the
Serving the Mapleton Community
Community News Volume 46 Issue 04
Drayton, Ontario
1 Year GIC - 2.00% 3 Year GIC - 2.40% 5 Year GIC - 2.56% Daily Interest 1.65%
Friday, January 25, 2013
Alma Optimists donate $5,000 for obstetrical giraffe at Groves hospital by Patrick Raftis ALMA – The local Optimist Club has donated $5,000 toward the purchase of a giraffe for the obstetrical unit at Groves Memorial Community Hospital (GMHC). The equipment serves as an incubator, temperature-controlled bed, vital signs monitor and X-ray machine for infants. Alma Optimist Club officials presented hospital representatives with the donation at a club meeting on Jan. 15, following an update on plans for the new Groves hospital and fundraising efforts designed to make it happen. Gord Feniak, a past chair of the GMHC board and chair of the building committee for the new hospital, told club members the donation is especially welcome as fundraising is the only source of cash for new equipment. “The government expects that all equipment for a hospital will be provided by private donations,” he explained. Feniak said there are several reasons the new hospital is needed, including a “vastly undersized” emergency room. He pointed out the hospital’s approximately 25,000 annual emergency room visits call for an ER with roughly four times the current space under existing standards. Better patient separation and ventilation systems to prevent illness from spreading and a lack of accessible washrooms are other key reasons for the push for a new hospital. Feniak also said the extent
Optimists aid hospital - The Alma Optimist Club has made a $5,000 donation to Groves Memorial Community Hospital toward the purchase of a giraffe for the obstetrics unit. From left: Optimist president Jeremy Morton, vice president Rob McKay and treasurer Mark Reynolds present the donation to hospital building fund chair Gord Feniak, GMHC foundation director Jackie Ranahan and executive director Sherry Sutherland. photo by Patrick Raftis of renovations that would be necessary to bring the existing building up to current standards would cost just as much as building a new facility and take six or seven years due to the need to continue operating during renovations. On target Feniak said the hospital project is on target to reach the tender stage by April 2014, despite provincial funding cuts that have affected health care
facilities around the province. “We are really very fortunate that we have made it through two rounds of government cuts and the project is still there,” noted Jackie Ranahan, a GMCH director and past chair of the hospital foundation. Despite receiving provincial approval for the project and compiling a trust fund with about $9 million in reserves and another $4 million in inkind pledges toward the proj-
ect, Feniak noted local officials still have to work through a process to make it a reality. “We don’t have hope that that we will get a new hospital, we have faith,” he said, adding, “You hit the home run, but you still have to touch all the bases.” Question session During a question period following the presentation, the hospital representatives were asked about the fate of the
existing Groves building. Feniak said the reality is that former hospital sites generally “have absolutely no value,” due to potential costs of demolition or site remediation. However, he pointed out the local hospital is in a unique position, as “the only hospital in Ontario that is not owned by the province.” The municipality of Centre Wellington holds the deed to the property. “We’re dealing with the
legal possibilities of what we can do,” he said. Another questioner wanted to know if the hospital would be charging for parking at the new facility. “We certainly expect that we will,” said Feniak, although he added, “I’m not happy about it.” Ranahan explained, “it’s almost a requirement” of the province that hospitals charge for parking. “They look at that as revenue,” she said, noting the province does not provide funding for parking lots, so hospitals are expected to generate the funds to operate them. “If we don’t charge for parking, that’s not coming out of the province, that’s coming out of donations,” she pointed out. Questions on the potential impact of the hospital on the local trail system were also raised. While stating, “We’ll do our best to be good neighbours to the trail,” Feniak added, “We can’t develop 105 acres of land with institutional uses and ambulances and say we are not going to impact the trail.” A member of the audience stated, “the trail can be moved” more easily than ambulances can be re-routed to access the hospital. Feniak said hospital officials want good access to the hospital for ambulances coming from all directions, including the north. “We’re looking at several options,” he stated.
Drayton, Moorefield drinking water systems get perfect score from MOE by Patrick Raftis MAPLETON – Drayton and Moorefield residents can raise a glass of clear, clean water to toast the safety of their local supply. Municipal drinking water systems in both communities recently received a 100 per cent compliance rating in an inspection report from the Ministry of Environment (MOE). At the Jan. 9 Mapleton council meeting, public works director Larry Lynch explained that, under the province’s Safe Drinking Water Act, the Ministry of the Environment is required to perform a detailed inspection of both the Drayton and Moorefield drinking water systems annually. The primary focus of these inspections is to confirm compliance with Ministry of Environment legislation and authorizing documents such as Orders and
Certificates of Approvals, as well as evaluating conformance with ministry drinking water related policies and guidelines during the inspection period. In a written report, Lynch noted the 2012 MOE inspections are based on a “focused” inspection of local systems. Although such inspections involved fewer activities then those normally undertaken by a “detailed” inspection, it contained most of the elements required to assess key compliance issues. Focused inspection “Our systems were chosen for a ‘focused’ inspection during the inspection cycle because inspection findings over the past three years were such that the number of violations were minimal or nonexistent,” Lynch explained. “I am very happy to advise council that after three con-
Main St. W. Palmerston
Life of Pi Rated PG
SHOWTIMES: Friday and Saturday 8pm and Sunday 7pm
For more info call 519-343-3640 or visit www.norgantheatre.com
secutive years of operational improvements, our system operator, Ontario Clean Water Agency (OCWA), has achieved a 100% inspection rating in both our Drayton and Moorefield drinking water system operations for 2012,” Lynch reported. To put this into perspective, he continued, of the 454 inspection modules reviewed for Drayton there were zero non-compliance ratings, and of the 429 modules reviewed in Moorefield there were again zero non-compliance issues. “I have been here five years and this is the first time we’ve ever received 100%. I think that speaks very highly of the way we’re doing business,” stated Lynch. However, he added, “Our water systems our are in excellent shape, but we can’t afford to be complacent about drinking water safety.”
Gift of life - Drayton resident and clinic regular, Cathy Choma donated for her 18th time at the Drayton Blood Donor Clinic held at Community Christian School in Drayton on Jan. 21. Phlebotomist Emily Paguntalan, of Canadian Blood Services Mobile Clinics, Hamilton, assisted in collecting donations throughout the day. photo by Wilma Mol
Weekly Wag
ll is dry, When the we r. worth of wate we learn the ranklin - Benjamin F
BILL’S
PAINT and COLLISION Specializing in... Collision and Complete Re-Finishing, One Mile East of Moorefield.
519
638-2048