- eral areas of the ice. Cheryl Lewis said that while some have been jacked up_to prevent them from freezing into the water now on top of the ice, fishermen are going to have trouble getting their huts off before (Turn to page 2) school, told the Star in an interview last week that the committee and the comm- unity in general "really mean business" when they say that the school should remain open. Mrs. Evans added that the committee also feels the Board of Education should make a commitment to keep the school open and it should 'not be the subject of any more studies about its future. "It is not really healthy for the community when the, future of the school remains in question," she added. There are presently 106 students attending Kinder- garten through to Grade 6, but the school could handle up to 140 students. Mrs. Evans said that a change in bus routes could mean ten additional students who now attend Prince Al- bert and Uxbridge school, and a further eighteen from the Seagrave area who curr- ently go to school at Prince Albert. The report strongly urges the Board of Education to consider changing some bus routes to allow these stu- dents to attend Epsom if their parents wish it. The report criticizes the Board of Education for the "strong under-current of im- pending doom (that) has prevailed throughout the community since the Board announced that the school's future would be examined." "While the policy of exam- ining a school with low enrol- ment is sound, there must also be a policy of positive (Turn to page 3) Preston returns to Library Board By a strange series of events over the past two weeks, former Scugog Lib- rary Board chairman Chuck Preston has been reappoin- ted to the Board and is expected to be voted chair- man again when the Board holds its regular meeting March 12. Mr. Preston got the re-app- ointment February 23 when present chairman Elaine Ha- mmett resigned from the Board citing "undue haras- sment and counter-product- ive involvement" from Bo- ard member Joel Aldred over the plan to build a new library on Water Street. However, unknown to Mrs. Hammett and Mr. Preston, Mr. Aldred told the Star last 'week that he is resigning ~~ from the Board effective this week stating "there is just no point in my staying on the Board from now on." When told of Mr. Aldred's decision to resign, Mrs. Ha mmett and Mr. Preston both expressed surprise, but Mrs. Hammett said it will not change her original decision to step down. "I have given this a lot of thought," she said in an interview last week, 'and decided it was just not worth it for me personally to stay (Turn to page 2) Abolish strap in Durham schools Scugog trustee Stuart McEntyre was among ten Board of Education members who voted Feb- ruary 23 to effectively remove the use of the strap in Durham's public schools. The motion was to re- affirm the position of the Board that use of the strap be discouraged, but should be kept as a last resort and used only with the parents consent. However, that motion went down to defeat by a margin of ten to nine, and in effect supports a position taken by Ontario Education minister Bette Stephenson recently which calls for a ban on the strap in all public schools in the province. Following the February 23 meeting, Rev. McEntyre told the Star in an interview that He voted against the motion to keep the strap as a last resort "because I don't think it has a place any more in the schools." "I don't believe that corp- oral punishment in any form is very effective, especially if handed out in anger and frustration," he said. And he added that in his opinion the use of the strap -maging" to both the student and the principal or teacher who administers the strap- ping. Ironically, Rev. McEntyre said that when he was a principal and teacher sev- eral years, he used the strap 'on a very occasion," and only after a "great deal of soul-searching." During discussion on the motion last week, trustees were told that the strap is now used very sparingly in Durham public school and that there has been just one complaint from a parent over the past eleven years. A report states that the superintendents of educa- tion in Durham and director Ken Munroe are opposed to abolishing use of the strap completely. Mr. Munroe told trustees it is the teachers and princi- pals who must deal with disciplinary problems on a daily basis. Rev. McEntyre told the Star that discipline problems can be better sorted out by bringing the parents and teacher into the picture, and that in his opinion childred "will respond to a more positive kind of stimulus," than the strap. fo i § ; { & SERIE