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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2015-02-12, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 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 15, 1962 Lions Club District Governor Howard Huffman of Orillia paid his official visit to the Brussels Lions Club, where he was the guest of honour at the club’s regular supper meeting. During his address to the local club, Huffman praised the work of the Brussels club, especially in the fields of sight conservation and for its support of local projects. At the Capital Theatre in Listowel, Lucille Ball was on the silver screen with her role in The Fuller Brush Girl, while Red Skelton also took on a starring role in The Fuller Brush Man. The members of the Brussels Majestic Institute knew how they were going to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, as they decided to hold a bake sale and tea on March 17 at the Brussels Library. Morris Township was seeking applications from interested parties for a warble fly inspector, truck driver and helper for work under the Warble Fly Control Act. The Brussels Home and School Association was set to hold an amateur contest at the Brussels Public School auditorium on Feb. 28. Admission to the event would be 50 cents. February 7, 1979 After a four-year wait, the members of Brussels Village Council received some good news pertaining to the community’s sewers. Council was told that tenders for the sewer system project, which had originally been planned for construction in 1975, were going to be opened in Toronto on Feb. 15, according to a letter council had received from the Ministry of the Environment. In 1975, sewers in Brussels had been discussed, but with a number of residents objecting, an Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) hearing was scheduled at a local library. Then, in 1975 and 1976, provincial cutbacks resulted in the system being delayed again. With the sale of the Knox Presbyterian Church manse finalized, permission had been given to use the proceeds of the sale to go ahead with renovations needed at the church building. John M. Perrie, chairman of the board of managers, reported several estimates to the board, including a new roof, insulation, classrooms and washroom facilities. At that same meeting, the board also elected its group for the year. Stanley Fischer, Jack Knight, Wilfred Strikler, John A. Perrie and Leslie Knight were named trustees, while Mrs. Stuart McNair was named the auditor and the ushers would stay the same. February 7, 1990 The long-standing saga of the Brussels Stockyards came to a close when Judge R.G.E. Hunter sentenced Klaus Henschel, former owner of the business, to 18 months in jail. Henschel pled guilty to the theft of nearly $800,000 in the situation that had grasped the community. Hunter called Henschel’s plan a “carefully calculated and planned scheme.” February 7, 2001 Four new programs were being introduced to help the one in 10 Huron County families that were said to be living below the poverty line, according to recent studies. The programs, which were to be administered through the Pathways to Self-Sufficiency program, aimed to help low-income households. Statistics showed that 2,665 Huron County children under the age of 18 were living in low income households. The programs, Huron County Council was told, would cost just under $100,000 to roll out. The first program was the Huron Good Food Box, which would provide families with high quality fruits and vegetables for a fee of between $10 and $15. The other three programs were The Kids Booster Club, the Our Place Family Drop-In program and the Transition/Emergency Housing program. The four programs were chosen from 14 that had been submitted at the county level by various groups or individuals in a brainstorming effort to help the less fortunate in Huron County. The winning projects were chosen because they were found to be realistic, and having clearly- defined objectives, while at the same time taking a new and innovative approach. The hope for all four projects was that they would have a lasting impact on the community. North Huron Clerk-Administrator John Stewart reported that interest had been received in municipal offices in Blyth and Belgrave that were soon going to be vacant as a result of amalgamation. On Feb. 6, National Food Freedom Day, a number of farmers, as well as members of the Huron County Federation of Agriculture, spoke out about crop pricing. Various speakers were on hand to talk about the world of agriculture and the problems it faced at a special event at Scrimgeour’s Food Town in Blyth. 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 It takes you, too You might have noticed the front page of The Citizen has carried a logo, the last few weeks, celebrating the 30th year of operation of this newspaper. Thirty years ago this autumn, 77 original shareholders from Blyth, Brussels and beyond, came forward to invest their money because they wanted their community to have a newspaper. Not only has their faith been rewarded by 30 years of having a newspaper to cover events of the community, but as the only locally- owned community newspaper in the county, The Citizen is generally regarded as one of Huron’s best newspapers. Just because we’ve been around for 30 years, however, doesn’t mean we’re guaranteed another 30, or 10, or even five. These thoughts come to mind after a conversation last week with the distant owner of a local business who informed us his company would no longer be advertising in the paper. He had been convinced in talking to people, he said, that the community would benefit more if the money spent on advertising was given instead to sponsor community events or sports teams. But, he assured us, when his company was looking for employees, it would still turn to the newspaper to advertise the positions. As often happens, the answer he should have been given only occurred later: the businessman should have been reminded that he’d only be able to advertise help wanted if there was still a newspaper. Like many people, he had that modern consumer’s attitude that you just go out and buy a good or service when you want it, and you have no role in insuring that the service still exists. So people want a local merchant to be there when they need him/her– maybe because they can’t get out of town to a big box store because of weather or because there’s just not enough time to drive a half hour, but somehow they think the store will be there if they never patronize it otherwise. Volunteers ask the merchant to give prizes for their group’s fundraisers but when they call to pick up the donation it might be the only time that volunteer ever enters the door of the business. Business people suffer the same fault. We’ve had merchants praise us for doing a story on their store opening, or thank us for pointing out the importance of shopping locally, who seem to take it for granted we’ll continue to be there when they want us even if they don’t support the newspaper with their advertising. A community newspaper lives within the fragile ecosystem that is a community – the smaller the community, the more fragile. The community must be healthy for the newspaper to be healthy. We want to do our part keep to our community strong, as we have for 30 years but it takes more than just wishing to make it so. It takes a lot of money for printing and mailing costs and salaries – even though most people would claim they couldn’t live on the wages our employees get paid. Subscribers and advertisers must care enough about the future of their newspaper to use it, or all the faith and commitment shown by those visionary community investors back in 1985 will be for naught. Don’t make the mistake of thinking this paper, or those local businesses, will always be there when you want them. In a small town, it will only happen when people play their part to make it happen. –KR Wave the flag This Sunday marks an important date in the history of our country – the 50th anniversary of the maple leaf flag. There are many things that divide Canadians but the one thing that seems to unite people from different regions, different ethnic backgrounds, different religions and different political beliefs, is their pride in this uniquely Canadian flag. Athletes drape themselves with it to celebrate success at the Olympics or other international competitions. Any parade, large or small, will see dozens of red and white maple leaf flags flying. Probably more Canadian homes fly the flag today than at any time in history. From a controversial beginning the flag has became a beloved, enduring symbol of Canada and Canadians. Take a moment on Sunday to celebrate its birthday. –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.