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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2005-06-29, Page 1INPSYT Clinical Systems DR. ROBERT SHEPHERD Practice in Psychology 194 Townsend St. Clinton Phone & Fax 519.482.1799 Visit www.inpsyt.com for more information —UMW OPP investigate fire set at Dublin's O'Rourke Transport By Marc Hulet Mitchell Advocate Staff An arson investigation is underway by the Ontario Provincial Police after a fire broke out at O'Rourke Transport in Dublin just after 11 p.m. on June 21. Two vehicles were witnessed leaving the property shortly before the fire was noticed. The police stated that an investigation revealed the fire had been intentionally started. The fire caused an estimated $5,000 in damages but it could have been worse, according to West Perth Deputy Fire Chief' Phil Graul. The location of a gas tank was cause for concern. "It was right in the middle of the fire," Graul said. The fire was also set very close to where livestock was housed but no injures - human • or ' animal occurred, thanks in part to people driving past who saw the fire and stopped to help. "They were hosing it down (with a garden hose)," Graul said of the scene when firefighters arrived. "It would have been a lot worse if they hadn't done that." • According to police, the damage included the livestock chute and part of a gas hose. A representative from O'Rourke Transport was unavailable for comment. The fire department was on scene for two hours and the OPP continue to investigate the fire. Anyone with information pertaining to this investigation can contact Perth County. OPP at 1- 888-310-1122 or Crime Stoppers at 1 -800 -222 - TIPS. Student nurse practitioner interns for five weeks in Seaforth... Page 3 Seaforth's results from Avon Maitland track meet.. page I4 111611061111114311411M' ' ednesday, June 29, 2005 r $1.25includes GST ALBERT SMUT' DENTURE CUM Denture Specialist R. McTaggart D.D. Complete and Partial Dentures Denture Repairs Relines & Additions 482-1195 50 Albert st., Clinton Father Lance Magdziak sings a farewell song to the parishioners of St. Columban Church during its final mass on Sunday. 400 pack St. Columban Church for final service By Susan Hundertmark Expositor Editor As St. Columban's 173 -year-old Roman Catholic Church held its final mass Sunday afternoon, Father Lance Magdziak begged parishioners to remain true to their faith and members of the Catholic church. "I'm going to do something I've never done in my life. I'd like to beg you to stay Catholic, stay committed to your faith and your God. Please, I beg you in a gentle, peaceful way," he said as the service came to a close. The congregation's 50-60 families swelled to close to 400 people Sunday, packing the church with friends and relatives who grew up in the church and returned for the last mass. Despite a seven-year struggle to keep St. Columban church alive, parishioners received word last fall from the London Diocese's Bishop Ronald Fabbro that the church would be closed. A church that produced 46 nuns, 18 priests and four brothers, St. Columban was the first Catholic church in the Huron Tract and many current parishioners -have roots that go back to the times when their Irish ancestors immigrated to Canada. Choir leader Mary Ryan, whose great great grandfather settled in a farm just north of St. Columban in 1847 from Ireland and whose mother's family used to walk 15 miles through the woods from Kinkora to attend St. Columban Church when it was the only church around, said the loss of the church is large and deep. "For everyone here, it's like losing every member of your family at the same time. And, it's a real concern some people will leave the church - they feel so betrayed and angry," she said. But Catherine (Moylan) Janossy, of Walkerton, who returned for St. Columban's final service, said she saw See PARLSHIONERS, Page 2 Provincial funding will help build healthcare jobs in Huron By Susan Hundertmark Expositor Editor A community project that will build the number of Huron County health care professionals within the county as well as improve recruitment from outside has received close to $300,000 in provincial funding. Huron -Bruce MPP Carol Mitchell awarded $317,750 to the Skills for Healthcare Attraction and Retention Pilot (SHARP) project at a press conference at Seaforth Community Hospital Tuesday. "It's not so long ago that I was in Seaforth announcing a family health team and I'm pleased to be here again. This project demonstrates what rural Ontario does so well in developing its strengths," she said. "This project does what we need to do to ensure our young people's futures are as strong as they can be and that our communities are strong as they can be," said Mitchell. The SHARP project is also being funded by the Seaforth Community Development Trust, which is contributing $150,000 over the next three years. "We're happy and proud to be part of this project. We have a longstanding community goal to promote healthcare," said Seaforth trust chair Joe Steffler. The six -pronged, two -and - See SIX, Page 2 Family Health Team in Seaforth begins to register orphan patients throughout Huron By Susan Hundertmark Expositor Editor Orphan patients throughout Huron County are being asked to register with the Huron County Family Health Team, based in Seaforth - the first step towards getting the local team up and running this fall, says organizer Gwen Devereaux. While no one has yet been hired to join the Huron FHT, Devereaux says the summer will be spent applying to the province for seed funding, organizing the structure for a board of governors and executive officer to run the FHT and hiring health care professionals. "We have a team defined - we know what type of professionals we want. And, we have a frontline team ready that may start up before we have all the programs in place," she says. This spring, Seaforth was one of the first 52 family health teams to be approved by the province for annual funding. Seaforth's proposal aims to look after orphan patients throughout Huron, eventually creating satellite offices throughout the county So far, the health care professionals Devereaux hopes to see join the team include a triage nurse who will direct patients to the health care professionals they need, family physicians, a nurse practitioner, a dietician, a respiratory therapist and a pharmacist. Psychiatrists or psychologists might also be included in the team. "We haven't decided yet who the doctors are on the team. It will be offered to Seaforth doctors first, Huron County doctors second and then to locums and doctors outside the area," says Devereaux. Because the FHT is meant to lighten the load for local doctors, Devereaux says it will probably lead to the recruitment of new doctors. "The numbers are too low here right now for us just td reconfigure the existing doctors. Doctors retiring along the lake might want to get involved in this - this is great for doctors who want to semi -retire and don't want a full workload," she says. With a FHT in place, Devereaux says it's predicted that a family physician can see 2,000 patients each. "Our vision is that our doctors come in and oversee the care so we could have several doctors working one day a week outside of their own practices," she says. She has been approached by three interested doctors and two nurse practitioners so far along with a number of other health care professionals. "We have to decide what's essential initially but we could have a huge team," she says. While she says patients might have a hard time understanding how a family health team works before they actually use one, Devereaux says all patients will see the triage nurse and then be passed along to whomever they need to see. "Let's face it. There are times you come to your doctor when you don't really need to see a doctor," she says. For example, she says, a patient might just need more education about how to use a drug properly and can be best served by seeing a pharmacist. "Pharmacists have skills they've not been able to use - they can make See SUMMER, Page 3 HURRY! Tickets go Of Sale Friday, July 1 at 12 noon! Don't miss out! 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