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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 2009-02-11, Page 4Page A4 - Goderich Signal -Star; Wednesday, February 11, 2009 Renaud, team return from good -will aid mission Berard Crete signal -star staff "Everything is a challenge," said pararnedic Gary Renaud of his recent trip to Costa Rica. "Even get- ting there." Renaud recently returned from the Central American country, where he was part of a team delivering medi- cal aid after 05.1 magnitude earth- quake devastated much of the coun- try early in the new year. "There are some areas of the country you can't even get to be- cause entire highways are gone," he said. "There were a number of pretty serious aftershocks." Renaud's team would travel about an hour and a half each morning by bus through mountainous country to set up their clinics in remote loca- tions. "You look at the map and its just a short distnace but it's up and around hills and every spot on the bus is filled. You're wedged in," he said. "Plus you have probably 14-15 hockey bags every clinic." He said the going was tough, with flooding, aftershocks, landslidesand boudlers as big as small_cars taking their toll on the already sparse road- ways. "On the mountain side, it was sheer. Straight up," he said. "On the valley side, the drop off is sudden. There's no road in some places." The team travelled to squatters' villages embedded in the hillsides, setting up clinics for those furthest from help: "These things are made of card- board and sticks," he said. "And there are families of five living in these things." The medical system in Costa Rica is nearly non-existent, Renaud said. What little help is available to Costa Ricans is given sparingly. At one point, Renaud said the clinics were housed close to a government doctor, alleviating the burden on his team. How- ever, he said he soon found out the medical treatment available to Costa Ricans was very little. "The doctor comes in in the morning, and people are lined up for this at four in the morn- ing...", he said. "He sees ten pa- tients and is gone." Renaud said crowds of hun- dreds gathered for the clinics he was a part of and by contrast, they saw about 1,000 people during their nine days. He said the treatments ranged from distributing pain medication, to treating skin rashes to diabetic drugs. "Anything you'd see in a typical clinic," he said. However, there were restrictions on what the team was able. to take overseas. Despite bringing $60,000 (US) in medication to the country, he said they were still running short Even though they may be limited by how much they can bring, Re- naud said teams are much more ef- fective choosing the types of medi- cations and supplies being brought. With each team. coming in, Photo by Gerard Creces Goderich paramedic Gary Renaud props a tiny Costa Rican tot on a scale during a recent medical mission. we're getting more prepared," he said. "Some things we were short on last year we had in abundance this year." At tines, he said the team had to improvise where patients' demands required more equipment than they had. In one instance, he said they had to suture a patient's wound, and while surgical equipment was scarce, they made it happen. Photo by Gerard Creces Treasurer Judy Kay, Public Works manager Chip Wilson, mayor Deb Shewfelt, and clerk - administrator Larry McCabe welcome the first of two new snow -removal machines Town secures first of two plows. Gerard Cres • signal -star staff The Town of Goderich is cutting a clear path in their snow removal efforts. Last week, public works manager Chip Wilson, on authority of council, secured the first of two new sidewalk snow remov- al machines for the town. • The purchase comes after numerous public complaints about lawn damage caused by the current V plows. The purchase comes ahead of the 2009 • budget. • At a lean five -feet wide, the new ma- chine will provide a perfect fit for the town's sidewalks - directly addressing . residents' concerns of torn up front lawps and boulevards. "It's the,right machine for the right job," Wilson said.. Coming in at $120,009, the Trackless MT is an Ontario -made machine manu- factured by Trackless of Courtland, east of London. Wilson said the machine has broad, all- weather, applications, and Trackless makes a number of attachments for seasonal jobs. While,council has approved the purchase of one machine for 2009, the second will have to wait for next year. • 'The only thing we had for tweezers was this little pocket tool," he said. "So we steril- ized it... and it worked just fine." He also told the story of a young girl who was admitted to the clinic with terrible pains in her feet. After removing the girl's rubber boots, Renaud said the problem was clear - the girl's feet had been stuck in boots far too small for her. 'We cleaned her up, dressed the wounds," he said. "And we were able to give her these comfortable slippers to wear .while she recouperated." Those slippers came from Calvary Baptist Church in Goderich, Renaud said, add- ing the gift was enough to brighten the little girl's day. In another instance, he said• a little girl had come to the clinic asking for a Canadian flag, as they had been handing them out at previous clinics for Canada Day. When they explained there were no flags left, the girl started crying, but one team member of- fered her a Canada pin, which he fasted to her shirt. The girl returned the next day but the pin was nowhere to be found. After asking through an inter- preter where the pin went, the girl showed them. "It was scrunched up in her hand as tight as she can hold it," he said. The girl said she was taking it home to place in a box with her most trea- sured possessions. "'That flag and that pin meant so much to that little girl," Renaud said. "I can tell you there wasn't a dry eye in the group after that." While Renaud and his team are back in Canada, he said aid contin- ues for the people of Costa Rica. Four Costa Rican doctors will continue to run the clinics, he said, adding all medical supplies brought over were left for the clinics. "Nothing is wasted," he said. "It is all left behind. "They will continue to operate clinics even though the immediate team has left again." Renaud said Bayfield resident Martin Southcott also travelled with the team, offering his services to make the team compound "livable" by fixing the plumbing and electri- cal work. The clinics themselves, he said, were packed with people, all hop- ing to get medical attention. "Everybody is there, it's not like you have appointment times," he said. "Sheets on clothesline sepa- rated doctors office from the in- take." He said he also spent time teach- ing the Costa Rican search and rescue team as they continue their efforts to find victims of the earth- quake. Work is already beginning on the next trip, and this time, Renaud will be the one coordinating the medical supplies. �MII W lames Tower remedy Ongoing. concerns with overflow from Goderich's water tower stemmed at the source last week, with the installation of a new overflow pipe. The 12 -inch pipe will dou- ble the overflow capacity of the tower, and hopefully elimi- nate property damage to surrounding resi- dents. The pipe is part of $50,000 worth of work being done to Goderich's water infra- structure. Also on the bill is a new fibre-optic alarm system linking the tower, the treat- ment plant and the reservoir. The work is funded entirely through water reserve funds. Shown at left, Mike Tuzyk installs a new overflow pipe in the Goderich water tower Friday, Feb. 6.