Loading...
The Goderich Signal-Star, 1979-02-15, Page 1Valentine's Day is for young lovers. Little Meredith Rompf looks somewhat bewildered as classmate Shawn O'Brien presented her with a special Valentine card and little kiss on the cheek. The youngster may have been the victim of.cupid's arrow on the day that brings out the romantic in all of us. ( photo by Dave Sykes) Did you hear about Mr. Philips? Bed cuts just "hatchet job" BY JOANNE BUCHANAN The government is playing a numbers game with people's lives, Doctor Bruce Thomson told his audience at a Rotary luncheon in Goderich on Tuesday. Speaking on the proposed hospital bed cut- backs in the province, Thomson said the government can't apply economic formulas when people's lives are involved. "The Ministry of Health is willing to pay .the price of a few lives and its not necess'ary. You can't apply economic formulas to something which will risk lives," he said in an interview later. Thomson said it is the age of the accountant and ate conservative philosophy in everything is restraint and a balanced budget. He said the Ministry of Health has been trying to convince people that there has been a dramatic increase in health care costs and they have been very convincing. But, he continued, he isn't so sure that we are overusing the system. He admitted that there are areas where hospitals can learn to economize and he said that doctors are not resistant to change. However, he went on, doctors and hospital boards have never -been approached by the government in „a co-operative manner. It has always been a confrontation. "We are not resistant to change. In medecine things are .changing all the time," he told his audience. He went on to explain though that doctors only accept changes backed by scientific proof. The government's proposal of cutting back to 3.5 hospital beds per 1,000 population, has no scientific proof that it will work. It is the lowest bed ratio in Canada and there is no proof that it is safe, he said. Snow forts big danger says King BY DAVE SYKES Winter, with accompanying snow and cold temperatures may be 'a drag for motorists but for p,layfull children it's a delight. With the regent string of. sunny days youngsters have been out in throngs frolicking in the ample snowfall. But children are often careless in their play and Goderich Police Chief Pat King this week issued a warning to children and their parents about the danger of playing on snowbanks, Chief King said it was brought to his attention that snow forts have been built by children in the banks along town streets. He said it presents a dangerous situation for the children playing in the dug out fort if a snowplow comes along. A serious accident could result'. The chief is anxious to point out the potential danger of the problem to parents who may instruct their children on safe play habits. He encourages the building of snow forts, but away from traffic areas. Another dangerous situation develops for children ' playing on snowbanks alongside roadways. Many use the bank's for sliding down with toboggans or sleighs and they could easily slip down the other side and onto the roadway. " Children playing and sliding on the banks presents a problem for motorists," Chief King said. " If a motorist approaches and they slide down the bank on the road it's too late. Parents should point these hazards out to the children." Goderich Works department foreman Stan Meriam informed town council ,Monday that high snow banks have been removed at busy intersections but due to the time 'element most other intersections will not be cleared. Motorists will just have to take things slow at the intersections this winter," Meriam cautioned. He called the- government's bed cutback proposal, "an arbitrary, inflexible, simplistic, hatchet job." MR. PHILLIPS Thomson. told his audience about the case of Douglas Phillips, an old man who had had an apparent stroke. He was taken to Scarborough Centenary Hospital but there was no bed available there for him. He told those at the .hospital that he wasa war veteran so they could take him to Sunnybrook Hospital. But there was no bed there for him either. He was taken back to Scarborough Centenary , again by am- bulance. Meanwhile his condition deteriorated. A bed was finally found for him in St. Michael's hospital but he died that night. The point. is not necessarily that he died. He was an old man who might have died even if a bed had been found for him right away, said Thorson. But at one point, Mr. Phillips said to those at the hospital, "You wouldn't treat a dog like this." Being shuffled from hospital to hospital, he. had lost all his dignity. Hospital wards should bejlexi,ble enough to handle situations like that of Mr. Phillips, Thomson said. Minister of Health, Dennis