The record, 10 avril 2008, jeudi 10 avril 2008

THE How to avoid him Ambulance attendant offers helpful hints PAGE 7 œmæ ’vflisi 203 Railr VOLVO Your Eastern Townships truck center Drive a little.save know trucks! years at your ?ooe service Jeep 'f- -,., What About The Parking?PERRY BEATON A lively discussion ensued in Lennoxville during a public consultation on downtown beautification.Seepage 3 for all the details.Editorial .6 Sports .10 Births & Deaths.11 Annie’s Mailbox .16 Comics.13 Classifieds.14 Horoscope.11 Crossword.15 Game over The Cougars humiliate the Inouks PAGE 10 RECORD The voice of the Eastern Townships since 1897 Come to our new location PM#004(XX)7682 Thursday, April 10, 2008 Second boot found Search continues Staff Sherbrooke «he search for 11-year-old Marc-Antoine Latulippe began ! again for the third day Wednesday, as teams continued to look on land, in water and from the air for the missing boy.Hope is spreading thin in Roxton Falls, though, as police have even more reason to believe the young boy was swept into the raging Black River, with a frigid and powerful current boosted by the spring thaw.The boy’s second boot was discovered Wednesday morning in the river by Latulippe’s father and uncle, not far from where his first boot was located Tuesday afternoon.That section of the Please see Boy on Page 4 Understaffing’s hard to fix The main challenge for the CHUS By Rita Legault Sherbrooke ¦ ¦ «he chronic shortage of nurses, doctors and medical spe-I cialists will continue for several more years and being short-staffed is a reality the Centre Hospitalier Univer-sitaire de Sherbrooke is going to have to learn to live with.CHUS Director General Patricia Gauthier and Chairman of the Board Jacques Fortier told The Record staffing issues will be the main challenge for the growing Please see CHUS on Page 4 page 2 Thursday, April 10, 2008 - ¦Il»;—, RECORD drains Caisses d'< ‘commit* HUir des Cantoi strie 1200.M & c6e ^ k c e et £ “tssy d Vomie d, umo.H a\ ¦ '¦¦¦¦— Estrie-Aide Supper For the love of theatre COURTESY This photo was taken during the 9th annual medieval supper fundraiser for Estrie-Aide, during which two représenta rives from La Caisse d'économie des Cantons made a surprise donation of $1,200.In the middle, Estrie-Aide general manager Normand Groleau, with Michel Lavigne and Paul Garand.More than 200 guests contributed more than $12,000 to Estrie Aide.French-speaking counterparts or their English-speaking elders,” said Michael van Lierop, president of Townshippers’.“Living in this situation can lead young people to feel discouraged, and maybe accept dead-end jobs or give up on the job market all together.Living an experience such as Theatre Townships can help open doors to new options and optimism.” “This project also taps into the fact that the Townships English-speaking community has a high proportion of arts workers — more than twice as high as in the Townships French-speaking community,” van Lierop said.“It demonstrates how creative endeavours can be marketed, and help build capacities for employability and entrepreneurship.” COURTESY BRUCE MACMILLAN Christopher Freeman (left) offers last-minute coaching to actors last year in a rural theatre project in the Chateauguay Valley.He hails from Sutton.Get into acting or set design Have you been thinking about a life in theatre?Ten paid training internships are opening up in the Memphrémagog area — and the application deadline is now.“Theatre Townships is designed to develop life and employment skills through the assorted disciplines of theatre production,” said project creative director Christopher Freeman in a release.“Participants will have a chance to gain portable work skills, self-confidence, and a realization of their worth.We expect the knowledge and experience learned will generate career options throughout their lives.” And it’s not just acting: the profession includes set design, construction, creative writing, marketing, sales, public speaking and fundraising.“By venturing into the community, they will be exposed to a network of partners and potential employers for the future.” Mansonville is looking for 10 young adults in the area to take part.Participants will receive a living allowance of $255 a week during the fulltime 24-week project.This is to be followed by a 12-week internship with an employer of their choice.Those who are interested should apply immediately; the project is to begin Monday, April 21.No prior experience in theatre is necessary.Candidates must be 16 to 30 years old, out of school, unemployed or under-employed and not receiving employment insurance.To apply, contact Freeman at 450-538-0921 (toll free 1-877-566-2182) or cf@townshippers.qc.ca.Theatre Townships - Mansonville is connected to the Townshippers’ Association and funded in part by Service Canada, under the Youth Employment Strategy.Although Theatre Townships is new to the Eastern Townships, it is not new to Freeman, who has directed four simi-lar projects in Huntingdon and Chateauguay.“The knowledge learned will serve them well in the job market or in furthering their formal education,” said Freeman.