Latest news with #Dermody
Otago Daily Times
28-05-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Three Waters services to be kept in-house
The Invercargill City Council has accepted a recommendation from one of its committees to establish a council-operated enhanced service for Three Waters delivery. Infrastructure and projects committee chairman Cr Grant Dermody said the recommendation represented an important step in addressing the future needs of Invercargill. ''How we deliver Three Waters services is a once-in-a-generation decision, and its impacts will span our entire community for many years to come,'' he said in a statement. The provision of Three Waters services was one of the key issues outlined in tandem with the council's draft annual plan 2025-26. A council-operated enhanced service was the council's preferred option. It also consulted on two other options: establishing an Invercargill council-controlled organisation, and a Southland-wide council-controlled organisation. Of the 495 submissions the council received on the draft plan, 188 were about Three Waters. Three-quarters of them agreed with the preferred option. Consultation was required under central government's Local Water Done Well legislation, introduced to ensure water services nationally are finanically sustainable and effectively managed. While Invercargill was in a better position than many other local authorities, having regularly maintained its Three Waters network and invested in associated infrastructure, maintaining the status quo was no longer viable, Mr Dermody said. ''Council must draw a line in the sand, to make sure that the future of Three Waters delivery within our community is practical and fit-for-purpose for future generations,'' he said. ''As a council, we believe the most important outcome is to provide an efficient, effective service that is the most practical for our community in the long term. We also strongly believe in local decision-making.'' The council-operated enhanced service represented the second-least costly option for water services delivery for ratepayers to 2034, and in the long term was the lowest-cost option considered, Mr Dermody said. With this option, the average annual water services rate increase between 2027 and 2034 would be 6.26%, or $150 per household. All councils are required to submit their water services delivery plan to the Department of Internal Affairs by September. — APL
Otago Daily Times
12-05-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Landers duo to miss trip
Two star Highlanders players will remain sidelined this week, but a third should be back on deck. The Highlanders have three tough games remaining, starting with the Hurricanes in Wellington on Friday night, as they bid to salvage something from their disappointing season — or at the very least avoid the wooden spoon. No 8 Hugh Renton and winger Caleb Tangitau would ideally be playing major roles in the rescue mission. Unfortunately for Highlanders fans, neither will be at the Cake Tin to challenge the Canes. Co-captain Renton has played just five of the team's 11 games this year and it seems possible he will remain stuck on that number. Highlanders forwards coach Clarke Dermody confirmed yesterday Renton would miss at least the Hurricanes game with his ongoing groin injury. "He's been up with the specialist, just getting advice from them. He's out for the foreseeable future. "He's pretty sore. It's important he gets it right." Dermody has had a close association with Renton since the Tasman/Hawke's Bay man joined the Highlanders in 2021, and knows how much he means to the team. "He's got an awesome presence among the boys. "He's obviously been around a while now. He's a level-headed leader, a tough guy on the field and a pretty uncompromising player. We definitely miss that in the pack." With Renton and fellow No 8 Nikora Broughton injured, and Lui Naeata unavailable, the Highlanders are running a little lean in the loose. Otago loose forwards Harry Taylor (Southern) and Sam Fischli (Taieri) have joined the squad as cover. Tangitau set his first season as a regular Super Rugby starter alight with some dazzling performances in the first half of the campaign. However, he has not played since the loss to the Force in Perth on April 5, and his own groin injury remains infuriatingly reluctant to disappear. "Not this week," Dermody said. "It's a shame. He started the season really well, and he was in everyone's eyeline." Fellow winger Jona Nareki is at least available after missing the past two games with a knee complaint. All going well, the Fijian fisherman will play his 50th game for the Highlanders in their last game of the regular season. "It's awesome to have his experience back among the group." Dermody said the Highlanders, teetering at 10th in the 11-team competition, had enjoyed the opportunity to have the bye after eight consecutive weeks of competition. "We're starting away on a Friday, so it's a pretty short week, and we're keeping our plans simple. "You can see a definite change in energy around the boys, around training today, so hopefully we can take that through the week. "While it's frustrating we're not getting the results, there has definitely been growth in the team, year on year, and now we get a chance against three of the better teams in the competition to give it a real crack." Highlanders utility back Sam Gilbert confirmed on Friday night he was heading to Ireland after the NPC campaign with Otago. Dermody hailed Gilbert's contribution to the Highlanders over his six seasons since first catching the eye of then-coach Tony Brown while playing for the Bravehearts. "I think he's the ultimate Highlander man. "He's made every post a winner, ended up vice-captain last year, over 50 games now, and a real glue guy in the team who can play anywhere in the backline bar No 9. "Maybe to his detriment, we didn't really give him a chance to settle down in his favoured position, but that sums him up — being a team guy and being able to spread himself wherever he was needed. "I can't really judge him because I did exactly the same thing at a similar age. I guess it's an opportunity to explore overseas and look after yourself before you finish. "He's a guy we will definitely miss."
