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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2015-02-05, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2015. Editorials Opinions Publisher: Keith Roulston Editor: Shawn Loughlin • Reporter: Denny Scott Advertising Sales: Lori Patterson & Amanda Bergsma The Citizen P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, Ont. N0M 1H0 Ph. 519-523-4792 Fax 519-523-9140 P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, Ont. N0G 1H0 Phone 519-887-9114 E-mail info@northhuron.on.ca Website www.northhuron.on.ca Looking Back Through the Years CCNA Member Member of the Ontario Press Council 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 N0G 1H0 email: info@northhuron.on.ca February 1, 1962 The East Huron Agricultural Society held its annual meeting and banquet on Jan. 24 where Clem Steffler was re-elected president of the society for another year. A busy and successful year was detailed at the meeting. Norman Hoover, the organization’s secretary/treasurer, said the society began the year nearly $1,000 in debt, but ended the year with a profit of nearly $300 in its accounts. The Brussels Post reported that the surplus was “extremely gratifying” for those involved, since so many improvements had been made to the facilities and fairgrounds, including a new entrance gate to mark the centennial year of the fair. Hoover said that numerous volunteers were also to thank for their work towards the improvements. January 31, 1979 Murray Cardiff of RR1, Ethel was elected as chairman for the Ontario White Bean Producers Marketing Board, replacing outgoing chairman W.L. Sherman of Kent County. In his new position, Cardiff said he would be attending a number of meetings, including those on World Food Aid programs and he would also deal with a number of governing bodies involving marketing. After being vice-chairman of the organization the previous year, Cardiff was now heading an organization that produced 1.6 million pounds of beans, 80 per cent of which was sold annually to the United Kingdom and Europe. Approximately $125 in damage was caused at the new Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre during a teen dance when a hole was punched in the wall of one of the building’s bathrooms. Huron County Council agreed to spend $63,000 to get meals to the residents of Huronview, the new county home for the aged. Chester Archibald, the home’s administrator, said the decision to upgrade the meal system was made out of necessity, saying that the meals on wheels unit being used was at the “end of its road”. January 31, 1990 The battle over ball diamond reconstruction costs continued to rage as George Radford Construction fired back at Blyth Village Council in response to a letter written to The Citizen one week earlier. Radford said he found the letter to be “quite disturbing” as it called on the company to not only finish the work, but to donate nearly $2,000 more to the project. “We feel,” the statement from the Radford company read, “the ball diamond issue is only one part of a much larger issue. The unpublicized council meetings and lack of communication between groups in our village is taking its toll. Our once-peaceful village has been in a state of upheaval for the past three years.” Thieves made off with $20,000 worth of coats in a daring theft from The Old Mill after breaking in to the store the evening of Jan. 23. The thieves entered the building by breaking glass in its front door before leaving with over 70 ladies leather jackets with an estimated value of $23,325. The first integrated choir of the Mississippi Delta was in Blyth to perform at the Blyth Christian Reformed Church in an effort to raise money for the Mississippi Christian Family Services. The group was scheduled to tour Michigan, but took a brief detour to visit Blyth and perform in the village before returning to the U.S. January 31, 2001 In the weeks following amalgamation, Central Huron, made up of the Town of Clinton and Hullett and Goderich Townships, was still searching for a logo for the newly-formed municipality. Councillor Laurie Cox lamented the fact that the municipality was still without a logo after being in existence for several weeks. He said that very little response had been received pre-amalgamation, but that was when Central Huron was just an “idea” she said. “Now we are a reality,” she said of the municipality. It was announced that former Blyth Festival Artistic Director Janet Amos would be returning to the Festival for the upcoming summer as the community co-ordinator for The Outdoor Donnellys, a massive outdoor undertaking by Paul Thompson and his collective. It may have been the excitement generated by Thompson’s project, but the Festival reported a 40 per cent increase in pre-Christmas voucher sales. This pleasant surprise came after those at the Festival said they were hoping to increase sales by 10 per cent. The Total Approach Initiative, a team studying the lower Blyth Brook, invited residents to attend an open house and community meeting, but it unfortunately had to be cancelled due to bad weather. Alison Lobb, chair of the group, said it would be a good opportunity for community members, both urban and rural, to come by, find out a little more about the project and ask any questions they may have. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund of the Department of Canadian Heritage. We are not responsible for unsolicited newsscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright Signing a blank cheque In last week’s Citizen, Central Huron Councillor Alex Westerhout suggested his municipality should seriously look into setting up a municipal police force to get a handle on policing costs – and that was before Ontario Provincial Police Association president Jim Christie said his members will “absolutely” be looking for another salary increase in contract talks with the provincial government that began this week. The provincial government has set a goal of a net zero increase for the civil servants this year, which means that increases won in one area will have to be made up for with equal cuts in another. Christie calls this “totally unrealistic” saying his members are not responsible “in any way, shape or for the fiscal hardship that Ontario has got themselves into”. Last year OPP officers got an 8.5 per cent increase as a “catch-up” under a policy that says they’ll always be the highest-paid force in Ontario. Nobody begrudges OPP officers a decent living. We, in this area, have seen terrible evidence of the danger they put themselves in on the job. Still, how much is enough? For municipalities the problem is compounded by the fact they don’t sit at the bargaining table. They’ve really just signed a blank cheque. In many ways, it doesn’t make any sense to set up municipal police forces but if costs keep soaring, there may be no other alternative. –KR A case for protecting our rights According to political pundits, Prime Minister Stephen Harper will score points with Canadians with his recent plans to give more power to police and security agencies to combat terrorism. Given last fall’s attacks by lone-wolf terrorists in Quebec and Ottawa and the high-profile attacks in Paris and Sydney, how can anyone object to helping security officials protects us? This argument assumes they get it right. What can go wrong was demonstrated by CTV’s W5 investigative journalism program on Saturday when it told the story of Vancouver businessman Steve de Jaray who, in 2010, was wrongly charged by Canadian Border Security officials of exporting military technology to China in violation of export controls. Evidence released through Wikileaks showed Canadian agencies were under pressure from U.S. authorities to prevent the export of U.S. military technologies that were in possession of Canadian defense subcontractors. The problem was, none of the circuit boards de Jaray’s company, Apex Micro Manufacturing, was exporting to Hong Kong were used in U.S. military equipment and they were of a type already readily available on the internet and in China. What’s more, the circuit boards were going to be assembled into equipment to be shipped back to North America. In 2009 de Jaray answered his door and was met with 10 heavily- armed officers who said they had a warrant to search his house. Later, a press release was issued saying he and his daughter Perienne, who managed the company’s U.S. operations, had been charged. The $30- million-a-year company was shut down. Eventually, the charges were stayed. The de Jarays sued the government and won a multi-million-dollar settlement. Still, their company was destroyed and Perienne says that since the publicity is still out there on the internet, she’s likely never to be able to get the kind of job she’s qualified for. Police and security officials are human. Under pressure, they can believe what they want to believe and ignore evidence that contradicts their theory. Given the current frenzy, the pressure to head off possible acts of terrorism might lead to wrong judgements. In the days following the tragic murders at the Paris satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, for instance, French officials arrested more than 100 people under a law that makes it a crime to “make a public apology” for acts of terrorism. One of those questioned by police was an eight-year-old Muslim boy in Nice who expressed sympathy for the terrorists who attacked the magazine. Yes, there’s a price to be paid if our police and security officials don’t have enough power and resources to head off terrorism but the de Jaray case shows there’s a price to be paid as well if police are so single- minded they get it wrong. That’s why we have constitutional protections. We abandon those protections at our peril. –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.