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OTMH board member questions bed closures alton Regional Chairman Peter Pomeroy Hshould find out today whether he will have to stand trial on a variety of charges. Final arguments by Pomeroy‘s lawyer were to be presented in Burlington provincial court Wednesday, but Judge William Sharpe postponed the conclusion of the preliminary hearing to Friday after hearing assistant Crown attorney Brian Glover was unable to attend. Glover was involved in a case of the Court of Appeal in Pomeroy preliminary hearing decision delayed A Metroland Community Newspaper Vol. 32 No. 41 Sitting in mud bath at Oakville Place one recent weekend has netted Dave Larock of Oakville about $1,000 which he will share with his Jessie Steinberg, left, of Toronto, and Elise de Villiers, of Pickering â€" they each took their turns in the tub! All three will be going to Guyana for three months with Youth Challenge International, leaving on May 13th. Each participant must raise about $4,000 to help pay for their trip. In addition to the mud bath â€" mud was used instead of jelly or beans as food is scare in Guyana, a muddy country â€" Larock has also received financial support from his two Oakville alma maters, Appleby College and MacLachlan Preparatory School. In Guyana, Larock will be building hospiâ€" tals, helping seniors and underprivileged children, and doing eye examinations in the jungle among the Wai Wai tribe. He can be reached at 905â€"822â€"5492 by anyone wishing to provide some financial support. Larock estimates he still needs to raise another $1,000 from the community. (Photo by Riziero Vertolli) Toronto The Judge will determine whether there is sufâ€" ficient evidence to warrant a trial. So far, the preâ€" liminary hearing has heard five days of testimony. At the outset of the hearing, the judge imposed a ban on publication of evidence heard during the hearing. Pomeroy is charged with three counts of breach of trust and two of accepting a secret comâ€" mission He was charged last may following an FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 1994 oken 18â€"month investigation by Project 80, a joint forces police team set up to probe allegations of political corruption in the Greater Toronto area. Also charged with breach of trust and offering a secret commission are Halton Hills lawyer Herbert Arnold; Pomeroy‘s wife Pat Crimmins, who is also Halton‘s deputy clerk, faces one count of offering a secret commission; and developer Albert Tennant faces one count of offering a secret commission. More than 100 beds lost over the past four years Although medical literature points out that bed closures are a health care reality â€" with less emphasis placed on hospital stays and more on community resources and home care â€" Weir expressed doubts that it is the prudent way to proceed. By DIANE HART Special to the Beaver "I have had unofficial talks with staff and others about the bed occupancy (rate)... and I just don‘t know if this is the right thing to do. I realize we should get the average length of stay down and all the rest, but I just don‘t know if this is what we should be doing," he commented. today‘s health care system, but the massive cuts at Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital make at least one OTMH Board of Governor uneasy. S lashing hospital beds may not be uncommon in At the OTMH Board of Governors meeting Tuesday, Ward 5 town councilor, Sean Weir, aired his concerns about the number of beds lost at OTMH in recent years, during recessionary, costâ€"cutting times. The bed closures at OTMH are startling when the original figures are scrutinized. Four years ago, the rated capacity at OTMH was 368. beds =(335 â€"acute, 35 chronic/transitional care). The proposed number of beds for 1994/95 are 252 (217 acute, 35 chronic/transitional care). In just one operating year, OTMH has seen a total of 48 beds dropped from its hospital. The 48 lost beds include: 15 psychiatric (due to the establishâ€" ment of a day hospital); 15 obstetâ€" rics (resulting from the 24â€"hour discharge program initiated in January of this year; 18 paediatric (the previous occupancy rate was in the 40â€"45% range). (See ‘Number‘ page 7) 32 Pages _ .75 Cents (GST included) Today‘s Paper Multiâ€"talented performer SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS Ashbrooks Oakville Place Sears......... Bay:.::..,.... 842â€"9410 ext. 460 .: .meld 842â€"4811 ext. 324 NEW! 288 Lakeshore Rd. E. ...........842â€"7600 Canadian Publications Mail Product Agreement #435â€"201 Page 12 _ T Arlene Duncan joins cast of Once On This Island from 24â€"27 .28â€"31