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- Huron County Newsletter #25
Huron County Newsletter
Week of June 9th to June 15th, 2024
Good day,
Although we could call this the ‘Lancaster Issue’ of the newsletter, we do have some other news from around the County this week. Hopefully everyone got a chance to see a piece of history, and didn’t sit in traffic too long.
We’ve got a great issue this week with stories ranging from healthcare, to the arts, to volunteering, and strategic planning. And, of course, some information about the excitement at the Goderich airport, and Legion this past weekend.
Now, on to the news and some (Lancaster) trivia.
Thank you for checking out the Huron County Newsletter and have a great week.
This week’s Huron County Newsletter is brought to you by:
 Seaforth Golf Club |  Tuckersmith Communications Co-operative |
The Avro Lancaster Bomber Will Be Flying Into Goderich This Friday
NOTE - THIS EVENT HAPPENED FRIDAY JUNE 14TH
by Bob Montgomery
The Avro Lancaster was an iconic bomber from World War II. Only 17 Lancasters have stood the test of time and only two of them remain airworthy today, showcasing the endurance and legacy of this historic bomber.
Goderich Legion President Randy Carroll says the Lancaster will arrive at the Goderich Airport around 10:00 Friday morning and as it comes into view it will be very easily recognizable.
Organizers are expecting about…
The Midwestern Horsemen Society Took Over the REACH Centre In Clinton This Weekend
by Bob Montgomery
Past President Lisa Currah says the Midwestern Horsemen Society was one of the first partners with the REACH Centre and they're always excited to come back.
She says they got quite a few horses competing this week and they were very happy with the crowds as well. She says for the pleasure side one of the highlights would be the Trail competition.
“One of the highlights is we've got Ranch Trail which is at the end of the day. That's a brand new class that we're trying out and people seem to be quite excited about that. It's a little bit more basic and more similar to what you would find on a regular trail compared to a regular show trail, a bit back more to the basics of horsemanship.”
Currah says Ranch Trail is…
Lisa Currah - Past President, Midwestern Horsemen Society
Huron Waves Music Festival Honours Outstanding Canadian Women With Trailblazers Exhibit
by Bob Montgomery
An Exhibit hosted by Huron Waves Music Festival has opened at the Trivitt Auditorium in Exeter.
Huron Waves General Manager Carolyn Young says the theme is Trailblazers, and it's about outstanding Canadian women. “We have 41 original designs that represent the accomplishments that these women made and their contributions to Canadian society. The women range from as early as 980 AD all the way up to now so it's a great range for people to explore and hear these stories.” She adds her favourite piece in the exhibit is the one that honours the Famour Five because they're the ones that made it possible for Canadian women to vote.
Young says the exhibition will be…
United Way Perth Huron Is Looking For Committee Volunteers
by Bob Montgomery
United Way Perth Huron is looking for new members for its Community Impact and Allocations Committee.
Director of Governance and Community Impact, Megan Partridge, says as a non-profit they rely on a strong group of enthusiastic volunteers to help steer the organization. “As a member of the Community Impact and Allocations Committee, volunteers are really engaging with the community to discover what’s important to them and decide how United Way Perth Huron as an organization can best support vulnerable people across our region.”
Partridge says they're looking for a really good mix of volunteers from both Huron and Perth, and specifically…
Procter Family Donates $100,000 To Wingham Hospital CT Scanner
by Bob Montgomery
The Procter family, from the Belgrave area, have generously donated 100-thousand dollars to the Wingham & District Hospital Foundation’s Caring Together Campaign to support a brand-new CT Scanner.
Settling in Morris Township, near Belgrave, in 1851, the Procter family has deep roots in the community. Six generations of farmers in the family include George and Elizabeth, Kate and Jennifer, and now Wes Klages.
Kate is a dedicated advocate for agriculture in Huron County. She believes that farmers are united in their values of supporting the communities where their families and employees can build good lives…
L to R: WDH Foundation Board Chair Jenny Hogervorst, Jasmine Lawlor, Kate Procter, Jennifer Cooper, Wes Klages, Elizabeth Procter, George Procter, Caring Together Campaign Chair Mark Foxton
Municipality of North Huron Looks At Employee Attraction And Retention As Part Of Their Strategic Plan
by Bob Montgomery
North Huron Reeve Paul Heffer says Employee Attraction and Retention will be part of their updated Strategic Plan.
Heffer says their Human Resources Director is conducting confidential interviews with staff members to find out what they're currently happy with and what improvements they'd like to see. A report will be brought back to council that will identify some of their goals for attraction and retention going forward. After that, council will review the report and then make their recommendations.