“According to census data, Townships English-speaking young adults have, on average, lower levels of education, employment and revenue than their Weather Today: Cloudy.60 per cent chance of showers.Wind 30 km/h.Temperature steady near plus 4.Friday: Sunny.Low minus 2.High 10.Saturday: Periods of rain.Low minus 1.High plus 5.Sunday: Snow.Low minus 1.High plus 1.Ben by Daniel Shelton WEMAPEYOU A BATHROOM T0 QO WITH YOUR v CUBICLE/ r- 0UW AMP ALEC IS OIVINC YOU HIS POTTY/ T0:VL4 ¦ ¦—Il IK ¦ RECORD Thursday, April 10, 2008 page 3 m ' Michel Duval Advertising Consultant 819*569*9525 Fax 819*821«3179 mduval@sherbrookerecord.com RECORD made up of seniors, and she suggested planning on reserved parking for carpooling.“Have you forgotten about your seniors,” said a resident after Fowlis returned to her seat.“I haven’t heard anyone mention anything about seniors until Ms.Fowlis did.Crossing the street at times is downright impossible.I’d rather jay walk.” The plans frequently mention the advantage and improvements that will follow the Highway 410 extension; it is assumed that by redirecting big trucks away from Lennoxville the traffic problem will be resolved, or at least ameliorated.“I suggest you finish the 410 before you start digging up the streets,” a resident stated quickly.MacAulay responded to several 410 inquiries by stating that he heard that in 2008 the exit ramp is to be built near the Université de Sherbrooke.“From my understanding the project has been approved environmentally, but I haven’t heard of any other plans at this point.” The PPU analysis phase does not see Queen Street parking to be a serious problem.A slew of residents contested this: “Parking has always been the biggest problem Lennoxville has ever had,” said retired fire chief and former Queen street business owner George Beaulieu.“I see nothing in the plans to ameliorate that problem.If you want tourists you have to have somewhere for them to park.Since we joined Sherbrooke our services have gone down hill and our taxes have gone up.” Other com- ments touched on a variety of concerns: • “Businesses are leaving, like the butcher” • “I believe there’s lots more we can do instead of burying wires” • “Winter is six months of the year.Is Lennoxville going to be as beautiful in winter?” • “Why are there no signs that say Lennoxville?” • “Have we forgotten about Lennoxville’s unique night life?” • “Are our roads going to be fixed?” • “We need a notice board.” Business owner Grant Simeon was perhaps most eloquent: “It’s a wonderful idea.Lennoxville could benefit from a drastic facelift, but perhaps my biggest concern is how the PPU is being presented,” he said.“It’s not the improvement that is the biggest concern.It’s the uncertainty of what the average person will have to invest.Look at what is going on economically.Gas prices are rising, the Canadian dollar is falling and we’re talking burying wires.Lennoxville needs to develop, it needs to improve, and it needs to beautify, but my suggestion is to slow down and prioritize.Start improving public land first.Once I see commitment by the municipality I may in turn be more motivated to improve my property.Collectively, we can then look at burying wires.” Conflicting interests Residents want parking, demand cost estimates By Jen Young SHERBROOKE Taking a stroll down Lennoxville streets that resemble a quaint New England village, checking out the shops, sitting with an ice cream on a fancy bench, and looking up and not seeing ugly electric wires is a nice “dream”, but the majority attending Monday night’s beautification consultation say traffic, parking, poor roads, and especially cost should be a priority before spending $5 million on burying wires.Borough director general Marc Mon-geau and design firm Teknika HBA Inc.’s Donald Bonsant went through the proposed plans, many derived from last year’s Nov.7 public meeting which 20 residents attended.At the time the borough’s strengths, which include its English character, schools, and commercial potential as well as its weaknesses — like signage, a negative image, traffic, vandalism, and the railway tracks — were documented.Borough president Doug MacAulay told the audience of over 50 that the realization of the PPU (Special Planning Program) is a long-held dream come true.“With the numbers here tonight there is obviously an interest and I’m very very happy with that,” he said.“Tonight is to consult.We are looking for your input.My position on this plan is that it is a dream of mine as I walked to Champlain College to work some 27 years ago.During my last few visits to small New England towns, like Hanover and Middlebury, I was very impressed with how the university buildings and the town blended together.Cleaning up College and Queen and having a link between our university and Uplands museum is something 1 have wanted to see happen for a long time.” He stated that the plan presented during the evening was derived thanks to a $25,000 grant allotted by the City of Sherbrooke.But at this early stage, no other funds to actually begin work have been approved.