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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2012-02-09, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2012.Editorials Opinions Publisher: Keith Roulston Acting Editor: Shawn Loughlin • Reporter: Denny ScottAdvertising Sales: Ken Warwick & Lori Patterson The CitizenP.O. Box 429, BLYTH, Ont. N0M 1H0 Phone 523-4792 FAX 523-9140 P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, Ont. N0G 1H0 Phone 887-9114 E-mail norhuron@scsinternet.com 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; $115.00/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: Monday, 2 p.m. - Brussels; Monday, 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 February 11, 1965 A fire that broke out shortly before midnight on Feb. 5 received a swift response from the Brussels Fire Department that in turn saved the home. The home of Mrs. Stanley Rutledge on Mill Street in Brussels went up in flames and suffered extensive smoke damage, but the home was saved. The fire department acted quickly and prevented the spread of the fire from the rear of the building, limiting the damage to that portion of the home. Melville Presbyterian Church held its annual meeting despite stormy weather that kept several families away from the meeting. The Brussels Girls Broomball team, coached by Barry Machan, were well on their way to repeating the success they had achieved in 1964. They had not yet lost a game over the course of the season, giving them 16 out of a potential 16 points. The team won the final game of their current series against Wingham on Feb. 8, beating the visiting team by a score of 6-0. After defeating teams from Blyth, Belgrave, Seaforth and now Wingham, the Brussels team would now advance to the finals. The Brussels Bantam hockey team won in the first round of the playoffs against Monkton to advance to the next round. Brussels came from behind at a score of 3-1 to beat the visiting team by a score of 4-3, winning the best- of-three series. February 11, 1987 Blyth, Auburn and Walton joined the group of Huron County communities that faced a potential loss of rail service after Canadian Pacific Rail served notice to the municipalities that it intended to apply for abandonment. The company stated that the rail line had been losing money in recent years and that an average of only 10 carloads per month had been travelling the line over the last two years. The Huron County Pioneer Museum received a $1.17 million grant towards the cost of the rebuilding and renovation of the building. The grant, which was approved by the provincial government, kicked the renovation efforts into high gear at the museum. Organizers were already thinking ahead to Christmas with the Brussels Santa Claus Parade being reorganized by local business owners who felt a reorganized effort would attract more people to the village’s popular event. In 1986, the parade began at 11 a.m., which many felt was too early for a parade. The 1987 parade, under new organizers, would begin at 5 p.m. Kevin Wheeler of Brussels brought home a national skating title from the Canadian Figure Skating Championships in Ottawa. While Wheeler, and his 14-year- old partner Michelle Menzies, were pleased with the victory, they were now looking forward to the 1988 national championships in Victoria, B.C., from where competitors for the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary would be chosen. February 9, 1994 Premier Bob Rae and Huron MPP Paul Klopp were in the area on Feb. 5 to announce a $1 million grant from the provincial government as part of the jobsOntario program. The funds would go towards the redevelopment of the former Huronview building. Bob Trick of Londesborough was introduced as the new animal control officer for Brussels. Trick made a presentation to Brussels Village Council on Feb. 7 and before the meeting was over councillors had voted to employ Trick and terminate the services of the village’s dog catcher at the time. In addition to taking on Brussels, Trick also provided the same services for Blyth and Clinton. After considerable discussion, the Huron County Board of Education decided to proceed with the establishment of one centralized design and technology centre that would be located at Clinton’s Central Huron Secondary School. A report presented at the board’s Feb. 7 meeting stated that the centre would be the source for technical studies for all Grade 7 and 8 students in Huron County. February 8, 2007 Stormy winter weather brought life in the area to a standstill as windchill and snowsquall warnings were heard throughout Huron County all weekend and through to Monday and Tuesday. The weather came just days after an early spring was predicted by Wiarton Willie and several other rodent prognosticators. Demands for French immersion in Huron County once again came before the Avon Maitland District School Board. At the board’s Jan. 29 meeting, a representative from the group Canadian Parents for French asked the board to recognize its obligations to provide the service under a newly- signed agreement between the federal and provincial governments. The third annual running of Snowarama in Huron County was set to go on Feb. 17. Londesborough was hosting the event once again in an attempt to locally raise money for Easter Seals. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund (CPF) for our publishing activities. We are not responsible for unsolicited newsscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright When food comes last How ironic that officials from the Huron County Health Unit delivered a report to Huron County Council a week before Food Freedom Day on how too many people can’t afford to eat properly. Sunday is Food Freedom Day in Canada for 2012 – the date by which the average Canadian will have earned enough money to pay their entire year’s grocery bill based on how much consumers spent on food last year. Farm groups created Food Freedom Day to get the point across that food makes up a remarkably small part of the budget of Canadians. In 2011, according to figures provided by the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, we spent 9.1 per cent of our disposable income on food. The French and Japanese spent 13.5 and 14.2 percent respectively. But Dietician Amy MacDonald and Public Health Manager Sherri Preszcator told councillors that here in the middle of the most productive agriculture area in Canada, many people can’t afford to eat well. They estimated it costs $800 a month for a family of four to buy nutritional food which many on a low income can’t afford. Rent, hydro, insurance and other expenses come first and people spend what they have left on food. To listen to some critics in media, academia and vested interests in the food processing business, the problem is the cost of food is too high. They attack measures that increase farm income such as marketing boards claiming this causes hardship – even though for most of the critics, Food Freedom Day would come a lot sooner than Feb. 12. As long as people are poor, the price of food will always be too high. At the same time, today’s affluent Canadian society is based on the fact people can buy luxuries because they spend so little on food. We’re blessed with a food production system so efficient most of us spend a mere fraction of our income on this essential of life. We can’t expect farmers to maintain that efficiency unless they are paid enough for the food they produce to afford the technology that allows them to be efficient. If people can’t afford to eat properly, we must find ways to raise their incomes so that they can, not expect farmers to become poor themselves in order to keep the cost of food even lower. — KR The hard realities at Caterpillar The announcement last week that Caterpillar Inc. has closed its Electro-Motive locomotive factory in London after workers refused to take a 50 per cent cut in pay demonstrates there’s fairness and then there’s reality. It offends Canadians’ sense of fairness that a company would ask workers to take a 50 per cent pay cut especially when it recently announced a fourth quarter profit of $1.55 billion U.S., up 58 per cent. Still, when Caterpillar held a job fair in Muncie, Indiana, where the London jobs will be shifted, 4,000 people started lining up as early as 4 a.m. in hopes of getting a job at the wage the London workers refused to accept. In a global market, if those Muncie workers someday decide they don’t want to work for that wage there will be thousands in China, India or Mexico who would be happy to work for half their wage. We are torn between the world as we think it should be and the brutal reality of global capitalism. Unions can argue about a “fair” wage for workers, but when a company can move jobs to an area where people will work for less, unions are powerless. So are governments which might try to create better conditions for workers through regulation. Companies can now shop for the circumstances, whether wages and benefits or environmental regulations, that create the biggest profits. The Caterpillar decision also undermines all the defenders of big business in the media and elsewhere when the Occupy Movement was haranguing people about the one per cent at the top getting richer while the other 99 per cent get poorer. There could be few better demonstrations of the growing divide than a company making a record profit that kills the jobs of workers who won’t take a 50 per cent pay cut. Governments also face the cold reality that in a global economy, they can’t count on ruthlessly efficient companies to provide either corporate taxes themselves, or to pay higher wages to workers who can pay higher income taxes. When companies can run to the lowest cost haven, where does the government get money for the services we expect? — 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.