THE OLDEST WEEKLY NEWSPAPER IN THE CANADIAN WEST

Vol. 128 No. 29 Friday, September 24, 2010 Minnedosa, Manitoba Canada R0J 1E0 90 cents + tax

Many in by
acclamation
By DARRYL HOLYK
Peddle hard for
S ome local voter’s will
have a chance to mark
an “x” on election day.
In Minnedosa, there
will be an election for may-
Heart & Stroke
or with Ray Orr and Darrell
Graham as candidates. Six
councillors will be sworn in
by acclamation. They will
include returning members
Diane Hartley, Pat Skatch
and Harvey Wedgewood
along with new members
Frank Taylor, Rick Saler and
Len Luker.
The position of reeve in
the R.M. of Minto is still va-
cant with Calvin Jacobson,
Ross Mackling and Brion
Pollon being acclaimed
councillors. Candidates
running for Ward One are
Ross Burnside and Allan
Armstrong.
There will be no elec-
tion in the R.M. of Oda-
nah with Jim Andersen ac-
claimed Reeve and Ronald
Sandstrom, Craig Pearson,
Ron Carr and Monty Peck-
over acclaimed councillors.
All trustees for Roll- Photo by Kathleen Ledwith
ing River School Divi- The Heart and Stroke Foundation’s Big Bike made its annual appearance in Minnedosa Tuesday afternoon.
sion board have also been
acclaimed.
29 local riders peddled the big red bike along the streets of Minnedosa raising money for heart and stroke research.
The amount raised from this year’s ride was unavailable at presstime.

Town in favour of joint health centre

By AMANDA BOYD fordable we have to look cility would look like, but and/or treatment, rather This ripple effect limits “You can’t keep doctors if
at regionalization,” stated sustaining and enhancing than always having to go to the services hospitals are they aren’t able to use their

T he Town of Minnedosa
has signed a Memo-
randum of Understand-
ing (MOU), declaring its
support for a proposed
joint health care facility
between Minnedosa and
Neepawa on Highway #16.
A resolution was passed to
sign the MOU at the last
council meeting. “I think
Minnedosa realizes that
to make health care af-
Minnedosa Town Council
and joint health care com-
mittee member, Pat Skatch.
A joint health com-
mittee of rural municipal
representatives visited
twelve communities in
the area, asking them to
sign the MOU if they are
in support of the venture.
The MOU is purposefully
void of specific details with
regards to what a joint fa-
quality health care, with
the possibility of special-
ization, are at the core of
the proposal. Built in 1991,
the Minnedosa and Dis-
trict Hospital is still rela-
tively new. That being said,
there are several services
staff are unable to offer. A
joint health care facility
would mean more choices
for patients who need spe-
cialized diagnostic testing
Brandon. It may also make
it possible to retrofit the
Minnedosa Personal Care
Home with the hospital.
The hospital in Neepa-
wa has outgrown its loca-
tion and is the only hospi-
tal in the area still offering
obstetrics. Obstetrics is
not possible without a
surgeon on staff, and sur-
gery is not possible with-
out an anaesthesiologist.
able to offer. “We want to
create a centre that will
offer sustainable services
to a critical mass popula-
tion,” stated Assiniboine
Regional Health Authority
(ARHA) CEO, Penny Gil-
son. Staffing shortages are
a problem. Doctors are not
willing to work in facili-
ties where they are unable
to utilize their skills due
to inadequate resources.
skills,” committee spokes-
person and RM of Lang-
ford Reeve, Kathy Jasienc-
zyk, pointed out. Doctors
in both Neepawa and
Minnedosa unanimously
support the proposal of a
new health care centre.
Continued on
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