Monday, August 17, 2009

No West Nile

A cool, damp summer means there has been fewer mosquitoes in northwestern Ontario.

The Northwestern Health Unit has been trapping mosquitos for its West Nile Testing program.

Public Health Inspector Al Mathers says there has been no evidence of the disease in this region so far.

Mathers says while mosquito trapping is being carried out in Kenora, Dryden and Fort Frances, they will not be collecting dead birds for testing this year.

Local Teachers at ETFO Meeting

Issues impacting teachers from northern Ontario will be discussed at the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario meeting in Toronto.

Members of the local executive including president Trevor Bowles, Cynthia Donald and Mike Jones are attending.

Bowles says among the issues they'll bring up is a need for increased funding and access to professional development for teachers.

The meetings wrap up Thursday

Teachers Meet in Toronto

Elementary school teachers from across the province are gathering in Toronto today for the annual meeting of the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario.

The province's plans to introduce full-day learning for four- and five-year-olds in elementary schools is a part of the talks.

President David Clegg feels the government's plan missed the mark.

"The model that's suggested would see a teacher there only spend half a day," says Clegg, "which is the current situation. So we might spend as a province a billion dollars on a full-day kindergarten program and there wouldn't be one more minute of student-teacher-student time than there is today. That would be a mistake, a missed opportunity and certainly not the best chance for student learning."

The federation plans to release a report on the proposal later today.

AMO Meeting Begins

Municipal representatives from across the province will be looking for continued support from the provincial government.

More than 1,600 mayors and reeves have gathered in Ottawa for the Association of Municipalities of Ontario's annual meeting.

AMO President Peter Hume say while civic leaders have welcomed recent infrastructure announcements, there are still worries about the funding provided for other municipal services.

"We need to make sure that the funding we get for other things like social services and policing that are important to places like Fort Frances and others says in place," says Hume, "and the economic circumstances don't see that being reversed and placing further burdens on municipalities."

Fort Frances will be represented at the meeting by four members of council including Mayor Roy Avis.