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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2013-11-14, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2013.Editorials Opinions Publisher: Keith Roulston Acting Editor: Shawn Loughlin • Reporter: Denny Scott Advertising Sales: Lori Patterson & Sue Brindley The Citizen P.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 November 16, 1961 Members of the Brussels Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion paraded through the village alongside the Brussels Legion Ladies Auxiliary, Guides, Brownies, Scouts and Cubs to honour those who served for their country. They were led to the annual Remembrance Day service by the Brussels Legion Pipe Band. The service was conducted by Rev. H.L. Jennings, Legion Padre of St. John’s Anglican Church, R. K. Griffiths of the Brussels United Church and Rev. W.J. Morrison of Melville Presbyterian Church. It was reported in The Brussels Post that St. John’s Anglican Church, where the service took place, was filled to capacity. The annual meeting of the Morris Township Federation of Agriculture was scheduled to take place at the Foresters’ Hall in Belgrave on Nov. 21. November 16, 1988 Rhea Hamilton-Seeger of RR2, Auburn squeezed out a narrow victory to win the seat of deputy- reeve in West Wawanosh. There was a 39 per cent voter turnout for the election in the ward. Tony McQuail was able to retain his seat on the Huron County Board of Education by a narrow margin, beating out Vicki Culbert by just two votes, 334 to 332. Donald Alton of Ashfield received just 204 votes. Blue City Slammers, a movie that dominated much of the conversation in May of 1987 in Blyth, was set to hit the screen at the Lyceum Theatre in Wingham on Nov. 20. The film’s crew had spent several days shooting in Blyth the previous year and even included locals as extras for the film. A new business was scheduled to open in Blyth in the spring of 1989, as Lloyd and Charlotte Allen, owners of The Book Shop in Listowel, had purchased a store previously occupied by a plumbing business with the hopes of opening another branch of the book store. “We’ve been watching the growth of the theatre with great interest,” Charlotte said. “Anything that attracts more than 40,000 people a year has just got to be good for business.” November 16, 2006 Huron County mourned the passing of OPP officer and volunteer Blyth firefighter Dave Mounsey, who succumbed to injuries he sustained as a result of a single- vehicle collision on Oct. 14, while he was on duty. Mounsey passed away in the early morning hours of Monday, Nov. 13, just under one month after his collision. Const. Lincoln Dinning, who had worked with Mounsey since he came to Huron County from Haldimand-Norfolk, said Mounsey “always had a smile, and a great sense of humour”. Results of the 2006 municipal election brought few surprises, but some big upsets in The Citizen’s coverage area. North Huron’s new Reeve Neil Vincent edged out the incumbent Doug Layton by a slim margin of just 57 votes. “There’s a big job ahead of me,” Vincent said after being elected. “I have to work for the best of the whole community.” Incumbent Huron East Mayor Joe Seili was voted into the municipality’s top position once again, beating out former Huron East Councillor for the Seaforth Ward Lou Maloney. Votes for Seili nearly doubled Maloney’s vote total. Incumbent Morris-Turnberry Mayor Dorothy Kelly beat out former Councillor Neil Warwick. Aaron Richmond of Wingham published Night Song, a collection of his poetry. The collection, Richmond said, dealt with difficult issues such as family, death, forgiveness and redemption. At the time of the interview, Richmond had already sold half of the copies he had printed. November 15, 2012 After an auction earlier in the year, it was announced that the group that bought the former Blyth Public School building was called 237 King Street (the school’s address) and it consisted of Steven and David Sparling and Rick and Jeff Elliott. “The owners are committed to helping make ‘something good’ out of a bad situation [the closure of Blyth Public School],” said Jeff Elliott. “We look forward to sharing more information as details are available.” The screening process, which was expected to last between two and three months, for the Nuclear Waste Management Organization, was set to begin in Central Huron after council had expressed an interest in hosting one of the organization’s underground waste facilities. Blyth-area student Marion Studhalter was presented with the Paul Beingessner Award for Excellence in Writing at the annual general meeting of the Huron Chapter of the National Farmers Union in Clinton. It was her piece “Co-operatives preserve family farms, co- operatives – an exercise in democracy” that earned her the award, which came alongside a cheque for $500. 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 A problem that’s overlooked The cancellation, last week, of the bus service from London to Owen Sound that served several area communities, shows once again that Huron County is a tough place to live for anyone who doesn’t own and drive a car. Probably very few people even knew the bus stopped running on Sunday because the vast majority of people in the county drive. For drivers, it’s no big deal to jump in the car and go to a nearby town to shop or visit a doctor. For the minority who don’t have a car or can’t drive because of ill health, such a simple action becomes very complicated. There are few options to trying to find someone who can give them a ride there and back. Few people like to be dependent on the kindness of friends and neighbours. They want to feel independent, but it’s virtually impossible. The very privilege most of us have of easy travel by driving ourselves, makes it harder and harder for those who don’t drive. Once our communities were very self-sufficient, but the mobility offered by the car led to centralization of services like doctors’ offices and shopping. Once, we had train service and bus service but the ease with which most of us travelled by car undermined the amount of business needed to make public transit sustainable. Officials with the company that ran the bus service until recently said it just didn’t pay. This problem does not get a lot of attention because the number of people who are disadvantaged by the lack of public transit is relatively small. Over the years some aware public officials, particularly those who work with seniors or lower-income residents, have pointed out this problem but the solution isn’t easy. With a low, dispersed population in the first place, and a high rate of car ownership, it’s going to be hard to come up with a solution that is affordable to both the users, and the private or government service provider. If we want a fair society – a society that makes it possible for people of all income levels and circumstances to live in Huron County – we must continue to examine this problem and seek innovative solutions. We can’t afford to write off those who can’t drive a car. –KR We all have a China problem Justin Trudeau’s foolish comment last week about admiring the ability of China to “turn on a dime” on its policies such as green energy because it’s a “basic dictatorship” may cause problems for the Liberal leader as he tries to prove his credibility, but is also illustrates the issues we all have toward this dictatorship. It’s almost impossible not to have some sort of grudging admiration for the tremendous growth of China’s economy in the past decade that has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty, until one sees how this has been accomplished. Leaders of western multinational companies, who would sing the praises of free enterprise and democratic values, have been only too happy to set up factories in China where the government makes sure that workers quietly endure working for wages and under conditions that western workers wouldn’t accept. But before ordinary Canadians point a finger at the big, bad corporations, they must also look at how their own standard of living has increased because those workers produce consumer goods at a fraction of what they would cost if made in Canada. Likewise, we expect our companies to uphold the highest environmental standards in Canada, but don’t even think about how much environmental damage their factories in China might be causing. And while we might want China to change, we mostly want to continue the good things China’s policies are doing for us. When Stephen Harper first visited China after becoming prime minister, he pointedly talked about the country’s lack of civil rights. In doing so, he not only angered Chinese officials, but he brought down the wrath of Canadian industrialists, traders, editorial writers and columnists and economists who suggested his moralistic tone could hurt Canada. Justin Trudeau’s choice of words brought him headlines last week but we’re all guilty of a double standard when it comes to China. –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.