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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1984-09-19, Page 1B 1♦C 1i ITY PO w P A PIE H N SAI 4At A' r NewsPeper Competition 1984 136 YEAR -38 Area res NFSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19,1984 T used at seeing BY JOANNE BUCHANAN Adjectives like "overwhelming", "fan- tastic" and "magnificent" were used by Goderich and area residents to describe seeing Pope John Paul II at Midland and Downsview last weekend. Approximately 44 Knights of Columbus members and their families from Goderich, Clinton and Seaforth boarded a bus at 5 a.m. Saturday and headed for the Downsview site in Toronto. There they joined thousands of other volunteers in selling mass books to the half million peo- ple who were present. The money from the books will help to the defray the $50 million cost of bringing the Pope to this country. Frank Pontes, Grand, Knight of the Goderich Council, described thh thole ex- perience of being at DownsvievP°eas "over- whelming". He said the local group was situated behind the 10,000 voice choir. It was "wall to wall people" and "very mud- dy" but by climbing up on a friend's . shoulders and using binoculars, he said he got "a fairly close look" at the Pope and it was "a great moment, something I'll never see again in my lifetime." . Pontes said the Pope seemed very relax- ed with the crowd. "He spoke in both ' English and French and he seemed like a very gentle man," he concluded. Betty Frayne of R.R. 3 Goderich was also a member of the local group, along with her husband Eugene. She said being at Downsview was "thrilling" and "breath -taking". "I just can't describe it," she enthused. "I'm so glad I went. I wasn't disappointed in my view of the Pope considering the number of people who were there. I didn't expect to see him up close. I couldn't see his facial features but I could see basically what was going on. He seemed like a very warmppeerson and it was a pleasure to take " „pa Nile mass.” D Denomme of Goderich said the local you put in a long, hard day selling the mass books. "It was cold and raining and at first you began to wonder why you were there and then when the Pope arrived, you realized why you had come. It was just magnificent, utterly fantastic, terrific. It was just like seeing the whole thing on t.v. only closer," he said. Mr. Denomme was also amazed at the Pope John Paul II waves as he passes crowds in Midland Saturday morning. The Pope visited Ste. Marie -among -the -Hurons, Martyrs' Shrine Church and gave a homily at the altar site. Many people from Huron County travelled to Midland and Toronto to see the Pope. Shown with Pope John Paul in his popemobile, is Emmett Cardinal Carter. (Ron Wassink photo) 50 CENTS PER COPY Pope size of the crowd. "I have never seen so many*pie gathered in one place at one time. A.nd there was no chaos, everything was very orderly." The best view of the Pope, among the local group who went to Downsview, was had by Harvey Lassaline and 18 -year-old Mary Margaret Fuller. Mr. Lassaline, who has no left hip and can't walk long distances, was taken in a wheelchair by Mary Margaret to a special section for the handicapped in front of the altar. "We were only about 50 yards from the base of the altar. We had a really good view of it and the Pope. He looks just like he looks in the paper. It was fantastic," en- thused Mary Margaret. Even though it was cold, she said she was glad she made the trip to Downsview. However, she was disappointed that the Pope didn't go down into the crowd the way he had at other sites. She managed to get some photographs to.compensate. • Mary Margaret's parents, Ray and Mary of R.R. 5 Goderich, also went to Downsview. Mrs. Fuller said being in the Pope's presence was nice but it was a cold damp day and "sometimes the feelings of the body overtook the spirit". Mr. Lassaline said the trip to Downsview "was worth it". He said he figured the Pope must have been freezing because he was sitting so high up in the air and it was quite cold at ground level. Clinton's Reverend Father John Pluta had his view of the Pope while seated in the centre of row four among a gathering of 41,000 Ontario priests and bishops at St. Michael's Cathedral on Friday afternoon. He was also present at the gathering of 60,000 Polish people at the CNE for an evening of dancing and devotions. Kingsbridge's Reverend Father Ed Den- tinger and 40- •of - his parishioners and friends, mostly from the Ashfield Township area, made the trip to Midland to see the Pope. Their bus left from St. Joseph's Church iri Kingsbridge on Friday at 9:45 p.m. and they arrived at their final destination at 3 a.m. Saturday. "It was a real pilgrimage. We prayed and sang on the way to Midland in the bus," said Father Dentinger. "We had a Turn to page 2 Study shows hospice not needed here Huron County hospitals are providing good care for dying patients BY JOANNE BUCHANAN There is no present need for a free stan- ding hospice in Huron County because hospitals are providing good car for dying patients within a clinical setting. However, continuing efforts should be made by hospitals to improve upon facilities and services for dying patients and their families. These are the main conclusions drawn from the Huron Hospice Pilot Project which was completed in July under the direction of Connie Osborn, Palliative Care Co -Ordinator at Alexandra Marine and General Hospital, Goderich. The project report and its recommenda- tions have now been sent to Employment and Immigration Canada which provided a $17,090 Canada Works grant for the pro- ject last January. Application for the grant evolved through the desire of an area cancer patient who strongly believed there was a need for a free standing hospice in Huron County. A free standing hospice is a home -like facility ( housed in its own building separate from the hospital) designed to provide support and care for the terminal- ly ill (and their families) so that they might live as fully and comfortably as possible during their remaining days. The hospice concept is often provided within the hospital setting through palliative care services. Palliative