The Goderich Signal-Star, 1979-01-25, Page 14,
Geessien Van Maar of R.R. 2 Goderich lost her
life when this late model station wagon her 16
year old daughter was driving went out of
control on ice on Huron County Road 18 south of
Goderich and struck a van driven by Paul Blair
of R.R. 2 Clinton. The accident occurred
Monday evening. Blair was admitted to
Alexandra Marine and General hospital in
Goderich where he Is listed In satisfactory
condition. Eight year, old Martin Van Maar was
also admitted to hospital and is in satisfactory
condition. Grace Van Maar, driver of the
station wagon, received minor injuries and was
treated at hospital and released.
Icy road\blamed for area traffic death m
Icy road conditions were blamed' for a fatal
accident Monday evening that claimed the life
of 43 year old Geessien Van Maar of R.R. 2
Goderich. The mother of four lost her life in a
two vehicle accident on Huron County Road 18
about seven miles south of Goderich.
Mrs. Van Maar was a passenger in a late
model station wagon driven by her.. 16 year old
daughter Grace. The vehicle collided with a
van driven by Paul Blair of R.R. 2 Clinton who
was also injured in the mishap. Also injured
was Martin•Van Maar, eight year old son of the
dead woman. .
Goderich detachment of the Ontario
Provincial Police reported that the Blair van
was travelling east on the county road about
two miles east of Highway 21. The Van Maar
vehicle went out of control on the icy road and
the passenger side of the"station wagon struck
the van,.
Grace, driver of the wagon, received minor
injuries and ' was treated and released at
i.wia
1,4
Alexandra Marine and General Hospital in „
Goderich. Martin Van Maar is listed in
satisfactory condition and is still in hospital.
Blair was admitted to hospital and was listed in
satisfactory condition.
• Police estimated damages to the Van Maar
vehicle at $3,000. Damages to the Blair vehicle
were estimated at $1,500. No charges vwere laid.
Mrs. Van Maar is resting at the Beattie
Funeral Home in Clinton. Funeral services will
be held Thursday at the Christian Reformed
Clihrch in Clinton.
Restaurant gets approval
BY JEFF SEDDON
Bob Gibbons, developer of a Harbour Front
restaurant for Goderich, won round two of a
battle with industry Monday night when town
council approved a change in the town's official
plan to permit construction of the food outlet.
Council's decision to approve 'designation of
land Gibbons owns on the waterfront from
industrial to commercial overturns a planning
board decision made in January turning down
the request for the change. Planning board
heard arguments. from Gibbons and from
Goderich Elevator and Transit, objectors to the 1
resta.u-r_a-nL,-ancLde.c.ided Gibbons' px_ojec.t,pased-_
a threat to the future expansion and operation
of Goderich Elevator,
In a court room atmosphere council heard
almost two hours of pros and cons on the
project before coming to a decision. According
to provisions under the Planning Act it takes a
two thirds majority of council to overturn a
planning board decision. Council voted eight to
one in favor of the restaurant, • Only mayor
Harry Wor-sell, who voted against the project at
planning board, .voted nay. Worsell told council
he felt he had'to stick with the samefeeling he
had when he heard about the project at plan-
ning board.
• Concerns centeripg around economics, the
environment at the harbour and the ability of
people to socialize in the shadow of heavy in-
dustry were the .main points raised by David
Barber, a planner with Municipal Planning
Consultants (MPC). The firm was responsible
for preparing the original official plan for the
town in 1961 ,and was hired by Goderich
Elevator to defend that plan against the..
rest.a.uxant -proposal_
-
Points raised by Gibbons' representatives
attempted to poke holes in the claim by the
Elevator that people and industry couldn't mix.
Engineering reports claimed that any dust,
noise and activity around the grain handling
facility could be filtered out and that people
could, and should, be given the opportunity to
take advantage of the natural -.beauty of the
harbour area
The battle could be far from over. Goderich
'
132 YEAR -4
THURSDAY, JANUARY 25, alai!)
0
rich doctors wan
BY SHIRLEY J.•KELLER
A matter of grave public concern. That's how
" the medical staff. at Alexandra Marine and
General Hospital sees the situation now that the
Ontario Ministry of Health has decreed -that the
hospital faces fewer active treatment beds as of
April 1, 1979.
