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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2018-07-19, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2018. Editorials Opinions President: Keith Roulston • Publisher: Deb Sholdice Editor: Shawn Loughlin • Reporter: Denny Scott Advertising Sales: Brenda Nyveld • Heather Fraser The Citizen is published 50 times a year in Brussels, Ontario by North Huron Publishing Company Inc. Subscriptions are payable in advance at a rate of $38.00/year ($36.19 + 51.81 G.S.T.) in Canada; $160.00/year in U.S.A. and $205/year in other foreign countries. Advertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of a typographical error, only that portion of the advertisement will be credited. Advertising Deadlines: Mon. 2 p.m. - Brussels; Mon. 4 p.m. - Blyth. Canada MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 40050141 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO CIRCULATION DEPT. PO BOX 152 BRUSSELS ON NOG 1H0 email: info@northhuron.on.ca We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada. The Citizen P.O. Box 429, P.O. Box 152, BLYTH, Ont. BRUSSELS, Ont. NOM 1H0 NOG 1 H0 Ph. 519-523-4792 Phone Fax 519-523-9140 519-887-9114 E-mail info@northhuron.on.ca Website www.northhuron.on.ca ocna ab CCNA Member of the Ontario Press Council CMCA AUDITED We are not responsible for unsolicited newsscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright Firefighters are worth it Local municipalities are facing higher costs for training volunteer firefighters according to Marty Bedard, Fire Chief for Huron East, North Huron and Morris-Turnberry, as reported in last week's Citizen. New provincial regulations requiring more training and certification will drive up the cost of training new firefighters, Chief Bedard recently told Huron East Council. A requirement that certification must be completed within two years of the recruit beginning his/her service means that training at the department level is almost impossible to complete in time, yet sending them to a training centre can cost $6,300- $7,300 each. Once again this is a case of municipalities facing higher costs because of provincial regulations with no compensation from the province. Still, municipal taxpayers should also ask themselves if it isn't money well spent to give better protection to our neighbours who volunteer to serve us as firefighters. While we don't want useless roadblocks put in the way of people joining local fire departments, we also need to protect the lives and health of these courageous people who put themselves on the line to protect their neighbours from fire and other dangers. In the past, too many volunteer firefighters have been killed or developed long-term health problems because of exposure to noxious fumes from fires. Nobody likes to pay higher taxes, but we owe it to our volunteer firefighters to give them the training and equipment required to keep them safe while they keep us safe. — KR Ignoring issue isn't the answer Many parents no doubt applauded last week when the new provincial Progressive Conservative government pledged to make good on a campaign promise to repeal the sex education curriculum introduced by the Liberal government in 2015 and replace it with the previous curriculum from 1998. These parents may be happy to make elements of that 2015 program go away, but that doesn't mean the problems that curriculum was designed to combat have disappeared. The world for young people has been revolutionized since 1998. As more and more kids carry smartphones, they have access to plenty of information about sex through the interne right on that instrument in their pocket. That information may, or may not, be accurate. Online pornography offers young boys a distorted view of relations between the sexes, with women's sole purpose seemingly to fulfill the fantasies of men. Girls, too, can get a sick view of what's expected of them. Meanwhile social media can be used to bully others and sexting can provide the ammunition for that abuse if a couple's relationship breaks down. The 2015 curriculum dealt with issues like these. Many of the protests against the 2015 curriculum came from parents who were trying to maintain conservative values. Often it seemed they worried that their children would be infected by discussion of things like same-sex relationships. Ignoring homosexuality doesn't make it disappear, however, and the world will return to a much less understanding place for students who have discovered they are gay. The government has promised to design a new sexual education curriculum after more consultation with parents. Yet if the parents who matter most are those who don't want a frank discussion of the problems young people face today, not the far larger number of parents who supported the 2015 curriculum, it's hard to imagine a realistic policy is likely to be adopted after more "consultation". — KR It's a problem, not a crisis On Monday an emergency meeting of the House of Commons immigration committee was held over the problem of refugee claimants crossing the border from the U.S. Somehow it feels more like an "opportunity" meeting than an emergency. Certainly there is a problem. Refugee claimants are filling college dorm rooms in Toronto and must give way to students next month. The federal government must also relieve the financial burden on cities like