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The Citizen, 2017-05-11, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 11, 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 Member CMCA CCNA AUDITED Member of the Ontario Press Council We are not responsible for unsolicited newsscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are m Copyright Moving to a different level Sometimes it takes the view from a distance to make us see what's right in front of our noses. Canadians artists, for instance, are never really appreciated at home until they become famous in the U.S. That kind of recognition for what's happening in Blyth these days, for instance, came in Ottawa last week when cabinet ministers and leading rural MPs expressed their fascination with what's happening, from the Canadian Centre for Rural Creativity to the Blyth Festival to Cowbell Brewing Company to the Guelph-to-Goderich Rail Trail. What all these initiatives have in common is casting aside perceptions of what can be done in a rural community. Will Amos, vice -chair of the Liberal Party's Rural Caucus and MP for Pontiac, was quoted as saying he wishes the Blyth group could visit his riding to show people what can be done. More than 100 people, including MPs and Senators attended a Taste of Rural reception to drink Cowbell beer and snack on Blyth Farm Cheese and learn about a whole new way of thinking about what can happen in a rural village. The idea for the meeting came from Bruce County native and Carleton University journalism professor Allan Thompson (the Liberal candidate in the 2015 election) who first became fascinated with what's happening in Blyth when he heard about the Fare on Four dinner which fed 1,419 people on Blyth's main street in 2014. He was so intrigued, he and his son joined the volunteers who made the dinner so successful. Seeing others so excited by what's happening in Blyth should be reason for local residents to take a closer look and see if there's a way they can play a part. Clearly what's taking place here might not only reinvigorate our own area but have ramifications far beyond Huron County. — KR Dictatorship seems efficient Something's in the air these days that is tempting an increasing number of people to support politicians who promise to make things happen, even if it means suspending the rights our democracies were designed to protect. From Donald Trump's election as U.S. President to Marine Le Pen's second -place finish in the French presidential election to the courting of populist voters by several of the candidates for the leadership of the Conservative Party here in Canada, there seems to be an attraction toward an authoritarian leader who can get things done, even if the niceties of the constitution are trampled. Maxime Bernier, regarded by many as the front-runner to become the next Conservative leader, suggested that if he was prime minister he'd call out the army to prevent asylum seekers from walking across the border, using the constitution's "notwithstanding" clause to get whatever resources are needed to stop the border crossings. Using the notwithstanding clause to prove they're leaders of action who aren't going to let the courts or the constitution get in the way of getting things done is a big thing with many of the leadership candidates. Lisa Raitt said she'd use the clause to override constitutional free speech rights of protestors who might get in the way of the Energy East pipeline. (Candidates who have not succumbed to the temptation to threaten invoking the clause include Andrew Scheer and Michael Chong.) Ironically, many of the people who are most likely to support this kind of "get 'er done" leadership are the same people who regularly say government has too much power and that government is trampling on their rights. Funny thing about rights, though — people who are vigilant in defending their own rights are often quite willing to take away the rights of the people they disagree with. — KR Are we allowed to be different? As the U.S. government pushes to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), U.S. leaders like Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross seem to think that anything Canada does differently than Americans is somehow a subsidy that must be erased. While slapping tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber Ross claimed our lumber was subsidized because it was harvested from crown -owned land while U.S. lumber companies own their own forests. Americans also think Canada's supply management system for dairy and poultry products is a subsidy because it's different from their system. Many Canadians might agree. But few Canadians would agree that because our healthcare system is unlike the American system we should change. That, warned well-known Canadian Dr. Danielle Martin and Dr. Sandro Galea, of Boston University, writing this week