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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2016-03-03, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 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 1H0 email: info@northhuron.on.ca The Citizen P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, Ont. NOM 1H0 Ph. 519-523-4792 Fax 519-523-9140 P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, Ont. NOG 1H0 Phone 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 The local ownership bonus One of the great advantages the village of Blyth has held over the years is that most of the major employers are locally owned. That advantage was seen again last week when plans for Blyth Cowbell Brewing Company were unveiled. The brewery will bring another generation of the Sparling family into business in the village as Grant Sparling Jr., grandson of Sparling's Propane founder Grant Sparling, serves as general manager and vice- president to his father, Steven, the company's president. Again, Blyth has been fortunate that new generations of prominent business families keep coming home to reinvigorate their businesses and their community. Although the new company is not making any predictions of how many jobs it will create, it will add another potential source of employment to the area. Just as importantly, this destination craft brewery (and eventually, distillery) adds to the momentum of reinventing Blyth from its original purpose as a service centre for the surrounding area, to drawing customers from a much wider area. The thousands of people this new attraction brings to Blyth will no doubt help other businesses which have already been luring customers from afar. Not to be overlooked too, is the sense of excitement the new project brings to the village. In this day and age, people — especially young people — need to be excited about our area to want to live here. So hats off to the Sparling family for continuing the tradition of Blyth building from within, and all the best with Blyth Cowbell Brewing Company. — KR Investing in our future Some people gain and some people lose from a provincial budget, but one solid gain in last week's Ontario budget will pay long-term divid- ends: the plan to help more young people go to college and university. The program will see the average cost of tuition to colleges and universities covered for families with less than a $50,000 annual income. For rural students who can't live at home while they attend post- secondary schools, it will still mean covering the major cost of food and housing, but cutting the cost of tuition makes the cost of university or college less daunting. The program doesn't come cheap. Finance Minister Charles Sousa expects the province will give out $1.3 billion in grants in 2017. Unlike some programs, however, this will likely pay for itself in the coming years as more people become better qualified and better paid — and pay more taxes. One of the government programs that has had the most effect shaping the Canada we know today, began when Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson's government introduced the student grant and loan program in 1964. Suddenly an entire generation of young people whose parents had never gone beyond high school set their sights higher. The number of people with college and university -level education soared, and with it the level of income and eventually, provincial and federal income taxes. But with government cost cutting, the benefit of upward mobility had been lost in recent years as stories of graduates with thousands of dollars of debt frightened off many potential students from lower income families. Here's hoping this government promise opens the eyes of bright students who deserve to go to college or university and opens the door to them developing their full potential. — KR Let the market decide The problems of life in Toronto are getting plenty of attention in the media these days. How different this is from the problems of rural areas. The soaring cost of housing has created a debate about whether Torontonians should relinquish the dream of owning a house. Meanwhile traffic gridlock has brought demands for the provincial and federal governments to fund subways and other transportation infrastructure. Compare this to the problems of rural decline where, even if anyone takes notice, there's generally a shrug from urban media or government that the market is signalling the need for rural people to move on. But what if the market is signalling that it's too expensive to live in Toronto and that people should move elsewhere? If a significant number of people moved to smaller cities and towns in Ontario, the pressure on housing prices would bring prices back in line. Removing those people from Toronto's subways and streets, would instantly reduce gridlock. Whenever someone calls for governments to spend money to help rural areas counteract economic changes which are centralizing growth in the Golden Horseshoe, someone is bound to shake his head sadly and say it's sad but the government can't prop up a way of life that no longer works. Imagine if the same rationale were used to argue that the province and federal government shouldn't be funneling billions of money into solving the problems that growth is bringing to Toronto. We might save tax dollars and boost the rebirth of southern Ontario towns as well. — KR Official McGuinty portrait hung in Queen's Park 1 MAYBE WE SHOULD TAKE IT DOWN DURING PuBL1C IDURS... Looking Back Through the Years March 4, 1959 A special meeting was called for Blyth after council heard that a new sewage system was "a must" going forward. It was explained to council that the entire system didn't have to be financed by taxes, but through the Water Resources Commission. Council was told that a decision whether or not to implement a water system was not in their hands, only how to pay for it was. The Huron -Bruce Liberal Association held a special meeting in Blyth Memorial Hall and Professor James Scott was the evening's guest speaker. Scott said he was encouraged to hear that the local Young Liberal Association boasted 24 members, a high number for such an association. Gordon Elliott of Blyth was re- elected as a Huron County director for the Mid -Western Ontario Development Association. Elliott was joined on the board by Ross Savauge of Seaforth and William McKenzie of Exeter. February 26, 1986 The Brussels Figure Skating Club raised $1,300 through its annual carnival, which was held at the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre. Held with the theme "Come to the Movies", the money raised would then go towards a number of club activities planned for the coming season. The Maitland Valley Conservation Authority, facing a shortage of funds, was forced to postpone two projects throughout its watershed. The projects due to be postponed were in Port Albert and Wingham. The group did plan to go ahead with some projects, however, including seven flood -control projects and two erosion -control projects. Dogs on the loose were responsible for the death of several sheep on a Hullett Township farm, causing the township to pay the farmer for the livestock kills. Farmer Charles Snell spoke to council and detailed the loss of four purebred sheep and injuries to a fifth. As a result, council agreed to pay Snell $300 for ewes that were in lamb and $150 for those not in lamb. March 6, 2002 Blyth Memorial Hall played host to the 2002 Sears Drama Festival, which was appropriate as students from Listowel District Secondary School chose to perform The Farm Show at the festival. This was the same show that had been performed in that building decades earlier by Paul Thompson and a number of actors who would soon become regulars at the Blyth Festival, a summer theatre festival that was then created just a few years after The Farm Show premiere in Blyth. The Citizen reported on a tense exchange between Huron East Mayor Lin Steffler and Avon Maitland District School Board Chair Colleen Schenk after the board voted 6-3 to close Seaforth District High School. Steffler was frustrated by the board's decision, adding that she had already declared to Huron East taxpayers that she would use municipal money to challenge the board's decision, if the decision was made to close the school. Furthermore, The Citizen received a letter to the editor from student trustee Brandi Williamson saying she was appalled by the board's decision to "not right a wrong" and vote to continue the Accommodation Review Committee (ARC) process. "I will not go to Central Huron Secondary School because Seaforth is where I want to be," she wrote. "I want to be a Golden Bear because bears are fine and noble animals, they are strong and fierce and they fight for what they want." The Brussels Agricultural Society announced its newly -installed executive for the 2002 year, with Dorothy Cummings to act as the group's president, taking over for Jeff Cardiff. March 5, 2015 The Blyth Brussels Midget AE Crusaders inched closer to the Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA) final after beating their opponents from Tweed twice over the weekend. This win left the locals just one win away from the provincial final. Coach Scott Johnston, however, was quick to say that there was still a tough road ahead for the team. "The boys can't take the wins for granted, but I think our speed has a lot to do with the wins," he said. "If we keep our game tight and keep to our way of playing, we'll be able to keep going." The Blyth Brussels PeeWee Crusaders were also in the hunt, having split a pair of OMHA semi- final games with their opponents from Mariposa. At the group's annual meeting, the Blyth BIA said that its vision for the future would be leaning heavily on Campaign 14/19 and the Emergency Services Training Centre. BIA Past -President Rick Elliott said that the future of Blyth looked bright for a number of reasons, saying that the success of some of the village's businesses would lead to success for all Blyth's businesses.