Toronto and provinces like Ontario which are bearing extra costs because of the influx of desperate people. They've promised they will. But with the number of asylum seekers dropping steadily from a peak of 20,000 last year, we're hardly in a crisis. The federal government has been active trying to get the word out that reaching Canada doesn't come with a guarantee of staying here. Lately the bulk of refugee claimants have been from Nigeria, yet only 30 per cent of Nigerians are being accepted as refugees once their hearings are held. But for politicians like Conservative MP Michelle Rempel and Ontario's Community and Social Services Minister Lisa MacLeod an opportunity to hammer the federal Liberal government seems too good to pass up. The only thing sadder than their mean-spirited political opportunism is if there really is a political constituency large enough to make this divisive ploy worthwhile. — KR Looking Back Through the Years July 23, 1958 The public was officially invited to take part in the grand opening ceremonies for Baker's Convalescent Home in Brussels. Over 100 members of the Cardiff family celebrated the centennial anniversary of the family's homestead near Brussels with a special reunion celebration. Lincoln Martin, presiding minister of the Brussels Jehovah's Witness congregation, was planning on attending the International Jehovah's Witness convention in New York City, which was scheduled for July 27 to Aug. 3. July 26, 1978 Trinity Anglican Church in Blyth was set to mark a tremendous milestone with its 100th anniversary on the horizon. The Blyth Centre for the Arts was working to connect film -lovers through its new film club, that organizers were hoping would be set up for the fall and spring seasons of 1978 and 1979. For those wanting to see the real thing, the Blyth Festival Summer Festival took a major step forward with the installation of air conditioning in Blyth Community Memorial Hall. The air conditioning was one of the large steps in an ambitious renovation program for the hall in the coming years. It was announced that the man who took "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind", Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon, would be opening the 1978 International Plowing Match on Jim Armstrong's farm near Wingham later that year. In addition to having the celebrity on site, organizers were expecting over 500 exhibitors to make their way to Huron County for the match as well. July 24, 1991 A number of volunteers put their names forward to be part of development committees to help with economic development in townships throughout Huron County. After the inaugural meeting was held in June in Wingham, a number of people said they were interested in the endeavour. The meeting, which was held in Brussels, would help to form community development areas for the Townships of Grey, Howick, Morris, Turnberry, East and West Wawanosh, the Town of Wingham and the Village of Brussels. While organizers were happy with all of the residents who put their names forward for the second meeting, Brian Treble of the Huron County Planning and Development Department said he hoped that even more still would come forward ahead of the group's next meeting, which was set for July 31 in Belgrave. Parking in Blyth had become a hot topic, with one resident writing a letter to the editor of The Citizen, complaining that the village's residents were becoming "second- class citizens" to tourists making their way to the village for Blyth Festival shows who were taking up all the parking on the main street. Councillor Steven Sparling, however, rebutted by saying that he couldn't agree that there was a problem, saying that looking at a large number of vehicles coming to Blyth could only be viewed as something positive for the village and its residents. Fifty-four lawn bowlers braved the heat to compete at the annual Brussels Lawn Bowling Trebles Tournament. Reg Robinson of Mitchell was the tournament's big winner, claiming three victories, while Buzz Whiteside of Elmira came in second. Auburn played host to a women's fastball tournament over the weekend, welcoming teams from Stratford, Wingham, Belmore, Wyoming, Goderich, Lucknow, Dungannon, Auburn and Benmiller to the hamlet for the day of sport. July 24, 2008 Just under halfway through the Blyth Festival season, Artistic Director Eric Coates was happy to see that ticket sales had risen 40 per cent over the previous year's sales. Coates said seeing those figures was a relief after worry that increased gas prices and a decline in tourism would affect the Festival's bottom line. Being ahead of where the Festival expected to be was especially impressive given the reports coming out of the Stratford Shakespeare and Shaw Festivals, which were both feeling the tourism pinches over the summer. Huron East Mayor Joe Seili made the short trip from Brussels to Walton to officially erect signs in the hamlet declaring it to be Motocross Town for the duration of the Walton TransCan, which was set to hit the dirt the next month. Seili made the declaration with the help of Walton Raceway owner Chris Lee, who said he was expecting upwards of 30,000 people to attend the event this year. The Blyth Lions Club hosted its annual horseshoe tournament. While it was the inaugural hosting of the tournament, the club hoped to make it an annual event, depending on its popularity.