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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2016-01-07, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2016. Editorials Opinions Publisher: Keith Roulston Editor: Shawn Loughlin • Reporter: Denny Scott Advertising Sales: Lori Patterson & Brenda Nyveld 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 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO CIRCULATION DEPT. PO BOX 152 BRUSSELS ON NOG 1HO email: info@northhuron.on.ca The Citizen P.O. Box 429, P.O. Box 152, BLYTH, Ont. BRUSSELS, Ont. NOM 1H0 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 Canada ..ocna CCNA Member of the Ontario Press Council We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund of the We are not responsible for unsolicited newsscripts or Department of Canadian Heritage. photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright CMCA AUDITED Make the most of 2016 Each new year begins with many people making resolutions to make worthwhile changes in the year ahead. Maybe as communities we should also be making resolutions about making our communities better and stronger in 2016. For one thing, 2016 is the year before Canada marks its 150th anniversary of Confederation in 2017. Now is the time for people to mobilize to take on projects that will mark that significant anniversary. As well, if we want our communities to be strong, we can't afford to just float with the tide that is often working against small communities. Places like Brussels and Blyth have to re -invent themselves to find new reasons for their future vitality. For all these reasons, we need to come together in 2016 to work for stronger communities. — KR People need a say on reform Those who want to see the current first -past -the -post electoral system made more "democratic" have one problem: they don't want to leave it to Canadians to democratically decide if they approve the new system. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has promised the 2015 federal election will be the last decided by the old system where the candidate in each riding who gets the largest number of votes will become the Member of Parliament and the party with the most MPs forms the government. That process can mean, as in 2015, that a party with less than a majority of votes nationally can hold a majority of the seats. There are various options for changing the system from proportional representation with each party getting representation coinciding with its share of voters' support, to mixed member representation and ranked ballots in each riding. Before the discussion has even begun, however, sides are squaring off. The Conservative Party has called for a referendum before any change in the electoral system is implemented. Reformers are afraid of that proposal, however, because nearly always when voters are asked to approve some kind of electoral reform, they've voted against it. When Ontario voters had a chance to change the system in 2007, for instance, 63 per cent of people voted against reform. So supporters of electoral reform are pressing the government not to "give in" to the Conservatives' call to let people democratically decide if they want any new system proposed. In doing so, they end up sounding downright silly. The Conservatives are right: people should have the right to decide if they want any change that's proposed. If they decide they don't approve, then democracy has spoken and we should be glad voters have had a chance to have their say. — KR So you like a strong leader? For many people there can be something attractive about straight- shooting, "tell it like it is" characters whether it be hockey analyst Don Cherry, would-be U.S. president Donald Trump or Russian President Vladimir Putin. Have two of these hardliners face off with military weapons at their disposal, however, and lives are at stake. Putin has maintained his political support within Russia by "standing up" for his country, invading Crimea and eastern Ukraine and threatening NATO over perceived dangers to Russia. More than 9,000 people have died in Ukraine, 2,500 of them civilians. Russia has supported strongman President Bashar al -Assad in his battle to maintain control of Syria against rebels, many of them supported by Iran and Saudi Arabia, two other uncompromising, undemocratic countries. Leadership of those two rivals are currently demonstrating their strength (or stubbornness) over the execution of a Shiite Muslim cleric by Saudi Arabia and the resulting demonstrations in Iran, raising tensions in the Middle East to the boiling point. Many people admire strength and refusal to compromise in their leaders, but unwillingness to understand an opponent's side of an issue can result in foolhardy gamesmanship that can tip into war. That's why even the remote possibility that Donald Trump could become President of the United States and have the world's most powerful army at his command is so scary. — KR Letters Policy The Citizen welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must be signed and should include a daytime telephone number for the purpose of verification only. Letters that are not signed will not be printed. Submissions may be edited for length, clarity and content, using fair comment as our guideline. The Citizen reserves the right to refuse any letter on the basis of unfair bias, prejudice or inaccurate information. As well, letters can only be printed as space allows. Please keep your letters brief and concise. Looking Back Through the Years January 7, 1959 The rural hockey schedule was finalized and announced in the first issue of The Blyth Standard of the year. The season was scheduled to begin on Jan. 7 with the team from the 13th of Hullett playing against Constance. Auburn and Blyth would also play games in the league, with games spreading throughout the rest of January and into early February before playoffs were set to begin. Local MP L.E. Cardiff had some misfortune at his Brussels home when attempting to clear snow from his roof. Cardiff's ladder slipped and he fell, which resulted in the fracture of both of his heels upon impact. Cardiff had since returned home from the hospital and was wearing casts on both legs for a number of months until he was healed. Mr. and Mrs. George Radford, before leaving for Florida for the season, reported seeing a fox on their front lawn "loafing around". January 8, 1970 The Brussels Curling Club held its first local mixed bonspiel on Dec. 30 with eight rinks competing. Placing first in the important contest was the squad consisting of Skip Elmer Young, Vice Wilma Rathwell, Second Vice Neil Hemingway and Lead Mary Huther. The Kozy Korner restaurant in Brussels had new owners in the form of Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert Le Blanc of Waterloo who had purchased the restaurant from Mr. and Mrs. Mel Jacklin. A number of scores from the local Tyke hockey league were reported, including a game in which the Bruins triumphed over the Maple Leafs. In that game, Tim Prior was all over the ice. He scored four goals and had five assists, while Scott Wheeler was the totality of his team's offence, scoring all five Maple Leaf goals unassisted. The Bruins were again in action later in the week, but the score was much lower than in the team's previous game, but they were still victorious by a score of 5-3 over the Red Wings. Prior was again prolific in this game, scoring one goal and providing three assists, having involvement with four of the team's five goals. January 1, 1986 After its first few months of serving the community, The Citizen's free circulation period was set to come to a close. An issue of the newspaper would now cost readers 40 cents. The Citizen reported a great response to its initial subscription drive, with nearly half of those receiving free issues deciding to subscribe. The Citizen announced that it would begin handing out citizenship awards to honour those in the community who were going above and beyond in terms of volunteerism and community service. The newspaper began accepting nominations and asked that they be returned by the middle of January for consideration. Morris Township Reeve Bill Elston marked a significant milestone in 1985, when he decided to step back after over 30 years in municipal politics. He sat down with The Citizen and spoke about how much things had changed over that time. It was in 1952 when he first joined council and he said things had changed quite a lot in Huron County since then. January 9, 2002 It was announced that at the end of 2002, Brussels would be without a pharmacy for the first time in over 100 years. Kang Yoon, the owner of the pharmacy, said that it was becoming far too difficult for him to maintain the pharmacy in Brussels while living in Waterloo. Due to a nationwide pharmacist shortage, Yoon said he had found it difficult to sell the business in recent years and felt closure was his only option. He first took over the pharmacy in 1981, buying it from Jack Stewart, for whom he worked for a number of years before taking over the business. A mix of proven commodities and new plays would highlight the Blyth Festival in 2002, with The Outdoor Donnellys, the runaway hit, returning for another season, while The Drawer Boy, another wildly successful Festival commission would also return. New to the Festival in 2002 would be Goodbye, Piccadilly by Douglas Bowie and the Ted Johns -penned Bamboozled: He Won't Come In From The Barn Part II. In another Blyth Festival success story, The Drawer Boy, which was commissioned by the Blyth Festival and first produced at Toronto's Theatre Passe Muraille, was named to Time magazine's top ten plays of the year. "Michael Healey's comedy - drama is beautifully paced and written, and the sentiment has some sly and unexpected edges," the magazine said of the play. The Brussels PeeWee Rep team returned to the village victorious after a weekend of great play in Drayton, which netted the team a Silver Stick tournament title.