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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1993-06-23, Page 4Posing pooch Letters One of 'Many Hands writes THE EDITOR, The play Many Hands has now finished its 12 night run and has received great reviews. I would like to acknowledge two women who deserve a big thank you — Ruth Howard, costume, mask and puppet designer and her assistant Gaynor Mullin. Ruth did research on period costume and all dry visual material eg. skeletons, gravestones, rutabagas and even lilacs. In consultation with the director and playwright she came up with design ideas. A lot of sketches were drawn and we saw what we were to look like in costume. She supervised and showed people how to make things. She also drew in a lot of volunteers, and contacted schools to help make costumes. I don't think there was anything that Ruth couldn't design or create. Gaynor was her right hand woman and assisted Ruth in co- ordinating, making and organizing costumes and props. After three days into the show Ruth went home to Toronto and Gaynor was in charge of organizing dressers and quick changes, mending and constantly helping people find parts of their costumes. There certainly could not have been a show without them. Patty Banks. THE EDITOR, We are hoping to locate a large percentage of the 6,500 people who have been associated with Gananoque Secondary School (formerly Gananoque High School) over the past 40 years. Over the two days of Aug. 13-14, a very hearty handshake is extended to all former students and all staff to join us on the campus of Gananoque Secondary School. This celebration marks the school's 30th anniversary (1963- 1993). If you would like to join our 30th anniversary celebrations, the deadline to register is July 16. If you have not been contacted, please send your name and address (and/or those of former G.S.S. students you know) to: GHS/GSS Alumni Association, P.O. Box 1993, Gananoque, Ontario. K7G 1G0. School telephone is 613-382- 4741 and school fax number if 613- 382-8240. Audrey Crawford-McIntyre, GHS/GSS Alumni Association. THE EDITOR, Recently, the provincial government tabled an expenditure control plan proposing to slash its health-care budget by $1.6 billion. The ostensible reason was to reduce health-care costs in order to reduce the provincial debt. While this is a reasonable goal, unfortunately the specific proposals relating to physician services will only cause a reduction in the availability of medical services, reduce quality of care and access to treatment for citizens of Huron County. Discounting fees paid to new general practitioners, pediatricians and psychiatrists will only allow a small number of Ontario graduates to practice in a few areas selected by government. Taxpayers' money spent to educate young physicians to provide high quality medical care will be wasted. Rural areas will be particularly hard hit. Cutting medical coverage by capping individual physician services, limiting local availability and prohibiting resident doctors from working in the emergency department, will restrict access to emergency services, obstetrical Photo by Janice Becker care and office visits. Waiting lists are sure to get longer and the strain will increase on remaining doctors, many who already look after a full practice of patients. It is not surprising that many physicians are considering practising in the United States. We must address the cost of health-care but let's look at the facts. Are there alternative to the current proposals to more effectively save money? Most definitely, yes. OHIP payments, which represent direct patient service, accounts for approximately 20 per cent of the overall health- care budget. There are many ways to improve the health-care system without reducing patient service and compromising care. In the last two years, the Ontario Medical Association and the province, have together saved taxpayers close to $1 billion by negotiating fees, forms of payment and more efficiently delivering medical services. Health-care costs now are increasing by less than one per cent per annum, down from 11 per cent several years ago. All of this was achieved by careful negotiation without compromising the quality or access to health-care. There still exist further alternatives to save money such as getting rid of health-care fraud and bureaucratic mismanagement (costing us millions of dollars per year). If VISA and Mastercard can keep track of credit cards, why can't health cards be efficiently monitored? We need to establish alternate payment plans for medical services with rational measures to control the supply and distribution of medical services in Ontario in order to cut costs without destroying the health-care delivery system. Reducing the deficit is important but panic-stricken and knee-jerk responses bereft of any foresight or planning, will only exacerbate problems in the future. Continued on page 5 PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 23, 1993. The North Huron C itizen GNA P.O. Box 429, P.O. Box 152, BLYTH, Ont. BRUSSELS, Ont. NOM tit NOG 1110 Phone 523-4792 Phone 887-9114 FAX 523-9140 FAX 887-9021 Publisher, Keith Roulston Editor, Bonnie Gropp Sales Representatives, Jeannette McNeil and Julie Mitchell P110 The Citizen is