Is Little Current Public School in crisis?

by Jim Moodie

LITTLE CURRENT--The removal of Little Current Public School (LCPS) principal Sandra Luopa last week, midway through the school year, came as a shock and affront to some people, while to others the move was welcome and anticipated. But whether one applauds or bemoans the decision, the awkwardly timed personnel shakeup has certainly created uncertainty for teachers and parents, as well as cast a new light on issues that have been bubbling within the school and community for well over a year.

Mrs. Luopa has been reassigned to a school in Sudbury, where she will act as a co-principal. A precise reason for her transfer is not being provided by the Rainbow District School Board; Norm Blaseg, superintendent for the Espanola-Manitoulin region, will only describe it as a "personnel matter." In her absence, former vice-principal Margaret Stringer has taken over as interim principal (and Mark Olacke as interim v.p.), while the Rainbow Board seeks a permanent successor. Whether Mrs. Stringer is considered a candidate is, again, something that Mr. Blaseg will not discuss.

School, meanwhile, goes on, potentially for the better, but so does debate over why the principal was removed and whether it was fair, as well as over where blame should be assigned (if not with the principal) for problems that have developed in the school and community over the past several years, including low morale among staff, kids acting up, and an increased incidence of parents openly criticizing teachers.

LCPS has 400 students, nearly half of whom are first nations children, which makes it both one of the most populous elementary schools in the district, and one of its most culturally mixed. It also has a considerable number of special needs students. Some observers argue that popping a first-time principal into this unwieldy and culturally sensitive setting was unfair to begin with, particularly since Mrs. Luopa was new to the area and without a vice-principal in her first year.

Complicating the situation was a considerable turnover in staff, with nine teachers leaving LCPS. Whether the exodus reflects on the principal, or occurred for other reasons, is open to speculation; the teachers themselves are bound by a professional ethics code that limits their ability to comment. What is clear is that the school has experienced a raft of new teachers, which when added to a new principal, a large student body, and cultural differences, is bound to spell a learning curve, if not a bumpy road.

There were bumps, many admit, in 2003/2004, some of which pertained to the first nations students. "When she first started here we had our share of problems," says Aundeck Omni Kaning (Sucker Creek) Chief Patrick Madahbee. Yet in the immediate aftermath of Mrs. Luopa's removal, it has been members of the first nations communities who have been most vocal in her defense. A letter to the Expositor in this week's paper, signed by the chiefs of all seven area first nations, vigorously protests her transfer.

Mr. Madahbee says that despite the rough beginning, "things started to improve very quickly as she listened to us and we created trust. It's the first time ever that the school has engaged our communities in a meaningful way." He, along with other chiefs, applaud the inclusion of first nations members on the School Council, the creation of an Anishinabe Binojiinhag Committee (ABC) to address concerns of first nations children and parents, and the introduction of native culture and history to classes and events.

First nations leaders are angry, Chief Madahbee says, "because for us this came out of left field--nobody was consulted. And it seems like it was a done deal. The word was on the street (in Little Current) before anyone here (in Sucker Creek) knew about it. The school board seems to be listening to a small group of people in town." Such charges leave the impression that people are polarized on racial lines over the direction of the school, and to an extent, this seems to be true.

But those who were unhappy with the principal mostly cite leadership and discipline issues; they don't seem to have a specific problem with the strides made in incorporating Ojibwe culture. Nor does Chief Madahbee blame Little Current as a whole for ousting Mrs. Luopa. He acknowledges that "we've had a very good relationship with Little Current for many years," and that "a lot of people in town support the changes (pertaining to first nations) in the school."

Robert Beaudin, the first nations representative on the Rainbow Board, says he was "quite surprised" to learn about the principal's dismissal, and not only because he didn't hear about it until after the fact. (The board did try to contact him, he says, but he was away at the time; he doesn't believe he was deliberately overlooked.) "We were making great gains as far as our own issues...and she was furthering our cause very diplomatically, in my view," he says.

As an example, Mr. Beaudin points to "a presentation we did on the native-inclusive curriculum at LCPS which went over as well as at any other school." He was also pleased with the response to a pow wow that was held last year at LCPS, for the first time in the school's history. "It was warmly accepted by both the teachers and the student body."

