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The Citizen, 2016-11-17, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2016. Editorials Opinions Publisher: Keith Roulston Editor: Shawn Loughlin • Reporter: Denny Scott Advertising Sales: Brenda Nyveld & Nicole Gillespie 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 We'll decide, you pay Whether it be funding for the expansion of local hospitals or support for new hospice centres, Huron County's municipal councils are facing increased demands for the limited funds available to them. There's a growing trend on the part of senior governments to have it both ways: to take decision-making away from the local level but still have local people foot the bill for at least part of the cost. So the provincially -appointed Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs) decide which communities will have health-care facilities and what level of service is provided but then local residents must raise money through donations and taxes to actually make things happen even though healthcare isn't a local responsibility. It's nice work if you can get it, having 100 per cent of the control while paying a fraction of the cost, but it's not fair to municipalities at a time when the province is also cutting transfers and increasing costs such as policing. — KR It could have been us While local residents, among other Canadians, struggled to understand how the outrageous Donald Trump could have won the U.S. presidential election last week, we also need to recognize that if Huron County had somehow slipped south of the border into Michigan or Ohio, this is the kind of place that would have voted for Trump. Both Ohio and Michigan supported Trump and rural areas were among the places giving him the most votes. Like the bitter and frustrated people who elected Trump, Huron County residents, and rural Ontarians as a whole, have many grievances against "the elite". Thousands have been thrown out of work in recent years as large corporations shifted jobs to places where they could pay workers less. Governments make decisions with little understanding of how they affect rural people. The long -gun registry imposed greater restrictions on rural hunters and farmers in the name of reducing urban gun crime. Wind farms provide "green" electricity and manufacturing jobs for cities but divide rural communities where they're built and make many neighbours wonder if their health is being affected. The media makes the problem worse because, as it becomes more urban -centred every day, rural people feel there's no one to tell their stories. Rural gun -owners' complaints against the gun registry were made to seem the rants of backward hicks by main -stream commentators. To people in cities, rural opposition to wind power is not because of genuine concern for health effects, visual pollution or loss of farmland, but an exercise in not -in -my -backyard thinking against something that's unquestionably good. So, sharing frustration with the established elites is something rural residents share with the 60 million people who voted for Trump. The lesson we must learn, however, is not to fall for a charismatic strongman offering simplistic solutions, many based on striking back at all the people who pose real or imagined threats to your way of life. In their need to strike out against their perceived tormentors, Trump supporters bought a whole smorgasbord of promises some of which, such as his promise to rebuild his nation's infrastructure, are positive while many others were downright toxic. Voters have taken a leap of faith, believing they can take what they want from this agenda but leave the rest. So while they voted for Trump because they thought he was different than other politicians, they also discarded his extremely racist and misogynist comments as typical political exaggerations that he won't carry into office. Despite the fact they rejected the political establishment they also have faith that the safeguards built into the U.S. constitution will keep Trump from becoming too extreme. They're playing a frightening game. We must learn lessons from the dangerous experiment taking place south of the border. We can't let our frustrations lead us to support leaders with irresponsible agendas. At the same time the lesson for our leaders is that no party should think it can achieve and maintain power by catering to the needs and interests of urban areas while ignoring rural concerns. If all people don't think they matter and they're being heard, trouble can ensue. Let's not make the same mistakes Americans have made. — 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 November 18, 1959 The Fire Department at the Clinton Radar school was asking people from the district to donate unused toys, as they were busy collecting for the Children's Aid Society. Members of the Blyth Fire Department were busy preparing for their annual collection to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy campaign. The campaign was set to get underway on Nov. 23 at 7 p.m. The annual church parade and service of the Blyth Legion was held at Burns United Church in Hullett Township with Rev. H. Funge in charge of the service. A number of veterans and Legion auxiliary members were in attendance for the service. The annual inter -county livestock judging competition was held in conjunction with the Royal Winter Fair. Huron County's team was comprised of a number of junior farmers in the area, including Ronald Smith of Brussels and Arnold Campbell of Seaforth. Ronald Smith was the individual winner of the competition, winning the E.A. Summers Memorial Trophy. He scored 933 points out of a possible 1,000 to take home the competition's top award. November 19, 1986 An era had come to an end on the main street of Brussels as Ron and Trish Clarkson took over Stephenson's Grocery. The Clarksons were no strangers to the Brussels community as they already owned the Brussels Variety store. Regular patrons of the store were assured that long-time owner Bill Stephenson had not yet retired and would be staying on at the store at least for a few more weeks. Kathryn Todd of RR2, Lucknow won the West Wawanosh Township election, tallying 177 votes over the 127 received by her closest competitor. Todd said was glad she won the election and that she wanted to see the ongoing problems at the West Wawanosh dump "ironed out" she said. With 10 days remaining to reach its goal, the Londesborough Lions Club had passed the $12,000 mark for its Back the Biter campaign, which was raising money for an accessible van for member Ron Nesbitt, who had been injured the previous year in a swimming accident. Local donations included one from Scrimgeour's Food Market in Blyth, which donated 50 cents from every pound of sausage sold the previous week. That amount was matched by Knechtel Foods for a total of over $500. Clarence Baillie of Blyth, a truck driver with J&H Campbell Transport Ltd. was set to win a national award for bravery at a special ceremony in Toronto. On July 9, on the 401, Baillie and another driver who were travelling in tandem rescued a woman from her car after she lost control, drove into a tree and her car burst into flames. "She would have been gone if we hadn't been able to get to her. It all happened so fast, I didn't have time to think about it," said the Blyth volunteer firefighter. November 20, 2002 With the opening of a community policing office in Brussels, Huron East was set to see a greater police presence in the community. The office, however, would also serve an important function in the world of policing as it would offer Ontario Provincial Police officers a convenient drop-in office while out on the road in Huron East. After 55 years, the old bus barn that had housed Elliott Bus Lines in Blyth had finally been demolished. Years ago, the barn had housed the first 75 -passenger bus owned by Frank Elliott. The business had thrived in Blyth for many years. When the Blyth Continuation School was closed in 1946 and students were to be bused to Clinton, Elliott Bus Lines was awarded the contract. November 19, 2015 Huron County Council reconfirmed its support of the Goderich-to-Guelph Rail Trail and agreed to send Warden Paul Gowing to a pair of open houses being hosted by the trail's working committee. Project Manager Rebecca Rathwell told councillors that the working committee had found agreeable solutions to many of the issues raised by critics of the trail in recent months. While council was in favour of the trail, a vandal or vandals showed that they were not so enthusiastic about the trail by removing several recently -installed posts along the trail. Chris Lee of G2G Inc. called the issue a "non-event" but said that it wasn't the first time it had happened and that it was good that nothing had been permanently damaged or stolen. He encouraged people to attend meetings of the working committee if they took issue with the trail, rather than taking their frustrations out on the trail's infrastructure. "Don't go pulling posts out," Lee said. "Come to the meeting and we can have a chat."