Ontario Mayor Randy Hutchinson read a proclamation at Thursday’s city council meeting recognizing the month of May as Mental Health Month. Sherry Branham, the director of external operations serving on the mental health board, accepted the proclamation and talked about the need for awareness.
“One in four people is the statistic,” said Branham, “of people living with mental health issues. People who have medical illnesses have lots of support, whereas people with mental illness are often scrutinized. So we ask you to help us change that attitude society often has and not fear those people who are struggling with mental illness.”
Branham explained that “there is a chemical in your system called dopamine. If you have too little dopamine or too much, you either have schizophrenia or Parkinson’s disease.”
Law Director Andy Medwig was recognized by Branham as being a member of the Mental Health Board.
Following the proclamation, Ontario resident Craig Hunt addressed the issue of wages for people hired after February 2013. He felt that people doing the same job should be paid the same, regardless of when they were hired. Council person Michelle Webb addressed Hunt’s concerns and explained that research was done on starting wages within other cities.
“These wages are still considerably higher than surrounding cities for new hires. I understand that once you get to that top level of after five years, you may not be making the same money as someone whose been here six, eight or ten years. But in an effort to be fiscally responsible in this economy, we felt we could still get good employees that wanted to work for the wages we were willing to pay.”
The mayor informed council that the bandstand is coming along and four concerts are being planned for this year.