Timbrell, has actually said the shifting someone from hospital to hospital by am- bulance is an efficient method, he continued. Cases like that of Mr. Phillips are more common than people think, Thomson said. "People think I'm exaggerating when I say we're headed the same way as England," he said. He explained that he knew a man in England who was on a waiting list of 17 years for a varicose veins operation. There was also the case of a man in England who had a stomach ulcer and was booked for an operation two and • half years away. Meanwhile the ulcer eroded right through the wall of the stomach and he almost died. In England also gall bladder operations are often not done for one or two years. During that time the patient has recurring Attacks, misses work and by the, time he gets to hospital, his operation has become more complicated, he is sicker longer and' his hospital stay is longer. In short, more people die as the result of waiting for operations. "I'm not being reactionary. The problems right now are very subtle. I'm trying to make people aware of what can happen. Things like this won't happen now "but they may in a few years," said Thomson. He said that two years ago he could tell his patients that they had as good care here as anywhere but now he can't say that. Regarding cases like that of Mr. Phillips, he said, Minister Timbrell always says it was a medical decision not to treat the patient when in fact, the truth is the hospital is unable to- treat the patient because of lack of funds. In a letter to the editor of -a -Toronto -paper, -the chairman of the board of Scarborough Cen- tenary Hospital writes: "The people of Ontario, especially in an emergency situation, expect all of a hospital's facilities to be available to them when obviously this can no longer be the case:, Hospitals have had to make do for the past four years with a steadily diminishing financial situation where the rate of increase in ministry funds does not match the higher rates for wages and supplies. Unless this trend is reversed, we are going to read of more catastrophes attributed to, the unavailability of services." Hospitals will no longer be able to provide the same quality of care because of the cutbacks.. Turn to page 18 • x! -;, ilia );, 4 132 YEAR -7 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1979 35 CENTS PER C(OP'Y .. earty start for new project BY JOANNE BUCHANAN It seemed only appropriate that the group who gathered in front of the old Polley's Livery Stable on Tuesday should be there so close to Valentine' Day. It was a labour of love which brought them together. Members of the Goderich Performing Arts Foundation and a handful of others were there to officially launch a fund raising campaign to pay for the development of the Old stable as a centre for the performing and visual arts. A giant thermometer has been placed at the front of the building as a means of gauging the campaign's. progress. The target is $350,000. This amount will pay for consultation, engineering and actual construction °required to develop the building as an arts centre. As of Tuesday about $1,500 had already been committed to the, campaign. The core funding for the project has been provided by donations and services given to the Goderich Performing Arts Foundation by local businesses, service clubs and individuals. The Foundation will be seeking funds not only at the local level but at the provincial and federal levels too. Committees have been setup for soliciting funds from each of these levels. There are . many aspects surrounding the preservation and proposed use of the site which combine to attract many different sources of funding for the project.,, Town hall -renovations may have to be stalled BY DAVE SYKES Goderich town council may not be able to proceed ,with plans to revarhp the town hall, police and fire stations in the immediate future because of costs. Architect Nick Hill appeared before a committee meeting Monday explaining that renovations to the town hall and an addition to the existing firehall would cost $206,000. Costs for a new police station are not included in that figure. Councillor James urged council to take immediate action on restoring the exterior of the town hall and asked that the fire hall ad- dition be given top priority. He asked council to proceed with working drawings for the por- posal immediately so work could begin in the fall. Hill informed councillors that his fee for the preparation of the initial drawings was $4,000 and working drawings would cost an additional $11,000. Hill's proposal calls for the restructuring of town hall to accomodate all administrative functions of the municipality. His plans call for council cha-tubers to be located on .the second floor, the recreation department