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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1998-01-07, Page 2Page 2 . Times -Advocate, January 7, 1998 • Regional wrap up Free cab rides in Goderich on New Year's Eve GODE:RICH Residents of Goderich were given .free taxi .cr' i« • on New ,Year's Eve. in an atter►pt to keep impaired drivers off the road. stated. the Goderich Signal Starr. t..ocaI business donated to the free service to help pay h r'the driers and gar.. There were. about time cab timers: on the road than night Ski resort to reopen in Walkerton \\ :\1.KI:RTON - Walkerton looks _like it could he -getting a new ski. resort. reported the Will - heroin Herald -Tines. . --Jar-.utr�ac +t:ueil_it_ha• len about live .year. .ince 'Happy Valley Ski Resort: has been .open. but with a lot of per.is- ic rice it appears the resort will ,open again to the public. •A number- of upgrades are.ex- pected to take place at the rc:ort heto;re the opening including en-. 'aging the `chalet and installing a chair lift. Perth County amalgamation official as of Jan. 1, 1998 MITCHELL - Thc Townships. o' ' West Perth. Perth East and North Perth held their inaugural meeting to -discuss restructuring and amalgamation plans for 1908: Thc. new municipality of West Perth ,includes Mitchell. Fuller- ton. Hihhert and :Logan in Perth COunt} which off ii gallsy.arnatga- Mated on Tan. I. 1998. Fire destroys barn MOUNT FOREST - A Karn was- destroyed by a fire in Mount Forest un Boxing Day. tallying the loss as "great." re- ported the Mount Forest Confed- erate. . The barn on Hwy. 6 south. in- cluded a chipper' mill: elevators and. augers and housed 40 dairy and beef cattle. Two brothers. g-veer=i►Id Elmer Martin and 20-_yearold (Aeon Martin detect- ed the fire and sawed the cattle from the blaze. Faith> wiring is suspected to causing the fire Explosion on farm causes walls to blow out rb111.VEiRTON - A powerful explosion. which levelled off a farm building in Milverton on Dec. 20 blew out the walls caus- ing an. excess of about S100,(100.• The 30-hy-40 huildirig which - housed computerized feed mix- ing equipment. most likely blew up because of propane heating: No •official cause has yet been determined. Teens cause $10,000 property damage HANOVER - An estimated 510.000 in property damage Oc- curred in Elmwood on Dec. 20. reported the Saugeen City News. Teens from a Metro Tin -onto ' hockey team who were playing at a • tournament in C'hesley, stopped for dinner at a restaurant in Elmwood. Following the meal the teens went outside and pro- ceeded to throw rocks through the windows of three vehicles. Subsequently a 1995 GEO was turned over on its roof. Thc incident is still under in- vestigation. TllJ\F' Stopped trucks on Ontario Street illegal No Stopping bylaw gives village council the right to administer tick- ets to anyone parked. or stopped illegally By Chantal! Van Raay T -A Reporter- GRAND eporter GRAND BEND- Stopped trucks on Ontario Street can pose a serious threat to some drivers. said village council at -Monday night's council meeting. •Because of the threat they pose. residents have voiced -several com- plaints. many of which council has considered..• "We get cmplaints . year-round from resident., business people, said administrator Paul Turnbull. "Trucks are blocking the entrance to establishments." Turnbull spoke specifically about the arca in front of.Macs Milk and Mr. Muggs. He said he approached the OPP about the Situation who told him -"unless a municipal bylaw - is in place they cannot take any ac- tion." except under emergencies. Turnbull explained. A. current "No Stopping" bylaw • exists which states that stopping on Ontario Street (Hwy 21) is not per- . milted at any time. on either sides of the:street. ' Thc- tine for illegal parking or stopping on Ontario Street could be up to $30. said.Mayor Cam.lvey. Village staff have the legal right to adniinistcr a ticket to 'anyone parked or. stopped on Ontario Street. which gives the village the option oI. haying one of them mon- itor the situation. • "I've been there early in • the• morning." said Councillor Brian Knights. referring to Mr. Muggs. "and drivers aren't in there longer than five minuses." But the main problem •addressed, was the danger the stopped trucks can pose to other drivers. no matter how long they are.parked there. "If you're pulling out of thcrc and there's a truck blocking your view you can be taking your life in your own hands," said Cpuncillor Phil Maguire. "You can't count on the OPP be- cause they, have other things to at- tend to." Ivey said. He suggested someone either from village staff or someone should be. hired to mon- itor the situation. It was_ moved the village take no further action on the traffic bylaw, it was further suggested thc ad- ministrator could either emptoy-a parking officer -to monitorthe park- sing for a couple hours a day or have a member of village staff monitor the situation. - S 50 years of giving Thanks for all you do. Lucan Reeve Robert Benner, left, hands Lucan District Lions Club president Clarence Haskett-a--plaque from the' village recognizing the Club_'s_ 50th an- niversary during a. celebration dinner at the Lucan Community Memorial Centre on Monday. The Club hosted a dinner for members of the community groups it helps and handed out over $16,000 to those groups. Of interest: Haskett was the first and is the 50th president of the Club. Temporary motorsport racing at Grass Roots- back in action Grand Bend Motorplex extended Accepted, but not without concern from neighboring residents By Chantal! Van Raay T -A Reporter • STEPHEN-- An •annual puhlic'meeting was held in Stephen Dec. 16 to consider extending the temporary zoning bylaw which would allow motor car racing at the Grand Bend Motorplcx. • Each year. the township hold,. a public meeting to permit temporary 