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O Fax: 905-640-8778 Classified: 1-800-263-6480 9 | Stouffville Sun-Tribune | Thursday, September 8, 2016 OPINION COLUMNS hey ring a bell when a first-timer successfully gives a pint during blood donor clinics in Stouffville. The bell sounded for Melissa Quinto this summer. She appeared overwhelmed. It was understandable. The registered massage therapist had been taking one of her three children to their softball game in Memorial Park when the large sign in front of Latcham Hall asking for blood donors hit home. A four-year-old promise born of a near-death experience still fresh in her memory banks, she signed up immediately. "Everything seemed fine," she remembers of the birth of her third child, via emergency c-section in 2012. "My baby was perfectly healthy and happy." "I, on the other hand, was extremely tired ... I couldn't even hold my own son in my arms to feed him because I felt so weak. I chalked it up to the 20-plus hours of labour and the fact that I had been awake for 48 hours. (But) something didn't feel right." She was leaking blood. While being whisked into an operating room to try and stop the hemorrhaging, a doctor said it was "a life or death situation," Melissa recalls. "At one point, one of the nurses grabbed my face and yelled `stay with me Melissa!' Fearing that I would bleed out and die, I just kept telling myself to be calm, breathe and stay alive. They were administering me with various drugs and calling in for units of blood." She woke up in intensive care. "It was then that I was told that they tried, but weren't able to stop the bleeding and that they had to perform an emergency hysterectomy to save my life," she said. They lost her pulse at one point, Melissa was told. Publisher Dana Robbins General manager Shaun Sauve Regional Editor-In-Chief, Metroland Central Joanne Burghardt 580 Steven Ct, Newmarket, ON L3Y 6Z2 www.yorkregion.com 905-640-2612 DISTRIBUTION 1-855-853-5613 Director, Advertising Maureen Christie Director Creative Services Katherine Porcheron Director, Distribution Mike Banville Regional Director, Finance & administration Phil Sheehan Editor in Chief, York Region Lee Ann Waterman Managing Editor Jim Mason jmason@yrmg.com T Near-death experience hits home at blood clinic Roadwork on record pace he road re-construction program currently underway in WhitchurchStouffville, is the most intensive in town history. The majority of undertakings come under the jurisdiction of the municipality. Three others will be managed by York Region. Local costs, including first phase re-building of Main Street, (Tenth Line to Stouffer Street) will exceed $12 million. This figure is already contained in the 2016 budget. One of those heading up this massive venture is Brian Kavanagh, manager of capital projects. A close aide is Glenn Jackson, corporation communications specialist. We talked to both this week. Work areas include: Maytree Ave., (re-construction); Fairview Ave.,/Elm Rd., (reconstruction); Greenbury Ct., (watermains); Main St., (re-construction); Ninth Line Roundabout, (construction); Cam Fella Blvd., (re-surfacing); Faulkner Ave., (re-surfacing); Kennedy Lane, (resurfacing); Cemetery Lane, (re-surfacing); Iroquois Dr., (re-surfacing); intersection of Hoover Park Dr., and Sandiford Dr., (traffic lights). Regional projects include: St. John's Sideroad from Woodbine Ave., to Bayview Ave., (re-surfacing) and Slater's Road, (CN rail crossing). With the exception of Cemetery Lane and Iroquois Dr., all completion dates are scheduled for this fall. With the exception of the Elm Rd.,/Fairview Ave. contract, each assignment has been separately authorized through the tendering process, Kavanagh explained. Because Elm and Fairview are closely linked, one firm is doing both. To date, few problems have been encountered Kavanagh noted, with the exception of several gas line breaks on Elm, some due to machine-operated error. An T Off The Top with Jim Mason She received seven pints of blood in the operating room and another two while recovering. After 11 days in hospital, Melissa and her baby were able to go home. "Not exactly the birth I was hoping for, but not a day goes by that I don't think about how grateful that I am to be here for my family," she said. "To think about how close I came to missing out on all these moments with my husband and children sends chills through me. I wish I could personally thank each of everyone for donating blood. "I am living proof that it really does save lives. I made a promise to repay what was given to me. I want to give back the nine units that saved my life in hopes that I can help someone else." Which brought Melissa to Latcham Hall on that Saturday morning, where a group of new friends heartily applauded her donation of blood. Tears were shed and smiles shared as she told her story. The next clinic in Stouffville will be held Oct. 1. To book an appointment, go to blood.ca or call 1 888 2 DONATE. Melissa Quinto will thank you. Jim Mason is editor of The Sun-Tribune. Follow him on Twitter @stouffeditor Roaming Around with Jim Thomas unusually dry summer has aided progress on all projects with only a few days off due to inclement weather. Sidewalk placements in residential areas can be causes for concern. "We endeavour to find comprehensive solutions," Kavanagh says. "Public safety remains a top priority," he adds. "On such issues, community consultation is very important," agrees Jackson. With respect to the work on Main, (Tenth Line to Stouffer), progress continues on target, Kavanagh said. Every attempt is being made to keep traffic moving, he states. This is will be especially important through the town's commercial area, he notes. A systematic soil analysis is completed before each phase is started. The town's initiative calls for the complete redevelopment of Main, between the Tenth and Ninth lines during the next four years. Both Kavanagh and Jackson are pleased with how their relatively new positions are evolving. "My main responsibility is to get the message out," says Jackson. And he's doing just that if continuous feedbacks are any indication. He utilizes every form of media available. "I like to eliminate problems before they arise," he says. He works closely with Advertising Manager Mara Sepe msepe@yrmg.com sbrown@metroland.com Circulation Manager Sabrina Brown all town departments, learns what's going on, then circulates the information to residents, sometimes doorto-door. Jackson says he's pleased with the progress council's making and the increased interest taxpayers are showing through meeting attendance. "Numbers are growing he says, with many attending out of general interest." With regard to his own initiative, Jackson says he's using every possible means to distribute material throughout the municipality. "I can't force people to read it but there'll come a day when, through modern technology I'll be able to reach almost everyone." Kavanagh sums up his role in three words: interesting, challenging and rewarding. Legend remembered On Aug. 28, hundreds gathered at the Low and Low Funeral Home in Uxbridge to say farewell to a fastball legend. At noon the following day, the chapel was filled to capacity for the same purpose ­ to remember. For Frank Hendy, formerly of Valley Road in Musselman's Lake and later Claremont, left an indelible mark on both areas that residents refuse to forget. As a fastball pitcher and then coach, he earned the respect of both adult peers and youthful players. He's been nominated for the 2016 Canadian Sports Achievement Award. In addition to his athletic skills, Frank was a long-time award-winning vegetable exhibitor at both Markham and Uxbridge fairs as well as Toronto's Royal Agricultural Winter Fair. He was 81. Jim Thomas is a Stouffville resident who has written for area newspapers for more than 65 years. York Region Media Group community newspapers The Sun-Tribune, published every, Thursday, is a division of the Metroland Media Group Ltd., a whollyowned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. To speak to a customer service rep: 1-855-853-5613 Delivery inquiries: customersupport@ metroland.com Delivery issues? LETTERS POLICY All submissions must be less than 400 words and include a daytime telephone number, name and address. The Sun-Tribune reserves the right to publish or not publish and to edit for clarity and space. E-mail jmason@yrmg.com