“I will say that after this plan went in the papers I received a number of emails congratulating the borough.We want to attract tourists.” The face-lift project will affect Queen Street, between Academy and Down, and College, between the downtown intersection to the St.Francis Bridge towards Bishop’s College School.What was mentioned?Bike and pedestrian trail extensions, more green spaces and landscaping, more signage, and the re-zoning of properties to only allow commercial activity within the designated area.There was also talk of expropriating the land where the former Co-op building sits (on Queen).All PERRY BEATON Many of the ideas presented went over well with the crowd, but there were quite a few questions about money.went over well with the crowd.However, question period demonstrated a concern over the burial of utility wires.Residents asked about having to pay to connect to the newly buried wires — one suggested $25- to $50,000 per connection.MacAulay responded by stating that he was unaware of individual costs and made mention of grants available from Hydro Sherbrooke and Quebec.“When this was done on Wellington Street the merchants joined together and decided to take out a loan that they shared,” MacAulay said.“When there are numbers established there will be another consultation so everyone knows.” Lennoxville student residence owner Karl Hunting was the first of four to ask a question that was never clearly answered.“You say.that you have no idea how much this is going to cost all of us that will need to connect to the underground hydro wires, but does this include Bell and Internet?” he asked.“Is this all going to come out of our pockets?” MacAulay said final costs are still to be determined.“We will be applying for grants.I will say one thing, the City of Sherbrooke surely isn’t going to pay it all.” Lennoxville’s Tri-Us co-owner Jessica Wilson questioned the amount of time needed to have local roads dug up, and how this would impact already struggling businesses.“From the statements made here tonight I think it has been made clear that burying utility wires is not a priority,” she said.“As a business owner I would like to know how long the roads will be dug up while this is happening?” Community Aid director Sylvie Fowlis reminded the panel that 19 per cent of Lennoxville’s population is page 4 Thursday, April 10, 2008 • .—the « ¦ RECORD PERRY BEATON mm :fSgr " ¦OS Patricia Gauthier and Jacques Fortier looked at the challenges to be worked out on the next year or two.CHUS Cont’d from Page 1 hospital in the coming years.“We win some, wê lose some, and we will probably end up at the same level next year due to attrition and maternity leaves,” Gauthier predicted, noting the CHUS must do all it can to encourage senior nurses to stick around, prevent young nurses from looking elsewhere, and encourage local students to apply to nursing and health science courses.Gauthier said the CHUS and other regional health care partners have been so successful at local encouragement, there were not enough spots for all those applying to the nursing program at the local Cégep last year.The CHUS has taken part in job fairs across the province this year, and returned with 700 resumes.Over the next five years, the CHUS will have to hire some 3,500 people to fill new positions and to replace staff that has retired or are on maternity and parental leave.Finding employees to deal with an ongoing shortage of 140 nursing staff will be among the hardest orders to fill.The hospital is even advertising for staff in Montreal’s metro.Gauthier sits on a regional committee along with the City of Sherbrooke, the Université de Sherbrooke and private industry to discuss ways to make the city an attractive place for job recruits to live.Gauthier and Fortier met with The Record this week to talk about their challenges and successes.Due to a shortage of nursing staff last summer the CHUS was obliged, for the first time, to force nurses to work overtime on 32 shifts.A shortage of anesthetists has limited to the number of surgeries and a lack of nurses and doctors was one of the reasons for backups in the emergency room.“We can’t invent doctors we don’t have,” Gauthier said, explaining the CHUS must work with other institutions and family doctors to limit the number of patients arriving at emergency rooms who belong elsewhere in the health care network.Gauthier said that, on average, there were 25 beds occupied by patients who belonged elsewhere.That’s up from 19 last year.Most were occupied by the elderly awaiting a spot in a long-term care centres.A possible reason for the lack of longterm beds in Sherbrooke is seniors migrating to here to be closer to services.(A study is looking at the issue.) “When patients are in the wrong place, the CHUS feels the direct impact,” Gauthier said, noting this costs the CHUS $2.6 million a year.And, she notes, the CHUS is not adapted to care for elderly patients, who often require constant surveillance.Gauthier said that more than 60 per cent of the clientele of the ER are non-urgent and should be dealt with by family doctors and medical clinics.Improvement will require a better organization of health care on the territory, which is faced with a shortage of general practitioners, Gauthier said.She said 24-hour clinics, where patients can go for non-emergency care, will need to offer in- centives to family doctors to work more evenings and weekends.Gauthier said more advertising is needed so that patients know what clinics are available when their problems are not urgent.Over the past few months, the CHUS has multiplied efforts to find ways to reduce overcrowding in its ERs.Among them is a new short-stay unit in cardiology that offers more adapted care for emergency patients suffering from chest pains and arrhythmia who don’t belong in the stressed