At the same time, he acknowledges that dealing with cultural issues is "not the full scope of what a principal does," implying that the board probably had other issues on its mind in making the decision to relocate Mrs. Luopa. He believes, like many others, that the cultural mix at LCPS benefits both native and non-native students alike--"you're richer by the people around you; more diversity widens one's own knowledge base"--and expresses the hope that "this doesn't become a race issue."

Those who will miss Mrs. Luopa are not only first nations people. Tammy Albers, who serves on the Home and School Association as well as the ABC committee, also applauds the efforts the principal made to incorporate native teachings in the school. "My little guy came home the other day and told me that he'd learned more about the seven grandfathers, and I was thrilled." She also notes that the principal "played a huge role in making me understand things better and working patiently with my son. Noah was like a whole different kid this year. He adored Sandra, and is sad that she's gone."

For those who were eager to see a change in leadership at the school, the main issue wasn't cultural, says Jennifer Sayyae, but managerial. "I think of school like a business, and when you have problems in a business, you have to look at the management," she says. Her main gripe with the school was with the disciplinary policy--suspensions being handed out too frequently, and freely, in her view--and the overall mood of the institution, which she believes had reached a crisis level: "The staff is unhappy, the kids are unhappy, the school is in chaos."

Mrs. Sayyae freely admits that she was pushing to bring about a change, and was on the verge of bringing a group of parents together to confront the Rainbow Board in a meeting, or, if that wasn't possible, make their case in the press. "There were about eight of us phoning the board, it wasn't just me, I'm just the mouthiest." She says, "The school board asked me to back down," and she was fine with that, "because I didn't want it to be a lynching mob."

For Mrs. Sayyae, the problems at the school boil down to a lack of respect. "When I was growing up, we were taught to respect police, principals, the minister. You know, to this day, if I run into an old teacher, I still call them Mr. or Mrs. But somehow we've gotten away from that." The parent says that she endeavours to instill that respect in her children, "but it has to come from the teacher too. Parents have to teach it, but teachers have to demand it."

Mrs. Sayyae feels that under Mrs. Luopa's tenure, too much emphasis was placed on suspensions, which she believes are counterproductive, or on trying to resolve problems in a touchy-feely way, whereas what is needed, in her view, is more firmness and consequences that a child will understand. "What ever happened to writing lines in a detention?" she asks. "Or making a kid watch recess from inside, or miss something else they enjoy, like the pow wow? I think we have to have a brainstorming meeting, with parents, teachers and the school board, and figure out what parents want, what kids will adhere to, and what teachers can legally get away with."

Suspensions are not unique to LCPS, or the former principal; they are administered according to board policy, and occur everywhere. That said, the school seems to have had a disproportionate number over the past couple of years. Is the policy being interpreted differently at LCPS? Or is there more misbehaviour among the school's students than in other locations? And if so, why?

One could point to various factors, and one might be a decline in general socioeconomic well-being in the Little Current area over the past few years, as well-paying civil service jobs dry up and tourist dollars hold relatively steady but result in few new or high-paying jobs. Peggy Young, who supply taught at LCPS a decade ago, and more recently worked as an economic development officer with the NEMI Community Development Corporation, says that "we've been experiencing a downward spiral on Manitoulin. We have an aging population with fixed incomes, and our young people are leaving to find jobs. When you have people not making a lot of money, existing on minimum wage, I think that effects everything as a social issue."

Or maybe it's more to do with the sheer volume and mix of children at the school, and a failure on the part of the ministry or board to provide sufficient human resources to handle and reflect this population. Are there enough teachers? Are there enough first nations teachers? (At last count, there were two.) Are there enough special education staff? Many will say no, no, and no.

Mr. Beaudin is reluctant to reduce it all to socioeconomic factors. "It's an accumulation of a whole bunch of different things. If there's a low-income family, it doesn't necessarily result in a disciplinary issue. There are so many factors--how children are socialized, the influence of the media. When I was teaching, it was bubble gum and baseball caps. It's different now, but I think it's more to do with a socialization process, children not being taught to recognize authority figures."

The board rep also believes that simply looking at the number of suspensions at LCPS can be misleading. "There might be one school where there are very few, but is the administration there following through with disciplinary measures? Zero tolerance is a policy that leaves room for interpretation," he says, adding, "it's one I'm not totally enamoured with--there has to be room for in-school remediation." 

