Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 2009-04-15, Page 10• Page A10 - Goderich Signal -Star, Wednesday, April 15, 2009 Good Food Box backs its outsourced carriers Exercise Programs (Uving Independently Through Fitness & Exercise) Nordic Walking Free Demonstration - Poles provided • Nordic walking involves walking with specialized poles with a • rubber boot tip that absorbs vibration for walking on asphalt and propels you forward. • It.also reduces stress to your hips, knees and ankles and improves stability, balance and posture. • It's easy to learn, fun and suitable for people of all ages and fitness levels. Thursday, April 16 @ 12:00 pm Rale Date: Thursday, April 23 @ 12:00 pm HUron County Court House Square pavilion. "Propel your walk into a full-body workout ...just add poles" Call Nadine or Cheryl at 519-482-9264 for more info L.I.F.E. is a program of Town & Country Support Services Cheryl Heath _ _ sun media Jane Muegge wants to explain. In making a presentation before Huron County's April 8 committee -of -the -whole session, OMAFRA's regional in- formation coordinator set out to spell out how the county's Good Food Box program came to possess bags made in China. The explanation came at the heels of a question about the bags posed by Councillor Max Demaray (Howick) during a past council session following a presentation made about the program that included the presentation of gift bags filled with locally grown and produced goods and products. The ,short answer, says Muegge, is the bags were sup- plied by a Waterloo company being used by OMAFRA for buy local, buy fresh -themed programs. She adds the most important aspect of the presentation was highlighting local food and producers and the $30,000 in rev- enue generated by the Good Food Box program last year, as well as the 13,000 volunteer hours allo- cated to it. In fielding questions from coun- cillors, Muegge notes the Good Food Box program uses reusable tubs when supplying food. It is up to the customer to transport the produce as they see fit. LET S REVIEW County Councillor Neil Rintoul (Ashfield Colborne Wawanosh) is among those expressing concern with the new county committee structure that sees the sometimes - lengthy board -of -health session held prior to the first committee - of -the -whole day each month. Rintoul says it is gettifig to the point where some issues are be- ing needlessly rushed. • "The way we rambled through it this morning, I don't think we're doing due diligence," he says. Larry Adams, Chief Adminis- trative Officer for Huron County, says a review of the current COW structure will be held at council's June session: NEW TO THE COUNTY Councillors gave a round of applause to Dr. Nancy Cameron, Huron County's new medical of- ficer of health, during her first COW session. In addressing the committee, Cameron notes she has several years of experience in the field as she has worked at the Thunder Bay, Muskoka and Guelph health units. BRIDGE REPAIR The Belgrave bridge will soon undergo repairs as the COW has recommended accepting a Weathertech Restoration Services $168,691 bid to get the job done. Similarly, the Benmiller Mill Race Bridge rehabilitation proj- ect is set to move forward as the COW is recommending Jarlian Construction Inc. for the job as it had the lowest bid at $312,570. County council must endorse the recommendations before the projects move forward. The AMGH is taking on an exciting initiative. We are undertaking renovation of the Montcalm Building (Dr. Dawson's former office) to create a residence for medical and nursing students training at the AMGH. A number of our physicians are involved with training medical students/residents from the University of Western Ontario, University of Toronto and Queen's University. This program has been very successful and we have trainees here on, a monthly basis. The evaluations indicate the students are pleased with the training they receive and of course love Goderich. The AMGH is also involved with training nursing students from a number of institutions and have recently signed an agreement with Ryerson. We anticipate an increase in future student nursing placements as well. One of the best recruitment initiatives is to provide training to these individuals in the hopes that they may return one day to practice. .Due to the number of trainees we have in'Goderich and the expectation this program will continue to expand it has been decided to create a residence for these students. Renovations have begun. The house will be set up with 4 bedrooms, kitchen, living room and two bathrooms. Although the house is not very large, it will be tastefully decorated and fully.furnished with all the "comforts of home". We are committed to purchasing new appliances, beds, bedding, furnishings and other necessities for the residence. • The hospital is not funded for this type of project. The Town of Goderich has generously contributed $7600 towards the renovation of this building with the AMGH absorbing the remainder of the cost. We are looking for financial assistance in furnishing the house. If anyone is interested in making a monetary donation or would like to learn more about this project please contact Heather Glenister in the AMGH Foundation Office 519.524.8689 ext. 5375 or Stephanie Page in Administration 519.524.8689 ext. 5271. We are committed in providing recognition for your contribution. This will include acknowledgement at the official opening, in the newspaper and a tax receipt for amount donated. Thank you! AMGH Medical Recruitment and Retention Committee r�. CLEAN -WATER PROJECT Huron County's Clean Water Project, which is funded to the tune of $250K each year, is making a positive impact. So says Doug Hocking, of the Maitland Valley Con- servation Authority, in a report to councillors on the gains made in 2008. The project's latest funded addition, designed to help landowners decommission manure -storage sites, is yet another success story, he says, noting seven projects were completed by year's end. In addition, he says, the project is now instituting a Payment for Environmental Goods and Services (PEGS) project that saw 42 acres of valley land returned to pasture in 2008. In all, there were about 215 projects initiated with 188 completed last year, for a total of $191,000 in grants, with an estimated value of $678,000 for the county. Since the program began in 2005, 975 projects have been implemented with $873,000 in grants allocated and an 84 per cent project -completion rate. "It's a pretty good batting average," says Hocking. Other projects completed last year include the planting of 127,000 trees and shrubs for 37 kilometres of wind- break, 55 decommissioned wells, and 13 erosion -control projects. "We're doing good things,' says Hocking, of the project, which sees the MVCA and Ausable Bayfield Conserva- tion Authority deliver the programs to residents under the direction of a committee. Indeed, the groups' efforts are receiving such good reviews that other regions, including Wellington County, are looking at adopting the program. SNOW BARRIER? Coun. John Grace (Goderich) envisions a highway lined with trees asfarasthe eye can see. The idea, says Grace, is to build a living snow fence to mitigate the effects of Old Man Winter when the snow begins to fly. Dave Laurie, director of public works, says while the idea has been considered by the county, the problem is the trees have to be planted far enough back from the road to avoid a snow -trailing effect. . That reality, says Laurie, means private property owners would have to be on board with the plan. Meanwhile, County Warden Ken Oke notes tree plant- ing interferes with utility corridors. Coun. Neil Vincent says while he supports the concept, a project of that scale would likely. require the province's financial backing. In that same vein, Coun. Deb Shewfelt (Goderich) notes a multi -stakeholder partnership in Bruce County, includ- ing Bruce Power, has been effective in planting wind- breaks along area roadways. "It does make quite a difference," he says. BUY LOCAL, BREAK THE LAW County treasurer Dave Carey says one drawback of implementing a county -backed buy -local policy is the province has a law in place that bans discriminatory buy- ing practices. "You can't discern according to geography," he says, adding the county can change its policy but, "you would be in contravention of the law." While County Warden Oke notes the province is look- ing at changing that law, Carey points out it has to do so. EGG FRIENDLY The COW is endorsing an Ontario egg producers' re- quest to allow producers to continue to manage business as they see fit. In moving the motion, Coun. Joseph Seili (Huron East) says, "In this province we have freedom of choice of what we want to buy." The resolution was crafted in response to a growing movement that is asking various government bodies and suppliers to only purchase organic eggs produce by free- range chickens. In noting there were all types of eggs in the province, the county warden questioned the assertion Chinese eggs were in the marketplace.