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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2013-08-29, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, AUGUST 29, 2013.Editorials Opinions Publisher: Keith Roulston Acting Editor: Shawn Loughlin • Reporter: Denny ScottAdvertising 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 31, 1961 The fourth Horticultural Flower Show held at the Brussels Library Hall attracted approximately 250 entries. Mrs. D. A. Rann was the show’s overall winner, receiving the most points across all of the show’s classes. She was awarded six first- place finishes and seven second- place finishes in the various rose categories. Mrs. Cameron Adams was awarded the most points for decorative floral arrangements at the show. An anniversary service was being planned for Knox Church in Cranbrook on Sunday, Sept. 10 at 11 a.m. Rev. Lockhart Royal of Goderich would be the minister and special music for the ceremony would be provided. August 31, 1988 The reconstruction of the Brussels Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion was well underway with the building set to re- open again in time for Christmas parties later that year. The renovation contract had recently been awarded to Berken Construction Ltd. of London with a price tag of $169,000. The Sept. 7 deadline for the Blyth Festival to have private, federal and provincial funding in place for its $1.8 million expansion plans had been extended two days to Sept. 9. The reason for the extension by the province was to await the reply from the federal government. CBC coverage was set to be eliminated from CKNX and CFPL television channels and it would be picked up by UHF frequencies beginning on Sept. 4. The Citizen reported that those who were unable to receive the new channels would not see CBC programming such as the Olympic Games from Seoul, Korea and Hockey Night in Canada. Bordertown Café, which had been called the “best new play of 1987” by London Free Press theatre critic Doug Bale, was back at the Blyth Festival by popular demand after its wildly popular premiere one year earlier. David Williams was named the new artistic director of the Stratford Festival. Williams succeeded John Neville, whose contract was set to expire at the end of 1989. August 31, 2006 Bands from all over Canada made their way to Blyth to compete in the 2006 Canadian final of the Global Battle of the Bands competition and The Broken Hearted, a band from Montreal, came out on top once the dust settled. The band beat out 24 others to be named the country’s top new band. After winning the competition, the band would then have the option to travel to London, England where it could compete in the world final of the competition. While organizers said the level of musicianship at the competition was high, national director Jeff Nesbitt said he felt the attendance could have been higher. “It was a little disappointing,” he said, “because you always hope for a good crowd.” Local OPP officers seized over 1,100 marijuana plants from a Marnoch Line property in East Wawanosh. The plants, which varied in height between three and seven feet high, had a street value of over $1 million. John Tory, leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, was in Blyth to attend a Blyth Festival production. While in Blyth Tory met with local stakeholders and Festival staff, such as Artistic Director Eric Coates. August 30, 2012 Former Blyth Festival Artistic Director Peter Smith returned to the Festival to serve as its interim artistic director. Smith had last been in Blyth in 2011 when he guided Hometown to the stage, a collaborative effort between a handful of playwrights writing a short play about their hometown. Festival Board President Wendy Hoernig reported that the Festival received a large number of very impressive applications. The McGavins dominated action at the Huron County Plowing Match. Jacob McGavin was named junior champion of the match, while his brother Brandon took home the honour of being senior champion. Kayla Bishop of RR2, Bluevale was crowned Queen of the Furrow, while Maranda Klaver, sister of 2011 Queen of the Furrow Samantha Klaver, earned the princess crown. The match was held at the farm of Ken and Brenda Dalton just south of Walton. Local horseshoer Ralph Koopmans brought home the first place prize from the World Horseshoe Tournament in Saskatchewan. He earned his way out west by topping the provincial championships that had just been held in Belleville. Brussels Fall Fair Ambassador Hannah McCutcheon visited the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto as one of her final official duties. It was announced that Brussels would be featured in an upcoming episode of the web-based travel series Rediscovering Canada that was set to air sometime in the next year. 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 How different kids’ issues are Two news items put children in the spotlight last week, in very different ways. In one story, United Nations aid agencies reported that one million children are refugees from the violence in Syria. The other story triggered an ideological confrontation about the real cost of raising children in Canada. The story of the Syrian child refugees, being farther from home, probably was less noticed than the made-in-Canada debate over the cost of parenting. Still, it’s a much more important story for its effects on the children involved and, in the long run, for the world. Experts say the children, many of whom have lost their parents or at least been separated from family, have been traumatized – often to the point of silence. The longer they are prevented from living a normal child’s life, the more long-term damage will be done. Some of these children may grow up embittered and seeking revenge, taking the Middle East’s cycle of violence into another generation. By comparison, the Canadian debate seems trivial. It was sparked when the Fraser Institute, a right-wing think tank, released a study by Nipissing University economist Christopher Sarlo that argued it’s much less expensive to raise a child in Canada than is usually stated. Sarlo put the cost at $3,500 to $4,500 per child per year. That immediately sparked reaction from people at the opposite end of the political spectrum who said it cost at least $10,000 a year to raise a child to the age of 18. They noted that the Fraser Institute didn’t include the cost of childcare, claiming the right-wing organization doesn’t think public daycare is important. Those who think every child should go to a government-run daycare, of course, preferred the higher estimate. Daycare costs aside, there’s no doubt that Sarlo is right when he argues it’s not as expensive to raise a child as many parents make it. Today’s children are showered with many “necessities” that their parents and grandparents survived without. We choose to buy these “must haves”. They are not necessary to life. The sad thing coming out of this debate was the information that some young people are choosing not to have children because they don’t think they can afford to provide the lifestyle they feel children require. Perhaps they should ask their grandparents whether they’d rather not have been born rather than live without modern conveniences. What gets forgotten, in this country of general affluence, is that the greatest gift a child can have is spending time with a loving parent, not a bunch of gadgets. Canadians need to take a look at the child refugees of Syria to realize our children are among the world’s advantaged even if a parent can’t afford to spoil them with gifts. –KR Taking a long-term perspective It’s 50 years this week since Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I have a dream” speech before 250,000 civil rights supporters gathered before Washington’s Lincoln Memorial. Sometimes we need anniver- saries like this to give us perspective on how much things have changed. Only the most optimistic dreamers listening to King, after living through those turbulent days of the late 1950s and early 1960s, could have predicted how much things could change in the next five decades. Even Dr. King probably couldn’t see a day approaching so quickly when a black man would be president. Younger people never knew, and older people often forgot, just how bleak things were in parts of the United States in that era when civil rights workers, both black and white, were being murdered by opponents to integration. It took federal soldiers to guard black students who were entering formerly all-white universities and high schools. The news was filled, day after day after day, with scenes of anger and violence. Bad times were to continue long after King had his dream. Five years later he was murdered. There would be race riots in cities across the U.S., destroying black neighbourhoods that were already disadvantaged enough. Much remains to be done to bring equality to the U.S. and indeed to Canada. Still, we must remember how remarkably far we’ve come. –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.