HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1997-02-12, Page 44-1NS SIM10N SXPOSITM, Pahrsury 1!. $ISP
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Wednesday, February 12, 1997
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Editorial
Fortunate to be alive
Hearing the story of Nancy Hak's heart transplant is a
reminder of how fortunate we are to be alive. News to the edi-
tor of this paper is the startling statistics about women and
heart disease. It's the number one cause of death for' women in
Canada accounting for 40 per cent of all female deaths. Eight
times as many women die from heart disease and stroke than
all forms of cancer combined.
Those are a few big reasons to make a donation to the Heart
and Stroke Foundation of Ontario this month. - DWS
Letters to the Editor
Goderich mayor dismayed
by Expositor editorial
Dear Editor:
It was with interest and dis-
may that, I read your editorial
in the February 5, 1997 edi-
tion of The Huron Expositor
concerning your interpreta-
tion of the District Health
Council Task Force preferred
option and your comments
concerning Goderich and the
health care issue.
The Task Force on Hospital
and Related Health Care
Services came up with at
least three options, with pub-
lic input, showing Goderich
as a secondary hospital.
Goderich may not be able to
provide such a service and I
don't believe they ever
intended to imply that was
possible or desirable.
What the Alexandra Marine
and General Hospital has
submitted to the Task Force
at this time is that the Task
Force return to the proposal
with its bed allocation as
unanimously agreed to and
submitted by eight hospitals
in Huron and Perth Counties
and that the Task Force rec-
ognize the need for the provi-
sion of spec,ialty services by
the hospitals in Huron
County to serve the residents
of Huron County!
Our concern has always
been not only the Town of
Goderich but also what hap-
pens in the County of Huron
for the delivery of health ser-
vices. In fact, the Task Force
preferred option has altered
the hospitals' proposal and it
has decreased the number of
beds in Huron County by 34
and transferred those beds
directly to Stratford General
Hospital.
I do not intend to discuss
your comments further, how-
ever, I have attached a copy
of Mr. Dave Sykes editorial
which was in the February 5,
1997 issue of the Goderich
Signal Star. Mr. Sykes has
quite capably summarized the
situation that has transpired
concerning the health care
issue in the County. The rea-
son I am forwarding this edi-
torial to you is that I hope
you will read and print it, talk
to Mr. Sykes, and acquire a
better understanding and
appreciation for the subject
including the position of the
Town of Goderich and
Goderich Alexandra Marine
and General Hospital and the
effects of the changes made
by the Task Force on all hos-
pitals in the County of
Huron.
It is the residents of Huron
County who have been short-
changed in the current pro-
posal of the Task Force.
Yours truly,
D.J. (Deb) Shewfelt
Mayor of Goderich
2000 not start of millennium
Dear Editor:
Can you do something to.
dispel thc mistaken notion
that the year 2000 is thc
beginning of the next millen-
nium? I can see big celebra-
tions coming up, all held in
error! This irks me to no end.
To simplify the matter, i
think all will agree that the
year "1" was the first year of
the first century, A.D. - then
obviously, the year "100"
was the 100th year of the lit
century, and the year "1000"
would have been the thou-
sandth and last year of the
flmi millennium, and "1001"
was the first year of the next,
with "2001" the first year of
the next after that.
So hold the festivities until
the end of the year "2000,"
not the first of it! We won't
have 2000 years in until that,
although sometimes, it may
feel like it!
Yours very truly,
Dorothy Bassett
Last words (maybe
Before 1 send this whole
"Goderich incident" out to
pasture, I'd like to say a few
more, things without repeat-
ing my entire editorial from
last week.
(For those readers interest-
ed in reading Dave Syke's
editorial that Goderich Mayor
Deb Shewfelt refers to in his
letter on this page, copies of
last week's Goderich Signal -
Star are available at the
Expositor office or at any
other local Signal -Star office
in Mitchell, Clinton, "Lunch
or Goderich).
Mayor Shewfelt says in his
letter, "The Task Force on
Hospital and Related Health
Care Services came up with
at least three options, with
public input, showing
Goderich as a secondary hos-
pital. Goderich may not be
able to provide such a service
and I don't believe they ever
intended to imply that was
possible or desirable."
What?! Don't tell me now
Goderich hospital wasn't
capable or prepared to take
on the role as a secondary
hospital for Huron, especially
when statements like the fol-
lowing appeared in Dave
Syke's editorial in last week's
Goderich paper:
"Goderich has been the
silent participant in this
process to date and for good
reason. After the task force
completed its research,
Goderich was designated as a
secondary hospital, the
on `Goderich incident'
Scott's
Thoughts
by Dave Scott
anchor for Huron County, in
all three proposals. Secure in
its role as a leader in health
care and specialized services
in the county, there was little
to dispute."
That same task force came
up with three options show-
ing Seaforth as a primary
hospital in all three scenarios.
Do you hear Seaforth Mayor
Irwin Johnston or hospital
CEO Bill Thibcrt on CKNX
radio everyday whining that
Seaforth hospital was tricked
or the deal was rotten'?