Members of the hospital board on Monday
evening approved, a recommendation of the
medical advisory committee that the board
reject 'outright the Ministry's proposal to
reduce our acute beds from 71 to 37" and also
"spearhead a campaign which will inform our
local community of the serious threat that this
proposal has on the availability of essential
hospital' beds".
Dr. Michael Conlon, president of the medical
staff, told the board the ,proposed allocation of
37 active treatment beds at AM&G on April- 1
this year represented a cutback of close to 50
per cent compared to one year ago.
' "This allocation was apparently based on a
ration of 3.5 active treatment beds per thousand
population for Southern Ontario," Dr. Conlon
.said. "These allocations if -implemented, will
result in a 39 per• cent reduction in active
treatment beds throughout Huron County.."
Clinton Public. Hospital active treatment
beds will be reduced by 52 per, cent; Exeter.
South Huron Hospital by 28 per cent; Seaforth
Community Hospital by 40 per cent; and
Wingham and District Community,Hospital by
• 38 per cent.
"The medical staff feel that the health of the
people of Huron County, and of our town and
community, -will be seriously' jeopardized by
this proposal if implemented," Dr. Conlon ..
declared.
At.„MOH AGREES
Dr. Brian Lynch, the Huron County Medical
Officer of Health, .was present at the 'meeting
and expressed similar concerns. He noted a
total reduction of 106. active treatment -beds
throughout Huron in 1979.
"That will rather seriously affect the quality
of the acute care in the county," Dr. Lynch told'
the board. "Dennis Timbrell says there will be
other community health, programs to take up
the slack, but I am a little apprehensive about
that. One shouldn't be fooled too much. The
nioney certainly isn't going into public health.,"
• "I am not one to accept the premise that
everything that emanates from government is
good," said Dr. Conlon. "I think we should
question the decision of the Ministry".
Dr. Conlon said the Ministry has never ex-
plored the need for additional hospital beds in
Goderich because of the fluctuation in
population during the tourist season. He also
cited the high percentage of elderly residents in
Huron as another factor.
,"Suely this must have an important
baring," reasoned Dr. Conlon.
He also pointed out that while the bed cut-
backs are "universal" in Ontario, it doesn't
soften the blow to individual hospitals, par-
ticularly AM&G. He said the reduction in the
number of hospital beds in the city of London,
for instance, only worsens the situation locally.
BOARD PUPPET
Dr. Bruce Thomson said it bothers him that
the government has decreed this cutback
without any discussions with medical people or
with hospital' boards: And what's - more, Dr.
Thomson suggested that the board at AM&G
should find it "offensive".
•
. Hospital boards, Dr. Thomson went on, are
described in "glowingterms" as established to
guard the hospitals and the health care of the
province. With government edicts such as the
one just handed down, Dr. Thomson suggested,
local boards are "reduced to a puppet working
for a very cheap salary".
Dr. Thomson said it was the duty of the board
of AM&G to prepare for the eventuality that the
government's proposed cutbacks would be
35 CEN'T'S PER COPY
enacted, but he" urged the board to at the same
time resist the legislation.
"Our strength is in the fact that it is not just
us that are affected," said Dr. Thomson. He
said hospital hoards and health professionals
across the province should band together to
fight the .Ministry's decision.
"The publicmust be informed," Dr.
Thomson told the meeting. "It is the respon-
sibility of the hoard to inform the public of -the
Elevator -could demand an appeal with the•
Ontario Municipal Board. With the approval of
council a bylaw will be prepared and circulated
in town to permit anyone objecting to the
project to make their feelings known. If any
objections are raised they will be sent in af-
fidavit form along with the necessary zoning
Turn to page 18 •
Committee
recommends
director
The Goderich Recreation Board interviewing
committee will make a recommendation to the
board at its regular monthly meeting Thursday
to hire a new recreation director.
The interviewing committee, consisting of
council representatives John Doherty and Elsa
Haydon and board members Randy Smith and
Mary Donnelly,interviewed applicants last
week and are now ready to recommend one
applicant to the full board.