Mrs. Albers believes that socioeconomic factors do play into the mood and health of a school. Through her role as child nutrition coordinator with Noojmowin Teg, she's identified a need for a snack program at LCPS, based on evidence that many families in the area are having difficulties putting three square meals on the table. Proper nutrition can translate into "calmer, more focussed students, decreased classroom interruptions and improved attendance," according to her research.

One of the "startling facts" she included in a power-point presentation to promote the snack program at LCPS was that in 2002-2003, the number of food baskets provided through the Manitoulin Food Bank increased by 45 per cent, nearly double the previous year's figures. This doesn't speak directly to Little Current, but presumably the community is part of this increased demand. Social assistance has increased in the area, and rates barely cover a family's costs, according to Mrs. Albers. "The cost of feeding a family of four is $118.91 a week, and when you take into account rent, utilities, child care and food, a lot of people are left in the negative each month."

Mrs. Albers believes "this all starts in the home," and that teacher bullying, by parents, has become an alarming and unfortunate trend. "It's especially epidemic in Ontario, according to a CBC radio report I was listening to just before this story (the LCPS shakeup) broke," she remarks. "I think parents are bashing teachers in front of their kids, and that this leads to disrespect in the school." Similarly, Mrs. Albers feels that the principal became an unfair target of parent ire. "Instead of helping her with the weaknesses she had, they started bashing her."

Island chiefs have called for the reinstatement of Mrs. Luopa, and during a meeting last week with Island trustees and Mr. Blaseg, were told that there is a "slim opening that they may, and I stress may, review the decision at an upcoming administration meeting of the board," according to Chief Madahbee. "We're hoping the situation gets rectified, but if not, we have other options," he says.

Those options include removing first nations children from the school and bussing them to either Lakeview School in M'Chigeeng, or to the Whitefish River First Nation. Alternatively, a new school could be built in Sucker Creek, says the chief. "Under our tuition agreement we have to give a year's notice, but as far as I'm concerned there has been a breach of that agreement so we probably have the right to do it (send the children elsewhere) sooner. If push came to shove, we could probably have students somewhere by September," says the chief.

Many hope that this won't be the case, and that first nations parents and leaders can work with the new principal, whomever that may be, to continue the positive strides made in incorporating native culture by the previous principal. Laura Wall, co-chair of the School Council along with Joe Endanawas, acknowledges that "whenever something like this happens it's not easy, and we will have to wait and see whether it's for the best. But I still think it's a good school and there are a lot of positives, including promoting native culture, which is great."

She hopes the ABC committee will "keep going, because there's some really good people on that." Mrs. Wall also hopes the new principal selected by the board, possibly by March Break, "will be someone who will live in the community and be a strong person who can effectively manage all the cultural aspects as well as the classroom." She doesn't blame Mrs. Luopa for all the ills of the school. "It's not necessarily anything she'd done exactly. But the problem is that when you're running a team, and the team is not doing well, it's usually the coach that gets fired."

Mrs. Wall concedes that an unhappy cloud had settled over the school in recent times. "We've seen a lack of respect among a lot of kids, and I understand teachers have been getting some horrible messages from parents." But she believes "we've also seen lots of other things moving forward that are positive. I understand we've lost the principal, but if we can build on the positives and keep the teachers, that would be good."

Reports are that the mood among teachers has improved markedly since interim principal Mrs. Stringer has taken over, and many would like to see her carry on in this capacity. Teacher and union steward Steve Clark would not comment on this directly, except to say that staff members "have been supportive of those in administration, and are standing together and working together for a positive outcome." Mrs. Albers, however, fears that the board will "get a puppet in there, someone who won't rock the boat."

The future of the ABC committee, meanwhile, remains uncertain. Chief Madahbee says that he's "not optimistic. People feel the atmosphere has been poisoned, and are not so prepared to put their time and energy into it." Others, however, have expressed a desire to continue the work of the committee.

Mrs. Wall hopes that the present schism (between those who support the former principal, and those who wanted her gone) won't widen, and that teachers and parents, native and non-native alike, will work together to move forward and create a better climate in the school. She worries that, given the concerns raised by first nations leaders, and a lack of clear explanation from the board, "it will look like they got rid of her because she was doing too much native stuff," which would be unfortunate, in her view.