atmosphere of an emergency room.Gauthier and Fortier predict the shortage of medical personnel will accentuate further as the CHUS continues it current expansion.The new wing that is part of the $112-million construction and expansion of the Hotel Dieu is eight months ahead of schedule and the new building, scheduled to be completed next spring, might open as early as the fall.In February, Premier Jean Charest was on hand to announce an initial $9.3 million to begin plans for the new maternity wing, which is the first phase of a more than $100 million development for the Fleurimont site.The Centre Femme-Je-unesse-Familles that would combine obstetrics and gynecology as well as pediatrics, pediatric psychology and other family services.The first phase of the project, the relocation of the laundromat to Fleurimont’s new industrial park, is already complete and the CHUS is planning on moving its supplies and storage to a new building there, Gauthier said.After that, renovations will make room for a new cafeteria which will in turn allow for a reorganization to make way for new cardiology, intensive care and surgery units as well as more space for medical imaging.Gauthier recalled the expansion in Fleurimont is necessary to make room for new clientele and specialized services the CHUS will be expected to provide under the Réseau universitaire intégré de santé.The so-called RUIS is a super-specialized, supra-regional university centre that will provide tertiary-care medical services to more than 1 million people from the Es-trie, the Centre du Québec and part of the Montérégie region.While it attempts to recruit new staff, Gauthier said the CHUS is also working hard to keep the staff it has.That, she said, means being flexible when senior nursing staff want to work part time.“We can’t afford to let them go without making every effort to encourage them to stay,” she said.“We cannot afford to lose resources with 30 and 35 years experience.” Gauthier said efforts are also being made to reorganize work and reduce the workload of nurses.Gauthier said involving staff and unions in reorganizing work has been successful.For example, they have discussed with nurses and their union how to better share work among nurses, nursing assistants and orderlies.A poll on the working climate at the CHUS showed labour relations are improving and that workers who participated in efforts to reorganize their own units and departments had greater satisfaction levels.That’s good news for patients who receive treatment from happy staffers, she said.“It’s a give-give situation,” Gauthier said, noting that when the hospital takes good care of its staff, the staff takes good care of its patients.Gauthier said the CHUS has been inventive and will have to be even more so over the coming years.Fortier said the hospital plans a pilot project to hire a consultant to help apply the Kaizen method, a Japanese business philosophy for management and labour relations that aims for continuous improvement through the five principles of teamwork, personal discipline, improved morale, quality circles and suggestions for improvement.At the CHUS’s last board meeting, the board of directors confirmed Fortier for a second one-year mandate as chairman.Directors also recommended that Gauthier’s three-year mandate as director general, which expires in August, be renewed.The latter recommendation had to be sent to the lotal health agency for approval.Since changes to the health care act, the government-controlled agency has the final say on such matters.Seven bridges to be demolished Staff ———he Quebec Ministry of Trans- I port has completed its survey I of 135 overpasses across the JL province, deciding to replace 27 of them and permanently tear two down.Closer to home, that means that seven bridges will be demolished in the Estrie.They are located on Route 220 in Orford, Route 216 in Saint-Camille, Route 161 in Weedon, Route 112 in Stukely-Sud and Chemin Roy in Magog.The two latter bridges on Route 112 have already been demolished.Work has already began on some bridges and all are scheduled to be reconstructed in 2008, said ministry spokeswoman Helene Beauchesne, excluding the Saint-Camille bridge, on another timetable.The regional department of transport has now put the work out for tender.“The local budget is about $6 million,” Beauchesne said.“Additional work is planned for other bridges in the region as well.” Restoration work will soon happen at the interchange at exit 115, recently under restrictions, as well as Chemin des Peres in Magog.Originally, 13 bridges in the region were under close inspection.But the ministry also announced that another 25 overpasses require urgent repairs, most of which should be done before the end of the year.The overpass inspections were demanded last year by Pierre Marc Johnson, who chaired an inquiry into the 2006 collapse of a Laval overpass.The commission blamed a series of errors that included flawed designs, poor workmanship, sloppy and delayed repairs and unprofessional inspections.