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The Huron Expositor, 1995-10-04, Page 1Fall Fair Fair Ambassador selected on Saturday night. Pages 3 , Education High School holds annual commencement Pages 9 & 12 Community Newspaper Since 1860 B riefly Brussels man dies after electrocution Two Brussels brothers were electrocuted when the scaffolding they were moving touched a high voltage line in Morris Township early last Tuesday evening. Daniel Beuermann, 22, was pronounced dead on arrival by ambulance at Wingham' hospital. His brother, 18 -year-old Randy Beuermann, originally in critical condition, was still listed as serious late Mon- day in London's Victoria Hospital. He was airlifted from Seaforth to the London hospital after the accident. The Wingham detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police says the brothers were roofing a house east of Blyth, at Lot 15 Concession 9 of Morris, for their father's contracting com- pany when it happened around 5 p.m. Seaforth goes OPP at end of month Seaforth now isn't of- ficially switching over to OPP policing until the end of this month. Dotting the i's and cros- sing the is took longer than originally anticipated to get Treasury Board approval for the switchover, originally scheduled for the start of October. It is now scheduled to take place Oct. 30. General Coach terminates 40 General Coach has ter- minated 40 full-time employees, leaving a staff numbering about 100 workers at the Hensall manufacturer of recreational vehicles. According to management the ter- minations are because of the Toss of a bus line at the local plant. That business went to another plant in the United States earlier this year, during a labour dispute. Council changes meeting schedule Instead of meeting the second Tuesday of every month, Scaforth Council will now try to meet the first two Tuesdays of every month. Town Clerk/Administrator Jim Crocker says the ex- perimentation with the new format is because of an increased emphasis on strategic planning by Coun- cil, and is also an attempt to foster openness and increased dialogue between taxpayers and their municipality. Council tried the :yew for- mat for the first time last night (Tuesday). INDEX Bill Thomas...p. 5 Sports...pp. 10, 11 "Your community newspaper since 1860...serving Seaforth, Dublin, Hensall, Walton, Brussels and surrounding communities." Seaforth Ontario October 4, 1995 - 75 Cents Plus GST Photo by David Scott STRIKE UP THE BAND - The Lucknow Legion Pipe Band headed up a parade to the Seaforth Cenotaph on Sunday for a memorial service. Two wreaths were laid by the Zone and Branch President John Lansink and Ladies 1st Vice -President Mary Doig. Following a parade back to the legion, a zone meeting was held. Huron -Bruce MP Paul Steckle and Seaforth Mayor Irwin Johnston brought greetings to the audience. Bail hearing delayed for Steven Murray BY MONA IRWIN SSP News Staff Schedule conflicts and a reported gas leak at the Huron County Courthouse meant a further week in jail for a Godcrich man charged in con- nection with the alleged death of his adopted daughter. "Mr. Murray is obviously very disappointed," said Murray's lawyer, David Humphrey, of Greenspan, Humphrey, in Toronto. The hearing will resume today (Wednesday) at 9 a.m. "We have expectations of it being completed on Wednesday and his being released pending his trial," Humphrey said in a brief interview last week as he left the court. Steven Murray, 46, is charged with second-degree murder in connection with the disappearance of 16 -year-old Mistie Murray on May 31. Murray's bail hearing was scheduled for 2 p.m. last Wednesday (Sept. 27), but Mr. Justice Arthur Mullen, of Stratford, was presiding over another matter which ran late. Murray's bail hearing ran for approximately 1.5 hours before being adjourned until 9 a.m. Thursday (Sept. 28). However, at about 10 a.m. Thursday, the courthouse was evacuated for more than an hour after several employees reported a strong smell of gas. Mullen had to be in Stratton.' by 2 p.m., so by the time the build- ing was pronounced safe, he could do nothing more than adjourn the matter again. As he was doing so, the courthouse was evacuated for a second time when smokc detectors went off. Last Wednesday's session had to be transferred from the small courtroom to the county council chambers, also in the courthouse, after 50 people showed up (the large courtroom was being used for another case at the time). Many of those present were people who have pledged bail money for Steve, said Anne Murray, Steve's wife. "When we found out we needed to raise bail, we called on friends, family members and members of the community," she said. They drew up forms and handed them out, asking those who were willing to pledge money to mail or fax the form to the lawyer's office. "The response was over- whelming," Anne said. "The lawyers told us they had faxes coming in for a week, from St. Columban to Godcrich." All told, 34 people offered to help raise the bail money, and "almost all of them are here, with their spouses, to show they support and believe in Steve. "We were so thrilled," she Continued on page 3 No decisions imminent in Huron. says Johns Health Councils will decide on hospital closin By PATRICK RAIE"CIS SSP News Staff The local District Health Council, not the provincial government, will decide if any area hospitals will be closed as a result of plans to reallocate health care dollars, said Humn MPP Helen Johns. Johns, Parliamentary Assistant to Health Minister, Jim Wilson, told The Lakeshore Advance that "local communities will decide about (possible hospital) closings through District Health Council's" in consultation with hospitals and local residents. Any discussion of closing any of Huron's hospitals at this time is premature, said Johns, because the Huron -Perth Health Council will not yet have had lime to consider the effects of the funding freeze on health care announced by the provincial government last week. During the last election cam- paign, Premier Mike Harris promised not to cut the province's $17.4 billion in health care spending. However, by announcing there would be no new dollars for health care, the premier warned last week that there would he program cuts and massive restructuring in order to compensate for inflation, costs of caring for an aging population and new technolo- gies. Johns said that headlines last week forecasting the possible closure of up to 38 hospitals in Ontario arose from the fact there are 55 District Health Councils in the province which will have to deal with rising costs without new funding. "It's quite likely they will look at it (closing hospitals) because there are only so many health care dollars to go around." Closing hospitals in over - served areas and "limiting some to providing specific types of services," are among the options DHCs will likely be considering, she explained. However, she said the Huron -Perth District Health Council "is not close," to mak- ing that kind of decision. "They haven't brought the hospitals together, yet," said Johns, although she predicted the local DHC would do that at some point. Johns said the rising costs of non -hospital care, including costs of caring for an expand- ing elderly population will lead communities to consider re- allocating some of the funds now spent on hospital services to other areas of the health sys- tem. Johns said she believes it is possible to offer adequate health care to Ontarians within the existing $17.4 billion bud- get only if the system is restructured. "I think if we don't reallocate and stick with the status quo. then it ($17.4 Killion) won't be enough. However if we make some smart choices, I think we can 'work within the system," she said. Johns said the Progressive Conservative government is attempting to divert funding from the administrative level to the end users of the health care system. She said the Tories have reduced the Mitlistry of Health staff corn - 'intent from 24 employees to seven, "and we put that money into dialysis machines around the province." None of those new- dialysis machines went to Huron hospi- tals, said Johns, because the area is within a two-hour drive of a dialysis facility from any point in the county. However, she said the move illustrates the government's commitment to "providing the best value for health care dollars." "I think we have to push the health care dollars down to the end users. We have people in this province on waiting lists for dialysis. My God, these people will die if they don't get treatment. This way (realloca- tion) the funding goes where it's needed. Any increase in funding would have been swal- lowed up by administration costs," she said. • .11,•••••••••••••••••116.01611...•• H+.........