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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2013-08-22, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, AUGUST 22, 2013.Editorials Opinions Publisher: Keith Roulston Acting Editor: Shawn Loughlin • Reporter: Denny Scott Advertising Sales: Lori Patterson & Sue Brindley 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 August 24, 1961 An unidentified resident of Brussels wrote a letter to The Brussels Post protesting the demolition of the Brussels Town Hall. The writer called the hall one of the “landmarks of East Huron” adding that when the hall was built, there had been donations made from both Morris and Grey and volunteer labour was utilized. The letter was followed by an editor’s note stating “we invite more letters from those interested in this matter.” The Misfits, starring Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe was set to grace the screen of Brownie’s Drive- In Theatre in Clinton. Results from the 1961 census were released and population figures for Brussels were 845, which was up from 782 in 1956. August 24, 1988 In just under one week the Huron County Plowing match would take place near Brussels. The match was to be hosted by Huron-Bruce MP Murray Cardiff at his farm on Concession 5-6 of Grey Township, just east of County Road 12. The action would begin on Thursday, Sept. 1 with Coaching Day, which included a Junior Plowing Match. Brussels Fall Fair Queen Karla King called her time at the Canadian National Exhibition “tiring”. Despite how much it took out of her, however, she said she had a great time spreading the good word about her community. “It was a marvellous experience and I was so proud to be able to be there to represent Brussels,” she said. When all but seven of the 105 provincial contestants were eliminated, King didn’t make it to the semi-final round, but she said she didn’t have any regrets about her time at the Exhibition. Bob Rae, leader of the province’s official opposition was set to attend a number of different functions throughout North Huron over the upcoming weekend. To round out his time in North Huron, Rae was scheduled to take in a performance of Fires In The Night at the Blyth Festival. On Aug. 19 the 50th anniversary of the Walton Hall was celebrated with a concert, a dance and a barbecue held by the Walton Area Sports Club. The evening was kicked off by a piano medley by Marie McGavin, who played to a full house in Walton to help mark the milestone. The Maitland Dirtriders were in action at the Morris Township motocross course on Aug. 21. Pictured participating in various motocross events were Gord Whiteley, Jerry Bremner, Brian Ten Pas, Rob McIntosh, Dave Smith and Chris Lee. August 24, 2006 The Walton TransCan Motocross Championship welcomed over 25,000 people to the community over the previous weekend. Organizer and Walton Motocross owner Chris Lee attributed those high attendance numbers partly to the weather, which he declared “perfect” for racing, saying it was “exactly what I ordered.” Mitchell Godkin of Walton snatched second place in the Walton TransCan Amateur races in the 50 cc class. While the class’s winner was American, third place was taken by another local rider, McKenzie Machan of Molesworth. Local families grieved as three- year-old Ainsleigh Bontaine drowned in a pool while visiting a residence in Perth County. Young Bontaine of Tavistock was the daughter of former Blyth resident Heidi (Scrimgeour) and her husband Gerry and the granddaughter of Don and Lenora Scrimgeour of Blyth. A mass of Christian Burial was held for Bontaine at St. James Roman Catholic Church in Seaforth on Aug. 24. August 23, 2012 Attendance at the Walton TransCan was said to be up by 15 to 20 per cent over the previous year. Organizer Chris Lee said he was careful not to inflate 2012’s numbers too high, as 2011 attendance was down slightly due to the F3 tornado that tore through Goderich and parts of Central Huron and Ashfield- Colborne-Wawanosh, but that he was pleased with the event’s turnout. Londesborough-area athlete Lexi Aitken set a new Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships record in the under- 16 girls 200-metre hurdles, running the race in 27.30 seconds. Huron East announced that it would be turning the now-closed Brussels Public School into the Brussels Business and Cultural Centre. “I feel good about this. I’m very optimistic,” said Huron East Economic Development Officer Jan Hawley. “I see a good opportunity here.” Patrick Armstrong, founder of the Dave Mounsey Memorial Fund, was nominated for a Scotiabank Game Changer award, that could have net the Fund $100,000. Armstrong was one of 72 nominees. The Blyth Festival’s Young Company returned to the stage with The Farm 2012. The group was to revisit The Farm Show from 1972 and venture out into Huron County’s farms and learn. 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 Remember local businesses There’s been a buzz around Blyth in the last week when rumours spread that a small Tim Hortons restaurant would be included in a new business to be built on the site of the former Grandview Restaurant, just south of town in Hullett Ward of Central Huron. The company involved in the development has not confirmed the rumour. New business development is always welcome but if indeed a Tim Hortons is included, here’s hoping that the star power of Canada’s most successful restaurant franchise doesn’t dazzle people into abandoning the local businesses that have served them well. Often in other towns when a name-brand franchise sets up an outlet, people have been so thrilled with the “discovery” of their community by these national or international franchises that they rush to give their business to them and locally-owned businesses that have been part of the community for years end up closing. In this celebrity-obsessed era, there’s a sense of being part of the crowd when people patronize a well-known brand. It’s an attraction local businesses just can’t compete with, even if the service they offer is equal to, or better. But local businesses offer the added benefit that they’re here for the long haul – this is their community, not just a market. The benefit of local ownership can be seen these days in the community newspaper business. This newspaper is owned by 43 shareholders in the Brussels and Blyth area. All the work preparing this paper is done from people from this area, while some chains are sending work, electronically, to India. Any profits stay in the community, and are not syphoned off to company headquarters in a distant city – not that there is that much profit because our local shareholders put having the best possible newspaper for their community ahead of maximizing profit. Any new business is welcome in our communities. Let’s just keep things in perspective and not become unbalanced because a major chain has “discovered” us at last. –KR Be careful what you wish for It’s hard to feel sorry for companies as large as Rogers Communications, BCE Inc and Telus Corp. but even giants like these can be treated unfairly. And in the long run, hurting these companies can be bad for Canada. The federal government, in the name of promoting more competition for Canadian mobile customers where the big three have control of 90 per cent of the market, has given preferential treatment to new, smaller players in assigning new signals as they become available. Despite this boost, the smaller companies haven’t been all that successful. Now word has leaked that Verizon, one of the largest telecom companies in the U.S., might buy one or more of these small Canadian competitors of the big three and might also take advantage of the preferential treatment for new entrants, to bid on new bandwidth that the three big companies aren’t allowed to buy. If Verizon, which is much bigger than the Canadian “giants”, does come to Canada, the preferential rules set by the federal government say that Rogers, BCE and Telus must allow their networks to be used by the new entrant. At the same time, the Canadian companies can’t expand into the U.S. because giants like Verizon won’t allow access to their networks. Rogers, BCE and Telus have been fighting back with an advertising blitz to point out the unfairness of the situation but the federal government is showing no indication it is sympathetic. In fact the government has stepped up its own campaign saying it’s just standing up for the Canadian consumer by seeking more competition. Competition is a good thing for consumers, but if a U.S. company that’s larger than the Canadian telecoms gets preferential treatment and eventually becomes so strong it swallows up one or more of the Canadian companies, consumers who feel alienated dealing with the distant Canadian telecoms might find it even worse with a company with head office in New York. –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.