care offers therapeutic services designed to address the physical, psycho -social and spiritual needs of dying patients and their families. The Huron Hospice Pilot Project ex- plored the needs and problems of the dying and their families in Huron County and Kincardine. In order to do this, project workers used personal interview question- naires to survey bereaved families in the area. They also interviewed people facing terminal illness and surveyed the profes- sionals involved --community nurses, hospital nurses, doctors, clergy and funeral directors. RECOMMEND ATIONS The project report carne up with a list of recommendations divided into three categories: hospital, community and general. Under hospital recommendations, it was suggested that palliative care concepts continue to be integrated into care provid- ed in Huron County and Kincardine hospitals; i.e., attention to control of pain and other symptoms, awareness of patient 4 r and family needs, flexibility and relaxa- tion of hospital regulations, emphasis on comfort and environment. It was also recommended that volunteer training programs be established to pro- vide family support services called "Sup- portive Care Services", consisting of train- ed volunteers to visit patients and families and to make telephone contacts. Expan- sion of pastoral care services, including the encouragement of training in palliative care and bereavement counselling, was recommended. And it was suggested that a list be established of bereaved parents willing to provide support for newly bereaved families, and develop protocols for stillbirths, miscarriages, and infant and child deaths. Under community recommendations, it was suggested that a part-time profes- sional be provided with additional training in death and dying to provide bereavement counselling to those suffering severe pro- blems with grief; as well as developing self-help groups for the bereaved which could rotate throughout the county to make them more accessible. Referrals could be made to this person who could possibly work out of the Public Health Unit and be funded by the provincial govern- ment. It was also recommended that there be increased education for health profes- sionals on death and dying, the grief pro- cess and pain management and symptom control throughout post secondary courses, workshops, libraries, etc. And it was advised that information should be made available at all times to in- terested community members on the The Goderich Public Utilities Commission disease process, death and dying, and the has authorized manager Evert Middel to grief process (i.e. pamphlets could be enter into a cost-sharing agreement with made available in health facilities, Canadian Pacific Railways to replace a 60 - through video presentations, speakers, year-old water main. The water main is etc.) located near the railway overpass on Har - The general recommendation made by bour Road. the report was the establishment of a for- mal communication network and pro- cedures to improve communication on behalf of patients and families between county hospitals, doctors, community ser- vices and out -of -county doctors and health facilities. The water main is clue for replacement The project report made some in- because of its age and because it no longer teresting observations about death and serves its original purpose. Originally the bereavement as it applies to Huron County PUC water plant provided all the water for and Kincardine. the town through the water main but the It found, for instance, that this county's plant has since been moved and the Harbour deaths caused by cancer are too few to Road main now serves only the harbour justify the maintenance of a hospice. In area. 1983, only 71 cancer deaths occurred in The survey showed that problems arose Huron County hospitals and not all of these with care and poorly explained procedures would be able to use a hospice. Based on in out -of -county hospitals. Following treat - statistics gathered from other hospices, ment, patients returning to their com- this number is too low to operate a free munity are in need of assistance in getting standing hospice here, keeping a information about theircondition, pro - minimum number of staff fully untilized. gnosis, treatment and ensuring that their Current provincial legislation also does family doctor has this information. not allow the operation of a free standing The bereaved families surveyed showed hospice. A hospice would be classified as a that they knew where to contact communi- private hospital and would have to be ty support services and that they also licenced by the Ministry of Health to made use of them, with the clergy being operate. To attain licencing, the feasibility themost frequently used service. • of a hospice must be proven, but such a Results of the survey also showed that facilitiy is not feasible in Huron County so the bereaved received the most support that licencing would be impossible to at- from their families at the time of death. In tain. addition, friends, neighbours and clergy were a source of help and comfort. It was THE BEREAVED also discovered that a key support for General characteristics of the bereaved widows after the funeral was all over, was in Huron County, based on a survey of 79 another widow. people in the project report, are that they Based on those people surveyed, the pro - are over 65 years of age, predominantly ject report found that there seems to be a female and 53.2 per cent were either limited need for a bereavement program widows or widowers. The data revealed in Huron County because community spirit that 78.5 per cent of the deceased c.wered enhances the palliative care concepts by in the study were over 65 years of age with reaching out to the bereaved. most of the deaths being expected (64.9 per cent) and 27.3 per cent being rated as WHAT THE PROFESSIONALS SAID "sudden". According to the professionals who are Three-quarters of all deaths occurred in working with the terminally ill, the needs hospital and the population surveyed saw of patients and their families in this area the hospital as the place to be when so- are not being fully met. The