Race is certainly an issue at LCPS, and so is leadership, but neither tell the whole story. Rather than scapegoat (or sanctify) the principal, or frame the issue purely as a native versus non-native one, many feel it's time to address other underlying--and overarching--issues at LCPS.

As one person close to the situation observes, LCPS is now seen as "a problem school," whereas "it used to be a top-notch school with above-average marks. We'd like to get back to that, but to do so takes a team effort, and also an effort from the community. It's not just a racial problem--it's a community problem, a teacher problem, a student problem. It won't be solved just by replacing one person."

Ms. Young agrees. "I don't think the problems in this school just comes down to the principal. The buck has to stop somewhere, and unfortunately that's with the principal, but from my perspective the buck has to stop with the parents." A parent herself, Ms. Young says that "kids behave differently in different environments, and my own child is no angel. But some parents think their kids can do no wrong and blame everything on the teachers. Until parents support teachers, you end up with kids being in control."

The old days of the strap are gone, says Ms. Young, and "we are trying to adapt to a changing social environment, where corporal punishment is no longer promoted." Not every parent will necessarily agree with the new approach to discipline, but she believes parents must accept the code of conduct rules set out by the school and make an effort to reinforce them in the home.

For Ms. Young, it would be unfortunate if first nations parents chose to remove their children from the school. "In the real world, we all have to get along together," she says. She would view an exodus of native students in the same way that she viewed "the teachers who flew the coop last year"--as something of an easy way out. "I understand things aren't always the way you want them, but sometimes you have to put forward an effort" to resolve differences and effect positive change, she says. And while that effort begins, in her estimation, in the home, it's up to everyone to pitch in. "I agree with the philosophy that it takes a community to raise a child," says Ms. Young.

  Mrs. Wall also believes that people should look at the big picture, and put the focus where it should be. "We talked about this at one of our (school council) meetings, and what we said was: 'We're not here for white kids, or native kids--we're here for kids.'"

Brent St. Denis wins Liberal nod

by Michael Erskine

BLIND RIVER---Algoma-Manitoulin MP Brent St. Denis will carry the Liberal banner in the new riding of Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing in the next election, widely expected to take place later this spring.

In the vote following a standing ovation from the delegates after Mr. St. Denis' speech, he won a resounding endorsement from the 332 delegates who gathered at W.C. Eaket High School in Blind River last weekend. According to Liberal insiders, the final vote tally was 277 for Mr. St. Denis to 55 for challenger Hank Rowlinson.

"I am grateful to the people of Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing who saw fit to reward my past service with their faith for the future," said Mr. St. Denis after the vote, which took place Sunday afternoon, "especially coming out in this storm."

With the nomination process behind him, Mr. St. Denis said he was looking forward to the battle ahead.

"We are as ready to go to the polls in this riding as we have ever been," he said, although Mr. St. Denis did indicate that he would prefer the election be held a little later in the spring than sooner.

"I pointed out in caucus that there is often still a great deal of snow in our riding, particularly in the Northern part, often well into April," he said. "We don't want to be placing signs in snow banks only to have to go back and set them back up after the snow melts, but it is the Prime Minister's call to make."

"Well, the good thing is I came in second," said Mr. Rowlinson, demonstrating that the nomination defeat had not dampened his sense of humour or his spirit. "Unfortunately, with the bad weather we experienced on the Island a lot of my support stayed at home. I think if we had multiple polling stations you would have found the vote a lot closer than it was."

Mr. Rowlinson said he had made a commitment to work together with Mr. St. Denis to continue to work toward resolution of the issues he had raised during the nomination battle.

"I am not going to be leaving the scene," he said. "This has been a great learning experience, and there is always the provincial seat."

Mr. Rowlinson said that he had met a great number of wonderful people in his journey around the riding, and that he had gained a strong appreciation for the commitment it takes to represent a riding like Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing.

Mr. St. Denis acknowledged the Federal Liberal Party was facing difficult times in the days ahead, particularly in the wake of the current sponsorship scandals, but he said he was confident that Prime Minister Paul Martin would deal with the issue effectively.

"I am certain Mr. Martin will get to the bottom of this," he said, "and root out those who are responsible. It is important to the country that we restore faith in the people who are leading our country, and I believe Mr. Martin is the one to do it."

Mr. St. Denis will be entering an election in an area larger than many countries, stretching from Manitoulin to north of Kapuskasing, and from Wawa to the outskirts of Sudbury.

