HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2008-10-09, Page 10PAGE 10. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2008.There could be somechanges in the works forcounty council.At the Oct 1 meeting,
recommendations from
committee of the whole
regarding restructuring were
approved.
At committee it was agreed
that the county would remain
as a two-tier system and the
warden’s term would remain
at one year.
Regarding the size of
council there has been an
opinion expressed that it
should be set at the minimum
with one councillor for each
of the nine municipalities.
However, a delegation
presented a list of concerns
with a change in the structure
of county council.
The issue of council size
has been referred back to the
warden’s working group on
county restructuring for
further review of various
scenarios.
Another issue is with
regards to meetings. To
enhance efficiency of council,
chief administrative officer
Larry Adams proposed two
committee meetings and one
council meeting a month.
This would begin with the2009 term.The final recommendationwas that effective with the2010 term, councillors gopaperless with the use oflaptop computers. Adams’
suggestion was that the
computers be provided to
councillors at the beginning
of each four-year term, that
they receive a monthly home
office allowance of $80 per
month to cover the costs of
high-speed internet access
and supplies.
At Wednesday’s meeting,
councillor Bert Dykstra of
Central Huron said he felt
there needed to be more
discussion on this.
Dorothy Kelly of Morris-
Turnberry agreed. “I have
heard from many people
complaining that it’s
ridiculous spending money on
this.”
Councillor Joe Seili of
Huron East said that he saw
no need for councillors to
receive an allowance for
internet use as most already
have it. He also said he’d be
willing to pay 50 per cent for
a laptop.
Councillor Bill Dowson of
Central Huron mentioned that
none of these
recommendations made
things “a done deal. We’re notthere yet. I’ve had calls tooand we need to do a lot ofwork yet before finalizing anything. But it’s a good ideato start.”Warden John Bezaire ofCentral Huron re-iterated this.“By approving these, we’resaying in theory we agree, butif the numbers are too high,it’s out.”John Grace, councillor forGoderich, asked that there becost analysis and efficienciesprovided to councillors.
Oct. 12 marks the start of
this year’s annual Hospice
Awareness Week across
Ontario.
Around the world, one
million people die every
week, and it is estimated that
100 million people could
benefit from basic hospice
palliative care, although the
number who do have access to
it falls far below this level.
Each year Ontario’s
hospices have in excess of
14,000 hospice volunteers
dedicating more than 700,000
hours of service in 450
communities. Hospices are
providing compassionate,
integrated, quality hospice
palliative care to individuals
with a terminal illness and
their loved ones.
Last year Huron Hospice
Volunteer Service provided
services to 196 individuals
and their families. Forty one
volunteers provided 3,221
hours of services and 11 board
of directors provided 1,296
hours to the agency.
Access to integrated,
quality hospice palliative care
to enable people to live as
fully as possible, with dignity
and compassion when time is
short, remains a societal
priority around the province
and specifically in our local
community.
According to the report Still
Not There: Quality End-of-
Life Care: A Progress Report
issued by Senator Sharon
Carstairs, only 15 per cent of
Canadians receive quality
hospice palliative care. This
number is expected to climb
and by 2020 we are expecting
there will be 40 per cent more
deaths each year.
For further information
please contact: Shirley
Dinsmore, Huron Hospice
Volunteer Service 519-527-
1650.
Celebrate the bounty
It was the annual harvest supper at Melville Presbyterian Church on Sunday evening. Maurice Douma had
carving duties. (Vicky Bremner photo)
Next week
Hospice Week
County council considers going paperless
A federal general election is taking place on October 14, 2008.
For information on where and when to
vote, check your voter information card.
It tells you where and when to vote. You’ll
get through the voting process more quickly
if you have it with you.
You will find the voting hours for your
polling station on your voter information
card or at www.elections.ca by clicking on
“Voter Information Service”.
If you haven’t received this card, you are
probably not on the voters list. To register,
all you need to do is go to your polling
station on election day, where you must
prove your identity and address.
New identification rules to vote
When you vote, you must prove your
identity and address.
For the list of acceptable pieces of
identification authorized by the Chief
Electoral Officer of Canada, please see
the pamphlet you received by mail from
Elections Canada or visit www.elections.ca
and click on “Voter Identification at
the Polls”.
To vote, you must:
• be a Canadian citizen
• be at least 18 years old on election day
• prove your identity and address
Vote. Shape your world.
1-800-INFO-VOTE
1-800-463-6868
toll-free in Canada and the United States,
or 001-800-514-6868 toll-free in Mexico
TTY 1-800-361-8935
for people who are deaf or hard of hearing,
toll-free in Canada and the United States, or
613-991-2082 from anywhere in the world
www.elections.ca
By Bonnie GroppThe Citizen