Windsor Education

Here are a few thoughts from kindergarten through to university.

MORE ON SCHOOL CROSSING GUARDS

I thought you might find this photograph of interest since it talks about the first school safety patrol in Ontario. Thanks to Elaine Weeks of the Walkerville Times for allowing me to use it.

In which town was the first patrol... in Windsor and after an accident took place.

WE REALLY DO NOT WANT U

Do you know really think the City cares if a bunch of University students come downtown or not. It's another PR gesture.

The whole exercise of moving the Engineering Building downtown, or is it now the law faculty or music school, is just to divert attention from the fact that nothing is happening in the City's core.

After all, Eddie did get elected the first time on building an arena downtown and then he took away Bill Marra's idea of an urban village for the downtown. Do you see any of those projects being started? Mind you, we did get a funky bus terminal although the business deal structured gives part of it away to Greyhound.

In this way, Eddie can point his finger at someone else and blame them for the fact that the downtown is on life-support

I wondered what all of those signs saying WE WANT U on the doors of some businesses downtown meant. Then I saw the story that said

• "The Downtown Windsor Business Improvement Association is turning up the heat on the University of Windsor to locate its new engineering building downtown.
  
  Larry Horwitz, chairman of the DWBIA, is giving out a couple of hundred posters for merchants to put in store windows urging the university to create an urban campus. The signs read "We Want U" in blue and green."

Speak about mixed messages... do you see this story as well about how this City can save money:

• "Council cuts 5 student jobs
  Windsor Star, Tuesday, December 04, 2007
  
  City council made several minor service cuts Monday during another 2008 budget session that helped trim a projected tax increase to 3.1 per cent...
  
  Among the cuts was the elimination of five parks department student summer jobs. It is the beginning of several anticipated job cuts likely to be approved before the budget process is completed later this month or early in the new year."

I guess they can always go to Toronto to find job and perhaps to work there after graduation rather than stay in Windsor.

Heck, the excuse this year about the City's lands looking a mess was that we were waiting for the University students to join the Parks Department before the grass would be cut. I wonder what the excuse will be next year...not enough students

And as for Greenlink, we will probably make it a nature preserve so that the grass never needs cutting and we won't need any university students at all. Gotta save all that money.