"In a riding that can take 12 hours to cross, it typically takes nine hours to get to where you are going for a meeting," he said. "You jump out of the car, conduct the meetings and business you need to get done, then it is back in the car for another three hours or so until you get home. This is not a riding for the faint of heart, you need a lot of stamina."

The Liberal Mr. St. Denis will be facing Conservative Party of Canada nominee, Gore Bay's Blaine Armstrong, in the next election. The NDP have yet to settle on their nominee.

Interview for new principal for LCPS underway

by Neil Zacharjewicz

LITTLE CURRENT - The Rainbow District School Board has begun the search for a new principal for Little Current Public School.

According to Dena Morrison, chair of the Rainbow District School Board, the board is in the process of soliciting input in order to develop a profile of a potential candidate before interviews begin. She indicated these profiles include a list of the kinds of attributes the community and the board would like to see in a candidate for the position. Ms. Morrison stated it is the board's intention to find a long-term replacement before the end of the school year.

The need to hire a new principal became an issue recently when former principal Sandra Luopa was transferred within the board. In the interim, Ms. Morrison explained, Vice-Principal Margaret Stringer has been appointed as acting principal for Little Current Public School. Ms. Morrison stated that Ms. Luopa is still a valued employee of the board, and that from time to time these internal transfers occur.

"It is nothing unusual," she said.

Ms. Morrison indicated that she is aware concern has been expressed in the community by organizations and First Nations community members over the loss of Ms. Luopa. However, she said it is the board's intention to continue to build upon the good things which have occurred at the school.

BSE continues to affect farmers  part II

by Jim Moodie

GREEN BAY--The farm of Bruce Wood occupies a scenic rise where the Lime Kiln Road sweeps around and plunges downhill towards Green Bay. From the farmhouse--a roomy, two-floor cement abode built in the early 1900s, now clad in white siding--you can gaze over a quilt of fields that once supported as many as eight separate farms. These days, Mr. Wood is one of just three farmers to work the land here.

On a grey afternoon last week, the farmer could be found in the work shed behind his house. Ordinarily, at this time of the day and year, he would prefer to be ice fishing with his youngest son, Nathaniel, but the boy is sick today and the lake thick with slush. So Mr. Wood is using this brief window of time between the completion of farm chores and dinner to attend to some house maintenance--namely, windows.

"I was going to buy new ones, but times are tight so I'm making my own," he explains. Before him are a number of frames that he's assembled, shaping the edges with a router and fitting and gluing the joints. The wood is white cedar that he cut from his own property and milled with his portable sawmill. "They're not perfect," he muses. "But slap a coat of paint on them and no-one will know the difference."

A tall, rangy man in his late 40s, garbed in coveralls and worked-in Co-op cap, Mr. Wood has a stoic expression that is rarely broken by a smile. Nor, as a cattle farmer trying to make a go of it in these particularly trying times, does he have much to smile about. Yet his eyes do flicker from time to time with amusement and irony, seemingly because things have become just so absurdly difficult that if you didn't allow yourself to be amused, you'd probably go crazy.

A cow-calf operator, with a herd of some 140 head, Mr. Wood says that his income has plummeted over the past two years, and he's now worse off than he was a decade ago. In 1993, he made $63,000 from cattle. In 2003, that revenue had dwindled to $44,000--gross. "And my expenses are over $40,000!" he says. The ironic flicker comes briefly into his eyes. And then a distant, preoccupied look, as he surveys the snow-covered hay fields, the grey, hazy skies.

Other farmers are struggling too, of course. A couple of farmers whom Mr. Wood knows have decided to sell their farms. "They're saying enough is enough," he says. He doesn't blame them, either. He's thought about "getting out" himself. But it's different for him. "These other guys are close to retirement. I'm too young to get out. And who's going to buy a farm right now anyway?" He says that his property, which spans close to 1,500 acres, was valued at over $200,000 five years ago, and he's added a couple of buildings since.

One of those buildings, a hay barn, stands only partially completed, a skeleton with a roof but no walls. "I started building that when the prices were good," he says. "Now I can't finish it." Mr. Wood has also been forced to scrimp in other ways. He hasn't bought a new tractor in years, but makes do with the clunkers he has, including an "antique" that his father, who farmed for 50 years before him, bought in 1967. The concrete in the cattle pen is full of cracks, and he would normally invest $1,000 or so in new concrete each year, but not this year.

