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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2015-03-19, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 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 March 15, 1962 Several members of local Brownies and Guiding groups were honoured at their annual ceremony, including Ann Machan, Dianne Machan, Vonne McCutcheon, Ann Davidson, Brenda Jamieson, Penny Lowe and Kathleen Krauter, who all received their Brownie Golden Bar as part of the ceremony. Also as part of the ceremony, Joyce Huether received her Golden Hand and Wings. The Hi-T Club would be hosting its annual St. Patrick’s Day dance one day early on March 16 at Brussels Public School. Those attending were instructed to wear green or a fine would be imposed, citing a leprechaun’s “hate” of the “non-Irish” as the reason. March 14, 1979 Apartment buildings being planned for Brussels were becoming a distinct possibility after a meeting of Brussels Village Council. The development, which was being proposed by Gerri Glenn of Lucknow, received approval for a building permit at council’s March 12 meeting. Reeve Cal Krauter said that council would have to see the building’s plans before proceeding any further, but that council was supportive of the project. Glenn told council that the development proposed to have eight units, but that there would be ample parking if that number wanted to be doubled. The Huron Perth Roman Catholic Separate School Board set its 1979 budget at nearly $4.7 million, which was an increase of nearly three per cent over the previous year’s budget. Jack Lane, superintendent of business and finance for the board, said that the board’s budget was heavily weighted on salaries, with salaries and benefits accounting for over 70 per cent of its total budget. Lane, however, praised the work of the board, saying that in the face of declining enrolment, it had been able to “cope” with just a minor increase to the budget. March 14, 1990 Huron County Council was scheduled to meet on the morning of March 14 in order to consider a budget increase of 4.99 per cent. The budget, which had yet to be officially adopted, called for expenditures in excess of $23.3 million and an actual increase in spending of 7.1 per cent. One of the major factors in the budget growth, reported The Citizen, was pay equity, after the county introduced a plan to bring wages up to standard across its various departments. As part of the proposed budget, another $1 million was scheduled to be put away for the proposed Huronview project later that year. One of the largest department budget jumps was in the Huron County Museum, which would rise by 38 per cent. This, however, was largely due to the salary of the director now coming out of the operating budget for the first time in years. After three years in business, Grey Owl Enterprises in Brussels was forced to close its doors. According to Hank Ten Pas, who, along with partner Doug Bertrand, invested their own money into the business, the time had come for the two to have a serious conversation about the future of the business and whether it was sustainable to keep the giftware packaging company open any longer. “We started with nothing – no grants or loans – and really gave it a try,” Ten Pas said. He said that as two different leases ran out in January, the pair knew they had a choice to make. March 14, 2001 Grade 10 testing for students of both the Avon Maitland District School Board (AMDSB) and the Huron Perth Catholic District School Board (HPCDSB) brought both good and bad news when it came to literacy. Wendy Anderson, chair of the AMDSB, said that while the board’s 70 per cent success rate in the category was above the provincial average, there was definite concern with the number of students who fell below the acceptable mark. A number of concerns threatened the future of volunteers at the Belgrave Community Centre. North Huron Director of Recreation/ Facilities Dan Cousins said that he had some concerns regarding potential lawsuits and safety concerns when it came to the use of volunteer labour at the centre. Cousins stressed that he was not against volunteerism and was, in fact, grateful for all the work being done in North Huron on a volunteer basis, but if volunteerism was going to be utilized, North Huron just had to be better about it. “There is a fine line we have to walk with [volunteers],” Cousins said in an interview with The Citizen. “We have to have volunteers, but if we’re going to be doing something, we better be doing it right.” One portion of the new Occupational Health and Safety Act that raised particular concern was the use of volunteer labour on the centre’s roof, especially when it came time to clear snow. 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 Creative thinking While paying the rent is only one small part of starting a new business, the Municipality of Huron East’s “Win This Space” competition is a creative way to try to spur local business. The municipality plans to offer free educational workshops for potential entrepreneurs, which will result in a business plan for each. The top five winners will compete in June to see which will win free rent for a year in downtown Brussels or Seaforth. Can this solve the problem of attracting new businesses to the two communities’ main streets? Who knows? It will certainly make people consider starting a business, and do the planning necessary to make it a success. This kind of creative thinking is a start. –KR Ulterior motives for sale? Last week The Globe and Mail reported that the provincial government is looking at the possibility of selling off up to 60 per cent of Hydro One’s transmission system to raise money to invest in infrastructure such as mass transit. The news immediately created controversy. Selling off government assets is always tempting for governments desperate for money. Years ago the Mike Harris government made a sweetheart deal which saw Bruce Power acquire the Bruce nuclear power development for seemingly very little return to the province. Yet in the long run, since the private sector financed the refurbishing of the huge development, Ontario taxpayers may have benefited. An ulterior motive for the government in this case might be taming the tiger of bureaucracy and high wages at Hydro One. In 2013, nearly 75 per cent of the 11,500 employees of Hydro One and Ontario Power Generation earned more than $100,000 a year. That makes for an expensive workforce but no government wants to go to war to reduce costs. Maybe the provincial government thinks private operators are more willing to slash costs. Meanwhile, Hydro One’s bureaucracy has proved a barrier for small- scale electricity producers from the mess of a few years ago over approval of solar installations to foot-dragging over hooking up the ongoing projects like electricity from farm-generated biogas. Maybe private operators would be more flexible. There should be careful study before any decision to sell Hydro One, but meantime, let’s keep an open mind. –KR Will it really make a difference? Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s hard line about preventing women wearing a face-covering niqab from taking the oath of Canadian citizenship is backed by opinion polls that show many Canadians agree with him. The Prime Minister seems to think this issue will help him win this fall’s federal election, and it may do so, but 10 years from now we’ll probably look back and wonder what all the fuss was about. If you live long enough, you see that so many issues that were once symbolically significant, now seem unimportant. There was a time in the southern U.S. and South Africa when white people were appalled by the idea that black people should drink from the same water fountains as they did, or use the same bathrooms. There was a scandal in the 1960s when black American singer Harry Belafonte touched white English singer-actress Julie Andrews on television. It all seems so silly now. Only a few years ago, the prospect of people of the same sex being allowed to marry appalled many Canadians. Has the world as we know it ended because the law was changed? Fifteen years ago there was a fuss when Sikh officers in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were allowed to wear turbans instead of the force’s traditional Stetson. Has law and order been undermined? When we’re faced with one of these issues that takes on huge symbolic proportions, we need to stop and ask ourselves if it will really make a difference. Certainly, Canadians abhor what they feel is the oppression of some Muslim women symbolized by the niqab, but will all these women stop wearing the niqab if it’s banned for the tiny fraction of people who take the citizenship oath? –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.