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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2016-01-14, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 14, 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 We never had it so good? According to Charles Sousa, Ontario's Minister of Finance, rural municipalities have never had it so good. Taxpayers, and municipal politicians and staff must have missed the memo. The minister, in justifying repeated cuts to the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund, claims that between the uploading of some services to the province such as a greater portion of education costs, and the downloading of services like policing, rural municipalities have more provincial funding than they did before municipal amalgamation was forced on them by the previous government. Hmm And yet our taxes continue to rise and we continue to have services cut as municipalities try to make up for massive cuts in provincial transfers. Perhaps Sousa, who comes from Mississauga, needs to come out to rural Ontario and show us what we're missing besides millions in provincial funding. — KR Good jobs or bad jobs? When Statistics Canada released December's job creation numbers last week, showing a surprisingly strong increase of 23,000 jobs, (and a total of 158,000 jobs for the year) skeptics once again questioned the value of jobs created by people who became self-employed. "Self-employment is not a great sign," David Watt chief economist with HSBC Bank Canada told The Globe and Mail, commenting on the fact more than half the jobs created last year were by the self-employed. "In this environment, it is a sign of weakness" It's a common reaction from economists and critics that jobs created by people starting their own businesses are somehow not "real" jobs. They're correct that someone starting a new business is not going to pay as many taxes immediately as someone who gets a high -paying job in the oil patch or a well-paid civil service job. There's also the hard reality that 75 per cent of new businesses fail to become profitable. This should be balanced, however, by the fact that the quarter of businesses that become successful will most likely create more jobs than just the person who started the business. If we say that 40,000 of last year's entrepreneurs are successful, it's easy to suggest they'll hire others and this may lead to 80,000 or 160,000 jobs a few years down the road. Entrepreneurs who start news businesses should be celebrated, not devalued as creating jobs that somehow aren't "real". — KR Powerless to change the system As President of the United States, Barack Obama is often labeled "the most powerful man in the world". It didn't look that way last week when he tried to take what limited action he could to reduce the chance of firearms getting into the hands of criminals and unstable individuals. It was hard to know if the tears in Obama's eyes, as he talked about the seemingly endless string of mass shootings over the last few years, were more for the victims and their families or the fact that he has been impotent to do anything to change the situation. Previous attempts to pass legislation to restrict easy access to weapons — even military grade weapons — have been thwarted by Republicans and some Democrats who have bought into the argument that unrestricted ownership of firearms is a right under the U.S. constitution. Any hesitation these gun -control opponents might have felt has been removed by threats from the National Rifle Association to exercise its financial muscle to see that the politicians are defeated in the next election. And so the leader of the most powerful military nation in the world is thwarted in protecting the safety of the citizens within his country. Ironically, this power is not restricted when it comes to protecting "American interests" around the world. With the President's approval, U.S. drones attack remote villages in Pakistan, attempting to kill Taliban leaders, but no doubt killing innocent civilians as "collateral damage". The President didn't need congressional approval to send U.S. warplanes to attack ISIS positions in Iraq and Syria. American presidents have invaded countries from Panama to Grenada without seeking approval. There's an irony in the U.S. system that the country's President seems to have more unfettered control over citizens of other countries than over his own people. — 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 14, 1959 The Blyth Legion held a special meeting to install its officers for the coming year. Comrade Harold Badley was named the branch's president, while Keith Hesselwood was named first vice-president and Donald Sprung was named second vice-president. Alfred Rollinson was honoured for his 30 years of service as Auburn's postmaster through a testimonial card of appreciation. Rollinson was set to retire just weeks after reaching the 30 -year milestone. The inaugural meeting of the Blyth Public School Board for the year was held and Dr. Richard Street was again named chair of the board for another year. January 15, 1970 The Brussels Minor Hockey Association was quoted as saying it needed help in advance of a hockey tournament on the weekend of Jan. 24. With nearly 90 people descending on the village from Garden City, Michigan for the tournament, the association was asking those in the village to offer up extra beds and rooms to those making the trip for the tournament. Grey Township Council, along with township staff and officials, were the focus of a special evening at the Ethel Community Centre as the Ethel Women's Institute served a special dinner. Also that night, Wilbur Turnbull and George Wesenberg were honoured for their years of service with hand-crafted wooden bookends. Turnbull had other reasons to celebrate as well, as he would soon be retiring from the position of the township's tax collector, a job he had been doing for over 40 years. January 8, 1986 Mary -Ellen Knight, the daughter of Ross and Betty Knight of RR3, Brussels, was named the winner of a Rotary Foundation Scholarship. Over 40 students applied for the scholarship and only four were chosen from across Ontario after being interviewed in Toronto. The scholarship would give Knight the opportunity to study abroad for an entire school year with all of her expenses paid. As a result, Mary -Ellen had already begun making plans, stating that she was hoping to study French as a second language in either Montpellier or Nantes, France for the 1986/1987 school year. The Blyth Lions Club paid the second half of their $2,000 pledge to the Blyth and District Community Centre. The club was helping those involved with the centre to equip it with air conditioning, heat pumps and dehumidification units. The club raised the majority of the funds during its two Christmas dances and its New Year's Eve dance. Brussels Village Council got the bad news that its liability insurance was set to increase 50 per cent for the coming year. While the increase was certainly unwelcome at the Brussels level, with councillors hearing horror stories about municipalities seeing insurance cost increases of 1,000 per cent, several councillors said that a 50 per cent increase almost felt like a bargain. The Brussels Curling Club was feeling generous and donated $4,000 to the Brussels Recreation Committee. The money would go towards the eventual paving of the parking lot at the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre, which was scheduled to happen in the near future. January 16, 2002 After a thaw throughout Huron County, the Blyth Snowtravellers were forced to close local snowmobile trails. Bruce Howson of the Blyth club said that at least six inches of snow was necessary before the club could consider opening the trails once again. Huron East Mayor Lin Steffler and Clerk -Administrator Jack McLachlan were looking for volunteers to sit on the Brussels Community Development Trust. The committee would formulate the principles and procedures for the expenditure of the fund. Anyone interested was asked to apply prior to the end of January, helping to form the new committee. Two apple cider operations in Huron County were shut down due to findings of the tiny parasite cryptosporidium in their products. Inspections were conducted by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. The car in which Huron County Museum founder J.H. Neill twice travelled across Canada was set to hit the road once again, as it had been loaned to the Lambton Heritage Museum in Grand Bend. The vehicle, a 1927 Essex camper that featured a bed, closet, folding chair and table and stove, would be the centre of a major exhibit at the museum which celebrated the history of camping. Neill travelled across Canada in the vehicle, starting in St. Johns, Newfoundland and ending in Victoria, British Columbia twice — once in the 1930s and again in the 1940s.