At least he seems to have a shiny new truck. A sleek black half-ton is parked in front of his work shed, up on jacks for an axle repair. Only it turns out that it's not his truck at all, but his neighbour's, which Mr. Wood is doing some work on. "That would be mine over there," he says, pointing to a beat-up 1984 F150. "I paid $1,000 for it." He paid half that for his other vehicle, a van that his partner and soon-to-be-wife, Pat Moore, uses to get to work. "Can't afford more," he says.

Mr. Wood is currently a bit worried about the $500 van, because he and his fiancee have to drive to Mississauga soon to take their young daughter Elizabeth to an eye specialist. It's been down and back a couple of times already, but you never know when a vehicle like this might quit on you. Plus he'll have to hire someone to do chores on the farm while he's gone.

The farmer has five children--three from a previous marriage, one of whom, a 14-year-old, lives with him; and two with his current partner, five-year-old Nathaniel and three-year-old Elizabeth. The teenager, Greg, pitches in on the farm, but is still in school so can't help out full-time. With three mouths to feed, and two children for whom he has to pay child support, and cows to feed and calve, there are very few days off for Mr. Wood, or his partner, who works in Mindemoya as a veterinary technician and also helps out around the farm.

The two grow most of their own food--potatoes, carrots, cabbage, turnips. In the winter, Mr. Wood might squeeze in a couple of hours of ice fishing some days, but this is not really a leisure activity. He enjoys it, and it's a rare break from the farm, but it's also a way of providing food. He has dogs, with whom he sometimes hunts wolves--although not this winter, as he "can't afford the gas for the snowmobile"--but again, this isn't really sport. It's a way of protecting his herd.

Even at times when prices for cattle are good (as they were, relatively speaking, in 2001), a farmer still faces numerous hardships and worries: the rising costs of crop insurance and equipment (a tractor tire alone--not counting calcium--costs about $800); rising taxes on their land (since 1991, Mr. Wood's assessment has more than doubled, from $9,700 to $22,500 per 100 acres); and the persistent threat of wild critters to livestock and crops. If you don't have raccoons feasting on your feed corn, the bears will be in it, eating their fill and knocking the stalks down. Or they'll be busting down fences and, occasionally, barn doors. Mr. Wood says a bear recently grabbed one of his calves by the neck; the bear was scared off, but the calf died of the injuries.

There are government programs intended to offset the difficulties that farmers experience. Mr. Wood, for instance, is currently looking into taking part in the Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization Program. "But for me to join, I'd have to put down a deposit of $1,651--a third of my yearly amount for maximum coverage, which is nearly $5,000," he says. "Well, if I had $5,000, I wouldn't have to go on the program to begin with." Needless to say, Mr. Wood doesn't have $5,000 at his fingertips, nor does he expect that a bank will loan it to him. And while any government aid is welcome, the farmer figures that the feds "squandered more in Montreal (through the sponsorship scandal) than they ever give us."

That he is able to limp along at all right now, Mr. Wood attributes to having been able "to put a bit aside in a good year," and having "inherited the property relatively cheaply to begin with." Last year was particularly bad, though, with the emergence of BSE in North America and the related trade ban with the US, and "I hate to see what this year will be like," says Mr. Wood. Prices show no signs of rising soon, and in the meantime, the farmer has to buy a new wood furnace for his house (the current one is 50 years old, and cracking), and he expects that something, possibly a whole engine, will have to be replaced on one of his old vehicles soon. "You're getting farther and farther behind, and if you don't have the money to invest in new equipment, something is going to go on them eventually."

The school bus has arrived, and son Greg saunters up the lane, hunched over a bit, because it has begun to rain. "I had to pick Nathaniel up early from school," his father tells him, "because he's got stomach flu." Greg nods, and ducks inside the farmhouse. The rain splatters on the muddy lane, and on the shaggy hides of the cows, who just stand there and stoically endure the dousing. "They don't mind rain," Mr. Wood remarks. "But they don't like wind." He stands in the doorway of the work shed where his window frames are stacked, soon to be fitted with glass and puttied, and gazes outside at the drizzly scene.

I ask him if the weather is going to let up, if the sun is going to come out. "I think it's just going to get worse," he says.