N E W S WE ARE ONE RALLY PROVES A HUGE SUCCESS IN VANKLEEK HILL
GREGG CHAMBERLAIN gregg.chamberlain@eap.on.ca
They all gathered in the streets of Vankleek Hill Friday afternoon to take a knee and show their support for the fight against racism everywhere. Four Vankleek Hill students decided to organize a rally in their home town on June 12 to take part in the worldwide Black Lives Matter movement against racism and social injustice towards all ethnic groups. Anna and Amelia Kouao and Nora and Georgia Dawood weren’t sure what kind of response they would get to the social media postings for their We Are One rally June 12 in the mid-afternoon. By three o’clock that day, the scheduled starting time for the rally, dozens of people, ranging in age from children to seniors, and including police, township council members, and others, gathered in front of the Vankleek Hill Creating Centre at the corner of Main Street and High Street. Almost everyone wore face masks and followed social distan- cing precautions as they marched up High Street as far as the Zudio studio and then back to the Creating Centre. Upon their return to the starting point of the march, everyone observed a period of silence lasting eight minutes and 46 seconds in memory of George Floyd, a black man who lived in Minneapolis, and other victims of racism. The long period of silence represents the time span during which Floyd struggled for breath while he lay face down and handcuffed while Derek Chauvin, a white Minneapolis police officer, held Floyd down with a knee on the back of his neck. Floyd died of suffocation. Chauvin now faces charges, as do the three other police officers who stood by and watched as he knelt on Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes. Lynda Kitchikeesic, a veteran activist for First Nations rights, joined the gathering as a guest speaker. She is involved in a variety of projects and programs aimed at improving communications and relations between police and Indigenous people and other groups.
Everyone took a knee Friday afternoon during the We Are One rally in Vankleek Hill June 12 to honour the memory of George Floyd and other victims of racism. Four Vankleek Hill students organized the event to show support of the Black Lives Matter movement and other anti-racism protests around the world. —photo capture from We Are One Facebook page
ASSEMBLÉE GÉNÉRALE ANNUELLE | ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
L’HGH, un hôpital régional au service de Prescott-Russell
HGH a regional hospital serving Prescott-Russell
L’HGH tiendra son assemblée générale annuelle le mercredi 24 juin prochain. La séance sera fermée au grand public en raison des restrictions imposées par le gouvernement de l’Ontario quant aux rassemblements de groupe. Le rapport annuel sera publié et disponible sur notre site web. Le 3 juin dernier, l’HGH a obtenu l’autorisation de reprendre lentement le cours de ses activités et de planifier les chirurgies et les procédures. La région de Champlain, de laquelle l’HGH fait partie, prépare l’expansion des soins de façon aussi sécuritaire et rapide que possible, et au plus grand nombre de personnes possible. Les décisions en matière de soins seront prises au cas par cas, en soupesant les risques qu’entraînerait tout nouveau report de traitement. Nous savons que cette période d’attente est difficile pour nos patients et leurs familles. Nous apprécions votre patience et votre coopération. L’HGH suit les exigences opérationnelles de la province. Nous appliquons un cadre éthique reposant sur des principes d’impartialité, d’équité et de transparence. Le travail est en cours dans tous les départements pour augmenter les services aussi sécuritairement, équitablement et rapidement que possible. Nous devrons équilibrer la reprise graduelle des soins planifiés et le besoin de maintenir un niveau de préparation adéquat pour réagir à la pandémie de COVID-19. Pendant les derniers mois, l’HGH a poursuivi les travaux de son projet majeur de réaménagement et nous avons installé le nouvel appareil d’imagerie par résonance magnétique. De plus, avec la nouvelle salle d’opération qui sera ouverte à la fin des travaux à l’automne, nous élargissons le programme d’orthopédie. Ces nouveaux services nous permettons d’offrir plus de soins spécialisés, plus près de votre domicile. La pandémie n’est pas terminée. Nous sommes seulement dans une nouvelle phase et la vigilance est de mise. L’HGH demeure un lieu sécuritaire pour les traitements et les diagnostics. La sécurité des patients est notre priorité absolue.
HGH will hold its annual general meeting onWednesday, June 24, 2020. The meeting will be closed to the public due to the Ontario government’s restrictions on public gatherings. The annual report will be published on our website. On June 3rd, HGH was authorized to slowly resume its activities and begin to schedule surgeries and procedures again. The Champlain Health Region, which HGH is part of, is preparing to expand care as safely and as quickly as possible, to as many as possible. Care decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis, weighing the risk of further delay of treatment. We recognize how difficult this waiting period can be for patients and their families. We appreciate your cooperation and patience. HGH is following the Province’s operational requirements. An ethical framework based on principles of fairness, equity and transparency guides us. Work is going on in every department to increase services as safely, fairly, and quickly as possible. We will need to find a balance between slowly starting scheduled care and continuing to be ready to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. In recent months, HGH continued with the major redevelopment project and installed the magnetic resonance imaging machine. Furthermore, the new operating room that will open later this fall at the completion of the project will allow us to expand the orthopedics program. With these new services, we can provide more specialty care, closer to home.
The pandemic is not over, we are only in a new phase and vigilance remains high. It is safe to come to HGH for your care. Patient safety is our top priority.
Lynda Kitchikeesic, a veteran Canadian activist for First Nations right and also for better understanding, communication, and cooperation between Indigenous people and police forces, was a guest speaker at the We Are One rally in Vankleek Hill June 12. Four local students organized the event to show support for the Black Lives Matter movement and other anti-racism programs and projects around the world. —photo André Farhat
Made with FlippingBook Publishing Software