'zoning. and each year neighboring residents attend to' voice their concern regarding thc motorplcx. - Thc motorplcx has been operating on a one-year temporary extension since it opened three years ago. Stephen Township is currently working on •an Official Plan Amendment that would allow the motorplcx to remain open permanently, and would mean the zoning bylaw would not have to he passed each year. - "1 hope this wilt he the last year we'll have to hold a p}tblic meeting for a temporary extension." said administrator Larry Brown. The Official Plan would include various concerns the public has about the motorplcx, added Brown. These concerns include.sound.barriers and northhound and'southhound turning lanes into the entrance for safety. . One of .the main concerns voiced hy. neighboring residents of thc mo- torplex is that thc noise is too loud and the races run too late into the night.• Residents said noise coming from jet cars penetrates the ground, and in turn shakes windows, dishes and opens doors. Council said jet cars will face certain.restrictions to reduce the irritation thcy.may cause. Council also explained that a noise study was completed, hut construction of noise harriers would he too expensive and impractical until the Official Plan is approved. Council added racing is normally over by 10 p.m.. but may he extended till 12 p.m: in thc case of rain or mechan- ical problems: • Buffers and fences have also been installed at the motorplcx to resist garhagc•from blowing off the property and onto neighboring yards. Thc rezoning .bylaw noted concerns from the residents and was given two readings and provisionally adopted. VON diversifies to address changes in health care system STRATFORD - in.1998. the Victorian Order of Nurses Perth - Huron Branch. as part of the National VON organization, will begin another "Century of Caring." VON Week. January 19-24, 1998 rec- ognizes VON's 10 t . years of service. . The VON Perth -Huron Branch is a Not -for -Profit charity providing health .and support services to the residents of Perth and Huron coun- ties. With the significant changes in the -health cart system. VON has launched into related business ven- tures to address unmet needs and to provide sources•of revenue that will help support VON's Not -Tor -Profit charitable rotes. These business opportunities include the private sector in insurance, Occupational Health and Safety, privatc'pay nursing and related services. - Through the efforts of VON Canada, contracts have been signed to provide Wellness Clinics for several stores and independent pharmacies. across Canada. VON Perth -Huron works with local phar- macies to promote healthier lifestyles. Local VON nurses are offering Wellness Clinics on a .are of educational health-related topics. People are encouraged to bring their questions and related medications to the educational clin- ics. From September to November 1997, as part of workplace well- ness, VON offered influenza (Flu) Clinics. to companies in Perth and Huron'counties to help rcducc sick time and improve the health of their employees. Many."on-site" workplace clinics. were held .at which VON nurses- vaccinated consenting employees against influenza. - At present, a VON staff nurse is enrolled in a Continence Advisor Program. She will assist individuals in learning about today's choices for optimal continence care and how to take an active. part in their own care. VON Continence Management Services include rehabilitative care and treatment within thc home, long term care facilities or retirement homes. To support and enhance diversi- fication, thc Southwest VON Branches joined together and hired two full time salespersons. Their role is to sell and market VON's health care services to industry and organizations. The Related Business Ventures complement our present health and support services to offer a full range of in-home and community services to all ages from infants to the elderly. The Perth -Huron Branch is working with the changes in health care to provide another "Century of Caring" for the resi- dents of Perth and Huron cot ies. V CAN ON ADA By Chantal! Van Raay T -A Reporter GRAND BEND - In February. 1996, a group of residents. called Grass Roots for a Greater Grand Bend- Community. met to- discoiss the` support of a . unified Grand _ Bcnd community. - In.June, I99.(. the group circulat- ed. a brochure • throughout Grand Bend and its surrounding com- munities on how they felt about amalgamation. About. one month later. the group distributed 563• petition letters and in August of the same year. a Tow n Hall meeting was held so. that res- idents 'could ask foal politicians questions about the- future of their: cornrnunitY. On January 14. 1998:- after .a .year -and -a -half halt of action. Grass Roots arc meeting again. to attempt to stop Grand Bend from splitting into several municipal- ities. "Two years ago: a very info►nnal • Grass Koots -group of concerned citizens got together to keep:Grand Bend• together- during the amal- gamation process." - said Grass Roots member RrMerkle: of Southcott Pines. "In 96 we circulated information and petition ,letters to people and .they supported that." Now that restructuring talks are coming out in the open again. Grass Roots members want to continue the talks they left o1T at the Town Hall meeting in August..'96. "With 98. herr. Grand Bend- rc- Structuring talks will be addressed. - We are having a.tnceting to explain . to people. what we have done and • what we have accomplished." Merkley said. Mcrkley emphasized thc invite - only• meeting is for .select_ in- dividuals. to grasp information about the Grass Roots group and their ac- complishnicnts - in. the past two years. They . will discuss the presenta- tions they made in The past to, the Amalgamation Committee of Exet- er.: Grand Bend. Ushorne and Ste- phen