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THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2022
Vol. 9 Edition 12
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Shhh!
Tie one (or a thousand) on
Former CKHA fundraiser told to clam up
By Bruce Corcoran bruce@chathamvoice.com
Mary Beth Corcoran/Special to The Chatham Voice
Many thousands of railroad ties line the western side of Maple Leaf Drive in Chatham. The piles extend for hundreds of metres along the road and along the border of Maple Leaf Cemetery. The land is owned by CSX, but is leased to CN Rail. Neither CSX nor CN got back to The Chatham Voice by press time, but Stuart McFadden, director of economic development for the municipality, said the stockpiling is likely earmarked for a rail tie replacement program in the region. He said the ties are placed on a side spur of the main rail line, a perfect place to stockpile the ties.
Kelly, municipality part ways The Chatham Voice
Four months ago, Thomas Kelly was heralded as the new CAO of Chatham-Kent; today he no
longer employed by the municipality. In mid-November, after Kelly spent nine years as general manager of infrastructure of engineering,
Mayor Darrin Canniff announced he was taking over the CAO position as a replacement for Don Shropshire, who was retiring.
Days after the announcement, the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development received a harassment complaint, with the employer named
as the Municipality of Chatham-Kent. Previously published reports said the complaint was against Kelly.
Continued on page 2
Not only has the music stopped playing for the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance Foundation, but the organization is seeking to press the mute button altogether on the organizer of the Music for the Mind fundraisers. The relationship between the foundation and Elisha Banks – who worked to raise more than $92,000 for the foundation in a twoyear period spearheading Music for the Mind – has deteriorated to the point a big Bay Street law firm is involved. The Foundation hired Douglas Smith of Toronto law firm Borden Ladner Gervais to send Banks a letter March 18 advising her not to communicate with members of the Foundation board, CKHA personnel – including president and CEO Lori Marshall – or speak to the news media in regard to Foundation staff. The letter alleges a recent e-mail from Banks contained defamatory statements. Continued on page 2
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