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wasn‘t feeling any better. Nor were the municipal politicians who were asking some very pointed and very tough questions. At least the politicians in attendance were asking tough and ponnudqmnudttwdlwpfimymfllk issue. The proposal is expected in a few weeks. shaky ground, and possibly as doomed as the vulcanised chicken, if a chickenâ€"orâ€"theâ€"egg type argument is the basis for policy. If we don‘t have it, we don‘t have it. Lucluly this point was challenged by some of the politicians in attendance, notably Councillor Bruce McKenty, who vehemently stated that, as a region, we are grossly underfunded. Many of the counsellors nodded in agreement. Also troubling was the matter of public input. While Kert mainâ€" tamed there would be two days of public hearings planned, she could not confirm, when questioned, if the public would have access to District Health Council‘s draft proposal before the public Further prodded by Karen Redman of Kitchener, who asked if the public *will be reacting to a proposal or is community input going to be a part of the focus", Kerr replied that it is a "priority focus" hearings m\mzmm.stxh-onwbgyndnfldhdh It was at this point in the forum that it made sense to have a rubâ€" ber chicken present in the audience. Health care in this region is on oeencecee e Statement after statement, seemed Eces â€"c.c.c o .oos ence. Many of the doctors in attenâ€" dance shook their heads in disbelief. How could so much of what Distnct Health presented seem so very wrong? Most disturbing of all was the assertion that the region of Waterioo is not "underfunded but underâ€"resourced". This ultimate f health care Catch 22s, maintains that we are not underfunded x cording to provincial averages, but are instead "underâ€"resourced" televised briefing Fumbling through my knapsack in search of a pen, I found the footâ€"long, sickly yellow, piece of rubber poultry stuffed in the botâ€" tom of my bag. Earlier in the day I had confiscated it from my five yearâ€"old. Her poorly suppressed giggles of glee had tipped me off o the whereabouts of the illicit chicken as I walked her to school. With all the strained stermness a mother can muster, 1 took the chicken from her knapsack and buried it deep into mine. 1 promptâ€" ly forgot about it. Enter rubber chicken at the District Health Council‘s presentation on health care in our region, held last week. Its lifeless eyes greeted me as Chair Veronica Kerr began her opening remarks during the Hmm. Prionity focus, but possibly without the draft proposal. 1 Fax No. But 1 did. 1 never intended to take a rubber chicken to Regional Council Waterloo Town Square 75 King St. South, Suite 201 N2J 1P2 many board members of our region‘s three hospitals, various municipal councillors. and several family doctors optimistically as the Chair petitioned for calm in the wake of the disturbing news that closure of St. Mary‘s hospital was being considered. Unfortunately, our optimism soon turned to melancholy as the discus~ sion wore on. If the intent of the forum was to set the community‘s conâ€" sciousness at ease, the presentation Pete Cudhea (Sp. Ed.) #25 Anyhow, most recently, the hospital brass have given assurâ€" ances that all the options will be fully considered and that‘s all anyone has a reasonable right to ask. But no matter what, pressure â€" heavy pressure â€" should be put on Queen‘s Park to fatten the unfair funding of health to this area. That‘s essential. Some mawkish things have been said about St. Mary‘s. I‘m probably in the minority, but 1 can‘t wax sentimental about any hospital. They‘re not shrines or monuments. They‘re just functional units that heal the ailing and try to save lives. It was handled ineptly at the outset. Since then, various and sundry hospital officials have been rowing back from the impression they created. It isn‘t a "done deal", they now say. Hospital officials have also said that public input won‘t matter much because financial concerns will drive the deciâ€" sion. I have no quarrel with that. Nor should anyone else. The tempest over the possible closing of St. Mary‘s Hospital has surely stirred a storm. Believe me, any time you have 88 per cent of a community with its knickers in a knot, you have an issue. Most times you can write two columns ahead knowing that nothing much will hapâ€" pen while you‘re away. This time the St. Mary‘s Hospital bombshell exploded a few days before 1 left and 1 just managed a short squib in the getaway column. Hospital Patience: Maybe you‘ve been wondering why there‘s been no mention of St. Mary‘s Hospital in the last couple of columns. OK, 1 confess I‘m fresh back from a couple of weeks in the Carolinas. But the cashier topped them all when she chirped, *My husband went out last year and it cost $800. He got nabbed for driving while impaired and not having a . reemmmmme Cost of High Living: At the supermarket a few days ago, the talk in the checkout line turned to Oktoberfesting and the high cost of going out. Here‘s an idea â€" why not let the region run the whole show? _ * 0 mt Jerry Fischer Rick Campbell Sharon Walter Andrew Pearen Heather Mitchell May, do you rememper when the _‘ _ anly things you d see lying on the gromd _ this time of year were the leaves? 75 King St. S., Suite 1 The Fairway Group . Subscription rates lwflofidaylmDr,,UflPx”jMfiCamdz, = Cambridge, On. â€" _ 990 yearly outside Canada. N3C 3X4 j +GSTI The views of our columnists are their own and do not necessarily represc the views of the newspaper.@ > itÂ¥ sits gay Cc ton en _ The 240 | 51: N3C Waterloo Chronicle Once over If the community can be better served by enlarging a hos pital, building a hospital, closing a hospital or shrinking hospiul,sobcil.lflbno(“hsfil’htkmdn:;t The hospital heads are responsible folks who do care abou the community‘s wellâ€"being. And I‘m confident that what is published every Wednesday by On The Buses: Many of Kitchener T: staffers live in Waterloo and one of them, Jirt Charters of Northlake Drive, writes this: . "It seems politicians never seem to do any thing that makes sense. j "The City of Waterloo wants to keep doing U.S. Election Flash: Ross Perot is i« l}n lluu states: paranoia, delusion the storm subsides we will have the | beds and services appropriate to the c .. 3 oo J f es :;’1‘“?%;}% Alck, ASXy 4 oaks (. ‘57,; ":"' : ‘£ tracs ol ie ments to run more ers to explore the Missing from this analysis of whether ing prevalence of sei at all levels, or the tence that Crown C profit, there are no takeover of governm out or privatize ments have bit into all of a quarier page to ‘even .mention Council are, and h plete that the and/or services to been designed to now operates as prised of 24 smal For into practise to v by all: levels of that the public s hmfi the methods of 1J should be run m ness is a common Over the past throughout Kâ€"W. Race There‘s a SK and 10K. the emphasis is on hav Anyone con win High i Saucony GRID or Jazz i For full details, pick up the City of