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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2017-04-06, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 2017. Editorials Opinions Publisher: Keith Roulston • Associate 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 $36.00/year ($34.29 + $1.71 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. PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 40050141 Canada 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 1 HO NOG 1 HO Ph. 519-523-4792 Phone Fax 519-523-9140 519-887-9114 E-mail info@northhuron.on.ca Website www.northhuron.on.ca AOCna tom. Member CCNA Member of the Ontario Press Council CMCA AUDITED We are not responsible for unsolicited newsscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are m Copyright A plan, at last At long last there's a plan to provide broadband internet service to the majority of Huron County homes, according to information revealed recently to Huron County Council. Unfortunately it's still going to be a long and uncertain wait for some rural residents. A coalition of local telecom co-operatives proposed a three-phase program that would result in more than 98 per cent of homes in the county being able to connect to fibre optic high-speed cable. It won't come cheaply, with an estimated cost of nearly $32 million over the next few years. The proposal is not certain to proceed, either. Though the co- ops, (Hurontel, Tuckersmith Communications Co-operative and Hay Communications Co-operative) plan to invest millions of their own money they'd also need Huron County to kick in more than $7 million and the federal government many millions more. They need the county's pledge before they can apply for federal money and that, as of this writing, is not a sure thing. Some county councillors were shocked when they saw the proposed cost of the internet project. About 3,800 homes would be offered service at a cost of $32 million, or more than $8,400 per home. Still, just as we provide roads to rural areas where there are fewer people living on each mile, if we believe in the need for equality of basic services, this is a one- time cost that will go a long way toward creating a level playing field for all county residents. Here's hoping Huron County councillors see the value of investing in this project and that the federal funds will be forthcoming too. It's been a long wait for those outside Huron's urban centres to get access to high- speed internet which is almost a necessity in modern Canada. — KR Extremists are so similar Silly, extreme hatred reared its head in two places again last week, making most Canadians wonder what drives people to such viciousness. In Peel Region, a man who runs an online publication ironically called "The Freedom Report" offered a reward of $1,000 for anyone who could smuggle a camera into a Friday prayer session of Muslim students and produce video "evidence that we need to put these kids and the imams and [Peel District School Board chair] Janet McDougald in jail for hate speech and inciting hatred in our public schools". One would guess his money will remain in his bank account. Meanwhile in Saint-Apollinaire, Quebec, near Quebec City, a zoning change required to allow for a Muslim cemetery has brought out the paranoia in some residents. "This cemetery is just the embryo of other projects" wrote one opponent. "These people are here to grab religious and political power." The irony of anti -Muslim bigots is that their extreme views are so comparable to those of radical Muslims. The gunman who shot six worshippers in a Quebec City mosque was just as filled with rage as the men who drove into pedestrians in various terrorist acts in Europe. And the silly pettiness of the extremism is also similar. Reports from Mosul, in Iraq, say when extremists ran the schools before ISIS was driven out, math students were forbidden to use the + sign because of its similarity to the Christian cross. Apparently things just didn't add up in their world. We can't do anything about the idiocy of ISIS in Iraq other than to support troops trying to rid the country of their stupid, nonsensical, hate - filled regime, but hopefully we can persuade people here at home to use a little common sense when it comes to the role of a tiny minority of Muslims in a great big country. — KR Living in their own world The furor over hefty payments to top Bombardier executives shows that people in top business offices live in their own reality and can justify nearly anything that rewards themselves. The public anger that resulted in street protests in Montreal on the weekend, was over a nearly 50 -per -cent compensation increase for six top Bombardier executives, for a total remuneration of $32.6 million. The public became irate because the pay increase came on the heels of announced job cuts of 14,000 employees by the global company, 2,000 of them here in Canada. Perhaps the executives thought they deserved the big payout after convincing the Quebec government to invest $1 billion in the company and the federal government to loan the company $372 million. Confronted by reporters after the news about the pay