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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2017-09-07, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 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 Classroom resources needed As many Ontario elementary school teachers went back to the classroom last week to prepare for the beginning of classes this week, you can bet some took time to complain about the latest report of the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO). According the EQAO, only 50 per cent of Grade 6 students met the standard for mathematics, down from 58 per cent back in 2012. Meanwhile the number of Grade 3 students and Grade 9 applied math students who met the provincial standards dropped again, too. The latest results show that there's something wrong with the province's educational system. Of course, for a lot of parents, education begins and ends with their child's teacher, which is why teachers get so frustrated with the EQAO. Some question the relevance of the standardized testing at all. Meanwhile the integration of students with special needs within regular classrooms may be a good idea but also must be supported. When this change was initiated, educational assistants (EAs) were assigned to help teachers give extra help to these students without reducing the attention for other students. Funding cuts have led to a reduction in the number of EAs, leaving teachers to try to cope with a greater workload. On top of that, say those knowledgeable about the mathematics curriculum, teachers have been caught between two philosophies of teaching math: teaching the basics versus "discovery learning" which suggests a more creative approach. That's left teachers on their own with no textbooks, expected to find their own lessons for students. Clearly, more resources at the classroom level are needed if our schools are to reach the standards we have set for them. The problem is finding a way to make sure any additional money in the system gets to where it's needed. — KR Time to pay the bills When Justin Trudeau promised during the last election campaign to run a $10 billion deficit in order to build infrastructure and stimulate the economy, many Canadians agreed it was a good idea. They didn't envision the $28.5 billion deficit forecast for this year or 2017's booming economy that hardly needs government stimulation. Based on statistics released last week that showed the Canadian economy grew at a rate of 4.5 per cent in the second quarter, the government could argue that its stimulation of the economy is working. That growth is on top of a 3.7 per cent growth in the first quater of 2017. Canada now has the strongest growth rate of any of its allies. The Bank of Canada is expected to raise interest rates soon to slow growth before it becomes too inflationary. At the same time the government is stimulating the economy with deficit spending, and the interest on that exploding debt will grow when interest rates increase. The spending that's actually going into building roads, bridges and subway lines that are needed to grow our country may be worth a little indebtedness but at three times the government's original deficit plan, it seems likely there's a lot of borrowing going on simply to finance things we want versus things we need. It's a lot more fun — a lot more "sunny way" — to run a government that's always giving people something instead of telling them there's no money for their favourite projects. But we know that sunny days are followed by rainy days and we need to set money aside for those more difficult times. John Maynard Keynes's theory was that governments should borrow money to spend during bad times to stimulate the economy, then pay it back during good times. Prime Minister Trudeau seems to understand the first part of the theory but seems to have missed the second. — KR Some tragedies matter more? Last week there were tragic floods in several areas of the world, but when it comes to the media, some tragedies matter more than others. Flooding in India affected 41 million people and, as this was written on Friday, taken 1,200 lives. The events received only a minute or so of coverage on our Canadian newscasts. Those reports were squeezed in around hours of coverage of the destruction and flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey in Texas where sadly, at the time this is written, 45 people have died and the death toll is expected to rise. The people suffering in the Houston area deserve our sympathy, of course, but the attention given to the two tragedies is disproportionate to the loss of life and the number of people affected. If the argument is that the Texas flood was more immediate because it was closer, then how does CBC explain the fact it almost ignored the damage even closer to home in Windsor's destructive and disruptive floods? Until a life lost in India or Africa matters as much as a life lost in the U.S. or Europe, we're not going to grasp the fact that all humans have equal worth. — KR If you have 20 students, but only enough bus drivers for 6 of them, how many students are left standing on the side of the road? srI. -r ..-„ ....sn 5 ameAmmamial Looking Back Through the Years September 6, 1944 George McNall was appointed as the Inspector for the Commissioner of Loans, Toronto, for Huron and Bruce Counties. For his position, McNall was allowed to continue living in Blyth. McNall was a veteran of both World War I and World War II. In World War I he served with distinction for the entire four years and in World War II he served for two and a half years, returning to Huron County in January, 1944, attaining the rank of Company Sergeant-Major. McNall had also served at home as well, acting as the president of the Blyth Agricultural Society and a member of the Blyth Masonic Lodge. September 7, 1967 A public meeting was held at the Brussels Library in regards to the potential removal of the Brussels Canadian National Railway (CNR) agent. The meeting was said to be well attended by many Brussels residents, all of whom expressed various reasons why the change should not be made. A final decision had yet to be made. Kenneth Scott of Blyth was brought in to be the new principal at Brussels Public School. At the same time, for the 1967/1968 school year, enrolment had increased at the school. Scott, a graduate of Stratford Teachers' College, had previously worked at schools in Blyth, Dungannon and Chesley before taking on the top job at the Brussels school. September 2, 1981 The village of Blyth and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce executed a trade of land, the result of which would be a new building for the village's bank. In addition to having a new building for its bank, the village would also be $12,000 richer as a result of the transaction. The new structure was scheduled for construction the following year. With a six-week postal strike now ended, The Blyth Standard reported that some Huron County businesses had been hurt by it more than others. Blyth had been a busy village for its firefighters in the past week, as they were called out to three different fires over the seven-day period. One of the fires destroyed a barn just north of Blyth. Fire Chief Irvin Bowes estimated that 100 tons of hay and straw were lost in the blaze that took Hendrik Smid's barn, the cause of which had still yet to be determined. However, thanks to the quick, hard work of the firefighters, Smid was still able to milk his cows, as his new shed, milking equipment and silos were all saved from the massive fire. September 10, 1997 Thanks in part to a beautiful weekend, approximately 13,000 people were said to have attended the annual reunion of the Huron Pioneer Thresher and Hobby Association. The event drew over 800 campers, 57 craft exhibitors, 18 steam engines, 20 outdoor concession stands and 29 small engine collectors. On the culinary end of things, members of the Blyth Fire Department also found themselves to be quite busy, as they served breakfast to just under 1,500 people. The firefighters were said to have gone through 280 pounds of sausages, 340 pounds of bacon and 80 litres of maple syrup. A municipal election was set for Nov. 10 and Bailey's name would be on the ballot once again. Blyth Reeve Mason Bailey declared his intention to seek re- election for the office of reeve at the Sept. 2 meeting of Blyth Village Council. A number of issues required clarification at a special meeting in Brussels. Local residents used the meeting to confront Morris Township Council and fire chiefs from both Wingham and Blyth in regards to the first response coverage area in Brussels, the protocol surrounding the call system and the dispatch method. There were misunderstandings and confusion surrounding which department would cover which call in which coverage areas, which led to what was described as "fiery" discussion throughout the meeting. Huron County councillors said they were still concerned about a lack of concrete information surrounding the costs associated with downloading from the province. Ken Nix, the Huron County treasurer, told councillors that he estimated taxes would rise in Huron by 27 per cent as a result of downloading from the province. While the figure was shocking, it still wasn't the whole story, as Nix told councillors that exact costs for some of the programs scheduled to be downloaded were still not known at the time. On the bright side, however, the provincial government had set aside $500 million in transitional funding to help municipalities through the downloading process. Just how that money would be distributed, and to whom, however, remained a mystery.