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Vol. 130 No. 14 . PORT PERRY, ONTARIO - TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1996 COPY 65¢ ®61¢ = 4¢ GST) 28 Pages Hospital hit with 2.5% funding cut by Tories By Jeff Mitchell Port Perry Star Managers at Community Memorial Hospital will be busy this week as they attempt to cope with a $145,000 budget reduction from the provincial government. Hospitals ° across the province learned Friday to what degree they'll see their budgets affected, as the gov- ernment introduces further cost-cutting measures. Hospital Administrator David Brown said Monday morning the funding reduction wasn't as much as the 5 per cent he thought possible, but will still present a challenge for Community Memorial. "We got hit for 2 and a half per cent," he said. "That equates to about $145,000. It's not as bad as we were expect- ing, but it's still very signifi- cant." The Port Perry hospital cur- rently operates on a budget of about $6 million a year. And Mr. Brown said other cost fac- tors -- such as continued social contract cutbacks, as well as rising costs for utilities, sup- plies, and staff benefits -- will contribute to the tight funding situation here. "I suspect we're looking at about $25,000 to $300,000 (in cuts locally) when you add those other things to a budget reduction," said Mr. Brown. "That's of great concern to us. Community Memorial is a primary care hospital, which means there's not much in the way of programming that can Turnto Page 10 Gov't has few options in OPSEU strike: MPP Striking Ontario civil ser- vice workers are taking action against a government with few options, says Durham East P John O'Toole. Members of the Ontario Public Service Employees' Union hit the bricks at 12:01 a.m. Monday after reaching an impasse with the Progressive Conservative government at Queen's Park. The union wants compensation for at least 13,000 members who will be out of jobs as a result of gov- ernment cuts and some other concessions, but the govern- ment contends any further con- cessions are unaffordable dur- ing a time of tight budgetary constraint. "The financial picture of the province has not changed, so the government is greatly restricted in what it can bring to the bargaining table," Mr. O'Toole said last week. He said major government restruc- turing is needed if priority ser- vices are to be maintained. "Current g6Vernment spend- ing levels cannot continue to exceed revenues by $1 million each hour," said Mr. O'Toole. But Joan Gates, vice-presi- dent of the Durham Region branch of OPSEU, said the Turnto Page 10 li ang A very warm welcome It was standing room only this past Sunday afternoon, when the congregation of the Church of the Ascension in Port Perry held a special service to welcome their new priest. The Rev. Gary van der Meer, 32, comes to Port Perry from the Orillia area, and resumed his incumbency JEFF MITCHELL / PORT PERRY STAR here on the first Sunday in Lent. The Rt. Reverend Douglas Blackwell presided over the induction service, which was attended by numerous Anglican officials and local dignitaries. After the service Rev. van der Meer was welcomed by Hailey Gerber and Kaitlin Todd, both 5. pCR e]\' WelolelodTT/ i] [ol [I dV) [| -W{NVISNL INN -T Ym 4 Mel, |e ¢ [31 [Ve [-X-1 ® Battery tray cleaning and security check. ® Battery and cable [pi] elle ({o]g} LO ETA R-Tale Rife 1a] CIal:11 (olo]a]gl=10} {Tela SWF: EN {=To [V][{=Te § S 319, Offer Expires Feb. 29, 1996 % PHILP PONTIAC BUICK LIMITED 10 Vanedward Drive, Port Perry 985-8474