Town clerk, Larry McCabe said that 83 ap-
plicationsfor the job were receivedfro-rn across;
the country. The recreation board met in a
._special session to review the applications and
narrowed -dew n'Theapplicants to be scru zed ----T--
by the interviewing committee. •
The interviewing committee met with 14
applicants on two separate occassions last
week and will make their final recom-
mendation to the board, Thursday. •
The position of recreation director, was ad-
vertised in the Toronto Globe and Mail,. the
London Free Press and Goderich Signal -Star
and McCabe estimated the cost of those ad-
vertisements to be approximately $800.
The position became available when Mike
Dymond resigned from the,post in December.
He had been the recreation director for six
years,
ublic infornie
impact these changes will have on their health
care."
According to Dr. Thomson, Ontario is now
headed in the same direction as England where•
health care is not only expensive but'inefficient.
He said if the current trends continue, Ontario
will have "more sick people and a failing
economy because of more sick people".
"The only people who can turn it around are
the public," insisted Dr. Thomson. "And it
•
must be turned around. If it isn't we are going
to have to live with it."
"We must inform 'the public we're facing a 50
per cent reduction in our hospital beds'," ,
concurred Dr. J.L. Hollingworth. "We must
fight this hatchet job thdit has reduced our'
occupancy by 50 percent without discussion. We'
must tell the public that for every two people
Turn to page 7
cCaul claims board has no recourse now
BY SHIRLEY J. KELLER
Vice-chairman... of the board of AleN,andra.
Marine and General Hospital with hdspital
administrator_ Elmer Taylor were on hand in.
Toronto last Friday to hear Dennis 'Timbrell,
Ontario Minister •of Health outline his
ministry's proposals for the • coming three
years. From a report presented by_McCau1 at
Monday evening's board meeting, the board
learned there isn't Much chance that debate
will change the government's position to cut
hospital beds across the province to reduce its
share of health care costs. .
"It has•been equalized very nicely across
the province," McCaul told- the board., "What
has happened here has happened everywhere
and at the same rate. There is no room for
debate. If it was just this hospital or this area
that was in trouble, maybe there would be a
chance. But we don't have any unique
argument."
"There was absolutely no fuss made," Mc-
Caul went on, explaining the tone of meeting in.
Toronto attended by hospital officials from all
over Ontario. "There was no debate. The other
political parties haven't picked up on it • so
obviously they are agreed."
D'r. Michael Conlon, president of the medical
staff at AM&G,said he was concerned,with"the
"finality of it." -
"I understand that government is not a
bottomless pit," said Dr. Conlon, referring to
the all -too common assumption that govern-
'ment-'fias adequate financial resources. "But I
have a premonition that in effect, we'll be left
• Local doctors want the public fully in-
formed about the real effect of hospital
bed cuts at AM & G beginning April 1, 1979.
• AM & G board vice-chairman Jim Mc-
Caul urges board to begin now to plan for
the bed cutbacks and the related budget
restraints.
• Dr. Bruce Thomson warns half the
people presently in hospital would not be
there if bed cuts were effective today.
• Dr. Michael Conlon is opposed to user
fees for Tong -term patients.
• Dr. J.L. Hollingworth wants area
residents to _write letters pretesting the
cutbacks and financial. restraints,
with no hospital,"Thirty or 40 beds is not a
viable hos.pita.L" __ .. _
WHAT IT MEANS
Jim McCaul said that for the 1979-80
operation year, AM&G will have 53 active beds
approved for subsidy by the ministry based on
a formula of fourbeds per thousand referral
population..
In the 1980-81 year, McCaul went on, that
number will be reduced to 40 active beds based
on 3.75 per.thousand referral population and in
the third year of the plan, 1981-1982,"the desired
37 active beds will be achieved based on 3.5
beds per thousand referral population.
Chronic beds and beds for psychiatric
patients will remain the same - 10 for chronic
and 20 for psychiatric - throughout the three
years. But with the reduction in the active beds,
the hospital will go from its present 88 beds to 83
in 1979-80,-70in 1980-81 and 67 in 1981-82.
It should be noted there is some indication
that the allocation of chronic beds will be
revised by the ministry, but those figures aren't
yet available. McCaul felt that since Huron
County has a higher percentage of senior;
citizens than some other areas, this could be an
important factor in the future.
i M&G, will receive an increase of $103,394 in
1979-80 representing 2.86 percent. Ministry
Turn to page 7