in The Globe and Mail, may be a target of the U.S. when NAFTA is renegotiated. U.S. health care providers and insurance companies may seek to get a chunk of the Canadian market. It's hard to imagine a Canadian government giving in on the issue, but it's not hard to imagine a Donald Trump government playing hardball to serve the purposes of the rich U.S. healthcare industry. — KR -HOWEVER, WE DO EXPECT STEAYSAIIVES GOLNG FORWARD.. Looking Back Through the Years May 10, 1944 On May 9, the Morning Star Rebekah Lodge hosted Sister Marguerite Brazier, the District Deputy -President. Molesworth Hall would be the place to be on May 17 for the play His Women Folk, brought to the stage by the Evening Auxiliary of the Listowel United Church. Admission to the evening of fun and drama was 25 cents. A number of dignitaries were on hand from London for the annual Brussels cadet inspection, which was held at the Brussels Arena. May 11, 1967 A number of local students were awarded for their talents at the Brussels, Blyth, Belgrave central schools' music festival, which was held at East Wawanosh Central School. Linda Wilson of Brussels and David Street of Blyth were both awarded top marks of 88 in the final day of the music festival. In the end, when the final note had been played, it was Brussels students who had won the majority of the festival's medals. Brussels Lion Allan Johnston was the master of ceremonies as the Lions Club held its annual amateur night at the Legion Hall. The evening began with the playing of "0' Canada" by Margaret Thompson that was then followed by a sing -song led by Johnston to set the musical tone for the night. The Lions had been busy that week, as it was also reported that three carloads of Lions travelled to Goderich that week to host a night of Bingo for the residents of the Ontario Hospital in Goderich. The Brussels Post detailed the stories of four century farms within one and a half miles of one another in the year of Canada's centennial anniversary. The report stated that the first settlers to locate on the 14th Concession of Grey Township were brothers Lauchlin and Hugh McNeil, who chose lots 16, 17 and 18 in 1852. The next settlers were then the Shiell brothers, John and George, who came to the township in the spring of 1853. John took up lots 19 and 20 on the 14th, while George took up the same lots on the 15th. May 13, 1981 Some renovation work was ongoing at Blyth Community Memorial Hall as a truck from an insulation company was photographed unloading some insulation for the hall. The material was destined for the building's attic to ensure that rising heat would stay in the building. On May 30, a walkathon was scheduled as part of the International Day of the Disabled. The walk was set to begin at Trinity Anglican Parish Hall in Blyth and would run all the way to Walton and then back to Blyth. Proceeds from the event would go towards Participation House in Holland Centre, a dwelling for the disabled. Nearly 150 people were in Auburn just a few days earlier to help Margaret R. Jackson celebrate her 95th birthday. The community celebration was held in the Sunday school room of the village's Knox United Church. Jackson had spent decades teaching at various schools throughout the community, including SS#3 Colborne and SS#16 East Wawanosh. The Shirley Vincent piano recital, which was held at the Blyth United Church, drew a sizable crowd that was said to have filled the church. Twenty-six performers took to the piano that night and performed for the capacity crowd. The Canadian Cancer Society held a successful door-to-door fundraising campaign throughout the village of Blyth once again, collecting over $1,100 in just one day. Organizer Donna Sippel thanked the community for its generosity through the campaign. May 14, 1997 Huron MPP Helen Johns said that the coming provincial budget held some good news for her riding, promising that she would make every effort to tap into local programs to maximize funding from the budget in her home riding for her constituents. The Wingham and District Hospital signed an agreement with the London Regional Cancer Centre that was said to be a "cornerstone event" in the hospital's history that would provide cancer treatment in a rural Ontario setting, a rarity at the time. Ahead of work on the coming Booze Days in a Dry County at the Blyth Festival, the playwrights were seeking local stories about living in a dry county, which dated back nearly 40 years earlier in Huron County. The Festival was "urgently" seeking anecdotes, recollections and photos that would aid in the creation of the play. The ribbon had been cut on a number of newly -renovated areas of Hullett Central Public School, including the administration offices and the library. A number of dignitaries were on hand, including Huron County Director of Education Paul Carroll and community leader Helen Lee, among others.