Huntsville’s hospital was in the news a lot this year, so it’s no surprise that there are two related stories among the most-read by Doppler readers in 2018.
Rounding out the list are visitors to town who got more of a view than they bargained for when they drove off the edge of Lions Lookout, a family fighting to keep their chickens, and Parry Sound-Muskoka MP Tony Clement’s admission to sexting that got him ousted from his own party.
As always, thank you for reading Huntsville Doppler. Here’s to another year—and beyond!—of local news.
Vehicle goes off the edge of Lions Lookout
On the morning of Monday, October 15, emergency crews responded to Lions Lookout for a vehicle that had gone off the edge of the popular viewpoint. An SUV had driven over the edge of the lookout and fallen approximately 38 metres, landing on its roof. The two occupants were extricated from the vehicle by Huntsville Fire and transported to a local area hospital. The male driver was treated for minor injuries and released; the female passenger was later transported to a Toronto area hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The couple were tourists from out of the country.
No charges were laid and the accident was considered an isolated incident. Both the Town of Huntsville and the OPP said there were no concerns for safety at the Lookout.
“Bring it on,” says Huntsville Mayor of threats of a lawsuit by MAHC
Huntsville’s hospital—and Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare (MAHC), the organization that runs both hospital sites in the region—was in the news a lot in 2018. Perhaps the most surprising turn of events came in March, just minutes before Huntsville councillors were set to discuss a motion that would ask the Province to dismiss the MAHC Board and its CEO. That’s when Huntsville Mayor Scott Aitchison received a letter from a solicitor representing MAHC accusing him of defamation and of making false and misleading statements.
In conversation with Doppler immediately after that meeting, the Mayor said the motion would not be taken off the table but will simply be put on hold.
Several months later, in August, the MAHC Board supported the recommendation of its Capital Plan Development Task Force for two acute-care hospitals for the region, a move that was applauded by both Aitchison and Bracebridge Mayor Graydon Smith.
But…
Questions about whether the board and hospital administration have a hidden agenda linger
News that Dr. Roy Kirkpatrick, a long-time general surgeon in Huntsville, was turned down for the position of Chief of Staff with Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare raised some eyebrows. It’s been well over a year since an interim Chief of Staff for Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare was announced, following news that then-Chief of Staff Dr. Jan Goossens was retiring from the position. On March 13, 2017, the interim position went to Dr. Biagio Iannantuono.
Kirkpatrick confirmed that he had applied for and been turned down for the role, but said he could not discuss the issue further due to a confidentiality agreement with the hospital. But one source said, “He’s basically a leader recognized by the OMA, by the College, by the university—by everybody except apparently the administration of MAHC and the Board Chair. It’s just astounding that he wouldn’t be a perfect fit…”
An executive search company, Four Corners Group, was retained more than two years ago and was paid a lump sum for the recruitment of a candidate. In a statement, MAHC said that “Pricing with all of our contracted services is confidential information and is proprietary to each individual vendor.”
MAHC representatives said that the hiring process is ongoing, that they’d received a handful of applicants, and that the interim position would remain in place until they’d found a successful candidate.
Dispute with the Town’s bylaw department over their son’s chickens lands family in court
Riley Ball, 10, with the help of his older brother and dad, converted a play house on his family’s property on Old Muskoka Road into a chicken coop. He’s been looking after his 15 hens for two years and providing his family and friends with fresh eggs. But his efforts ran a-“fowl” of Huntsville’s bylaws, which allow rural residents to have just five chickens per acre. With only three-quarters of an acre and 15 chickens, they were in contravention of a bylaw they said is outdated.
It was a neighbour who complained, but other neighbours later came forward in support of the family.
With a court date looming, things weren’t looking good for the hens, but the Ball family was given a reprieve after appearing before Huntsville’s Planning Committee. Committee agreed to ask staff to review the bylaw and delay legal proceedings against the Balls until public input has been garnered and council makes a decision on whether to amend the bylaw.
In November, Parry Sound-Muskoka MP Tony Clement stepped back from some of his official duties after he shared sexually explicit images and a video of himself in what he claims was an extortion attempt.
Clement initially resigned from his roles as Shadow Minister for Justice and on several parliamentary committees. Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer later, after he learned that it wasn’t the first time Clement shared such images online, asked him to resign from the party’s caucus, leaving Clement to sit as an independent.
Some of his constituents voiced support for the beleaguered MP while others called for a resignation that never came.
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Kathryn Henderson says
I don’t understand paying a company a large sum of money to look for a chief of staff when you have the perfect person right here. You won’t get anyone better or more equipped to do the job. I just don’t understand. Do you have to know someone important to get the job or maybe someone on the hiring committee has a beef? Doesn’t make a lick of sense . And if it doesn’t make any sense I have to think it’s not well thought out or we have people in charge that aren’t too good at their job. Man I miss the good old timers who didn’t waste money and made decisions with common sense. I’m really disappointed and I have to say peeved off. Just stupid leaving the position with no one rather than pick the ideal candidate who’s right here under their noses. It’s all who you know and politics.