Jeffery and Lynn Henderson stand in front of a plaque dedicated to their mothers in the CT Simulator Suite at Niagara Health. The Henderson family recently committed $500,000 to upgrading the suite in the Walker Family Cancer Centre, which will soon house a brand-new CT scanner provided by the province.
NRPS concludes six-month blitz to catch loud motorists
Last week, the Niagara Regional Police Service (NRPS) concluded its “Operation Loud and Clear” campaign to catch motorists with excessively loud vehicles. The campaign, which ran from April 1 to September 30, 2021, led to a total of 307 charges related to unnecessary noise, no mufflers, improper mufflers, and other related offenses.
While its concerted effort to rout out overly noisy vehicles is now complete, the NRPS said in a statement that it “will continue to enforce the Highway Traffic Act of Ontario as it relates to motor vehicles with defects or that have been modified to become louder within the Regional Municipality of Niagara.”
Couple commits half million dollars to renovate CT scanner suite at Niagara Health
On Monday, the Niagara Health Foundation announced that Jeffery and Lynn Henderson have pledged $500,000 for the renovation of the CT Simulator Suite at the Walker Family Cancer Centre of Niagara Health. The donation will make Niagara eligible to receive the new CT simulator provided by Cancer Care Ontario.
“We are so grateful for this generous gift from the Henderson Family. By demonstrating their support of the Walker Family Cancer Centre and honouring their mothers in this way, Lynn and Jeff Henderson are contributing to the advancement of extraordinary care for all residents of the Niagara region,” said Andrea Scott, president and CEO of the Niagara Health Foundation.
A CT simulator (or scanner) is used on patients prior to being treated with radiation. The CT images are acquired during the scan and are then reconstructed and used to design the best, most precise treatment plan for cancer patients.
The donation from Jeffery and Lynn Henderson will allow for a quicker installation, upgraded wide-body scanner, 4D capabilities, renovations to the room that will house the CT simulator and provide for increased training of staff on the new technology.
City of St. Catharines looking for public input regarding municipal voting
With one year until the 2022 municipal elections, the City of St. Catharines is asking residents how they prefer to cast their ballot. The municipality is examining the possibility of introducing, if feasible, new voting methods next year to compliment traditional in-person casting of ballots. Potential voting methods include mail-in voting, internet voting, and telephone voting.
“Election participation is so important to the health of our democracy and what we really want is for all our residents to get out and vote. The last two years have highlighted the importance of being able to engage and serve our residents at a distance, and that is something we want to bring into the election process so we can reach more voters and build a more representative democracy,” said city clerk Bonnie Nistico-Dunk.
Residents can provide their input up to October 18 by completing the city’s short survey here.
Niagara Knights women’s soccer team clinches first in division
With an impressive 5-0 victory over the Sheridan Bruins on Saturday, Niagara College’s women’s varsity soccer team clinched first place in the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) South Division.
“We played a solid game today,” said head coach Rob Lalama after the match. “As the game went on, we got better, stayed calm and there was never a sense of panic.”
The win guarantees the Knights a bye through the cross-over round of playoffs. The team will host a quarter-final match at home Saturday, October 23. But before that the Knights will look to complete a perfect 6-0 season record against Redeemer Friday night.
The Niagara Knights women’s soccer team currently ranks second overall in the provincial OCAA rankings.
Province providing financial relief to employers
In a visit to Hamilton on Wednesday, Ontario’s Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development Monte McNaughton announced the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) is cutting premium rates in 2022 by $168 million, bringing the total reduction in premiums since 2018 to $2.4 billion.
“We know shopkeepers and merchants on Main Streets across Ontario need help. That is why our government is taking action by modernizing the WSIB to support these employers and protect local jobs,” said Minister McNaughton. “This package will save employers hundreds of millions of dollars that can be reinvested in new jobs, technology, and health and safety protections. At the same time, injured workers will continue to receive the benefits and services they deserve.”
In addition, the government is intending to introduce legislation that, if passed, would allow for a significant portion of the WSIB’s current reserve, currently valued at $6.1 billion, to be distributed to safe employers.
The government is also proposing allowing the WSIB to work with the Canada Revenue Agency to streamline remittances for businesses. This change would reduce administrative costs and burdens by giving businesses an efficient one-stop-shop for submitting payroll deductions.
Former cabinet minister’s ten-day farewell tour cost Canadians $42,000
After announcing she would not stand for re-election, Trudeau’s former Minister of Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna – a strident climate activist – made the ironic decision to jet set over 22,000 KM across Canada to say goodbye.
According to Blacklock’s Reporter, the engagement-filled ten-day farewell tour cost Canadian taxpayers $42,000: just shy of $25,000 for airfare, around $10,000 for hotels, and over $5,000 for meals.
Major social media platforms go down across the globe
For several hours on Monday, billions of users across the world could not access their Facebook account – nor Facebook’s subsidiary platforms: Instagram, WhatsApp, and Oculus.
Despite rumours, the company was not ‘hacked’. In a technical statement, Facebook said it was a configuration problem that led to the blackout.
“Our engineering teams have learned that configuration changes on the backbone routers that coordinate network traffic between our data centers caused issues that interrupted this communication. This disruption to network traffic had a cascading effect on the way our data centers communicate, bringing our services to a halt.”
In a terse post to social media, Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg apologized for the outage, saying, “Sorry for the disruption today – I know how much you rely on our services to stay connected with the people you care about.”
This Weekend Around the Region
Ball’s Falls Thanksgiving Festival
After a virtual 2020, the 47th annual Ball’s Falls Thanksgiving Festival is back in-person for 2021! Enjoy over 50 craft and artisan vendors, delicious foods, craft beverages and wines, local farmers’ market vendors, live acoustic music and children’s entertainment, historical demonstrations, heritage tours and nature hikes.
The festival runs the entire long weekend, so you have plenty of opportunity to get out and enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells of the conservation area’s festive offerings.
Please note, advanced registration is required for admission.
When: Friday, Oct. 8 – Monday, Oct. 11, 10:00am-5:00pm
Where: Ball’s Falls Conservation Area, Jordan Station
To reserve your festival tickets, please visit the event’s webpage here.
Boo at the Zoo
Trick-or-treat your way through Safari Niagara this Thanksgiving weekend as part of Boo at the Zoo. Enjoy local vendors, exhibits, activities and enter contests for your chance to win some great prizes!
Bring a non-perishable food donation that will go to six different non-profit organizations for a discounted rate! Free admission for children 12 years old and under who are in costume.
When: Friday, Oct. 8 – Monday, Oct. 11, 9:00am-4:00pm
Where: Safari Niagara, Stevensville
For more details on the various activities, head to Safari Niagara’s website here.
Downtown Pie Fest
Hosted by the St. Catharines Downtown Association, the city’s first-ever Pie Fest will feature live music, games, a pie eating contest, and of course an assortment of delicious pies to try and buy.
Come out this Saturday for some family fun, and don’t forget to pick up a fresh pie for your Thanksgiving dinner!
When: Saturday, Oct. 9, 4:00-9:00pm
Where: Market Square, St. Catharines
To register for the festival, go to the EventBrite page here.