To bow out of this ordeal, I
offer you three other Inde:
pendent views of Goderich in
this whole equation.
I) Maarten Bokhout, family
doctor in Clinton and former
medical officer of health for
Huron County. The following
is an excerpt from a
Speaker's Corner column by
Dr. Bokhout that appeared in
the February 4 edition of The
London Free Press:
"1 also suggest that, as com-
munities, we seek win-win
solutions instead of our win -
lose approach. Perhaps that
means that even communities
such as Goderich and
Stratford may be willing to
give up something in publicly
funded service to allow some
continuing activity in smaller
hospitals. Such a gesture
would result in a much
greater willingness by small-
er hospitals to give up some
of their services to reduce
overall costs in the counties."
2) Kase Vanden Heuvel, of
RR 2 Goderich, health con-
sumer - Excerpt from a letter
published in last week's
Goderich Signa! -Star.
"Goderich should do its
part to make the system less
costly. As the information
meeting held at the
Columbus Centre clearly
showed, Goderich is not cen-
trally Iocated...It makes sense
that specialists locate central-
ly. For this reason Stratford
should be granted more beds.
The logic and efficiency of
central placing applies much
more to Stratford than to
Goderich. Although it would
be convenient that Goderich
have an anchor hospital we
are not•located in the right
place this time."
3) Shelley McPhee Haist,
editor of Focus News
Magazine. Excerpt from edi-
torial in February 8 Focus:
"Certainly Godench is enti-
tled to make their case about
retaining hospital beds as
proposed by the eight hospi-
tals - but it has also been
argued by some that hospital
also lost their secondary hos-
pital status. As a reminder it
should be noted that this too
was a proposal, not a given.
from the three original DH('
task force recommendations -
proposals that were well
debated throughout the two
counties by the public. and
led to this second attempt at
coming up with a feasible
option...
...and while Goderich mai
now be crying foul play, it is
valid to note that they were
represented at the table when
meetings were held among
the eight hospitals...
• ...Indeed, the newest DHC
recommendation is not as
proposed by the hospitals.
The task force chopped addi-
tional bed numbers, in the
case of Goderich down an
additional 18 beds from the
hospitals' proposal. However.
it is difficult to believe that
the Goderich representatives
were naive enough to think
that the task force would
accept the hospitals' proposal
carte blanche.
That's not how this game is
played."
(That's right. It's all poli-
tics).
Value of CDs worth. the price you pay
Dear Editor:
According to a recent arti-
cle in The Globe and Mail
(The not so -compact price of
CDs, January 25), many peo-
ple believe that'the price of
compact discs is too high.
In an east -end Toronto sec-
ondhand store, in February
1944, my father bought an
old acoustic windup gramo-
phone with a small stack of
scratchy 78 r.p.m. records
from the 1920s. He paid five
dollars. When I think of then
and now, the equipment and
CDs I have today, and com-
pare them with what I had 53
years ago, I revel in my good
fortune. On March 1, 1944,
when I was three months past
my fifteenth birthday, I
bought my first new record;
Harry James and his orches-
tra playing "Cheery" and
"Jump Town."
Ten -inch RCA Bluebird,
Decca, and Columbia records
sold for 50 cents. RCA Victor
black label records (Tommy
Dorsey, Benny Goodman,
Glenn Miller, Artie Shaw)
were 75 cents. Records were
expensive.
To really understand those
prices consider this: In
Toronto in 1944, ten chil-
dren's or four adult streetcar
tickets (no subway until
March 30, 1954) were 25
cents. Sixty cents was the top
puce after 6 p.m. at first run
cinemas; Loew's, Imperial,
Shea's, Uptown, Tivoli (my
favourite). Early matinee
admissions, before 1 p.m.,
were 25 cents. If recorded
music had increased in price
because of the wonderful
technological improvements
to come - the LP in 1949 and
the CD in' 1983 - at the same
rate that Toronto movie and
public transit tickets have
risen in price since 1944, the
average CD would retail in
Toronto for about $150.
If EMI would reissue'all the
records (28 to 30 hours) Ray
Noble and the New Mayfair
Dance Orchestra made in
London (1929 to 1934) for
His Master's Voice - not just
those which feature the
incomparable singing of Al
Bowlly, but the equally good
though less well known
series of 12 -inch medleys, of
British and American song-
writers, everything-- for those
of us who are easily satisfied
with merely the very best - i
would eagerly pay a premium
price, far more than what
many CD buyers consider to
be too much, for what is the
acme of 1930s dance music
featuring the man many afi-
cionados consider the great-
est popular singer of the
1930s.
People who believe CDs
are expensive remind me of
Oscar Wilde's comment
about the man who knew the
price•of everything and the
value of nothing.
