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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2013-06-06, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JUNE 6, 2013.Editorials Opinions Publisher: Keith RoulstonAssociate Publisher & Director of Sales: Ron Drillen Acting Editor: Shawn Loughlin • Reporter: Denny ScottAdvertising Sales: 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 June 8, 1961 On Wednesday, June 7, Rev. H.L. Jennings of St. John’s Anglican Church in Brussels celebrated 25 years in the priesthood. Jennings was first made a deacon in London, Ontario in 1935, before being priested in Brantford in 1936. Organizers were attempting to hold a barbecue at the Brussels Fair Grounds on June 21, sponsored by the East Huron Agricultural Society, that would host well over 1,000 people. Following the chicken barbecue, there would be Bingo and a dance. Admission was $1.50 and people were encouraged to get their tickets early, before the event sold out. At the June 1 meeting of the Morris School Board, the mill rate for the coming year was set at nine mills, a reduction of one mill from the previous year’s rate. At Brownies Drive-In LDT in Clinton on June 8 and 9, a double feature of The Bridges of Toko-Ri with William Holden and Grace Kelly and The Night the World Exploded with Kathy Grant and William Leslie were scheduled to be shown. On June 10 to the 12, Tarzan the Magnificent with Gordon Scott and Jack Mahoney would hit the screen. Country Music Holiday featuring Ferlin Husky and Zsa Zsa Gabor was shown as well. Houseboat with Cary Grant and Sophia Loren played on June 13 and 14. June 8, 1988 The Citizen was presented with two national newspaper awards, one of which was first place in the Best Local Editorial category. The editorial, which was published in April of 1987, discussed the addiction of gambling and the promotion and publicity of provincial lotteries. A broken water pump in Brussels left village residents with an emergency water shortage. Municipal officials asked residents not to use water for unnecessary purposes, especially for watering their lawns. Brussels Village Council began investigating a recycling program. Councillor Malcolm Jacobs said that a recycling program would greatly increase the lifespan of municipal landfills. June 8, 2006 Amy McCrea received a special letter from England. McCrea celebrated her birthday exactly one month before Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her 80th birthday. McCrea sent the Queen a birthday card as her mother had always done for special occasions. A letter then arrived from Buckingham Palace addressed to McCrea and her husband Ralph. It said: “The Queen wishes me to write and thank you for the lovely card which you have sent on the occasion of her birthday. Her Majesty has been very touched by the response to her special birthday and I am to thank you so much for your good wishes which The Queen greatly appreciates,” signed by the Queen’s Lady-in-Waiting. Blyth Festival Artistic Director Eric Coates announced that the guest speaker for the Festival’s opening night gala on June 29 would be James Roy, one of the founders of the Festival and the original artistic director. Another Season’s Promise, written by Anne Chislett and Citizen Publisher Keith Roulston, was scheduled to be produced in Japan by Mingei (Peoples’ Arts Theatre). This was the third Festival play that had made its way to Japan, following The Tomorrow Box and Quiet In The Land. June 7, 2012 Huron County’s two highest administrators were placed on a non- disciplinary administrative leave on May 29 after a closed-to-the- public session of Huron County Council was called at 4 p.m. that day. Chief Administrative Officer Larry Adams and Treasurer and Deputy-Chief Administrative Officer David Carey were placed on leave after an e-mail was circulated to all of Huron County’s lower tier municipalities informing them of the change. Huron County Warden, who called The Citizen from a conference in Saskatchewan, said that the decision was a personnel matter and that it could not be discussed any further. Huron County Director of Planning and Development Scott Tousaw was named acting chief administrative officer in Adams’ absence. Huron East Council authorized the purchase of iPads for every member if council at the May 15 meeting. Going to a paperless agenda was said to save the municipality $1,700 said Treasurer Paula Michiels. The initial cost of the purchase of 12 second generation iPads was $4,932. With fire agreement negotiations continuing between North Huron and Morris-Turnberry Councils, Central Huron Council, which would be directly affected by any decision made, announced that they would like to have a seat at the negotiation table as meetings were starting to be planned. 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 Better, but not really helpful There isn’t much consolation for opponents of industrial-sized wind farms in Huron County in the changes to the feed-in tariff program of the Green Energy Act announced last week by Ontario Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli. While developers of future projects will have to negotiate with municipalities to get them onside as part of winning points for approval, the changes do nothing to give a voice to those opposed to projects that have already been approved. From a practical standpoint, the majority of Ontario’s taxpayers can probably agree with the government for not terminating contracts with companies already past the approval stage for wind developments. Taxpayers are already on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars for the cancellation of two gas-fired electrical generating plants in suburban Toronto. We don’t need more millions in compensation for wind companies too. Still, by not dealing with approved, but not built, wind developments, the changes are the equivalent of closing the door after the horse got out as far as southwestern Ontario goes. Projects already approved will add hundreds of wind turbines in the countryside east of Lake Huron. So many of the areas with the most favourable wind patterns already have approved projects that it’s hard to see just how many projects will be subject to future negotiations between municipalities and developers as proposed in the government’s changes. In areas where wind farms are proposed in the future, concerned local residents can at least ask their municipal councillors to negotiate a better deal on their behalf. Who knows, lack of municipal support might even be enough to prevent these projects from getting provincial approval. Will it matter? There are so many wind projects already approved, and we’re already exporting surplus power from wind farms, that we may not need another wind farm approval for years. –KR Having it both ways A recent investigation by the U.S. Senate showed some of the largest companies, which do billions of dollars of business in the U.S., have been able to play the system to pay hardly any taxes. In 2012, Apple Inc. managed to route 65 per cent of its global income of $26 billion through a “ghost company” in Ireland that actually does little except pay a special two per cent corporate tax rate. Having supposedly already paid its taxes in Ireland, Apple was not subject to U.S. taxes on this business. Starbucks Corp. shows how large companies manage to manipulate the system to avoid taxes. In 2011 the giant coffee chain claims it had a loss on its operations of $60 million on its British, German and French operations so therefore doesn’t owe any taxes. But when it talked to its shareholders, Starbucks bragged it was actually very profitable, making $40 million on its European operations. The list goes on. Amazon.com Inc. runs most of its European operations out of Luxembourg to take advantage of tax loopholes. Last year the company paid less tax in Britain ($3.7 million) than it got in government grants to build a new distribution centre in Scotland. Defending his company before the U.S. Senate hearing, Apple CEO Tim Cook implied the U.S. should be happy despite its low tax payments because Apple is “a powerful engine of job creation in the U.S.” Of course Apple makes most of its computers, iPhone and iPads in China. In the global world, multinational companies want it all. They want low wages so they search out the countries with the lowest labour costs. They want affluent North American and European consumers to buy their products to generate healthy profits, but then they want to hide those profits so they don’t have to pay taxes. But North Americans are affluent consumers because of an infrastructure of schools, roads, hospitals, and environmental services like water and sewers, all provided by government. Governments protect the homes of the wealthy with police forces and armies. Somebody has to pay for these things that make their profits possible. Like everyone else, companies must be responsible and pay their share. –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.