HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2000-10-18, Page 1The Citizen »____ X
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Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County
Volume 16 No. 41 Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2000 75 Cents (70c + 5c gst)
Inside this week
Lightning Bantam
team wins season
opener in Buffalo
Special section
offers home ideas
School board
revises policy
Backstage Pass
raises over $20,000
for Festival
Areas to see
battles for
council,
trustee seats
4*
By Janice Becker
Citizen staff
Local voters will see a battle for
almost every municipal and school
board- seat when they go to the polls
Nov. 13.
In North Huron, incumbent East
Wawanosh councillors, James
Campbell, Judith Gaunt and Murray
Scott will battle for two seats for the
East Wawanosh ward.
Blyth ward voters will chose two
from the list of Reeve Mason Bailey,
and Councillors Jeff Howson and
Murray Nesbitt.
Wingham council members Doug
Layton and Bruce Machan will run
for reeve.
Morris Deputy-Reeve Keith
Johnston will go up against Lynn
Hoy for the position of mayor for
Morn s-Turn berry.
Candidates vying for Ward M
councillors are Reeve Bert Elliott,
Edna McLellan, Kevin Pletch and
Neil Warwick, all current Morris
Twp. councillors.
There are challenges for all but
one ward in Huron East as well as for
the top two-posts.
Grey Twp. Reeve Robin Dunbar is
running against Seaforth Councillor
Lin Steffler for the mayoral seat
while Tuckersmith council members
Bob Broadfoot, Bill Siemon and
Bernie McLellan will challenge for
the deputy-reeve seat.
Grey ward will be represented by
two from Deputy-Reeve Alvin
McLellan, Dale Newman and
Councillor Graeme MacDonald.
Brusselites will select two
councillors from current Reeve
Ralph Watson and Councillors Joe
Seili and Greg Wilson.
The two McKillop ward positions
have been acclaimed with only
incumbents Fergus Kelly and Sharon
McClure filing.
In the new municipality of Central
Huron, Clinton Reeve Carol
Mitchell will take on Mayor Ron
Continued on page 6
Belgrave woman makes Top 100 list
By Janice Becker
Citizen staff
A home care nursing business
from Belgrave has made Chatelaine
magazine’s list of the top 100
businesses owned by women.
CarePartners, owned by Linda
Knight, placed 57th on the list, with
total company revenues of more than
$6.3 million for 1999.
As the executive director, Knight
with her management team, oversees
150 full-time and 350 part-time
employees who provide nursing
services to much of mid-western and
central Ontario.
Knight and her team have been
having quite a laugh over
CarePartners from Belgrave making
the list. Competitors from Toronto
and other large centres are calling to
ask about Belgrave.
“It's great PR,” she says.
Educated as a nurse, Knight began
the steps towards the top 100 in
1982. As an employee of Huron
County Homecare program
(Community Care Access Centre),
she saw an opportunity for a small
nursing agency in north Huron.
With the support of her husband,
Warren, Knight left her secure
position to start Community Nursing
Services, in January, 1983.
Upon receiving approval for a
small pilot project, Knight hired
three nurses to cover Clinton to
Wingham and ran the business from
two rooms of her Belgrave home.
Within six months, the company
had six nurses and 12 within the
year.
Knight says there was a lot of
growth through the 1980s as they
moved into Perth, then Grey and
Bruce Counties.
However, with changing
government regulations, Knight was
forced to fold her private company
into a non-profit agency, Community
Care Nursing, to comply with new
guidelines.
Though asked to become a partner
in a burgeoning Owen Sound service
called CarePartners, Knight instead
decided to buy it.
Again, governmental changes
affected her operation, this time
opening a door for expansion,
through support of a competitive
model for the provision of health
care services.
When the opportunity to serve
Wellington-Du fferin-Guelph
presented itself, Knight took a
proposal to her board of directors
with Community Nursing Service?.
They supported her move to use the
small CarePartners company for the
bid.
Winning that contract in 1996 was
the first step in the company’s rapid
growth. Home visits doubled yearly
thereafter.
They began with 50 nurses. The
management team is now
responsible for 500 nurses. As well
as the previously mentioned regions,
CarePartners now provides service
in Peel Region for Brampton and
Mississauga, Kitchener-Waterloo,
Oxford-Woodstock and St.Thomas-
Elgin.
Community Care Nursing is still
responsible for Huron and Perth.
One of the greatest challenges for
CarePartners was earning the
contract in the Peel Region. It was
the first venture into an urban
area for a mostly rural-based
company.
It was very exciting for Knight as
CarePartners was one of just four
chosen from 46 proposals for
service.
Knight says they had to learn to do
things differently. “One nurse would
cover two city blocks and the office
had to take calls until 10 p.m.”
“The people (at home, in urban
areas) are sicker, more acutely ill,
with the pressure for beds,” she says.
With things going well in Peel, the
company was able to move into
Kitchener-Waterloo.
“We cut our teeth on the difficult
areas,” she laughs, “where there was
lower population and more
distance.”
The growth of CarePartners has
also forced Knight back to school.
She continues to take business
courses from Wilfrid Laurier
University in Waterloo.
'For her listing in Chatelaine,
Knight can thank her sister Wendy
Phillips of Brussels. When Phillips
sent the information to the magazine.
Great day for a stroll
It was a gorgeous day for a stroll on Saturday as the Greenway Committee hosted its annual
fall walk. Coming through the Arch, one of many picturesque spots on the trail were Jeff
Howson with Morgan, and Bev Elliott. (Vicky Bremner photo)
Knight didn’t believe anything
would come of it. Surprisingly,
magazine personnel called, talked to
the financial manager Linda Deans
and they made the list.
Though ranked 57th this year,
Chatelaine encouraged Knight to
resubmit next year as increasing
revenues could push them to the low
30s.
In spite of reported revenues of $6
million, Knight laughs when she
explains she doesn't earn $6
million.” That is the company
revenues. We have to pay 500
nurses, managers and other
expenses” she says.
Knight gives full credit of
CarePartners’ and Community
Nursing Services’ success to those
500 nurses who are working so hard.
“We are blessed to have so many
good people.”
As for coming challenges, Knight
sees the world-wide nursing
shortage as a hurdle to be jumped.
Noting that colleges are beginning
to open spots for nursing students,
she hopes the shortage is cyclical
and numbers will rebound.
“Slowly, nurses are becoming
more valued,” she says.
LINDA KNIGHT
Executive Director
CarePartners