‘It’s oxymoronic to think you can have growth without expense under public safety’ – St. Thomas Police Service Board chair Dan Reith

It’s a simple premise if we agree to use it as a starting point.
The presence of police acts as a deterrent.
To put this into context, St. Thomas department heads are now preparing draft proposals to present to council in November as the basis for the 2025 capital and operating budgets.
With the explosive population growth projected in the coming decades – nearly doubling by 2050 – one critical area will be ensuring the well-being of newcomers to St. Thomas.
You do not attract new industries – and with it, workers to fill those jobs – when they will potentially be located in crime-ridden neighbourhoods.
So, this past week we sat down with Dan Reith, chair of the Police Service Board to discuss what is expected to be a budget ask representing a 14 per cent increase over the 2024 budget.
At first glance, that might seem like an aggressive ask by Chief Marc Roskamp and the Police Service Board.

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For the third time in as many years, St. Thomas is on the hunt for a city manager

Well, that was short-lived.
Heralded as “a pretty good standout” among over 70 applicants, Michael Bradley assumed the city manager post at city hall on May 15.
Exactly five months later, a media release from Mayor Joe Preston announced, “City to begin recruitment for new city manager.”
Bradley has accepted the position of CAO with the City of Brantford – his hometown – and will depart his office at city hall in mid-November.
Before accepting the post in St. Thomas, Bradley had been the Commissioner of Community Development with the City of Brantford.
He also served for 11 years with the County of Brant, including a stint as CAO from 2018 to 2023.

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The water is anything but calm when it comes to closure of the STEGH therapy pool

While the closure of the therapy pool at St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital has resulted in a wave of disappointed users, one Central Elgin resident is vowing to pressure hospital administrators into re-opening the pool relied on by Talbot Trail Physiotherapy clients and other area residents.
And we’re not talking about just anybody.
Sally Martyn is the former mayor of Central Elgin and STEGH board member along with a pool user.
Martyn held a meeting recently which dozens of concerned residents attended.
One of the outcomes of that meeting is to arrange a face-to-face session with hospital president and CEO Karen Davies.
“There were over 60 people who came (to the meeting),” advised Martyn.

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With an operational MRI, ‘It’s a new beginning for healthcare’ in St. Thomas and Elgin county

In May of this year, St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital launched the Transforming Tomorrow Campaign, a new fundraising campaign because “Our community deserves access to the best possible care right around the corner, not in the next city over.”
That was the assertion of Jeff Yurek, chair of the campaign with a goal of $8 million to acquire a state-of-the-art MRI to be housed at St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital.
And on Tuesday afternoon (Oct. 1), Yurek officially opened the MRI suite at STEGH.
In the process, calling it “a milestone day.”
The ribbon-cutting ceremony took place just two months after the arrival of the MRI.
The highly advanced scanner employs powerful magnets and radio waves to produce detailed 3D images of internal organs and structures.

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