Time To Start Writing Again

Hooray!  Finally, after more than 200 days, the Library strike in Essex County is finally over.

The Library in Tecumseh was so important for me since I have moved here. I was able to visit the Library that was located not too far away from where my house is at least once a week. I was able to take out various material from there to help me with my recovery from my illness. I lost all of that ability for so long because of the strike. It was such a disappointment.

I can hardly wait to see again the wonderful people who work in the Tecumseh Library that I have met and who have helped me so much. Oh sure, I saw them picketing but I will be much happier now as they will be back at work.

I am glad that this is my first "news item" in my new article in my Website since I have not written on here for some time because of the matters that I have been dealing with over the past few weeks. I just am so happy to have some news items that I can report and comment on!

Obviously, there are lots of things that I am going to write about over the next few articles that I trust will be of interest to you as well. I kept copies of articles that I have seen in the media that I now can write about. Here are just some of them.

LOWER UNEMPLOYMENT PERCENTAGE NUMBER NOT SO GOOD AFTER ALL

What a disappointment. Here I was becoming very pleased thinking that our unemployment rate was going down meaning that many new jobs were being created in our area to reduce that number.

After all, here is a story that I saw in the Windsor Star originally. I was very enthusiastic when I saw the numbers:

"Windsor unemployment rate drops to 5.4 per cent

February 10, 2017 9:05 am

Windsor’s jobless rate fell to 5.4 per cent last month, down from 5.7 per cent in December and down 3.5 points from January 2016."  (Windsor Star, February 10, 2017)

Unfortunately, then I read the Dave Battagello article in the Star on February 10 as well. The initial few paragraphs were so saddening as they disclosed how the reduction really happened:

"Windsor’s jobless rate dropped in December, but local business and labour leaders guessed it is simply a case of an increasing number of people who have given up on looking for a job.

“My guess is some people are off (the grid),” said Brian Hogan, president of the Windsor and District Labour Council...

Hogan also guessed while many people have been able to find work in the Windsor area, it is largely an increase of lesser paying service jobs at restaurants, grocery stores or hardware stores where autoworkers and feeder plant employees are spending their paycheques."

Here is another comment in the article that is also very upsetting:

"Windsor-Essex Chamber CEO Matt Marchand also believes a greater number of unemployed have dropped out from seeking a job.

The chamber’s recent numbers show 35 per cent of adults locally, for whatever reason, are presently not seeking a job — a number that continues to steadily increase, he said.

“We are not sure why, but suspect there is a long-term employment problem.”

We can only hope that new businesses start setting up here and hiring people who are in such a negative position right now.

I AM GETTING QUITE ILL

To be honest, I have great concerns about what is being proposed for our new "hospital" plan in this area. Seriously, what is the point of just building a new hospital that looks after 500 quite ill people. 500 seems to me to be a low number for our future especially if the population in this entire region increases as I am certain that it will over the next decade or so.

I must admit that I cannot understand why one would spend so much money on a new hospital that frankly seems so small even today.  How many times have we seen a story such as this one over the past few weeks considering how many people are ill:

"After 'false lull,' demand surges again at overcapacity Windsor Regional Hospital

(Brian Cross, Windsor Star, Windsor Star, February 8, 2017)

Windsor Regional Hospital is urging people to avoid its two emergency departments except for true emergencies, as it copes with a sudden resurgence in patients after a “false lull” that lasted four days.

“A few days ago we thought we saw a light at the end of the tunnel,” CEO David Musyj said in an email to the Star on Wednesday. “We did. Unfortunately it was an oncoming train.”

The hospital announced the cancellation of at least four surgeries Wednesday, as it copes with an overcapacity of patients, caused by rising volumes admitted from its ERs. Both ERs were very busy overnight, attending to many patients with flu-like symptoms.

As a result, there were 54 more patients admitted than the hospital has beds for…

The hospital has been over-capacity for at least a month due largely to the fact this year’s predominant strain of influenza hits seniors particularly hard."

To be quite blunt about it, I expect that there are so many new diseases around that are forcing people to enter hospital to be treated for them. If I am correct, then it would be my belief that the number "500" is too small for the number of patients who may enter the new hospital in the future. What we will see then, I think, is what we are seeing now: the new hospital at overcapacity quite often. After all, this area had a number of hospitals reduced by half some time ago and we are seeing problems being created quite often because of so many people being ill at the same time.

Just expect this to happen more often at the new hospital if I am right in what I am suggesting:

"The hospital is running at 110 per cent capacity at its Ouellette campus and 119 per cent at Met. Admit No Bed patients are being accommodated in areas throughout the two hospitals, such as in patient rooms that the hospital doesn’t normally use."

Wow, only a few stories and I have said just what I considered important about them. The result was that I have filled up a lot of the space in my Website. I better stop here and start writing a few more articles quickly over some more of the stories that I found important and post them for your information.