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Volume 8, Issue 02
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Wednesday, February 1, 2017
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Mayors share optimistic outlook
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K-CUP DESTINATION Leamington mayor John Paterson, left, and Kingsville mayor Nelson Santos both offered an optimistic forecast in their respective communities for 2017.
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By Pat Bailey The Leamington mayor is hoping to build on the success of 2016 in the coming year, he told a crowd at the Leamington and District Chamber of Commerce’s 10th Annual Mayors’ Breakfast at Colasanti’s Tropical Gardens on Jan. 25. Boasting a record number of guests at 120, up from 76 in 2016, the event was a chance for the mayors to address the business communities and answer any questions they might have for their mayors. While the questions were few, both Leamington mayor John Paterson and Kingsville mayor Nelson Santos shared their optimistic predictions for both municipalities for 2017. Paterson was especially
proud considering the predicted demise of Leamington by many, following the H.J. Heinz Company closure in 2014. “Most had us dead and gone because of the closure of our biggest employer,” said the mayor. Instead, said Paterson, Leamington has experienced tremendous growth. “In the last five years, residential growth has risen from an average of $8.5 million per year to $24 million in 2016 along,” he said. “We are back to the value levels of our previous growth periods so many years ago.” He went on to say that both commercial and industrial values have grown steadily over the past five years, but institutional growth skyrocketed from an average $4 to $5 million
a year to an incredible $38 million in investment. Despite the doom and gloom surrounding the flight of local entrepreneurs to Ohio and Michigan, Paterson said agricultural growth has tripled in the last four years to $71 million. Overall, the mayor said, the municipality has attracted $140 million worth of new investment across every sector of building – which is double 2015’s total and four times the totals for each of the three previous years. But the municipality’s success was not limited to success financially. Paterson pointed to Central 33, the new hub for social services in uptown Leamington. “This speaks to quality of life needs for Leamington and surrounding communities who require that type of
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assistance,” he said. Paterson also pointed to the success of several partnerships with a variety of groups within the community. He said the Hogs 4 Hospice and its success in raising money to benefit the Hospice of Windsor and Essex County’s Erie Shores Campus, as well as the completion of a new home by Habitat for Humanity for a deserving Leamington family, are just two of those partnerships that have been forged. When it comes to recreation, Paterson said a new $700,000 soccer fieldhouse, planned improvements to the Kinsmen Baseball Complex and over $1 million in upgrades to the Leamington Kinsmen Recreation Complex will bode well for the municipality’s ability to host larger tournaments or events. Paterson said Leamington will play host to the Canadian National Junior Racquetball Championships at the Complex later this year and he expects with all of the upgrades to the Complex it will “ensure we put our best foot forward.” When it comes to infrastructure, Paterson said the municipality has replaced all of the streetlights with new LED technology, which translates into savings on hydro usage. He applauded the administration and its ability to secure several million in grants, including those to
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LDMH recognized for commitment to organ donation On January 23, Trillium Gift of Life Network released new provincial data on hospital donation performance. Ontario is the only province to make this data publicly available – a practice that has led to higher donation rates in the province. Hospital donation performance is measured by two rates: routine notification and conversion. Routine notification rate measures the frequency at which Trillium Gift of Life Network is notified by a hospital when there is potential for organ and/or tissue donation. Without this critical first step, precious life-saving opportunities are lost. The average provincial routine notification rate over the first two quarters of 2016-17 fiscal year (April 1 – September 30, 2016) was 95%. In the second quarter (July 1 – September 30, 2016), nine out of the 70 hospitals achieved a 100% routine notification rate: Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (Ottawa), Georgian Bay General Hospital (Midland), Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance (Clinton, St Marys, Seaforth, Stratford), Kirkland and District Hospital (Kirkland Lake), Leamington District Memorial Hospital (Leamington), Northumberland Hills Hospital (Cobourg), Pembroke Regional Hospital (Pembroke), Sault Area Hospital (Sault Ste. Marie), University of Ottawa Heart Institute (Ottawa).
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