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The Lucknow Sentinel, 1979-02-28, Page 6Si . Par 0-4onekurow Suulasel, Wednesday, February 28, 1979 • • • The Lucknow Sentinel • 4 LUCKNOW, ONTARIO "The Sepoy Town" On the Huron -Bruce Boundary Established 1873 - Published Wednesday Published by. Signal -Star Publishing Ltd. Sharon J. Dietz.- Editor Anthony N; Johnstone - Advertising and General Manager - Subscription rate, $11 per year in advance Senior Citizens rate,. S9 per year in advance U.S.A. and Foreign, $21.50 per year in advance Business and Editorial Office Telephone 28-2822 Mailing Adress P.O. Box 400, Lucknow, NOG 2H0 Second class Mail registration number - 0847 Mae's courage BY SANDY NICHOLSON The "Town Crier" article mentioned a special hobby of mine. For almost 20 years I have . been collecting 'and preserving historical material by talking with unusual friends, using a tape . • • recorder. Some are well. known. How- ever;nothing has been .written by or about the .majority • of these. . The • archives of Canada, the provinces, and churches do not have funds to engage • staff to do the interviewing they are hippy to have the tapes available for a later generation. • - Mae Maclnnes, now of "VVingham,. is in rrijr collection in the Ontario Archirsr. •The paternal grandparents of Mae and mes came -from the Isle of Skye- in. the same sailing boat in 1851. The next year • they came s by boat to' Port- Albert -and " built their first shanty, half on lot 7 and . half on 8 on the 2nd of Kinloss, so that residence for both families would start • at once. Later the two families lived across the road from each other when • we moved to where Donald' Maclntyre and family now live. •• • When. Mae was abotit 10, an aunt from Chicago with two girls came for • the holiday ....down the farm; for • several years. It so happened that the • aunt had Married a widower whose first wife died of TB. the two girls 'also died from TB - quite a common occurence in those days. By the time 'Mae was 14 sozne of the symptoins were appearing and Mae dropped out. of school. • , • • In 1923, her father, Malcolm died, after being sick, and in bed at home for three• cyears..Mae developed pleurisy and cauld not get a normaltemperature, that fail. • • . • Dr, Connell; the. family doctor • thought: Mae should have a year in the Hamilton San. ' Patients could not be • • admitted unless they could and would pay one dollar a` day. Should a patient be there for•three years this would cost a large amount in those days. Brothers'. •Martin and Gordon hadgood jobs in. • .Detroit and were willing and anxious to see, 'that their sister had the best • care possible.. But this was not good enough. Hamiltonwould not admit Mae • unless. Mrs. ,MacInnes went to the • Kinloss Council meeting and heard the • pros. and cons Of the, case,.1 What if the ;boys lost theit jobs and Mae was in the Sanfor several years! , Had • Ernie Ackert not. been On counCil, and had • personal knowledge about the .probletri • it was doubtful if the guarantee would have. been made. : The treatinent in Hamilton at that time seenied to bp limited to fresh air and rest. Mae still shivers when she' ..reolls the cold, cold winds from the lake; After the first winter in Harnilton, Dr. Connell suggested that if it was • possible to build a porch to the 'south of the:house on the farm, she w\ould be . better at home. The brothers and Uncle Neil Machines, an excellent builder, • had the fine addition built, 'where Mae eoriTjNt.iFD, ON .PAGE 7 • Want ansierg. • The people of Wingham and Ihe surrounding area who at- tended a meeting with the Wingham and District Hospital board la6t week want answers and they intend to go to the top to get them. They told the board to invite Dennis Timbrell, Minister of Health, to come to Wingham to answer their questions and defend the ministry's decision to close. hospital beds to 'reach a ratio of 3.5 . beds per 1,000 population in three years. . Theyalso want the board's solicitor to look into the possibil- ity of imposing an injunction to prevent the government from closing the hospital beds. Should the minister come to Wingham the'citizens will ores- ent 'the petitions which . have ben circulated since the bed • cutbacks were announced. • In the meantime everyone who opposes the government's decision can write to the Hon. Dennis Timbrell, Minister of• Health, Queen's Park and mark the envelope "personal and confidential" and it is sure to reach his desk. Some of the people who attended the meet- ing said they would send their • letters registered mail. Escalating ' health costs have • been cited by the ministry as the reason for bed cutbacks. Two years ago the province tried to cut down the rising cost of health - • care by closing hospitals. Public outcry caused the government to • change its mind. Now theyhave • decided to close beds in an, attempt •to cut costs.. There are those who flagrantly • abuse the system but even if one practises preventive -medicine instead of the, more expensive - curative medicine, it. 'is • still going to cost. -There will be • consultation .wit,h the doctor and routine tests and examinations. The government' has shown in the past that they are beaurcrat- ' • ic bunglers Who waste taxpay- ers'fdollarsand then turn around The Maeinnes tangly picture taken in 1913. Left to right, front Machine* Malcolm Jr. Back • row, Gordon, Beusejour, row, Mrs. Machines; baby -Katherine, Mii. Cheater Case. Manitoba; Mae, Wingbani and Mar;In. mOre,Vingham; Leanard, Luclmow; Roy, Godericb; Malcolm to tell the people of 'Ontario they must reduce spending and apply restraint. There must be other areas in the provincial budget where cuts can be made without hacking our health care services which are among the ,best in the world. • Wingham and District Hospit- al has operated the hospital within, the .ministry guidelines and for the past two years has come in under -budget. Wing - ham's occupancy rate is over 80 per cent and the patients' length of stay is lower than the provincial average. Why then • must Wingham • Hospital, • which is operating efficiently, be forced to close - beds'? According to executive. director, Norrnan Hayes, a ratio • of 5.6 beds metthe needs of the hospital and worked beautifully. • The citizens who attended the • public meeting last week are right to feel their civil liberties • are being violated. The community built the hos- • pital and the government took it • over. Now that the goverknment • haS found they cannot operate • • • the province's hospitals econom- ically, they Want to reduce the • number of bedsin Wingham to 51. • • The cost.per bed is higher for fewer -,beds Which could .,make '--• many hospitals non-viable. The government can just as easily Make an arbitrary decision to close all hospitals with lets than 50 ,bedS,. because they .are no longer viable. ,Ontario will have centralized health services and the quality of health care in the • province will suffer. • • , There 'was , good deal of positive energy generated at the public meeting in Wingham. • The citizens believe- theirs civil rights are being violated and. they are not willing to sit back and allow the government to take away. their health services -• without a fight. - • They .want t�know whythe • government • Cannot, run the health services of this -province • efficiently. Ontario ' -has oneof the best health are systems in the world and the people of this • area Want to. keep their `health ' _services: ••• ••, They, don't want their hospital •• reduced to a non-viable position, .so it may be .closed,, They don't , want beds closed so the hospital • can no longer affor4 preventive. • medicine or care of long term patients. • .•• • It will be interesting to see whether the Hon. -.Dennis Tim- brell will come. to Wingham to • defend the government's action. • The last time a health minister •• went to meet the people in areas where the • government was attempting to close hospitals he was pelted with snowballs and- . tomatoes. It is unlikely Mr. Timbre!! will • meet with quite as hostile a • reaction; if he cdmes to Wing - ham. Judging by the mood at the meeting last week the people are angry but they ire reasonable. • They want reasons to justify the • bed cutbacks and an opportunity • to get some answers to their •questions. The government of Ontario owes them that much.