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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2015-06-04, Page 3PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 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 June 6, 1979 Brussels Village Council received a petition signed by a number of community members requesting that John Street be extended so it would connect to the newly-built community centre. Advocates for the extension said it would open up tax-producing properties and provide another, much-needed exit from the arena, while at the same time helping in fire protection and emergency response to the building. Simply wanting the extension, however, wasn’t good enough, as Reeve Cal Krauter said that digging the road out would cost between $3,500 and $4,000 in order to bring the road up to standard. In the end, however, council agreed with the landowners, making a motion to extend the street according to the wishes of the street’s landowners. Cameron Ross of Bluevale escaped the risk of serious injury when the dump truck he was driving on County Road 12 rolled over and caught fire, which caused over $10,000 of damage to the truck. Ross was driving and had pulled over to the extreme right of the lane to allow another car to pass, but in doing so, the truck hit a raised laneway, and as soon as that happened the truck rolled over and caught fire. The Brussels Fire Department responded to the call, but no one was injured as a result of the incident, as Ross was able to kick the window out of the truck’s cab and escape the flaming vehicle. June 6, 1990 Bob Rae, leader of the official opposition to Queen’s Park, was scheduled to visit Huron-Bruce on June 9. Rae, the leader of the New Democratic Party, would be attending a meeting at the home farm of Tony and Fran McQuail near Lucknow before travelling to Owen Sound for the evening. Blyth tax bills were about to increase by over eight per cent as a result of final budget approval by Blyth Village Council. The municipal portion of the taxes was set to increase six per cent, but with Huron County and education rates added in, the increase rose to over eight per cent. A joint meeting between Brussels Village Council and the Brussels, Morris and Grey Recreation Committee took place with the topic of conversation being who was in charge of whom? The meeting was sparked by a situation where the committee had authorized the expansion of the community centre’s parking lot, feeling that its current state was unsafe, but the contractor was then cancelled by Brussels Village Council without notification. The failure of the two bodies to find a common ground resulted in the meeting, which basically stated that both bodies had to be involved in any decision-making process. The Township of East Wawanosh and the Belgrave and area Kinsmen announced a joint venture in which the existing front of the Belgrave Arena would be replaced with a new facility. The new proposed facility would include a township office and a community hall including meeting rooms, dressing rooms, washrooms and a viewing area overlooking the ice surface. June 6, 2001 With the sudden resignation of North Huron Councillor Jeff Howson, a Blyth representative, the village would be losing a representative at the Huron County Council table. Howson’s spot was taken over by East Wawanosh’s Murray Scott, who was unanimously selected as North Huron’s deputy-reeve after Howson’s resignation was accepted. With the impending construction of a new Blyth skate park, North Huron Council was seeking public input from the people of Blyth. The concept was first brought to council by Blyth resident Doug Scrimgeour after it was announced that those caught skateboarding throughout the village could face heavy fines. Jean Kennedy, a Belgrave-based photographer was scheduled to be a featured artist at the Black Sheep Gallery in Varna for an upcoming weekend exhibition. The Blyth Festival announced that tickets for its first production of the season, The Outdoor Donnellys, were selling very fast. With a two-week run of shows that would take place outdoors at various locations throughout Blyth, members of the community were starting to get excited for the shows that would include nine outdoor vignettes featuring both professional and community volunteer actors. Through a recent business retention and expansion report, it was recommended that Huron East hire a full-time economic development officer, but a number of councillors felt that money would be wasted. “I don’t think it takes $100,000 [the amount originally quoted for an economic development officer by the report] to put a package together to show someone what lands we have available,” said Brussels Councillor Greg Wilson. 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 Sober stats on drunk driving Just when it seemed our area was making steady progress in reducing the number of people who drink and drive, Huron County OPP reported last week that there has been a 90 per cent increase in the number of charges laid for impaired driving so far this year. Our area, and Canadian society in general, has come a long way from the time when people saw nothing wrong with having a few drinks then getting behind the wheel of a car to drive home. Between education campaigns by groups like Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and Ontario Students Against Impaired Driving (OSAID) and stricter enforcement by police through regular RIDE checks, the message seemed to be getting through and the number of people beng killed and maimed through collisions with drunk drivers had dropped greatly. Here’s hoping that this sudden spike is an anomaly. The numbers are, after all, small enough (34 charges this year compared to 18 last) that any increase can seem large on a percentage basis. Particularly disturbing was that 38 per cent of those charged were under the age of 29 – six of those under 22, an age when drivers aren’t supposed drink any alcohol. Here’s hoping this was a temporary blip and that there will be a reduction for the rest of the year. Drunk driving risks the lives, not just of the driver and his (85 per cent of those charged were male) passengers, but of any other motorists unlucky enough to encounter him. Everyone needs to share the solution. If you’ve been drinking, don’t drive. If you’re someplace where someone has been drinking and plans to drive, give him a lift to prevent him endangering himself and others. Let’s turn these numbers around, right now! –KR Who’ll pay for pensions? When the Harper government last week suddenly said it will explore the idea of opening up the Canada Pension Plan to voluntary contributions, it’s obvious that polls must show Canadians are worried about their retirement income. The Conservative government has regularly dismissed the idea of either an increase in mandatory CPP deductions from employers and employees, or voluntary top-ups by individuals to their CPP savings. Being the political animals they are, and with other parties proposing increasing CPP, it’s obvious somewhere in their polling the Conservatives figured they needed to defuse this issue. Now they can point to how their proposal would not be a “job killer” like a mandatory increase in contributions from employers would be. Ontario has already decided to start a pension plan that will require employers to contribute to their employees’ retirement plans. Employers, naturally, have complained this will deter them from hiring employees. Probably this same complaint was made when the CPP was introduced in the 1960s and employers survived, and adapted – or did they? While we may want better pensions, we also want cheap prices. More and more goods are imported from low-wage countries around the world to meet that desire. In this global economy, employers have little ability to pass on extra costs. When we embarked on globalization we, in effect, capped the ability of our country to support social programs because any extra cost sends jobs to cheap-wage areas of the world. In the end, if they’re indeed serious about this CPP proposal, the Harper government’s plan may be the best option: allow individuals to invest more with the experienced CPP investment team, but don’t burden business with costs that might drive more jobs abroad. –KR Hurting democracy Talk to many young people about why they ignore politics and they’ll say they’re tired with all the negativity. As the parties gear up for this fall’s federal election, even more are likely to be appalled at the negative ads that have already started playing. In the short-run, negative advertising delivers extra votes to those who do the best job of undermining their opponents. But while a party may gain short-term success, democracy is undermined if it drives people away from participating in the running of their country. In the long run, democracy loses if people get so disgusted they tune out. –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.