few completed meone was dying and were satisfied with interviews of families of the terminally ill, the care received there. although not conclusive, reinforced the presence of problems and gaps in services. Professionals surveyed for the project report saw a need for a hospice as part of the hospitals, preferring first a palliative care unit and secondly, a palliative care service. Administrators saw the need for the development of trained volunteers and a co-ordinator. At present, there is only one formalized palliative care service in Huron County and that is at Alexandra Marine and General Hospital. , The survey showed confusion over the meaning of palliative care. Suggested ways to increase expertise in palliative care were to budget for clinical nurse's training, advanced education for doctors through medical associations, and to en- courage several doctors from the area to advance their knowledge on pain manage- ment and symptom control by spending a few weeks working in a teaching palliative care unit and, upon their return to the hospitals, they could act as consultants. The palliative care service at the Goderich hospital has been running self- help groups for bereaved parents and widows and widowers. There is presently a waiting list for new groups to begin. The bereaved parents who attended the first self-help group are willing to act as resource persons for other bereaved parents. One of their goals is to educate professionals on ways to reduce the grief Turn to page 2 PUC to split water main cost with CNR, The commission decided to take this op- portunity to replace the water main because CPR is planning to extend and fortify the overpass since timbers supporting it have come loose. About 280 feet of 10 -inch pipe will be replaced with the same length of eight-incn pipe. The main will also be moved a short distance. A rough estimate puts the cost of the pro- ject at about $10,300, of which CPR will pay $5,000. CPR agreed to pay part of the cost because it also benefits from replacing and moving the pipe, said Middel. If the water main were to burst or collapse, the railway overpass would be damaged. FLUORIDE LEVELS In other business at last Thursday even- ing's PUC meeting, Middel informed the commission of a problem with higher than normal levels of fluoride -among employees at the water plant. 9 Employees at the plant are tested regular - ly by the ivnnwt ry ui moan for ood} fluoride levels. Recent tests indicated that two employees at the plant had higher than normal levels at the time of testing. Middel stressed that the problem was not a serious one, however the ministry recom- mended switching from powdered fluoride to a liquid form. Members of -the commission agreed with the recommendation and directed Middel to obtain information on the cost of the switch "It's one of those situations that has pro- bably never been satisfactory, but as long as test results were negative, there was no cause for alarm," said PUC Chairman Herb Morph . water plant is due for expansion in the r future and any corrections to the ex- isting fluoridation system will be made com- patible with the expanded plant, said Mid - del. 4n9a'ne:9txr.�.;x�.i a ved for town project Town of Goderich officials received word that the town's application under the Ontario Youth Corps Program has been approved. The town will receive $22,000 to hire eight young people between, the age of 15 and 24 at a rate of $4 per hour. The $22,000 represents 50 per cent of the total grant. The employees will be used as labourers and carpenters for the construction of the new lawn bowling facility on Picton Street. They will also be involved in the repair and maintenance of town buildings and general cleanup of town property. The town had also applied to the Ontario Youth Works Program for a supervisor whose wages would be subsidized at the rate of $2.50 per hour but administrator Larry McCabe said it is difficult to find a person with gualifications for the jobb The employees were to report to the job September 17. Eldon Street paring revised by town council The town's traffic bylaw will be amend- ed to include a prohibited parking change on Eldon Street. The bylaw had prohibited parking on the west side of Eldon Street between Britan- nia 'Road and Blake Street, thereby allow- ing parking on the side of the street facing the race track and ball diamonds at Agriculture Parc. Council will amend that bylaw to prohibit. parking along the east side of Eldon Street. Councillor John Doherty said that pro- hibiting p rking in front of the residential area didn' make much sense. "People on Eldon Street should be allow- ed to hav visitors who can park on the street," e said. "And I think the horsemen will agree that parking should not be allowed along the east side." Many file objections to draft bylaw Goderic town council received and referred pieces 6f correspondence relating to a town's draft zoning bylaw. Subsequ nt to the cireulation.of the draft .,zoning -bylaw, cb,� '' - gid ..a public meeting at Ma way al ` ptember 5 ILO solicited written submissions on the zoning document from the piellic. At a regular meeting of council Monday; council received the 25 pieces of cor- respondence relating to the zoning bylaw and referred them to the planning ad- visory committee. The committee will review the submissions, requests and ob- jections and town administrator Larry Mc- Cabe said a final bylaw on the matter could be before council for its October 15 meeting. INSIDE THE SIGNAL -STAR Sifto wins Sifto Salt won the Goderich Women's Slow Pitch League playoff tournament, held here on Saturday, going undefeated in three games. Details and pictures in the Recreation section. Pumping iron Pumping iron to get fit, was promoted at a bodybuilding and.fitness seminar held at the East End Gym, on Sunday. About 60 people were on hand, to question bodybuildeirs Rob Hutson and Sue Mon- tgomery about the sport. Story and photos in Recreation. WOAA champs The Goderich Squirts won the WOAA Squirt Major A softball championship. The local Squirts defeated Port Elgin two straight; in a best -of -three final series. A complete report in Recreation. 1114