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Vol. 15 No. 10, Folio 20 Tuesday, March 10, 1987 40 cents 3 : . St. Ann's a priority The efforts of the St. Ann's parents' committee are being rewarded, as the Ministry of Education is assisting the Sim- coe County Roman Catholic Separate School Board (SCRCSSB) in making plans for a new school. According to SCRCSSB trustee Art Beausoleil, because the board moved St. Ann's to the top of its priority list and viewed it as an "emergency situation", the Ministry of Education is providing the school board with funds to begin the search for a new site. Beausoleil said the Ministry has set aside funds for the board, and his board was recently advised by a Ministry official to make use of the funds as soon as possible. Beausoleil declined to say how much the grant amounts to, until the board knows more about land prices of sites it would consider. "'We've got to do our best to ensure the students and staff have an adequate and safe facility,"' the trustee added. Traffic study Traffic jams caused by narrow streets and too many cars will soon be the main concern of a new town consultant. According to Town Clerk Yvon Gagne, the town is reviewing proposals received from six consulting firms, and on March 13, the traffic study committee will make their final decision on a firm. Gagne added the committee - compris- ed of Public Safety Committee Chairman Art Stewart, Police Chief Bob Cummings, Public Works Superintendent Fred Linn, three Ministry of Transportation and Communications officials and himself - will be interviewing three of the ap- plicants during the next week. He said the committee hopes to be able to make a recommendation to town coun- cil at their March 23 session. The study would begin immediately, Gagne said, so school intersections, holi- day weekend traffic and summer tourist traffic patterns could be examined. The consultant is expected to report to coun- cil in the fall. Included in the comprehenive study, which will examine the many traffic arteries in the town, will be a number of recommendations on how to possibly eliminate some of the existing problems. Howard up-date As of presstime last night, at the finish of the fifth end of play, Penetanguishene's Russ Howard and Brian Fowler of Manitoba were tied at three apiece. Russ Howard had his hands full in his attempt to go to 3 and 1 and take first place in the Canadian Men's Curling Champion- ship standings after five rounds of play. At the end of the first three rounds of play in Edmonton, Howard and his rink were 2 and 1 after losing their very first match-up in Brier play on Sunday afternoon. British Columbia's Bernie Sparkes took the first ten ends of play by a score of 8-5. After getting off to a slow start, Sunday evening, the Howard rink picked up the momentum and took their next match-up against Thunder Bay's Larry Pineau, 10-5. In the third round of play (yesterday morning) the Howard rink poured it on strong and the Prince Edward Island team, skipped by Ted McFayden, conced- ed defeat after only six ends of play. CBC, CFRH sign contracts CFRH, a brand new voice from Pene- tanguishene on Radio Canada, didn't make it to the airwaves yesterday morning as originally expected. And, according to the station's technician Doug Young, it might be two weeks before the new sounds of Huronia will spread outwards. But the disappointment of a delayed broad- cast date didn't dampen the spirits of those celebrating the signing of the contracts with Radio Canada, the French section of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). The contracts, signed Sunday afternoon at the Centre D'Activites Francaises, were historical - they were the first to be signed by any group applying to use the French CBC frequency. Now all that stands between CFRH and the CBC's airwaves, 93.5 FM, is a three-mile distance between the Main Street studios and the CBC transmittor on Lafontaine Hill, says Young. According to Young, the station needs a higher quality telephone cable line to the transmittor. He said earlier last week, when the staff of the station realized the cable line wouldn't be in yet, they scurried for CRTC approval for a studio-tansmittor link, but the approval has not come through in time for broadcast this week. "Three miles, and we can't go to air," he said. "We're ready. CBC's ready. We just have no way of getting to them." Despite the setback, the 50 people celebrating the contact-signing were not too discouraged. CBC Director of Regional Programming Claude Hurtuvise said community access never existed south of the Hamelin line, an artificial line drawn by transportation, economic, population and agricultural stan- dards. He said only a few native groups in Northern Ontario had used the English net- works airwaves. So, this move is also a first for English CBC, as well as the French CBC. In fact, the request from Commite Radio Huronie resulted in a policy on community access being establish- ed within the CBC. "Because Penetanguishene made that re- quest, we addressed the question of com- munity access. Maybe other groups in Canada would have specific needs," Hur- tuvise said. "Radio is a very local medium," he explain- ed. "It reflects your local conditions. This will _ enable the Penetanguishene community to be better reflected." The regional director said there was a cer- tain ambivalence within his department, since there are only six hours of regional pro- gramming a day on CBC and giving up one each day was scarey. But he added, his station will get an overflow effect, since many new listeners could tune in to non-local programming. Commite Radio Huronie chairman Denis Chartrand says this is another first - in that it's something that helps both the local com- munity and CBC. Chartrand said his group will be helping the network fulfil its broad mandate of reflec- Welcome The CBC's Director of Regional Services Claude Hurtuvise welcomes CFRH, Radio Huronie, committee president Denis Char- trand to the CBC team. The Penetanguishene broadcasters will beam their signal twice dai- ting the regional communities and their own needs. "I hope this kind of thing snowballs," he said. "It will help them (Radio-Canada) fulfil their mandate." Chartrand said although he's disappointed his team didn't go on air as soon as they'd hoped, this is a growing time for them, a time to learn, to solve problems and to gain an audience. "We're seeing it as a transition between a community station and a full-time opertation to train our people and get the community tuned in," he said. ly on Radio-Canada's (CBC's French section) on 93.5 FM. Chartrand also welcomed the CBC official to town Sunday afternoon for the contract-signing celebrations. Parents call for FLEC resignation Over 200 parents of children attending Ecole St. Joseph applauded enthusiastically when one mother called for Basile Dorion's resignation as a school board trustee Thurs- day evening at a special meeting of concern- ed parents. Paula Brunelle quoted Dorion's election night speech, made to over 600 French school ratepayers Oct. 23 in the same gym. The parent said Dorion promised he would not support the axing of French-language programs at Ecole Secondaire Pene- tanguishene Secondary School without first seriously studying the needs of French students and the enrolment figures. "Would you please step down," she emo- tionally pleaded, "resign from FLEC due to having misled your voters." The trustee defended himself, saying he came into office with no preconceived ideas as the parents insinuated. "I said I would answer to the needs of the students, and on that we have a difference of opinion," Dorion said. '"'My decision was based on facts and research." Another parent, Sandy Boucher, later ask- ed Dorion to hold a referendum on the ax- ing of the French-language programs at ESPSS. "You no longer represent the majority," she said. "Would you please hold a referendum on the ESPSS French-subject axing?" Dorion declined, saying the Education Act does not provide for referedums being taken on decisions made by trustees. He added the Canadian electoral system does not allow power to switch hands every time a politician dips in popularity. In response to the same question, Alvin Gravelle expressed concern about the radical changes that could take place every three years. "Will we go back and forth (between French and English interests dominating on the French Language Education Council)?" The Ministry of Education's Andre Lalonde explained Bill 75, which set up the French Language Education Council, defines its powers and relation ship to the board of education. Lalonde stressed the opening, administra- tion and closing of French language instruc- tional units falls under FLEC's exclusive jurisdiction and the full board cannot affect the council's decision or force FLEC to res- cind it. Brier results see pg. 15...