The Ottawa Citizen from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada • 15

The Citizen, Ottawa, Tuesday, February 12, 1985, Page B3 arents prefer closure to triple grading HeifihboihQGds By Kathryn May Citizen staff writer surveyed were against triple grading and 66 per cent voted in favor of phasing out grades 3-6 over the next three years. "I can't tell you the pain and anguish of this reality," Berlin said. "In fact, it's hard to close a community school but we want to spare the children from a crisis in September when triple and quadruple grading will start." In answer to the parents' demands, the committee agreed to close the school's English-language program in grades 1 and 2 next September. Grades 3-6 will be phased out over the next three years and the committee guaranteed no class will have more than two grades. The committee also agreed to send any children entering kindergarten, grades 1 or 2 to the school of the parent's choice as long there is room.

Pleasant Park offers both an English-lan guage and a French-immersion program. Parents first became worried about triple grading when enrolment for the English program slipped from 90 students in grades 1-6 in 1983 to 73 students last September. Enrolment projections for 1985 shows the number of children in those grades will drop to 65 children. The parents' survey showed only 58 students will be returning to the school's English program in grades 1-6 next September. With more parents wanting their children educated in French, Berlin said parents considered saving their school's English program by offering a French option to English students as long as there were no more than two grades per class.

But Berlin said parents realized that the board wouldn't provide enough teachers if enrolment slipped. Faced with declining enrolment in English-language courses, parents at Pleasant Park School want them dropped rather than having their children double up with those in two or three other grades. Members of the Ottawa Board of Education's education committee, which approved the request Monday, said it's the first time parents have accepted the reality of declining enrolment and asked to phase out programs. "I congratulate the parents," said Trustee Bill Law. "Finally we have a thoughtful presentation on the possibility of a school closing and I hope it's a pattern for several more schools." Jane Berlin, a spokeman for Pleasant Park's parents, said 80 per cent of the parents i.i gum-mm I I tlA A 1 mj I '-tn.

I 4 What's happening in your neighborhood? We'd like you to let us know. Just phone The Citizen at 596-3720 weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. and ask for Neighborhood News. Or, you can write to Neighborhood News at The Citizen, 1101 Baxter Box 5020, K2C 3M4.

Queenswoocl Heights OPP may open office Cumberland Township has approved a plan to open an Ontario Provincial Police "storefront" office in Queenswood Heights. The Rockland OPP detachment, which polices Cumberland, approached council with the suggestion in October. Mayor Peter Clark says the only hurdle now is approval from the solicitor general's office at Queen's Park. OPP Supt. Henry Kostuck thanked council last week for its endorsement.

"All we need is about 150 square feet just a place for a desk, a couple of chairs and a telephone, so if people go by and get an urge to talk to a police officer, they'll be able to." Kostuck also said officers could make their reports in the office rather than in their police cruisers. Kanata South Zoning change deferred A request by Oceatain Investments Ltd. to have land in an industrial park rezoned for housing has been deferred until it can be studied by a new committee of Kanata residents and aldermen. Kanata Council last week rejected a request by Arthur Van Gaal and Sons to have an adjacent property in Kanata South Industrial Park rezoned for housing, but agreed to defer a decision on the Oceatain application. City planners and aldermen already had recommended both re-zoning requests be denied because they would create a shortage of industrial land in the city.

City Clerk Brian Switzer said Friday the committee will study "ways and means to promote economic development in Kanata" and the availability of industrial land in the city. Together, the Oceatain and Van Gaal properties comprise about 300 acres immediately west of Eagleson Road and south of Glen Cairn. Oceatain spokesmen say the company wants to build 1,236 houses on its land because they can't find any industrial tenants. Queenswood Heights S. Work on school set Construction of an addition to the Dunning-Foubert Elementary School, which will include seven classrooms and an industrial arts workshop, will start in April.

The addition to the Carleton Board of Education school at 1610 Prestwick Dr. will cost $1.3 million and is scheduled for completion in September, said board spokesman Hyacinth Haddad. The addition also will include a family studies room with stove and sink, a music room, a science room and a special education room, said Haddad. The school, which has an enrolment of about 450 kindergarten to Grade 6 students, was built in 1981. Haddad said when the addition is completed, grades 7 and 8 classes will be offered at the school.

South Keys Residents oppose bus route Residents of South Keys are upset with the region's plan to route buses through their neighborhood, says Harold Smith, of the South Keys Community Association. The bus route would begin at Cahill Drive near Bank Street and continue past Albion Road. At that point a buses-only route would be built to Conroy Road, said Smith. He said developers of the new Greenboro subdivision in the area have agreed to pay for construction of the bus-only route. "Cahill Drive is a residential street and with the bus route we're looking at 30 to 40 buses an hour going by," said Smith.

"As more houses are built on Cahill Drive there's going to be a lot more ordinary traffic as well." Smith says Hunt Club Road would be better suited for a bus route. But Arun Mhatre, Ottawa planner, says the bus route won't add much traffic to the Cahill Drive. "The number of buses travelling along Cahill Drive won't exceed 10 an hour," said Mhatre. He said Hunt Club Road is not suitable for a bus route because it's not central enough. "Transitways are the new trend in North America and the emphasis is on maximum service and minimum walking," says Mhatre.

