Ladies
and Gentlemen
Summer’s departure was saluted yesterday by a beautiful
double rainbow over the bay. Cooler days and a lot of fall gardening ahead. We are
lucky to have such beautiful place to enjoy our four seasons.
Monday October 6th is the start of Waypoint’s
mental health week. The launch event is at Waypoint at 10:00 am.
Midlandcommunity.ca
and our Downtown Merchants BIA will co-host two “meet the candidate” nights on October
6th and 7th. The first evening will host all candidates running for Councillor
in Wards 1, 2, and 3 (approximately 12-15 individuals). The second evening will
host candidates for Mayor and Deputy Mayor who run in Town-wide races
(approximately 8-10 individuals). Both meetings begin at 7:00 upstairs at the
North Simcoe Sports & Recreation Centre. Please RSVP to talktous@midlandcommunity.ca
Lots to do on Tuesday October 7th. At 1:30 pm Georgian College is hosting a Celebration
of Entrepreneurship at its Barrie campus. Entrepreneurship is key to Midland’s
economic future and creating the high-paying jobs we all want. You are welcome to
attend.
At 7:00 pm is the second BIA/Midland community all
candidates meeting, featuring mayors and deputy mayors. If politics is not your
forte you may wish to drop by the MCC at 7:30 pm to hear Jamie Hunter speak on
the history of logging on Georgian Bay
Wednesday October 8th starts with a breakfast at
7:30 am at NSSRC hosted by the Huronia Community Foundation. The event is
called Vital Signs and will update you on the many HCF activities in our community. Huronia Museum celebrates the reopening of its
art gallery at 5:30 pm at the museum. And at 6:00 pm at Town Hall, Council will
review the second draft of the 2015 budget.
A bit slower on Thursday. I have a County Housing
Advisory Committee meeting at 9:00 am in Midhurst. We are in the process of formulating
the measures to improve and increase the affordable housing stock throughout
the County.
Friday Oct 10th will be challenging as there
are two meetings to choose from at 11:00 am. The Waterfront Steering Committee meeting will
take place at Town Hall. Also at 11:00 am CHIGAMIK celebrates the opening of
its “Cedar Room” healing lodge. The event continues until 2:00 pm with a light
lunch. If you are planning to attend,
please RSVP to 527-4154 x242
At noon Garfield Dunlop hosts his Seniors Information Day
at the NSSRC. And to round out the day you may wish to visit MSS at 2:00 pm to help
the Mauraders kick-off their football season.
Looking ahead, the County starts its leaf and yard waste
pickup for Midland the week of Oct 13th. Council has agreed to reimburse residents for all
leaf bags that they purchase. For more information on the fall collection visit:
*****
There
have been many recent articles and e-mails about healthcare services
in our area. These all link back to healthcare pressures that are coming down
from the Ministry of Health and our North Simcoe Muskoka LHIN. Two recent
developments causing special concern were the proposal to move much of our
ophthalmological services out of the area, and the shortfall in hospital
funding that hastened the closing of the PGH site.
After
some initial upset our local community has responded well. Our healthcare
leaders, including Dr. McNamara and Dr. Scanlan, have told the LHIN what these changes
will mean to our community. Our seniors (400 at the first meeting) gathered to
clearly state what they wanted for healthcare services. Local municipal leaders
are also involved – and must be involved - healthcare is too important for our
citizens and our future.
The good news is that Midland has started to forge an
effective working relationship with our LHIN, our healthcare leaders and citizens.
A new “seniors healthcare group” is forming to ensure the citizen’s voice is
heard. The CEO of the LHIN, Jill Tettmann, personally took our message to heart
and directed that the LHIN look at service models that would allow cataract
surgeries to stay in Midland. A positive and informed dialog over the long-term
is our best course of action for ensuring that quality healthcare stays in our
area.
Gord
McKay
Be
part of Midland’s Year of Making Decisions - 2014
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