raises, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reminded people that as a private company Bombardier must pay enough to keep top talent. But Bombardier officials want to have it both ways — be a private company when they decide on pay but asking for government money to keep them going. A company that has to lay off 14,000 employees and that can't deliver Toronto's new streetcars on time hardly seems like one that should be rewarding its leaders, but such is the sheltered world of executives that they see nothing wrong with reaping rewards despite their failures. — KR Looking Back Through the Years April 5, 1944 Production of maple syrup at the RR3, Brussels farm of Robert Locking was halted when his maple sugar shelter and evaporator were destroyed by fire. After boiling the day's syrup until about 5 p.m. that evening, the family awoke at approximately 2 a.m. to find the structure completely engulfed in flames. Nearly 2,200 ration books had been issued at the Brussels Library over the course of three days in the previous week. The time period also included the final day for motorists to fill up their tanks. One gas station owner said he sold 800 gallons of gas on that day alone. Rev. Malcolm Gillies was set to conduct the services at both Cranbrook and Ethel Presbyterian Churches on Easter Sunday. The Brussels Town Hall would be the setting for the village's annual Easter dance, scheduled for Friday, April 14. Frankie Banks and his orchestra would be performing that night with proceeds from the evening to benefit the Overseas Cigarette Fund. April 6, 1967 The Brussels Horticultural Society was in the midst of planning a bus trip for members in June. The group decided to visit Niagara Falls together on the trip. Two broomball teams from Brussels won their respective North Huron championships. The ladies team defeated Teeswater by scores of 4-1 and 4-0 to take the tournament crown, while the New American Hotel team came out on top of Wingham with a 2-0 win and a scoreless draw to win the men's side of the tournament. The Brussels Lions Club was set to host its annual amateur variety night at the Legion Hall on May 6. The club was still looking for entries, saying that the first 36 submitted would be accepted and secure a place on stage. Roger West, a broadcaster with CKNX in Wingham, was named the Conservative candidate for Huron - Bruce in the next provincial general election. West had only one opponent for the title, Reeve George Joynt of Lucknow, who withdrew before a vote could take place. George McCutcheon of Brussels oversaw the election, as he had been named president of the association in the meeting's election of officers. April 8, 1981 The Blyth Memorial Hall Committee decided that rental rates for the year would remain at the same level they were the previous year. It would cost $20 to rent the basement of the hall, plus an additional $5 for the kitchen. An outside group renting the auditorium would have to pay $50 for the night. The Blyth Lions Club's annual Vegas Night had been deemed a success. Chris McNall was the big winner of the $300 top prize, while Barry MacDonald took home $200 and Kerry Lynn Hallahan won $100. A survey completed for the Huron County Federation of Agriculture found that while the amount of county land under foreign absentee ownership had doubled in the previous five years, it was still being farmed. The Blyth 4-H Club dubbed the "Nimble Thimbles" held its sixth and final meeting ahead of its achievement day. Members were instructed to have their hand -sewn garments completed ahead of achievement day, which had been scheduled for later in April. April 9, 1997 The Blyth Festival chose award- winning playwright Anne Chislett to be its next artistic director, taking over for Janet Amos, beginning with the 1998 season. The Festival's board of directors made the choice after considering 25 candidates over the course of four months. The Citizen reported that the list would eventually be shortened to six valid candidates who were interviewed over the course of the previous weekend. Keith Roulston, president of the board of directors, said that the numerous candidates presented the board with a number of potential directions. He added that hiring a writer to head the theatre was a bit of a departure, but said that the move fit with the Festival's mandate of creating new plays. In the previous decade, Chislett had won two Chalmers Awards and one Governor General's Award Her award-winning play, Quiet In The Land, was being remounted by Amos for the 1997 season, her final season before Chislett took over. It was budget time for the Huron County Board of Education once again and those involved said there was little good news to pass along. Director of Education Paul Carroll said that due to funding cuts at the provincial level, the Huron board would be receiving 12.2 per cent less than the previous year for its per -pupil grant. Blyth councillors received some good news during the 1997 budget process, finding out that the village would have a go -forward surplus in the budget of nearly $60,000. In addition, Municipal Auditor Paul Seebach said that the village's water rates were now at a level that would sustain the system.