Heffer says staff retention is a problem that most municipalities are dealing with and they want to do everything they can to keep the staff they have in what has become a very mobile market in the last few years. The report is expected to come back to council in July.
Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance CEO Believes Staffing Shortages In Health Care Will Be Addressed In The Future
by Bob Montgomery
Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance CEO Andrew Williams says the staff shortage in healthcare is on the front burner now.
Everyone from education organizers to the general public is now very keenly aware of the issue and it's in the news almost every day, from the shortage of physicians to access to other services. It's very much on the agenda says Williams. “We're starting to see an increase in enrolments, medical school, nursing school and others, which I think is positive.”
The next step is taking a look at the bigger picture. “What we have yet to do, which I think is really important, is do a very detailed population-based assessment of what we need and where we need people. Because absent of that, we're still going to have areas of the province or the country that don't have equitable access to care.”
Williams suggests when we look at the bigger picture we need to be more thoughtful in how we plan and then how we link back into the education system to make sure that we're taking in the right people and graduating the right people.
South Huron's Hospital Foundation Executive Director Outlined Plans For A New Medical Centre At A Recent Council Meeting
by Bob Montgomery
South Huron Hospital Foundation Executive Director Krista McCann brought South Huron council up to date on their plans for a new Medical Centre.
McCann says the new medical centre is necessary because the current facility is too small to accommodate any new physicians and they are definitely in need of new physicians to serve both primary care, including family practice and emergency, and an in-patient unit at the hospital. “In order to keep the hospital ER staffed we need to have local physicians, and in order to have local physicians we need to be able to accommodate local physicians, and we just don't have that capacity in our existing facility anymore.”
Another wrinkle in the current situation is that…
Saving Graceland Opens At The Blyth Festival On Friday Night
by Bob Montgomery
Saving Graceland is the second play of the Blyth Festival's 2024 season and it opens on Friday June 21st.
Saving Graceland was written by Blyth Festival Artistic Director Gil Garratt, and is set in Clinton in 2019, which was the final year of the Collingwood Elvis Festival. The story follows a couple who has just recently retired. He was a career mechanic and he's sold the shop and their new life revolves around Elvis Presley, and the Canada Pension Plan, and just as they're embarking on their new life, unannounced, their eight-year-old granddaughter shows up at the door and they can't find her mother…
Huron Perth And Area Ontario Health Team Celebrates Accreditation
by Bob Montgomery
The Huron Perth and Area Ontario Health Team celebrated its accreditation at a ceremony at the Stratford Public Hospital on Wednesday.
The celebration was unique in that it was the first multi-governed collaborative accreditation in Canada, and the first Ontario Health Team to be accredited as an integrated network of organizations. Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance CEO Andrew Williams explains they are normally accredited as an individual organization and they decided to take the opportunity to be surveyed across organizations. “Long Term Care, Primary Care, Home and Community Care, Acute Care, all of the various players that are part of the continuum to really see if we could use the standards to improve transitions in care to help us standardize across our different organization and really just to help all of us get better.”…
Andrew Williams, Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance CEO
The Lancaster Bomber Arrived In Goderich This Morning (June 14)
by Bob Montgomery
There was a steady stream of aircrafts flying into the Goderich Airport starting early Friday morning as pilots wanted to be on the ground when the Lancaster arrived. Traffic was backed up on highway 21 all the way to the intersection of highway 21 and highway 8. The Lancaster arrived a little early, landing at the airport around 9:45am.
Organizers are expecting about 5000 people over today and tomorrow. They have guests coming from as far away as…
 Photo courtesy of Goderich Legion |  Photo courtesy of Goderich Legion |
Weekly (Lancaster) Trivia Questions
What was the maximum weight of the fuel and bombs the Lancaster could carry?*
a) 10,000 kgs
b) 15,000 kgs
c) 20,000 kgs
d) 8,000 kgs
What is the length of the Lancaster?*
a) 21.1 metres
b) 31.1 metres
c) 10.1 metres
d) 12.1 metres
How much did it cost to produce a Lancaster Bomber during World War 2? (adjusted for inflation, in Canadian Dollars)*
a) $2.1 million
b) $2.8 million
c) $1.5 million
d) 3.4 million
*According to forces.net
Answers to last week’s questions:
When did the first railways reach Huron County?*
a) Mid 1850s*
b) Early 1880s
c) Late 1920s
d) Early 1860s
It is said that the real beginning of agriculture in Huron County is marked by the harvesting of the first wheat crop in the entire Huron Tract. In what year did this occur?*
a) 1810
b) 1835
c) 1861
d) 1829*
*According to ‘The Settlement of Huron County’ by James Scott