HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2002-06-26, Page 7NOTICE TO THE
TAXPAYERS
of the
MUNICIPALITY OF
MORRIS-TURNBERRY
The second interim
instalment of the 2002
property taxes is due
FRIDAY, JUNE 28, 2002
Nancy Michie
Tax Collector
519-887-6137
IVES
INSURANCE BROKERS LTD.
Visit us at:
WWW.IVESINSURANCE.COM
"All Classes of Insurance"
DOUG GOUGH, Broker
184 Dinsley St. W., Blyth
Tel.: (519) 523-9655
Fax: (519) 523-9793
Hard work
Wood was once an important factor in the local farm economy with many
farmers spending parts of the winter months cutting trees for lumber or
firewood. This crew, working on a farm near Blyth, includes T. Marshall and M .
Somers in the foreground. — Photo courtesy Janis and Brock Vodden.
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THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 26, 2002. PAGE 7.
WOAA celebrates 60th anniversary
By David Blaney
Citizen staff
The Western Ontario Athletic-
Association threw itself a 60th
anniversary party last Saturday and
raised some money to help amateur
sports in the region. A crowd
approaching 400 sat down to dinner
on the ice pad at the North Huron
Wescast Community Complex to
honour the organization's
contributions.
This was an arena transformed
however into a softly lit, curtained
room which would have surprised
anyone who had played hockey in
the space. For the nostalgia buff
there were plenty of old programs,
pictures and scrapbooks on tables
around the dining area to jog the
memory.
The friendly, nostalgic and
definitely small-town tone of the
event was established from the first
when Al Dixon the' event chairman
said, "I know most of you are from
western Ontario and I hope everyone
enjoys themselves and gets to know
some of the interesting people in this
room."
The event was definitely one for
meeting old friends and for sharing
stories of events with others who had
participated in them.
The head table represented the full
spectrum of participants in the
WOAA. Hockey players, baseball
players, coaches, referees, umpires
and officials were all in attendance.
The youngest was Matt McCann
of Palmerston. Just 16, he has been
drafted by the Kitchener Rangers.
Also in attendance were Kendra
Fisher a goalie for the five-time
Ontario champion Beatrice Aero's
and Melissa Biemaa of Wingham,
who was just back from the senior
woman's national softball team
selection camp.
Samantha Mayer, Lucknow's
Olympic champion was another of
the younger contingent at the head
table. Mayer won both gold and
silver medals in skating at the World
Special Olympics held in Toronto in
1997.
The evening's featured speaker
was Wilda Widmeyer, the first
female umpire in the WOAA and
perhaps the first in Ontario. Her
career on the diamond began in 1931
when at the age of 12 she played for
a senior womens travelling team out
of Harriston in the Georgian Bay
League.
In 1939 she married Sade
Widmeyer who was active in
umpiring. She was occasionally
asked to fill in and good reports of
her work to the WOAA office meant
that she was soon an official umpire.
Although she loved to play and
would continue to do so for many
years she admits her first thoughts
on umpiring were, "This is fun, it's a
lot easier than playing and they pay
you for it.
She, Sade and, eventually, their
youngest son Keith umpired many
games as a team. Widmeyer said,
"It's a pretty good feeling to walk
onto the field with your husband and
son." She also jokingly claimed, "I
sometimes think we got so many
umpiring jobs because they only had
to make one phone call to get at least
two umpires."
The couple moved to Clifford in
1946 where she played for the
Clifford Swing Skirts winning five
WOAA championships in seven
years. Widmeyer says the only two
teams to beat them were Brussels
and Goderich and claims that
Goderich used a male ringer.
Widmeyer is proud of the fact that
she put in 57 years on the diamond
without missing Ia season. She said,
"Baseball has been my life, and I
would do it all over again if I had the
chance."
Ron Mason, the winningest
college hockey coach in history was
anothef WOAA alumni to speak.
Born in Blyth, where his family ran
the Blyth Inn, Mason went on to
coach in the U.S. college ranks. He
eventually became the head of the
athletic department for the Michigan
State Spartans.
He said that as youngsters
individuals often don't consider the
older people who give their time to
organize sports. "At that point you
don't really appreciate it. Later when
you get the chance you should try to
give something back."
He stressed the importance of
sport saying, "Sports teaches the
value of hard work and respect.
Discipline is what is taught by sports
people today."
Gord Dugan, the night's MC, said
Ron Mason
Born in Blyth
later that approximately $15,000 had
been raised by the event. It will be
used to help offset rising costs and
hopefully prevent large increases in
fees for the parents of young
athletes.
Hospital partnership faces many issues during year
By Jim Brown
Wingham Advance-Times
The Wingham and District
Hospital had to deal with many
issues as part of the Huron-Perth
Hospitals Partnership according to
WDH site administrator and Vice
President Margret Comack.
However, she told the annual
meeting of the hospital corporation
last Thursday evening one of the
major crisis to face the partnership
was the resignation of Chief
Executive Officer Bonnie Adamson.
Comack said Adamson's last on-
site day will be in mid-July although
she will remain the CEO until Aug.
15.
The CEO policy of the joint
executive committee was put in
place. The interim leader is the
director of finance. John Sutherland
becomes the interim CEO until a
new chief executive officer is
appointed sometime in the fall.
Comack said the past year was a
busy and productive time for the
hospital staff and physicians. She
added the clinical activity in the
hospital in-patient and out-patient
service areas has been high, and staff
has worked very diligently on some
very busy days.
All areas of the hospital have
achieved success in making the
WDH a place that patients and
families receive excellent care and
service.
She said a very successful Mock
Code Orange (mock disaster) was
completed in co-operation with the
community. This was a very
effective learning experience for
everyone concerned, particularly
following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist
attack on New York City.
Comack said the mock disaster
was a practice in preparing to
respond to a potential disaster,
calling in staff to manage the
situation and providing many -of the
staff with the leadership learning
'that would be required in a real
Situation.
"Our staff and leaders have been
involved in activities and projects
within the HPHP and the region,"
she said. "Some projects have
resulted in common standards and
improvement to the continuity of
care provided from hospital to
community."
The- HPHP contracted with the
College of Nurses of Ontario to
conduct a survey of the 750 nurses
(RN and RPN).The survey was
designed to analyze staff perceptions
of their current work environment
against the attribute of a Quality
Practice Setting. The response rate
across the eight sites was 67 per
cent, with some sites having a higher
return rate than others.
The findings of the survey were
reported both by the overall system
and by the individual site. The
members of the HPHP Nursing
Practice Council have worked
through several processes to
prioritize the findings and to analyze
the root cause of the priority issues.
According to Comack, the priority
issue across the eight sites is
matching nurses appropriately to
meet the needs of clients.
The NPC has successfully
completed the role descriptions for
RN and RPN staff based on current
competency based information from
the College of NurSes.
"We have identified basic learning
needs and provided education
sessions on physician assessment
and medication administration for
the RPNs," said Comack.
A strategy has been developed to
create a partnership with Conestoga
College and McMaster University
with the intention of providing
student nursing education and
clinical practice experience in Huron
and Perth counties.
Many of the HPHP activities led
by a group of regional coordinators
who report to the vice presidents.
These include system integration,
quality and risk management,
utilization management,
professional practice, and staff
learning, human resources,
occupational health and safety,
information technology coordinator
and palliative care.
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