Townships. as well .as where they are headed in the future. Mcrklcy: explained the meeting will" walk people through the issues already covered"' in 96 as well as new issues the group will address in the New Year.. .Merkky -said the group is not po litical in nature and docs not want to influence the amalgamation pro- cess. He added the group's oh- jective is to inform people' about, ' the greatloss that could he as- sociated with splitting Grand. Bend off from neighboring municipal- ities. , . • . Two 'issues that could be ad- dressed focus on health care and the_ supply_ of.emergency services. explained Merkley. since i t(—esc are' - areas which could. be strictly ef- fected by the .amalgamation pro le-Gss. rass Roots have sent out invite's to the. mayors of Bosanquet, Grand Bend and their respective. conn- • cillors, the reeve of Stephen, .the ••wardens of Huron and •Lambton counties, the -parliamentary assist- ant of the ministry of -municipal af- fairs and the 'municipal affairs ad -- visor. . "We're having the meeting to ex- plain .to politicians what we have accomplished." said Merkley. • The arca Grass Roots is - con- cerned - with includes . Huron Woods. Grand Cove Estates. Beach '0 Pines, Oakwood, Dalton, Van, Dongen and Southcott Pines.. The group's area of interest is currently located in two counties and,:three municipal governments. OHA warns against premature efforts TORONTO --Moving too quick- ly to restructure hospitals in rural communities without ensuring that the appropriate benchmarks and guidelines have been devel- oped -- could compromise health services in Targe parts of the province. .warns the Ontario Hospital Association. • "We are extremely concerned that recommendations arc being• brought down in various pockets of the province even though the benchmarks necessary .for planning purposes arc -not yet -fully devel- olied," said OHA President David MacKinnon. "in the absence of these necessary planning tools, bringing forth recommendations amounts to putting the cart .before the horse. Furthermore. we fear that these premature recommendations could. because of their priority in time, he given undue weight in helping decide how health services for particular communities are organized." Thc OHA issued the warning just in advance of a scheduled vote by the Renfrew County District Health. Council on a report that calls for hospitals in that community - Pernbroke General. St. Francis Memorial, and Renfrew Victoria - to amalgamate under a single goy- ernance structure. "Without wishing to comment on particular recommendations. we are concerned that the current sequence of events does not make for sound decision-making," said MacKinnon. "OHA supports the Ministry of 'Health's Rural. and Northern Health Care Framework, released last June, because the policy recognizes that rural and northern communities have unique needs and that it would he inappropriate to use the same • approach as in urban communities to restructure hospital services in these. communities," he said.."We also supported the government's move to set a joint committee, involving the Ministry of Health and the OHA. to establish the key benchmarks to he used in restruc- turing health services in•rural com- munities. These guidelines will he completed shortly. but until they are in place, it makes little sense to proceed with making recommenda- tions." MacKinnon. further stressed •restructuring of hospital services in rural communities should he done on a voluntary basis. "Rural hospitals have already begun significant restructuring efforts resulting. in strong financial performance and increased pro- grams and services for their corn-. munities. And they have done all this on a voluntary basis. The OHA and member hospitals object in par- ticular to governance recommenda- tions • from any source that consoli- dates facilities without. any serious analysis of the impact on local fundraising, the additional manage- rial costs involved, and the very low cost of operations of hospital boards, whose members are not compensated." Last month, the OHA released a study showing that there. is to be gained from restructuring hdspi- tal services in rural communities in the same way that is being done in more urban centres. The study, Performance Review of Small/Rural and Remote Hospitals of Ontario, was conducted jointly by OHA, Deloitte &- Touche, and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce: Focusing on the 89 hospitals classified as small, rural and remote, the study assessed the col- lective performance of these facili- ties against key utilization, finan- cial and restructuring indicators and documented changes to program and seryice mix over a three-year period. The study identified the fol- lowing reasons for why there is lit- tle to be gained from having the Health Services Restructuring Commission (HSRC) review hospi- tals in rural communities: • The potential savings from HSRC restructuring in these com- munities is minimal. Small/rural and remote hospitals represent a significant number of Ontario's over 200 public hospitals, but they receive less than 10 per cent of the Ministry of Health's allocation to hospitals; • Small/rural and remote hospi- tals are required to play a broader, more all-encompassing role in the communities they serve. These communities lack the array of ser- vices available in more populated centres. A quantitative, numbers- - driven approach to restructuring will not be sensitive to the needs of rural communities; • Many rural hospitals have - already restructured by sharing ser- vices, reengineering, downsizing, and implementing merger initia- tives. These hospitals have also made impressive gains in deliver- ing care Fiore cost effectively. Because of these successes, the potential for further restructuring and cost savings is reaching its lim- its.