"If Hunt Club Road were used for a bus route people living near Tapiola Crescent would have to walk to far to get a bus." Chris Mikula, Citizen Supporters of proposed 911 telephone system march outside regional offices 911 supporters condemn region's delays Gloucester backs policy on women Gloucester Council voted Monday to draft and implement an affirmative action program for hiring women. The program will be developed using provincial money and manpower and will likely put into print guidelines placing women on an equal footing with men for all city jobs. It could also include training sessions to encourage women to strive for more senior jobs and hiring an affirmative action co-ordi-nator. City staff members weren't sure Monday night how long the program would take to prepare. Some aldermen questioned whether affirmative action is really necessary in Gloucester.

"I'd like to know what it's going to do, what it's going to change. Are these just nice words?" asked Aid. Evelyn Grover, the only woman on council. Grover supported the idea, but said she thought the city's hiring practices based on qualifications and experience had served well. Aid.

Royal Galipeau disagreed. "What we now have in place is an active program in favor of men," said Galipeau, who proposed affirmative action last week. "It's not deliberate, but it's a reality we have to admit." A report prepared by personnel director Jock Jardine for Galipeau shows that 80 of the city's 412 employees are women. There are no women among the city's 13 department heads. Of 40 supervisors, six are women.

But some aldermen say further advances will take time. "We cannot perform statistical miracles. We'll have to wait until openings come up," said Aid. Harry Allen, who voted in favor of affirmative action. Aid.

Eugene Bellemare argued women are slowly making headway in city jobs, pointing to three women police officers and a woman who is chief building official. Despite that, Bellemare supported affirmative action by presenting council with a beefed-up version of Galipeau's resolution, which suggested only that a program be considered. By Janice Middleton Citizen staff writer to postpone it 30 days to obtain more information on the paramedics. The province will only fund a paramedic program if the community has an emergency number in place. The group circled on the sidewalk just outside the region's doors, chanting "911" and burning white funeral candles as employees left to go home for supper.

Joining them were Canterbury Aid. Mike McSweeney, Richmond Aid. Jacqueline Holzman and Britannia Aid. Marlene Catterall. Protester Yvonne Kerr, a recently retired citizenship judge, was worried about immigrants who cannot speak English well enough to communicate their distress in an emergency situation.

"It's hard enough for them to dial a seven-digit number, but then to explain the situation makes it even worse." Fed up with delays in obtaining a 911 emergency number and a paramedic system for Ottawa-Carleton, 60 supporters of the proposals staged an hour-long protest Monday outside regional government's Queen Street headquarters. The demonstration was in response to a decision last week by Regional Council's executive committee to postpone a vote on the 911 telephone system another month. Any more delays "and we'll turn this into the hottest issue of the (upcoming) November elections," said Mark O'Neill, spokesman for the Action 911 lobby group. The committee had planned to vote on the system Wednesday but on Feb. 4 decided Petition puts Aylmer Hotel deal on hold renovate it.

The city now pays $52,000 annually to rent space for the 65 employees at a Front Street shopping centre. The mayor's office, the city archives and the city clerk, about 15 people, would have remained in the town hall across the street. Provost said those who signed the petition were not necessarily against council's proposal to obtain new offices. average taxpayer an additional $30 a year for the next 25 years. Mayor Constance Provost said: "Now we have to decide whether to let all of the city vote in a referendum or come up with another solution to meet our needs for more administrative space." She said council will likely discuss the issue at its next meeting Monday.

It had voted last month to buy the 50-year-old landmark and surrounding land for $715,000 and About 700 Aylmer property owners signed a petition Monday that, under Quebec law, will force aldermen to reconsider spending $3.5 million to buy and renovate the Aylmer Hotel for city offices. Aylmer Council had hoped to acquire the Main Street hotel for the city's general manager and about 65 staff members, but the petition, which required only 500 names, will force it to drop the issue or call a referendum. The project would have cost the Declining enrolment spells trouble for English schools i The Qnta9nais A I Jack Aubry wJ Citizen staff francophone school. The student population at the new D'Arcy McGee is expected to decline further, to 550 students by 1988-89. D'Arcy McGee students are now forced to attend to attend Philemon Wright high school, the region's Protestant high school, or an Ottawa school for their courses.

"The move was seen as discrimination against anglophones at the time but it has gone quite smoothly since," said Yves Beau-din, school board director general. Some $750,000 in renovations were earmarked for the new D'Arcy McGee high school. A similar decision in Montreal to turn Mount Royal High School into a francophone school because of falling anglophone enrolment has been greeted by student and parent protests. In Maniwaki, declining enrolment of anglophone high school students has meant an end to course options, special education classes, commercial or specialist courses. Only core subjects are taught to the 92 students in the English section of the Cite' Etu-diante de la Haute Gatineau.