CBC
05-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
Forcing treatment for drug use could lead to overdoses, violate people's rights, experts say
Social Sharing Some experts say involuntary addiction treatment raises serious ethical concerns and could even increase the risk of overdose for some, as Ontario weighs whether it could mandate treatment for people in the criminal justice system. Last week, the Ontario government announced that it plans to study how this can be done, how much it would cost, and what kind of help they would need from the federal government, among other factors. But those working in the addictions and mental health field say there's little to no concrete evidence suggesting involuntary addiction treatment is effective. "That type of research really hasn't been done," said Sarah Dermody, a clinical psychologist and professor of psychology at Toronto Metropolitan University. "So we're in a position where people are advocating for involuntary treatment, we have some theoretical concerns and ethical concerns of that approach, and we don't have empirical evidence to suggest that it would be helpful in the short or long term." In some cases, such as with people facing opioid addiction, it could even present risks of overdose if they return to using when their tolerance is lowered, Dermody said. "If someone you know was using a certain dose and then returns to it several weeks later, that could be life-threatening for them." Data from Massachusetts, where there is a legal mandate for involuntary treatment for adults with substance use disorders, published in 2016 found the risk of fatal overdose was twice as likely after involuntary treatment compared to voluntary treatment, according to information compiled by the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA). Another Massachusetts study from 2023 that looked at 22 patients after they completed involuntary treatment found they all relapsed within a year. Those studies suggest this type of approach can be "more like sort of holding someone than actually helping and treating someone," said Dr. Leslie Buckley, chief of addictions for the CMHA. "It was supposed to be a diversion, but it looked a lot more like the regular criminal justice service system and there wasn't necessarily a helpful treatment component to that," she said. "So I think that that the most important critical piece here is that it is a health-focused intervention and that we're thinking about how we can prevent somebody from getting involved in the criminal justice system earlier." Chris Cull, a substance use disorder advocate who was once addicted to opioids for nearly a decade, says the government shouldn't even be discussing involuntary treatment until it addresses the need for treatment options for people who do want it. "We don't even have enough voluntary treatment beds to be able to be manage what we have in society, as it is, for people who want it," he said. Ethical concerns An expert on bioethics says forcing people to undergo addictions treatment also goes against a core tenant of the Canada Health Act, which says consent is required for virtually any medical treatment. "Each and every one of us Canadians has the right to consent or decline treatment of any kind," said Kerry Bowman, who teaches bioethics and global health at the University of Toronto. "The fact that people are facing criminal charges does not necessarily change this. Yes, they've lost some of their rights, but that doesn't necessarily mean they've lost their right to consent for treatment." From an ethics standpoint, Bowman said there would need to be evidence showing that the benefits of involuntary treatment outweigh the potential harm to individuals. "To take away someone's fundamental rights to make decisions about treatment, which is the integrity of the of their own body and their own freedom, in the absence of compelling evidence is really going very far," he said. In a statement, a spokesperson from the Ministry of Health said the province is "collaborating with a number of key community stakeholders and partners to ensure a coordinated approach for justice-involved individuals." The government's announcement was one of many measures connected to a large justice bill set to be tabled last Thursday. The move toward involuntary addiction treatment for people in corrections isn't inside the legislation itself, but officials say they intend to present a plan to the cabinet by fall.