published weekly In Brussels, Ontario by North Huron Publishing Company Inc. Subscriptions are payable in advance at a rate of $20.50/year ($19.18 plus $1.34 G.S.T.) for local; $31.03/year ($29.00 plus $2.03 G.S.T.) for local letter carrier In Goderich, Hanover, Listowel, etc. and out-of-area (40 miles from Brussels); $60.00/year for U.S.A. and Foreign. Advertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of a typographical error, only that portion of the advertisement will be credited. Advertising Deadlines: Monday, 2 p.m. - Brussels; Monday, 4 p.m. - Blyth. We are not responsible for unsolicited newscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are ® Copyright. Publications Mall Registration No. 6968 A proud moment for Huron Friday marks a proud moment for many in Huron when the new Huronview and Huronlea homes for the aged officially open. It's been a very long, very expensive road to this point. Many of us wondered along the way if it really made sense to build a new home when the old Huronview still seemed sturdy and capable of being renovated. New building standards made it virtually impossible to make the old, two- story home, meet modern building codes. It seemed to many that this was a case of the government creating more work for itself because of new rules it handed down. The proof of the pudding, however, can be seen in the lengthening lists of applications to get into the new homes in Clinton and Brussels. There was no waiting list for the old home. Now that people can see the improved facilities, they're lining up on waiting lists to get in. While we all like to criticize governments, perhaps the provincial government should be given some credit on this one. With Huron being a leader in home care for the elderly, they foresaw the trend that fewer and fewer people would want to use the old "resident" care offered in Huronview. In recent years the resident care wings at Huronview were abandoned as people decided they'd stay in their homes as long as possible. That obviously saves taxpayers' money in having to build and staff those extra beds. Modern homes, like Huronlea and Huronview, don't even make provision for people who don't need some sort of health care. The new apartments attached to the homes are for people who can function well on their own, but they must still require some assistance or they won't qualify for admittance. Nice as the homes are, most people would still like to stay in their own homes, living as independently as possible for as long as possible. We're fortunate in Huron because this county has been a leader in home care for the whole province. The government and all those who fought for the program locally, should take pride in the fact it has succeeded so well, giving people what they want, independence, and saving money as well. There has been a huge amount of work put into the building of these new homes by Huron County officials, and various municipal politicians along the way, work that can never possibly be compensated for. Yes the county politicians who have attended so many meetings to make the building possible get paid for attending meetings, but pay can't possibly reward them for the time lost from their regular jobs, or from their family life. So as the ribbons are cut to open the two facilities this week, for a change let's not gripe about the expense or waste we've seen: let's be proud of what is here and thankful for those who spent so much time to get it here.— KR When are the poor, poor? A recent report by Progressive Conservative members of a Parliamentary Committee suggesting there are nearly as many poor people in Canada as is often stated, has caused a lot of angry debate in Canada. Many suspect the federal government wants to play with the figures so it can say the recession of the past four years hasn't been as serious as people have been led to believe. But while it's easy to be cynical, there is some truth in what the committee members say. There's no doubt that "poor" today doesn't mean what "poor" meant 40 years ago. The so-called poverty line has been inching up year after year to the point that a person classed as poor today would be lower middle class by the standards of 1950. By redefining poverty every year, the real gains that we have made in this country are too often hidden. We will never eradicate poverty if we keep moving the goal line. A poor person 40 years ago might not have indoor plumbing. A poor person today might have a colour TV, VCR and microwave yet not meet the income standards arbitrarily set to mark the line between poverty and sufficient income. At the same time it's obvious that in the last few years, we've lost much of the headway we had been making steadily for decades. Fueled by the two-income family, for instance, the price of housing has soared, making it hard for the poor to even pay rent. With accommodation taking up such a huge part of their income, the poor have found that even our increasingly less expensive food is unaffordable. Dependent on two incomes, families have become vulnerable if either partner loses a job. The result: food banks, more people living on the street Despite the committee's findigns, there is a problem out there. We must find ways to help people help themselves. — KR E ditorial