> NRP investigating Smithville murder, few details released /Pg 9 > Get your GLaM tickets soon Pg 10 > Tim’s gears up for Smile Cookie week Pg 6 > Save date for Grimsby Community Safety day Pgs 18-19 Thursday, May 2, 2024 Vol. 12 Issue 50
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Survey open now for WLMH renaming proposal Cast votes online and at town halls, cut-offs vary from May 7-10 By Mike Williscraft NewsNow A full three months after an announcement that a name change for West Lincoln Memorial Hospital had been requested, residents will finally have their opportunity to vote yea or nay on the notion. Jan. 29 a Town of Lincoln press release said Mayor
Sandra Easton, Grimsby Mayor Jeff Jordan, West Lincoln Mayor Cheryl Ganann and Niagara Reg. Chair Jim Bradley all agreed with changing the WLMH name to West Niagara Memorial Hospital. In inquiring about the process needed to make that change happen, Easton was informed town coun-
cils needed to be consulted, public input was needed and partner groups also needed to be asked if they had any issues. The only move publicly done over the last three months was to open an inquiry process on each town’s website. Now, though, with Hamilton Health Sciences set
to review the request this month, residents can cast a vote in support or against the name change proposal. While Lincoln’s survey was not easy to locate on lincoln.ca until Monday afternoon, it is now the featured item on the Let’s Talk Lincoln page and very visible. West Lincoln has positioned the survey on it land-
ing page of westlincoln.ca. Grimsby’s is located on its Let’s Talk Grimsby page on grimsby.ca. Initially there was no plan to conduct such a poll, but with significant backlash since the Jan. 29 announcement, the consultation plan has changed a great deal. Mayor Jordan has said he See VOTE, Page 3
171 fatality claim wrong 117 injuries/fatalities on all Reg. roads
Educational visit
First-time visitors to Grimsby, Robert and Judith Kanee, discuss the finer points of book binding with exhibitor Stuart Hill at last Saturday’s Wayzgoose event. For more coverage, please turn to Page 16. Williscraft - Photo
By Mike Williscraft NewsNow Information provided to town council by Grimsby Reg. Coun. Michelle Seaborn regarding Niagara Region’s speed camera in school safety zones was wrong on several fronts. In her update to council on April 15, Seaborn said the speed cameras were needed to quell a serious problem with fatalities. “Excessive speeds in Community Safety Zones were responsible for 171 fatal accidents prior to the unanimous decision by the Region and all the municipalities to make our roads safer for pedestrians,” Seaborn claimed, adding she double checked the information. An inquiry to Niagara’s direc-
tor of transportation services, Derek Magaghey, revealed several inaccuracies with that statement. The proper number is 117. That is the total number of incidents which resulted in a fatality or any other injury on all of Niagara’s regional roads over a five-year period and had nothing to do with school zones specifically. “In a recent report to Public Works Committee it was reported that the Region has experienced on average 117 injuries or fatalities per year on regional roads due to aggressive driving (which includes speeding),” said Janet Rose, a Niagara communications consultant. See SPEED, Page 8