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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2013-02-07, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2013.Editorials Opinions Publisher: Keith Roulston Acting Editor: Shawn Loughlin • Reporter: Denny ScottAdvertising Sales: Ken Warwick & Lori Patterson The CitizenP.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; $130.00/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: Monday, 2 p.m. - Brussels; Monday, 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 16, 1961 The Township of Grey called for tenders for approximately 1,400 lbs. of Warble Fly Powder. The tenders were to be returned to the township by Saturday, March 4, 1961. Wilfred McIntee, a Walkerton realtor, decided to open a new branch in Brussels. The branch was set to run with local man Gordon Grant in charge. McIntee had opened his first realty branch in 1953 and at the time had 28 salesmen on his staff covering western Ontario, with the operation’s head office located in Walkerton. Over the previous weekend The Texan Grill was forcibly entered. Cigarettes and money from the restaurant’s juke box were reported stolen. According to the police, the thief entered the restaurant by breaking a back window and entering through a storage room. Police reported that the thief “rummaged through the till, scattering papers, but left the 50 coppers which the till contained, untouched.” This theft was the latest in a series of area incidents that includedother businesses, such as the Brussels Sales Yards, Lowes Red and White Food Market and the Baeker Butcher Shop. After tracking the thief through several thefts, however, a profile was created. “Apparently the thief is a confirmed cigarette smoker as he takes only cigarettes, not cigars or tobacco, and scorns chocolate bars.” The Huron County Beef Pro- ducers were set to hold their annual meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 22. The guest speaker was slated to be J.D. Baird from the production and marketing division of the Canadian Department of Agriculture. The Huron County Wheat Pro- ducers were also set to hold their annual meeting, on Tuesday, Feb. 21. The evening’s guest speaker would be Reg. Myers, past-president of the Ontario Wheat Producers Association. February 10, 1988 A plea from Women Today, a Huron County women’s advocacy group, was met with harsh criticism from Huron County Council. The group stated that it had seen $268,000 in grants from the federal government and $75,000 from the provincial government, but no support from the local government. Tom Tomes, reeve of Stephen Township was critical of the group, saying his daughter had been a member before she “saw the light” and left. He said he was against such groups. The group made the case that there were not enough female councillors, which incited anger among councillors. One rose to his feet saying that men should not be blamed if more women don’t choose to run for their municipal councils. For the second time in less than two months, fire had completely destroyed a barn in Morris Township. Firefighters from both the Brussels and Wingham Fire Departments were on scene battling a blaze at the farm of Michael Ryan of RR4, Brussels. Firefighters arrived at the farm within minutes of the call, but, by the time they had arrived, the barn was beyond saving. February 9, 2006 The first meeting of the Huron County Warden’s Economic Task Force was held on Jan. 31 and it was decided that the county should set aside some money to help boost the county’s economy. Huron-Bruce MPP Carol Mitch- ell announced that the county would receive an additional $3.3 million from the province’s Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund (OMPF). At the time, it was unknown whether or not the funding would be one time only, or if it would continue on an annual basis. The community welcomed Sandra Cable, who began her time with the United Churches of Brussels and Ethel. Cable has previously worked as a lay minister in Forest and also as a law enforcement officer. February 9, 2012 Leader of the Ontario Conservative Party Tim Hudak was in Blyth to assist Huron-Bruce MPP Lisa Thompson in opening her new office in Blyth. Hudak was encouraged by what he had seen with Thompson, saying that as soon as she said she would come forward, he knew the Conservatives would win the Huron- Bruce riding. Wingham Ironmen player Aaron Armstrong was named the most valuable player in the Western Jr. C Hockey League for the 2011/2012 season. Armstrong scored 26 goals and 54 assists over the course of the season. After a presentation by the Huron County Health Unit, Huron County Council learned that many families in the area cannot afford to eat healthy, despite relatively low food costs. Due to the relatively warm weather the OPP warned snowmobilers that trails were not even close to ready for traffic. 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 Another setback for Brussels The sad news last week that MDL Doors will not rebuild its factory after the devastating fire the previous week is a blow not only for the owners and employees, but for the Brussels community and all of northern Huron. Huron County can ill afford to lose 110 jobs at MDL Doors on top of the closures of Seaforth Creamery, Volvo Road Machinery and other employers. Brussels, itself, is still trying to recover from the loss of its school and now loses its largest employer. This continuing loss of jobs is something that requires serious study by governments at all levels. A county of 56,000 people cannot afford to lose hundreds of jobs every year. We need to find ways to encourage business to locate here, or to grow if they are already established here. Despite job losses, Huron County’s unemployment rate always seems to remain below the provincial average, largely because those who lose their jobs seem to be so mobile in moving on to new work. We can’t afford to lose these people as part of our community, however. The thoughts of the community go out, first and foremost, to those who find themselves out of work. Beyond that, Brussels will be called on, once again, to demonstrate the kind of community spirit and ingenuity that has brought it through hard times before. A caring community, pulling together, is the best way to counteract this kind of hardship. –KR Perception versus reality Information released in the Conference Board of Canada’s report card on Canada’s standing in quality of life issues points out that the issues that seem to preoccupy our current federal government don’t match the reality of what makes Canada a good place to live. Overall, the report gave Canada a “B” grade based on 17 measures that track self-sufficiency, equity and social cohesion, a mark that has remained pretty much for two decades. Canada sits seventh in the list of 17 countries compared in the study. (The U.S. and Japan rated “D”s.) Canada scored high marks for high life satisfaction and acceptance of diversity and low murder rates. It also scored well for declining burglary rates. Yet our federal government seems obsessed with supposedly high crime rates and blaming our justice system for making the situation worse by being too soft on crime. Canada got low marks for child poverty, income inequality and gender equity. The report shows that the gap between rich and poor has widened in recent decades. The child poverty rate rose to 15.1 per cent from 12.8 per cent between the mid-1990s and the late 2000s. The working-age poverty rate rose to 11.1 per cent from 9.4 per cent. And the elderly poverty rate rose to 6.7 per cent from 2.9 per cent. The bump in child poverty is “particularly disheartening,” the paper said. The recent recession made things even worse, with the low income rate rising to 13 per cent in 2010 from 12.4 in 2007. “Many Canadians seem to regard poverty as something that is an issue ‘over there’ rather than in their own country,” the study says. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why improving the plight of low income Canadians doesn’t seem to be a big priority for Stephen Harper’s government. Canada may be compromising its future by not doing more to solve the problem of child poverty in particular. Recently published research established that living in an economically-deprived situation can actually change the way a child’s brain works, increasing, for instance, the incidence of hyperactivity attention deficit disorder and making it hard for children to concentrate in school and achieve their academic potential. Helping all Canadians reach their potential is a win/win situation. Not only will it reduce poverty, but it will help government revenues because more people with higher revenues means more taxes for government to help pay its bills. Who knows, having fewer people frustrated at falling behind in society might even reduce the number of candidates for committing the crimes that seem to obsess this government. It’s time that our government starts tackling the issues that can make Canada a better place to live, not fixating so much about issues where we’re already well ahead of most of the world.— 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.