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
The Children's Home presents at Rotary
HILLCREST, N.Y. (WIVT/WBGH) – A 112-year-old non-profit continues to grow in our area as it finds new and innovative ways to support children and their families. George Dermody, President and CEO of The Children's Home, was the guest speaker at the Binghamton Noon Rotary Club on Monday. The Children's Home maintains its headquarters at its main campus in Hillcrest but has expanded over the years to add numerous offices and programs across our region. What started as an orphanage has now grown beyond residential treatment for children with mental health and behavioral issues. Dermody says The Children's Home continues to increase its focus on in-home and community supports as the field of behavioral healthcare evolves. 'We have been developing more programs and services and opportunities to support children and families living in their own homes, to give them the skills and strength they need to remain in their communities,' said Dermody. Dermody says The Children's Home serves close to 1,000 families each year with 675 employees and growing. In 2020, it opened the Southern Tier Community Center in Endicott at the site of the former Boys and Girls Club of Western Broome in order to preserve the recreational and childcare programming that the area relied on. SUNY Broome students win big at robotics competition OFA students get up close and personal with local livestock South Central New York's Hygiene Fund Drive now collecting donations Annual Dance Show rocking the stage at BHS on Thursday BPD body cam footage refutes homeless accusation Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Chicago Tribune
14-03-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Chicago dental equipment manufacturer gobbles up logistics warehouse at former Allstate site in Glenview
The Logistics Campus, a sprawling north suburban industrial development on the site of the former Allstate headquarters, has landed its first tenant since completing the initial phase of construction in October. HuFriedyGroup, a century-old, Chicago-based dental equipment manufacturer, has agreed to lease a full 326,278-square-foot-building – the largest of five warehouses that have sprung up along the Tri-State Tollway in Glenview. Terms of the lease, which was announced last month, were not disclosed. A HuFriedyGroup spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. Dermody Properties, a Nevada developer, bought the former Allstate campus for $232 million in 2022, with plans to build one of the largest urban logistics developments in the U.S. on the 232-acre site, which was annexed into Glenview. The transformative $500 million project calls for a 10-building, 3.2 million-square-foot logistics park. The first phase of five massive warehouses was delivered Oct. 1. But amid declining demand for logistics facilities in the post-pandemic industrial landscape, the development has gotten off to a very slow start, with 1 million square feet of vacant warehouse space available through much of the fall and winter. California-based Upside Foods was announced in September 2023 as the site's first tenant after signing a long-term lease for 187,000 square feet to build out the first large-scale cultivated meat plant in the U.S. But those plans were put on hold last year, with no target date for launch. Technically the second tenant announced, HuFriedyGroup may be the first to actually move in. Founded in 1908 by Hugo Friedman, Hu-Friedy became a leading manufacturer of dental instruments. The Saslow family purchased the Chicago-based company in 1959 and ran it for 60 years. In 2019, New Jersey-based Cantel Medical bought the company for $775 million, merging it with other dental manufacturers, renaming it HuFriedyGroup and maintaining its Chicago headquarters. HuFriedyGroup's current manufacturing headquarters is located at 3232 N. Rockwell St. in Roscoe Village on the city's north side. The company will be 'phasing into the building' at 2501 Sanders Rd. in the Glenview development, Neal Driscoll, Midwest region partner at Dermody, said in an email Thursday. Driscoll declined to give a timetable for the move, referring those logistical questions to HuFriedyGroup. While Dermody has acquired a major tenant to fill its largest building, it has four other warehouses and nearly 700,000 square feet available for lease at the Logistics Campus, in what is still a challenging industrial market. Demand for industrial space in the Chicago market declined significantly in 2024, ending the year with a 5.6% vacancy rate and the lowest new development pipeline in more than a decade, according to a fourth quarter report by Transwestern. Industrial vacancy in northern Cook County, where the Glenview Logistics Campus has been trying to break new ground, was among the highest in the Chicago market at 7%, according to the report. About a third of the 19.3 million square feet of industrial space under construction is south and west of the city, in the I-55/I-80 and I-88 freight corridors, according to Transwestern. There is no new construction underway in northern Cook County. Meanwhile, available sublease space nearly doubled in 2024 to 16.4 million square feet, according to the report, another sign of a sluggish Chicago industrial market. Transwestern projects vacancies will continue to rise in 2025 amid weakening demand. On Thursday, Dermody announced it had acquired a 40-acre site along the I-55 corridor in southwest suburban Romeoville, which it plans to develop into a 460,428-square-foot logistics facility. The company is set to break ground this spring, with completion slated for the first quarter of 2026. Despite the slow start at Dermody's much larger north suburban logistics development, Driscoll remains optimistic that demand will eventually catch up with supply, and the second phase may soon begin to rise in Glenview. 'We have a pretty robust prospect list, with a handful of larger tenants looking at The Logistics Campus because there are so few options for Class A space in the area,' Driscoll said in the email. 'Based on the prospect activity, we're very confident construction on additional buildings could begin this year if the local market continues its current pace.'