Paul Copeland
Seaforth
McTavish accepts pilot position with KLM
FROM THE PAGES OF
THE HURON EXPOSITOR
FEBRUARY 26,1897
A DASTARDLY TRICK -
Some time during
Wednesday night or early
Thursday morning some per-
son or persons broke a couple
of the bars off one of the win-
dows at the skating rink, and
on gaining admittance, sprin-
kled a quantity of salt across
the centre of the ice. Before it
was noticed the salt had melt-
ed a considerable portion of
the ice, which will necessitate
a quantity of it being cut out
to the floor, and it will be
some time before it will be
got into proper shape again.
We did not think there was
any person in town who
would stoop to do such a
contemptibly mean trick, and
should the perpetrators be
found out they should be
severely punished.
SEAFORTH WINS FROM
LONDON - Between four
and five hundred people wit-
nessed the hockey match in
the rink here on Thursday
evening of last week,
between London and
Seaforth, and cheered the
home team onto a victory,
which is indeed creditable to
them. The London team is a
very strong aggregation, and
even the most sanguine of the
admirers of our team hardly
expected that the boys would
come out on top, as com-
pared with London they are
comparatively young players.
The game throughout was a
hot one, and not a player was
allowed a moment for loaf-
ing fl8RUARY 17,1922
GOLP-CLUB REORGA-
NIZE - At the annual meeting
of the Seaforth Golf and
Country Club, held at the
Dominion Bank on Friday
afternoon last, the following
officers were elected for the
year 1922: Hon: Patron.
Ralph E. Cresswell; Hon.
President, Thomas Dodds;
President J.C. Greig; Vice -
Presidents, John Rankin and
George McTaggart; Captain,
F.S. Savauge; Secretary -
Treasurer, R.M. Jones;
Grounds Committee -
President, Vice -Presidents,
Secretary and J.G. Mullen;
House and Entertainment
Committee, O. Neil, W.E.
Southgate, G. Israel, F.L.
Downey, K.M. McLean.
A satisfactory surplus was
carried over from 1921, and
it was unanimously decided
to proceed with the erection
of a suitable clubhouse with-
out delay, a move made pos-
sible to a great extent by the
generous donation of the
Hon. Patron, Mr. Ralph E.
Cresswell, of Denver,
Colorado. A magnificent sil-
ver sup, one of the finest tro-
phies in the country, has been
donated by Mr. Cresswell,
and will be completed for
yearly in handicap play. The
course covers fifty acres; and
is part of the property of Mr.
Thomas Dodds, within a
short distance of the town of
Seaforth, a course of great
natural beauty and very suit-
able for the purpose.
Increasingnterest is being
manifested in the ancient
game, and.a ghastly enlarged
membership is confidently
expected during the current
yam
FEBRUARY 21, 19117
Returning to the country
where two years ago he
chased German fighters as
officer commanding 410
Squadron of Mosquito night
fighters, Ian McTavish, for-
mer RCAF Squadron Leader,
left Seaforth Wednesday
moming on the first leg of a
journey that will take him to
Amsterdam, Holland. He has
been accepted as a pilot by
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.
Since his retirement from
the RCAF in September
1945, Mr..MacTavish has
been on the staff of a leading
firm of engravers and pho-
tographers in Toronto, but
while he enjoyed the work
the urge to fly was too strong,
and when an opportunity
arose to join the Royal Dutch
Airlines, he didn't hesitate.
"I wanted to fly for seven
or eight more years," he said,
"and since the Royal Dutch
Airlines is the oldest trans-
port line in the world, where
the training is excellent and
where a lifetime career is
assured, t couldn't resist.
nee
Damage in excess of $3,000 .
was caused early Tuesday
morning when fire destroyed
a large modern chicken house
owned by Baden Powell,
Egmondville. In the building
at the time were 1,300.five-
weeks-old chicks and 300
laying hens, which were
burned to death. The build-
ing, which had been rebuilt
last year, was a total loss.
The fire .was discovered by
a neighbour, Hartman
Huisser, about 5:i0 in the
morning, as be :arose t0
attend to his stock in a nearby
barn. The Seaforth fire
brigade, under Chief Allen
Reid, quickly responded to
the alarm, but could do little
more than prevent the fire
spreading by the use of
chemicals, since the area is
not served by hydrants.
FEBRUARY 24, 1972
Seaforth Council moved
Monday night to implement
initial stages in an industrial
survey program in a report it
had adopted earlier in the
meeting.
The report prepared by the
town's planning consultants
at the request of council and
the planning board recom-
mended establishment of an
industrial park in thc south-
east arca of town. Council
moved in the first step when
it purchased the 15 acre
Turnbull property for $8,500.
The property had been under
option for the past year. At
thc same time it was agreed
to open Birch Street to pro-
vide access. Council instruct-
ed officials to have necessary
engineering completed so
work on the road could he
begun. The road will attract a
subsidy of 130 per cent.
nee
A long term plan to provide
for a potential 110 -acre
industrial park straddling thc
CNR tracks in Seaforth's
southeast comer is contained
in a report adopted by
Seaforth Council Monday
night.
Consultants Canadian
Mitchell Associates Ltds., of
Bramalea, looked at three
other possible sites on the
north,. west and southwest
edges of Seaforth before rec-
ommending the fourth site as
the Most td+antsgcous.