in the basement and the works commissioner's office on the third floor. An elevator would also be installed. "° There is suitable space in the existing building to accomodate all the town's ad- ministrative functions," he said. " The elevator would link all the departments." Hill estimated the cost of the firehall addition at $80,000 but said a cost had not been worked out for the police station. Ctluncillor Elsa Haydon said that if exterior work is needed on the town hall it should be done but questioned the expense of the remaining work. "I like to see new buildings but I work in a simple-minded fashion as I do at home," she said. '•'If I haven't got the money I just make do with what I have." She added that it was not necessary at this time to proceed with new buildings. - ' Reeve, Eileen Palmer claimed there was no great haste in implementing Hill's plan and suggested the firehall extension could be paid out of reserve funds. The property committee has set aside $10,000 for exterior work to the townall but it is unlikely any other renovations will be un -i dertak n. R The site is. within the Goderich Heritage District and is also a part of the Downtown Revitalization Area. Therefore, the Foundation is eligible for grants from the Ontario Heritage_ Foundation as well as from the Arts Division of the Ontario Heritage Foundation. • Low interest money is also available for this project through Heritage Canada. Once in operation, the budget can be met by donations and grants from individuals,. cor- porations, government and foundations. The Goderich Performing Arts Foundation is a registered non-profit organizations and donations are tax deductible. The Foundation will be selling the stones of the building for $50 a piece. That is, if a person donates $50, his name will be placed on a plaque to be put up in front of the building. The facility that the Foundation has planned to 'dev lop will have approximately 300 per- manent seats in the Theatre.There will be a projection room, a green room, change rooms and washrooms. The Foyer, which will be built onto the side of the building, •will provide display space for the visual arts such" as paintings and crafts. The Centre will be operating on a year round basis, for the use of the community as a whole. It will be totally accessible to the handicapped. A drawing of the basic floor plan will be placed in the window .of thebuilding so the public can see what is proposed. It is the intent of the Foundation to renovate as well as adding the foyer to the building which now stands at 35 South Street. It was originally built, in 1878 as Polley's Livery Stable and it was vacated in the fall of 1978' by the Glenmark Lumber and Home Centre. It is presently being purchased by the Foundation from Dorothy Wallace as the site for the development of the cultural centre. The $350,060 to be raised will help pay for the seating, accoustics and lighting in the theatre. The objectives of the Foundation are to promote the performing and visual arts like Little Theatre, musicals, choirs, choncerts, films and art shows; to provide' rehearsal space, display areas and workshops for these arts; to encourage participation in the arts through educational programs; to develop the facility as the Centre's site; and to preserve the architectural features as far as possible to accommodate its use. ` Everything has been planned and organized, says• Heather Lyons, one of the charter members of the Foundation which. has 30 to 35 active members. "It's past the feasibility stage and we hope it (the cultural centre) will be operational by December 1980 if not sooner," she says. Lyons would stress the multi -use of the building. If more information is needed by anyone or if anyone wants to make a donation to the project, call 524-2472 or write to 58 Elgin Avenue East, Goderich N7A 1K2. In keeping with the spirit of Valentine's Pay, Elsa Haydon, a charter member of the Foundation, enclosed Ther cheque dgtrat :in inside a Valentine's cad explaining that her heart has been in the project all along. 340000 330000 3200001 310000; '200000 ?80000 .70000 A§:t? • 2o00001 240000 2.300001 220000 2.10000 190000] 180000/ 1700000 160000 140000 1.30000; 120000 1 „10000 90000 80000 70000 60000 5000:: 40000 30000 00 9 1 . The Goderich Performing Arts Foundation officially launched its fund raising campaign on Tuesday. Money raised will allow the Foun- da'titin to turf the 1011 year old Polley's`Livery Stable into a cultural centre. Here, left to right, Beth Markson, Virginia Lodge, Elsa Haydon, Dorothy Wallace (present owner of the building), Marjorie Macfie, Heather Lyons and Mayor Harry Worsell look at the thermometer which will gauge the amount of money raised up t� the target sum of $350,000. (Photo by Joanne Buchanan)