PANAMANIA
OUR VIEW
LET THE GAMES BEGIN. HERE’S TASTE OF WHAT’S TO COME PAGE B1
SENIOR ISSUES AFFECT US ALL PAGE A6
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SENIORS & BOOMERS — A SERIES, PART II
SENIOR CITIZENS FACE HIGHS, LOWS OF AGING BY LISA QUEEN
F
lqueen@yrmg.com
rom volunteering and social pursuits to loneliness and health problems, 84-year-old Joyce Elming’s senior years have been filled with the kinds of highs and lows to which many seniors can relate. Her life was upended when her husband, Erich, died in 1989. “I was unfortunate because I was only 57 when my husband died. We had just bought our dream house and I was left with that great big house, so I had to sell it and move,” said Elming, who had lived in Aurora since 1959 before recently moving in with her daughter and son-in-law in Newmarket.
‘Living alone, it’s very depressing because you are not needed by anybody, you think.’ Her son and two daughters, who were living at home when their father died, eventually left home. “They moved out, so I was alone. There’s nothing worse when you’re a senior than being alone,” Elming said, adding she is fortunate that her husband left her well-provided for financially. “Living alone, it’s very depressing because you are not needed by anybody, you think. When you have people at home, you’re planning dinner or you’re planning this and that. There’s always something to do when you’re a mother or father. But when you’re on your own and your children are self-supporting, you’re not on call, so to speak, like you were before, so it’s a question of filling those hours and if STAFF PHOTO/MIKE BARRETT
Joyce Elming, 83, talks about the pros and cons of aging and what services she uses.
See page A3.
PUBLIC SAFETY
Thousands of homes in response-time ‘red zone’: fire chief BY CHRIS SIMON AND TERESA LATCHFORD
csimon@yrmg.com, tlatchford@yrmg.com
It would take local fire crews longer than five minutes to travel to about 6,000 existing and yet-to-be-built homes in Newmarket and Aurora, according to a report from Central York Fire Services Chief Ian Laing. While Newmarket and Aurora have approved a Central York Fire Services master plan update — a document that will guide the municipalities on fire prevention and protection services for the “foreseeable future” — thousands of homes
are still sitting in the “red zone”, sections of the towns firefighters say they need more than five minutes to reach. In Aurora, the red zone includes about 2,800 residences and stretches east of Bathurst Street, from the municipal boundary to Henderson Road. Newmarket’s red zone has more than 3,000 homes and is in the northwest quadrant and along an area north of Davis Drive, between Yonge and Leslie streets. Almost 260 additional homes are expected to be built in the Newmarket red zone in the next year.
The CYFS mandate is delivered to residents … in line with the guidelines from the Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office, Laing said, noting the areas affected include three elementary schools and St. Andrew’s College. The rationale to have a fifth fire station placed in the central area of the two communities was identified in the 2008 master fire plan, the chief added. Placement of a new station adjacent to a See page A4.
IAN LAING: Central York Fire Services chief raises concerns about response times in a recent report.
HEALTH & WELLNESS
Hospital mum on resignations Ex-directors won’t ‘compromise principles’, former member states
T STAFF PHOTO/MIKE BARRETT
Sheryl Thomas, left, and Brenda Hillaby of Marquee Productions represent one of the many charities benefitting from this year’s Magna Wild West Hoedown taking place Sept. 18.
15 charities to benefit from 2015 Hoedown BY TERESA LATCHFORD
tlatchford@yrmg.com
The Road Hammers and Dallas Smith have been announced as the headliners for the 2015 Hoedown. From a humble barbecue to what has become York Region’s largest annual fundraiser, the Hoedown, presented by Magna, has brought country music talent to Aurora for the past 26 years. But what sets the music festival apart
from others like it is the fact all of the proceeds are donated to charities in York Region. “We aren’t selling anything and the costs are covered because it is all about the charities,” spokesperson Steve Hinder said at the kick-off event held at Adena Springs yesterday where representatives from 15 charities the event will support gathered to celebrate. But on the nights of the event, it’s the top-notch musical talent that will take
the stage. On Sept. 18, the doors open at 6:30 p.m. Ticket holders will be treated to a light dinner, silent auction and cash bar as The Jim Cuddy Band graces the stage. On Sept. 19, the Canadian country music group known as the Road Hammers, who received a Juno in 2006 for See page A4.
BY CHRIS TRABER
ctraber@yrmg.com
he reason why all but two Southlake Foundation board directors suddenly resigned last week remains classified. On Tuesday, a week after 12 volunteer members quit the foundation board en masse, a joint statement by the foundation and Southlake Regional Health Centre confirmed the fact. Void of a rationale for the resignations, the message did suggest the board is “undergoing a time of transition”. The missive went on to say, “The decision to tender their resignations was not made lightly,” and that the foundation and hospital are saddened by the decisions. “The former members remain committed to the hospital and the Southlake Foundation and the availability of world-class care close to home,” concluded the message. Ex-directors are mum. Former foundation board chairperson Jim Alexander did issue a statement on behalf of fellow independent directors who opted to resign. “As a volunteer board made up of prominent community leaders, the foundation board was guided by our individual principles and values,” he wrote. “As we were not willing to compromise those principles and values, we felt that the best thing to do for the future of Southlake Regional (Health) Centre and its Foundation was to resign.” Foundation president and CEO Neila Poscente could not offer a rationale for the resignations.
See page A2.
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