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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2012-03-15, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MARCH 15, 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 March 25, 1965 A fire of undetermined origin raged through the barn of Roland Marks on Concession 5 in Morris Township. Twenty-five head of cattle were saved from the fire, however, thanks to the efforts of the Wingham and Blyth area fire brigades. Several cattle and a few young pigs were lost in the blaze. The loss was estimated to be in the range of $20,000, which The Brussels Post reported would be partially covered by Marks’ insurance. On April 1 a food forum was set to be held at the Brussels Legion Hall. It would be the first time such a program had ever been presented in Huron County. The forum was sponsored by the Home Economics Service of the Ontario Department of Agriculture and was being held at the request of women in the area. Brussels-area women decided that the forum’s topic would be “Trix with a Mix” which would show how a basic, homemade biscuit mix could be used in a variety of products from tea biscuits to pizza to coffee cake. At the Grey Township School Board meeting it was decided that another $40,000 of insurance be added to the new school. The second annual Minor Hockey Tournament would be held in Brussels on March 27. The tournament would features teams from the Squirt, PeeWee, Bantam and Midget divisions and teams would be coming to Brussels from Toronto, Monkton, Bluevale, Atwood, Newry, Blyth, Stone School and Brussels to compete in the tournament. A bonspiel and banquet concluded the Brussels curling season with Don Dunbar’s Rink coming out on top of the 9 a.m. draw and Jack McDonald’s Rink coming in first in the 11 a.m. draw. March 18, 1987 Bev Elliott, part-owner of the store Christmas and Country was chosen as a councillor for Blyth. Elliott was chosen from a group of three candidates who allowed their name to stand for the position. The vacancy Elliott filled was left when former reeve Tom Cronin resigned in January. Several taxpayers in Blyth, however, were less than pleased with the way the appointment of Elliott was handled. The anonymous group wrote a letter stating that they had no doubt Elliott would do a good job in her new position, but that the manner by which Elliott was chosen needed to improve. The letter suggested that the other two candidates were not given proper consideration by Blyth Village Council for a variety of reasons. The Village of Blyth was experiencing a minor boom with the construction of an eight- unit apartment building being erected in the village, among other buildings. This came after construction in the village was virtually stagnate in 1986. Hullett Township Council was pressured by residents of Auburn over the condition of the police village’s streets, as well as “other aspects of life in the southern part of the police village.” March 16, 1994 After Blyth Village Council made a decision to split the village’s grant money at a recent meeting, Bev Blair from the Blyth Soccer League was disappointed that the league had not been considered when the funds were being divided. The $5,000 in question was divided amongst Memorial Hall, the Blyth Lions Club, Blyth Minor Hockey, Blyth Minor Ball and the Blyth Figure Skating Club. Blair said the league, which was set to enter its seventh season, involved 41 families and 70 children. She said it was an “insult and injustice” that the league had not been considered. March 15, 2007 Longtime Huron-Bruce Liberal MP Paul Steckle decided that he would be retiring at the end of his term and that he would not seek re- election in the next federal election, which at the time of the press conference, had yet to be scheduled. Steckle stated that he was first elected to public office in 1970 and felt that he had went out of his way to make a difference in his community over the next nearly 40 years. Immediately after Steckle had announced he would not be seeking re-election, a press release was issued announced that Steckle’s executive assistant and newly- appointed North Huron Councillor Greg McClinchey would be seeking the Liberal nomination in Huron- Bruce. McClinchey said he had been fortunate to work with Steckle for so many years. He called it an apprenticeship. Blyth Minor Hockey was set to hold an alumni game over the weekend, the first of its kind in Blyth. Huron County was set to present its budget to the public and two public meetings would be held to do just that. The first would be held in Wingham on March 20 and the second would be held in South Huron on March 22. 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 Addicted! The Ontario government’s announcement Monday of plans to expand lottery revenue shows our government has become addicted to gambling. Like many addicts, this gambling habit started innocently enough with a simple Wintario lottery way back in the days of the Bill Davis Progressive Conservative government in the 1970s. Successive Liberal, NDP and Progressive Conservative governments have needed a bigger fix, however, and the gambling industry has grown, first with more lotteries, then casinos in border cities to try to reap dollars from American suckers crossing the border to gamble. In the late 1990s needing more, the government started the slots program. Partnering with 17 local race tracks across the province, the government donned the cloak of virtue that they were helping keep these race tracks alive, while creating new locations for suckers to lose money. But addicts can’t be trusted. To feed their habit they will lie and cheat their partners. To get a bigger hunk of the gambling racket, the provincial government long ago made it harder for local clubs to hold lotteries, bingos and casino nights that raised money for local projects. The excuse was that these groups could apply to the Trillium Foundation that redistributed some of the lottery funds – but of course there was no guarantee they’d get a grant. Now, in an effort to increase OLG revenues by $1 billion a year, the government wants to grab the share of the money the race tracks received for becoming partners with the government. Finance Minister Dwight Duncan rationalizes this by saying the government shouldn’t be “subsidizing” the money-losing horse racing industry. Government, which should be protecting the weak in society, is more and more preying on the weaknesses of people who feel the need to gamble. We’ve gone way past people buying a few lottery tickets. Our government needs gambling addicts to feed its own addiction. That’s shameful. — KR Different sides of wind power Two sides of wind power were on display last week, each with a story to tell that the other side doesn’t want you to hear. Of local interest, Lisa Thompson, MPP for Huron-Bruce, was unsuccessful in putting forward a private member’s bill in the Ontario Legislature calling for a freeze on new industrial wind farms until there has been a proper study of the physical, social and economic consequences of living near large numbers of wind turbines. Not surprisingly, with the government committed to a green energy strategy, Thompson’s bill was defeated. The government doesn’t really want to hear – or at least believe – complaints from people living near turbines that their health is suffering or that the value of their properties had depreciated because of the proximity to turbines. Ironically, on the same day Thompson was presenting her bill, representatives from CS Wind in Windsor, which builds wind towers for the renewable energy sector’s wind turbines, were in London recruiting workers laid-off from the Electro Motive plant. CS Wind spokesman Patrick Persichilli said they’re looking to hire skilled labourers as soon as possible. “We’ve got production that’s scheduled that needs to get out, we need to hire people.” says Persichilli. CS Wind hopes to add about 100 welders to their payroll by April 1. It’s hard to hold a rational discussion on the green energy issue these days. The government, sure that incentives for the wind and solar industry will create jobs to replace the jobs lost in other manufacturing industries, doesn’t want to hear a discouraging word from people who must put up with turbines in their backyards. City-dwellers and those who live far from wind farms see them as benign and figure the complaints are just from Not-In-My-Backyarders. On the other hand, wind-farm opponents go over the top in some of their criticisms. They claim wind and solar don’t really produce much electricity, but then argue we’re going to go broke paying inflated electrical bills to pay for all the expensive solar and wind power. They say turbines only operate intermittently, then claim they’re disturbed by them 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We need some cool-headed reason brought into this debate. — 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.