The Citizen, 2011-08-25, Page 1CitizenTh
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$1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, August 25, 2011
Volume 27 No. 33
LIBRARY - Pg. 6Council to make decisionwithout public input ELECTION - Pg. 12 Robertson acclaimed atBrussels meetingHURONEAST- Pg. 2Stretton acclaimed tovacant Brussels seatPublications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0INSIDE THIS WEEK:
Expansion, renovation proposed for hospital
McGuinty pledges aid as tornado ravages Goderich
Goderich won’t be alone
Huron Bruce MPP Carol Mitchell, centre, introduces Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty at an
announcement in Goderich on Aug. 22. The pair was joined by Mayor Deb Shewfelt, right.
Goderich residents, who had been hit by a tornado on Aug. 21, were in full recovery mode,
trying to put their town and lives back together. McGuinty wanted the people of Goderich to
know they aren’t alone, and that all of Ontario feels their suffering. He announced that $5
million would be made available to help with the restoration of the town and that those whose
insurance falls short on repairs could find assistance through that money. (Denny Scott photo)
If October’s election sees Huron-
Bruce MPP Carol Mitchell elected
to a third term, the Wingham and
District Hospital will be facing a
major expansion and renovation.
Mitchell made the announcement
last Friday afternoon on the
hospital’s front lawn, saying that
advanced healthcare will be in
Wingham to stay.
“We want to bring state-of-the-art
healthcare services to the people of
this community and beyond,”
Mitchell said to the dozens collected
for the announcement. “In 2013,
2014 we hope to begin tendering.”
Mitchell said the announcement
had been over a decade in
the making and has been the result
of countless volunteers and
hundreds of hours of dedicated
fundraising.
The plan is to build a new
emergency room with improved
accessibility, security and patient
care access, a new space for
diagnostic imaging, a larger
oncology treatment area and
separate day surgery preparation and
recover space.
The addition will be three storeys
covering over 11,000 square feet and
by the end of the project over half of
the entire hospital will have been
renovated.
The renovation is long overdue
several said, with the hospital’s last
major capital project being
completed in 1985 and with portions
of the current structure dating back
to the 1940s.
In addition to all of the physical
improvements she hopes to make to
the hospital, the biggest benefit,
Mitchell said, will be to the patients
of the area and their states of
mind.
With the announcement, Mitchell
hoped to bring “peace of mind” to
area patients and the Huron-Bruce
community, as well as the hospital
staff.
“This is a monumental day for
those involved,” she said.
Mitchell said that while the
proposed improvements will have an
extremely positive effect on patients
immediately, having such an
improved facility will aid the area in
the long term as well with both
doctor recruitment and retention of
current healthcare professionals.
While the announcement has been
made, Mitchell said members of the
community still have a job to do.
“We still need help from the
community,” she said. “It’s all hands
on deck.”
Mitchell said there will be
fundraising requirements, although
she couldn’t go into specifics, and
she also said one of the biggest roles
the public has to play is at the polls
in October.
“We are committed to healthcare
infrastructure,” Mitchell said. “We
are here, we are committed and we
are going to get this done. We are
going to make your healthcare
system better.”
Mitchell also stated that the reason
she first became involved with
politics surrounded healthcare, so it
has long been a topic she has been
seriously concerned with.
“You all know where I live and the
reason I first got into politics was the
Clinton Hospital,” Mitchell said.
“For me, this is a very emotional
time.”
Wingham’s Chief of Staff Dr.
Mark Moores called the day “a thrill
and a half” saying that the hospital’s
future was truly coming to life that
day.
“This is great for the future,” he
said. “This will help doctor
recruitment and it will help retention
of our current staff.”
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty
visited tornado-ravaged Goderich to
announce that the town would not be
alone in its suffering.
“You’re not alone,” he said in front
of the makeshift emergency centre
housed at the Knights of Columbus
Centre in Goderich. “[The province
is] with you.”
McGuinty had toured the town
minutes before his announcement
and was shocked by the tremendous
damage. He thanked the local
council, municipal employees and
emergency workers for their quick
and effective response before
announcing that $5 million would be
set aside to help in the reconstruction
of Goderich.
The Premier pointed to Goderich’s
reaction as a sign of how successful
an emergency preparation plan can
be. The provincial government
recently made such plans mandatory
for all municipalities.
The funds, which have to be used
at the discretion of a committee that
Goderich’s town council will create
at a meeting that was scheduled for
Wednesday, will first be used to
restore the town to working order
and will be available for individuals
and businesses whose insurance
doesn’t cover the total cost of
repairs.
McGuinty said that the residents
of Goderich and the area weren’t
facing this ordeal alone.
“The path to reconstruction is a
long one,” he said. “But we will get
there... You’re not suffering alone,
when tragedy befalls any number of
[Ontarians], it affects us all.”
McGuinty went on to say that it is
strange how destruction can bring
out the best in people, and said that
one of the biggest problems
Goderich may have to face is dealing
with all the offers of assistance
coming in.
Mayor Deb Shewfelt thanked
McGuinty as well as MPP Carol
Mitchell and after discussing what
had happened, left the audience with
one powerful statement.
“We will recover, we will rebuild.”
Representatives from local utilities
spoke after McGuinty and local
politicians and municipal staff
addressed the audience, stating that
it would be a matter of days before
power and gas would be restored to
some parts of Goderich. They also
stated a priority was being put on
getting Alexandra Marine and
General Hospital running on
electricity instead of their gas-
powered generator.
Goderich was hit by an F3 class
tornado with gusts of wind just shy
of 300 kilometres an hour.
One man from Lucknow was
killed and more than 30 people were
reported as injured.
The tornado touched down on The
Square, the centre of Goderich’s
commercial district.
More on the tornado can be found
on pages 10, 11 and 13.
Morris-Turnberry Council will
examine abolishing the ward system
next spring, but at their Aug. 16
meeting, a majority of councilors
indicated they’re in favour of the
move.
“I’ve had quite a few people tell
me they want to have a say in the
election of all councilors at the
table,” said Deputy-Mayor Jason
Breckenridge in opening debate on
the subject. “I ran on that” (in last
fall’s municipal election).
“It’s a big issue for a lot of
people,” agreed Mayor Paul
Gowing. “The majority of people I
talk to think the ward system is
holding us back, that we need to get
rid of it. I feel it’s very poor
representation when half the people
on council are making decisions on
your property but you don’t have the
ability to throw them out (of
office).”
Some councillors felt there
needed to be more public input
before making any change.
“I think we need to do another
survey,” said Jamie McCallum,
referring to a 2007 survey sent out to
residents asking them for their
opinion of different municipal
structures and the size of council.
But Councillor Neil Warwick felt
a new survey was unnecessary. “I
think we’re mandated to sit here and
make decisions,” he said. “Another
survey might only muddy the
waters.”
“I agree,” said Gowing. “We got
a big enough mandate in the last
election.”
But Councillor Jamie Heffer
agreed with McCallum. “I strongly
believe we need a survey,” he said.
He entered the election campaign
firmly believing in the need to get
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
M-T re-examines ward system
By Keith Roulston
The Citizen
Continued on page 16