- with files from Canwest News Boy: Cont’d from Page 1 river is where police were focusing their search efforts yesterday, said SQ spokesman Ronald Mclnnis.Latulippe was playing with friends by the Black River Monday afternoon, where he suddenly went missing.Police were alerted and a search began that evening.One of the young boys who had been playing with Latulippe before he disappeared recounted to police that the two were standing under the bridge around 3 p.m.when he heard the sound of something heavy drop, Mclnnis explained.The friend did not see where Latulippe had gone, although he waited some time to report the disappearance to police.The boy’s friends also hid his bicycle — which police recovered early Monday evening — because they were too shy to explain that they had lost their friend.Police have already called psychologists from the local CLSC to be on hand as support to family and close friends of the boy. ^RECORD, Thursday, April 10, 2008 page 5 How do they love green?Councillors count the ways Staff SHERBROOKE City of Sherbrooke wants the I city and citizens to go green, but not with envy.At this week’s A council meeting, councillors approved no fewer than 111 measures to be adopted between now and 2011.The environmental protection measures are mainly directed at municipal services and employees.“All of the city’s departments were asked to contribute and identify goals to attain over a period of time,” said councillor Jean-François Rouleau, chairman of Sherbrooke’s sustainable development committee.“This is a first,” said Rouleau, adding the plan will be adjusted based on human and financial requirements.“But this is a firm intention of the city and its employees to go green in all of its activities.” Based on the sustainable development strategy that was adopted in 2005, the 30-point action plan’s main goal is to adopt an environmentally responsible style of municipal management.On Monday council implemented a first measure aimed at stemming the city’s contribution to greenhouse gases — reducing the speed of motors on municipal vehicles.Moreover, the city is planning to offer incentives to its employees to carpool and take the bus and will encourage public buildings to choose electricity over other forms of more polluting energies.“We have identified some 30 actions and no less than 111 measures that will help us make decisions about municipal actions and activities,” said Rouleau.Other measures will include conserving energy with the installation of motion detectors for lighting on municipal buildings; and preserving potable water through the use of water-saving faucets.The city is also planning to plant more trees and set up recycling stations in public parks.Furthermore it plans to revegetate its shorelines along with the municipal riverside protection group CHARMES, and is working on a plan to identify and preserve wetlands on its territory.City managers and the city’s communication department will also be organizing noontime conferences which will discuss a variety of initiatives to inform its workers.Claim is denied Marier not pushed, says Tory Staff Sherbrooke A Conservative party spokesman has denied claims that Brome Lake lawyer David Marier was forced out of the party’s nomination race in Brome-Missisquoi.Marier, who ran for the party in the 2006 federal election, says he was approached by at least two Conservative party organizers in January and February and urged to withdraw from the race to make room for Mark Quinlan, who won the nomination last weekend.“That’s not true,” Conservative party spokesman Robin Sparrow told The Record.“(Marier) stepped aside on his own.” Sparrow said Marier voluntarily stepped aside and denied anyone in the party forced him to make way for Quinlan.“The candidate in question won the nomination,” Sparrow said.“It was an open nomination process.” Marier suggested there is power imbalance between the local and the national party bodies, asserting that the local association is tightly controlled by Ottawa.He believes the Conservatives may have favoured Quinlan as a young candidate already working for the party.Quinlan, press secretary for Mégantic-l’Érable MP Christian Paradis, easily won the April 6 nomination over contender Perle Bouchard.COURTESY David Marier.Did you know.that certain centres are designated to offer these services in English?Examples - CLSCs in Sherbrookef CSSS-IUGS) S Home care support of various types (Soutien o domicile) s Accommodation / housing (Hébergement) Sherbrooke University Geriatric Institute (CSSS-IUGS) (regional mandate) 'C Intensive functional rehabilitation (Réadaptation fonctionnelle intensive) 'C Specialized outpatient geriatric clinics (Cliniques externes specialises en gériatrie) s Gerontological-psychiatric services for seniors (Services de gérontopsychiatrie) CLSCs in the Coaticook MRC (CSSSde la MRC de Coaticook) CLSCs in Memphrémagog (CSSS de Memphrémagog) CLSCs in des Sources (CSSS des Sources) CLSCs in Granit (CSSS du Granit) CLSCs in Haut-Saint-François and Centre d'hébergement d'East Angus (CSSS du Haut-Saint-François) CLSCs in Val-Saint-François (CSSS du Val Saint-François) S Health & social services (physiotherapy, occupational therapy, social work, etc.) (services professionnels et de soutien en santé (physiothérapie; ergothérapie, travail social.) S Home care/support for persons losing their independence (Services d'aide/soutieh à domicile pour personnes en perte d'autonomie) V Housing and long-term care (Hébergement et soins de longue durée) Do you want more information?Township pets' Info Service Confidential.Free.In English.819-566-2182 (1-877-566-2182) info@townshippers.qc.ca ToWM/hlpp