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Home My WebLink AboutHuron Expositor, 2001-11-21, Page 1November 21, 2001 $1 (includes GST) Eliiott, CFP Ras as d Niremha 20. 2WI Bost S.I.C. Rates 30 Day...2■0.' % 1 Year.. 2.35% 5 Year. .4.90% hil�:gl Ilii ll' CARTIER PARTNERS FINANCIAL SERVICES 26 Main St., Seaforth 527-2222 In brief Tree of Lights ceremony raising funds for an IV pump A $3,200 IV pump will be purchased with the proceeds of • this year's Tree of Lights celebration at Seaforth Community Hospital. "They tell us it's computerized and relatively painfree," says hospital auxiliary president Anne Ste. Marie. "We always raise our goal of usually about $2,000 so this year we thought we could raise it a fait," she says. The celebration on $unday, Nov. 25 at 6:30 p.m. is the 10th anniversary of the Tree of Lights event in • Seaforth. It will include a carol sing, hot mulled cider, homemade cookies and a visit from Santa. The lighting ceremony happens at 7 p.m. Ste. Marie says she's hoping for good weather at this year's celebration. "Hopefully, it won't blow like it did last year," she says. ' Skid loader stolen from McGavin's A $34,000 2001 New Holland skid loader was stolen from McGavin Farm Equipment in Walton. The theft was reported Oct. 26 when a staff member discovered the loader was missing. It may have been taken sometime in the previous three weeks from the back of the lot. The loader is yellow and black and was on wheels for easy movement. Anyone who may have information is asked to call the Huron OPP. Inside... Curling club celebrates.. Peg. 3 Hospital opens dcbeles aenke... Page 6 Mar AmagonMemorial Hockey turrtarnent ... Pag.14 Scott Hilgendorff photo An apple a day... Megan Bedard feeds an apple to one of the horses brought by McCintock Stables to offer stagecoach rides as part of the Business Improvement Area s first pre -Christmas event of the season. Huron East preparing to hire lawyer for battle with board Councillors supportive of taking battle to court again By Scott Hilgendorff Expositor Editor Lawyer Fred Leitch should be retained by Huron East Council to represent the town in a fight against school closures, recommended Seaforth Coun. Dick Burgess. "I believe the school board is still making enough errors, not only in judgement, but in treating our community fairly," said Burgess in a presentation to council at its Nov. 13 committee meeting. Schools across the entire municipality face possible closure and major restructuring following the closure of two schools last year in the same municipal boundaries. The community has until a Dec. 11 meeting to make its case for keeping schools open, when the board will decide which schools to look at for actual closure. Brussels Public School, Grey Central Public School and Seaforth District High School are already on a preliminary list to be included in the closure process with the possibility of Seaforth Public School being moved into the high school with the further possibility of also having the Grade 7s and 8s moved into larger schools elsewhere. Leitch successfully represented community members a year 'and a half ago in preventing the Avon Maitland District School Board from closing the high school based on issues that the board did not treat the community fairly. This time, the board developed a more involved process of looking at schools that created several committees across the board, So. RETAIN, Page 2 Brussels medical clinic faces closing Clinic operating at $zo,000 deficit; Huron East asked to help By Scott Hilgendorff Expositor Editor $20,000 to support the Brussels clinic. The Seaforth Medical Clinic is also The Brussels and Blyth medical seeking $16,000 to help keep Blyth clinics face closure unless open and sent a letter to North Huron. approximately $20,000 and $16,000 "We would like to see if we could can be found to help operate each, get financial help from the which are both running at a deficit. municipalities," said Mary Fisher, "If they can't continue with that Seaforth Medical Clinic manager, deficit, they will close," said Huron Monday. East Mayor Lin Steffler at council's The clinics in Blyth and Brussels Nov. 13 committee meeting. were set up on a complement of six Council had received a letter from doctors but right now there are a total the Seaforth Medical Clinic, which of four doctors counting two part operates the two satellite clinics in timers with one of those part timers, Brussels and Blyth, asking for Doctor John Yee, leaving in January. The shortage of doctors has put the clinics in deficit positions. "At arm's length, the community is being asked to help with the deficit at these clinics," said Steffler. Unknown to Steffler at the time, agreements were being signed later last week that would see a new doctor coming to Seaforth this coming fall. However, with the loss of Yee, Fisher said that will not significantly impact the clinic's request of Huron East and similar requests being made to North Huron and other municipalities in the area to see if they will help share the costs to keep the clinics open. Steffler said to council the situation is closely linked with doctor recruitment. While she did not know of the medical community's success in finding a new doctor last week, she said competitive doctor recruitment practices across the province are making it hard to attract new ones that would eliminate the financial burden of keeping the two clinics open. Huron East is seeking an underserviced designation from the provincial government that would S.• COUNCILLORS, Pop. 2 Recruiters beat odds as new doctor is found By Scott Hilg.ndorff Expositor Editor With years of effort attracting one and dismal odds of success, Seaforth is getting a new doctor. "This is huge, just because of the climate right now," said Gwen Devereaux, project manager at the Huron Perth Hospital Partnership. Craig Albrecht, his wife Dana and'their one -year-old son will be moving to Seaforth next spring from New Brunswick. Albrecht will come to Seaforth from Dalhousie University, having completed a rural rotation as a doctor outside of Fredericton. With 1,000 doctors needed in Ontario alone and only 200 graduating from medical schools this year, and many leaving Canadian practices for work in the United States, Devereaux said this is great news for Seaforth to be getting a new doctor here. Devereaux has been working for about seven years on recruiting doctors to Seaforth, first as manager at the Seaforth Medical Clinic and now, as project manager for the Huron Perth Hospitals Partnership, where she actively recruits doctors across the hospitals in the group. "This most importantly adds another physician to the complement we have here," said Seaforth Community Hospital Administrator Andrew Williams. Albrecht will be opening a Dano and Craig Albrecht family practice and joining the team at the Seaforth Medical Clinic. Williams said a family physician helps fill the community's greatest need but adds Albrecht also has some interest in geriatric medicine which will be a futther asset when Seaforth Community Hospital opens its specialized centre for treating sen- iors. "They will fit really well in this community," said Will- iams. He said w'h e n recruiting doctors, they are selling the com- munity, not just the hospital and medical aspects of the municipality. With the Albrecht's, Williams said, "We know we have struck gold," believing they are a great match for the community. Devereaux said both Craig and Dana have family in the Kitchener area and were looking for a community that would be safe for their son. Albrecht took a week to examine five communities in Ontario, spending one day in each and Devereaux said they made the most of his time in Seaforth, showing him and his wife the community, not just the hospital. She said Dana, an art therapist, was taken by some of the physicians' wives to the story hour held at the library the day they were here last month and to the day care centre to see the facility. Mary Fisher, manager at Seaforth Medical Clinic, said they are also excited by the news. "We are just thrilled," she said. Albrecht is expected to join the medical community in late summer or early fall of next year. Fisher said he will help fill a gap that will soon be left S.. COMMUNITY, Pogo 2