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Bill Hunter figures he’s spent thousands of hours training over nearly two decades at the Ontario Fire College in Gravenhurst.
The Perth East and West Perth fire chief was surprised this week when it was announced the college would be decommissioned in March and replaced by regional training centres and online courses, a move he said will potentially compromise safety and cost municipalities money.
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“I can just imagine the outcry if the announcement was to close the Ontario Police College (in Aylmer), and we’ll train all police constables at centres around the province,” Hunter said. “If we don’t have the bricks and mortar in Gravenhurst, I hope we have that (Ontario Fire College) oversight at all regional training centres. There’s 20 of them right now, and can they honestly say all 20 off
Columnist John Paradis: Jan. 6, 2021: A day that will live in infamy
Supporters of President Donald Trump climb the west wall of the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. AP
People listen as President Donald Trump speaks during a rally Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. AP
Published: 1/7/2021 11:50:26 AM
I served in Iraq. Mortar rounds were fired into our compound nearly every night. During the day, it was one of my jobs to review photographs of atrocities committed by Iraqi militants. I viewed beheadings, electrocutions, burns and worse. I saw plenty.
In Afghanistan, I witnessed wanton violence that still makes my blood curdle.
HOLYOKE, Mass. (Tribune News Service) All Francis “Skip” Hennessy wanted for Christmas was a ride home. The 82-year-old U.S. Army veteran settled in at the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke in late 2019. His mobility deteriorated after a fall. Mild dementia had taken hold. His daughter was comforted when her father won a bed at his twilight home of choice after 10 months on a waiting list. Initially, his move to the state-run facility was a bit rough. Staff were caring, albeit a little scant. The rooms were slightly cramped and threadbare. But by Christmas 2019 Hennessy donned a Santa hat and joined in the home’s holiday festivities, according to his daughter, Erin Schadel. Guilt over placing her father in a nursing home was replaced by relief.