The Creemore
ECHO
Friday, June 26, 2020 Vol. 20 No. 26
www.creemore.com
News and views in and around Creemore
INSIDE THE ECHO
Fundraiser for... Women helping women PAGE 7
Green light
Community Foundation gets a go PAGE 12
Publications Mail Agreement # 40024973
Community rallies in support of mechanic
Contributed photo - Alica Lawson
EASY RIDER - Nottawasaga and Creemore Public School student Myles Dempsey celebrated the class of 2020's graduation in style on Wednesday. The parent-organized parade of vehicles combined Creemore's annual grad tradition and COVID-19 heath recommendation for distancing. More pictures on page 2.
by Bonnie MacPherson The proprietors of Autosolve on Edward Street in Creemore are heaving a sigh of relief after Clearview Township staff advised council that the current use of their property is legal. Troubles began for Matt Playne and partner Margie Riddell when a staff report, created as part of an Official Plan review, suggested that the property be rezoned for residential purposes. According to Mara Burton, Clearview’s Director of Community Services, Playne was able to produce documentation of an amendment to the Creemore zoning bylaw which predates amalgamation. That amendment addressed the private servicing of the property without municipal water and sewers and allowed for industrial use. It was clear the intent at the time the property was purchased and when building permits were issued was that the building would be used for the purpose of servicing motor vehicles. (See "Rezoning on page 13)
Doctor in the wrong place at the wrong time by Trina Berlo Bob Hyland said it’s a parent’s worst nightmare – to learn that their child has been seriously injured in a car crash. It was his daughter Meaghen Berresford who was seriously injured in an early morning collision on June 17, on Dufferin County Road 18 (Airport Road) just north of Mansfield. Hyland said his daughter was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Berresford, a radiologist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, had been staying at her Creemore area farm during the pandemic. She was commuting south to work in the wee hours of the morning when the vehicle in the northbound lane,
Hyland was told, hit two dear and veered into the oncoming lane, causing the two vehicles to hit head-on. Both drivers were seriously injured, but Berresford more so, according to Hyland. Berresford was flown to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre by helicopter, where she spent the first 12 hours in surgery and was on life support for many hours. Her father, who was an intensive care physician at St. Michael’s Hospital, was kept well informed of her care by his former medical colleagues. Berresford had multiple internal injuries, and has undergone grafts, tissue transplants, and
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reconstructive surgeries. Her spine, leg, pelvis, arms and feet, were all broken. Luckily, neurologically she is fine and her spinal cord is intact so she has full cognition and no chance of becoming paralyzed. “It is unbelievable to me that she is alive,” said Hyland. He is extremely grateful for the high level of care his daughter received, from the first responders, to the hospital staff. “We should be very proud of our health care system,” said Hyland. “I can’t say enough about it.” Berresford has months and months of rehabilitation ahead of her, but the hard part for now is that her family cannot
Contributed photo
Meaghen Berresford visit her because of restrictions due to the pandemic.