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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2013-05-09, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 9, 2013.Editorials Opinions Publisher: Keith RoulstonAssociate Publisher & Director of Sales: Ron Drillen Acting Editor: Shawn Loughlin • Reporter: Denny Scott Advertising 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: 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 May 11, 1961 Morris Township ratepayers elected a new five-person school board on May 16. The board was made necessary when the former board resigned after ratepayers presented petitions opposing the board’s plans for a two-room addition at the Walton School. James Elston and Carmen Haines were the only members of the previous board to return to office. Making up the new five-person board were James Elston, Ross Turvey, Carmen Haines, Gordon Nicholson and Bert Elliot. Playing at the Llachmar Drive-In Theatre in Listowel were The Facts of Life staring Bob Hope and Lucille Ball and The Music Box Kid with Don Foster. Later in the week the theatre hosted The 13 Ghosts featuring Charles Herbert and Joe Morrow and Stop Look and Laughter with The Three Stooges. The Rat Race, starring Debbie Reynolds and Tony Curtis, rounded out the week. The annual music festival for the 19 schools in Morris and East Wawanosh townships was held in the Forester’s Hall, Belgrave. Earle Terry from London was the adjudicator on Thursday but was unable to be there on Friday. Mr. Queen, the assistant director of music of Ontario, was the adjudicator for the final day. It’s reported that all schools did a wonderful job. March 9, 1988 A tornado touched down in the Dungannon area. Many people reported seeing a funnel cloud prior to a brief, but violent, windstorm that hit at about 5 p.m. Steve and Laurie Doney of RR 6, Goderich were in their barn doing chores when they heard the storm. The wind tore the roof off a large machine shed beside the barn. After the storm was finished, Laurie saw that the entire roof on the barn was scattered across a plowed field and along a neighbour’s fence line. The south wall of their shed collapsed where her daughters, aged four and two, had just been playing. May 11, 2006 Improvements at Blyth Memorial Hall is a great way to see how a community group and local government group could work together, representatives said. After the increasing concern regarding the safety of the Festival’s attendants, a Trillium grant of $35,000 was received at the beginning of the year. North Huron is also contributing $100,000 to the renovations. Water has been pooling in places around the building’s ramp, causing icy walking conditions during winter. Bricks had been falling from the surface of the building onto the ramp area as well. In April Bishop Ronald Fabbro of the London Diocese announced the closing of five Huron County churches. The churches included St. Joseph’s Church in Clinton and St. Augustine Church, St. Augustine. These two churches received the majority of Blyth Catholic church- goers when St. Michael’s Church in Blyth was closed at Christmas of 2004. North Huron Council began investigating ways to lighten the load for Belgrave ratepayers who had to pay capital costs for water on vacant lots. Councillor Archie MacGowan commented that when the final report came in, the municipality found out it would have to pay $90,000 more on the project than was first anticipated. May 10, 2012 Forty-three students from the F.E. Madill Secondary School track and Field team travelled to Regina and Mundi Catholic College on May 2 to compete against 1,300 other athletes from 31 other schools. The F.E. Madill competitors performed very well with members of the team earning 25 personal best performances. On April 26 the team travelled to Strathroy for the annual Strathroy Invitational, which is a competition attended by approximately 50 other schools. The competing F.E. Madill students earned 10 first place finishes and two unofficial school records. Morris-Turnberry Council was considering two requests for grants, $500 for the Huron Arts and Heritage Networks and $250 from the Wingham Gold and Curling Club (WGCC). Some council members wanted to support the arts, while others didn’t want to lose the support of facilities like the WGCC. With one councilor absent the vote was in a 4-4 deadlock, recorded as a defeat. After the defeat, Councillor Neil Warwick motioned to approve the grants, but to reduce the amount for the Huron Arts and Heritage Networks to $250. Again, the vote was tied, causing defeat. Council could agree to pass one motion: to defer the grant requests until there was an uneven number of councilors present. The Citizen informed readers and members of the community that its Blyth office would be closed for May 10 and 11. The organization moved from its home since 1985, 404 Queen Street to its new home at 413 Queen Street. 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 When one right trumps another Every person can understand that he or she has rights, but what happens if exercising your rights gets in the way of the rights of others. Right now that kind of battle is being played out in Ontario’s fields as “progressive” farming practices get in the way of the rights of food producers of another kind – and perhaps with nature itself. The rush is on across Huron County and beyond to get the corn crop in as quickly as possible. A year ago corn planting coincided with massive die-off of honeybees in more than 240 bee yards across Ontario. The problem seemed to be greatest where colonies were near corn fields that were planted using air seeders, the newest in planting equipment for large operations. The accepted theory seems to be that the air seeders, which use air to blow the seed through the planter mechanism, stirred up the coating of insecticide on the seed which is designed to protect the seed and get it off to a quick start. The dust of the insecticide coated plants visited by the bees which took the poison home to their hives. Modern technology such as air planters and seed coatings are responsible for an incredible leap in the yield of corn crops in recent years which has brought prosperity to cash crop farmers and helped feed the world. There are many farmers and relatively few beekeepers so democracy would hold that the majority rules and the concerns of farmers growing crops should win out. But there’s a bigger issue here, one that may affect all mankind. Bees are essential to our life on earth. They pollinate many crops including fruits and vegetables that humans depend on. In Europe, they have put a two-year moratorium on the use of neonicotinoids, the insecticides used in seed coverings. Canadian farm organizations and the seed and chemical companies have argued that the evidence connecting the seed to the bee deaths is not conclusive enough to stop their use here. If the evidence does become conclusive, but the bee population has been killed off by then, they can’t be replaced. We have come to depend on technological advances in food production but there are natural realities we have to live with. If it comes down to a choice between the latest advance in agricultural efficiency or the loss of pollinators (both wild and domestic) that are essential for a large part of our food and the functioning of nature, then technology is going to have to back off. –KR Troubled youth of many kinds Homegrown terrorism has very much been in the news of late, with the arrest of two men alleged to have planned to derail a Via Rail passenger train on route from New York to Toronto and the revelation that three young men from London had gone to Africa planning to take part in terrorist acts. Thankfully, for the most part Canadians haven’t panicked and sought simple answers to the complicated questions – such as blaming a particular religion for causing these young people to want to do terrible things. Maybe we’ve come to see these young men as more synonymous with being troubled youth than with membership in a religion. The young men in question either took part in, or apparently planned to carry out, unforgivable acts. They aren’t the first, however, and they won’t be the last. Some young Roman Catholic men in Ireland used the crusade to “free” Northern Ireland from British and Protestant rule as an excuse to perpetrate violence, while their brothers and friends didn’t feel the need to take up arms. Catholicism wasn’t to blame for their acts. In our own backyard we see some young people who rebel or don’t fit in – though usually it doesn’t go beyond anti-social behaviour like excessive drinking or drug use, sometimes combined with dangerous driving. Under different circumstances, such as still struggling to fit in in a new country, could a few of these have gone further? If they feel on the outside of society sometimes young men seek the acceptance of other outsiders who will ask them to do terrible things. The healthy thing for our society is when we can look at these young criminals as individuals, not as representatives of a particular religion, or of the immigrant population. What they did is wrong, but they did it themselves. –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.