There, the decline in enrolment was compounded when half of the students left to attend a new school for native children of the River Desert Band. While no one will confirm it, the lack of options in anglophone high schools, and the small numbers, could be having an effect on the academic capabilities of students at angolophone community colleges in the province. A study of community colleges, called CEGEPs, by the provincial department of education indicates that all six English-language colleges in the province were among the 11 CEGEPs with the lowest success rates in 1981-82. The CEGEP Heritage Campus in Hull had the lowest passing rate in the province 64.4 per cent. Director Larry Kolesai says, however, there is no single reason for the high rate of failures and dropouts among 740 students at the school.

A tiny English-language high school in Low, about 50 kilometres north of Hull, is slowly being abandoned in a problem that grips the future of anglophone schools across West Quebec. St. Michael's high school is a skeleton of its former self. It just doesn't have the numbers anymore. In its prime, its classrooms were filled with more than 125 students.

Today, only 68 students rattle around the 30-year-old school hallways. The region's Catholic school board, which has kept the school open to avoid a confrontation with West Quebec's dwindling anglophone population, is satisfied to wait until it dies a natural death. Principal Murray Orlando predicts enrolment will drop to 55 students next year, and when it reaches 40 students, the school will likely be closed and its students bused to Hull. He winces at his job prospects when, and if, that occurs. "It's a question that I've had to consider lately.

I'm flexible. I can do lots of things. I once drove a truck." Orlando and his staff of four teachers instruct students on the basics. The two-storey school has none of the frills of a modern high school. There are no plans for a gymnasium or computer terminals in addition to the one the students now play with during lunch hour.

About 25 anglophone students in the Low area are already transported to D'Arcy McGee high school in Hull to take some of the options not available at St. Michael's. "If we built a wood working shop first, maybe some of the kids in the region who are going to other schools for their education would come here," Orlando says. "Personally, I can't see putting my kid on a bus for three hours a day. But I respect their decision," he says of other students' decision to go elsewhere.

And all English schools operated by the Protestant Regional School Board of West Quebec have declining enrolments. The Pat McGrath, Citizen Quietly quilting: Pamela Kearney, left, and Mary Jane Cha-rette assemble material for cushions at the Canterbury Com-munity Centre's quilting group Monday. White Haven Telephone service gets grant The telephone assurance program of Beacon Hill Lodge on Carl-ing Avenue has received a $4,434 federal grant to continue making daily calls to isolated senior citizens. About 18 residents of the lodge telephone 22 senior citizens in the community who are unable to leave their houses. The grant has been made available under the New Horizons Program, which offers grants to groups who meet the needs of senior citizens.

"The New Horizons program makes it possible for senior citizens to get out into a group and make friends," said Joan Eddis of Health and Welfare Canada. The Top of the Hill Club on Elmsmere Road has received a $4,133 grant through the New Horizons Program to expand activities offered to seniors, including fitness classes, film presentations and shuffleboard games, said Eddis. The Seniors Craft Group in Kanata has been given a $3,987 New Horizons grant to expand their existing program which offers painting, quilting and sewing lessons to seniors. Stittsville Meeting planned on development Residents of the Wyldewood subdivision are to meet Thursday with Goulbourn planners and a developer that has proposed a two-storey shopping centre and apartment complex in the community. Township planner Rob McKay said the meeting is scheduled at 7:30 p.m.

in the municipal building in Stanley Corners. McKay said M. Holitzner Ltd. has planned stores, offices and possibly apartments in a new commercial centre south of Poole Creek and north of Winterfern Drive. Township officials hope the meeting will produce a compromise between the developer and residents who oppose the project.

McKay said the two-storey development would have an "Old World" style of architecture similar to Wyldewood houses. Some local residents who oppose the development are concerned the project will be too close to houses, causing a decline in property values and an increase in noise. McKay said th township is considering limiting the type of businesses in the shopping centre to make it more acceptable to board educates 4,600 students compared to 7,000 10 years ago. The drop is not surprising in light of the anglophone exodus from Quebec during the past 15 years. Between 1966 and 1981, an estimated 210,000 anglophones moved out of Quebec, among other reasons because of provincial language legislation that allowed only the children of parents educated in English in Quebec to send their children to English schools.

The law was changed in 1984 to permit any parent educated in English anywhere in the country to send their children to English-language Quebec schools. Other contributing factors to the declining enrolment were a provincial economic decline and one of the lowest birthrates in the world. Statistics Canada figures indicate more than 3,000 anglophones left Aylmer, Hull and Gatineau between 1976, when the Parti Qu6b6cois came into power, and 1981. As of 1981, there were 24,000 anglophones in the three cities. It is believed even more anglophones have left Quebec since then, although a recent boom in the number of anglophones buying real estate in the Out-aouais has diminished the exodus from the region.

There are other examples of how declining enrolment has affected English schools in the region. Despite a bitter protest last winter, 830 students at D'Arcy McGee high school on Booth Street in Hull, which had a capacity of 1,600, were transferred to a smaller 1 school, the former Gamelin high school in Hull. The Booth Street school became a.