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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2012-08-16, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 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 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; $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 August 19, 1965 A collision between two cars resulted in a car fire and a brush with serious injury for a local man. The collision occurred just south of Brussels when a car being driven by John Pennington Jr. was involved in a rear-end collision which forced Pennington to drive his vehicle through a ditch, then a fence before the vehicle came to rest on the property of Mrs. Ella Shurrie. The Brussels Post reported that both cars involved in the collision were heavily damaged as the car that struck Pennington’s vehicle also ended up in a nearby ditch. It was reported that all involved suffered cuts and bruises as a result of the collision and that the occupants of the second car left the scene of the incident before police arrived. After the collision, Pennington’s vehicle caught fire and the Brussels Fire Department was dispatched to the scene. Firefighters were sent to the scene at approximately 11 p.m. to extinguish the fire. Due to the late night siren, a large number of spectators had gathered at the scene of the collision. A new project by the Huron County 4-H Club was taking on sleeping garments as part of its homemaking project. The club was asking area girls between the ages of 12 and 26 to participate in the project. August 12, 1987 Brussels Village Council made its decision on where to start with street numbers at its Aug. 4 meeting. Councillors decided that street numbers would be determined around a central point of Mill Street and Turnberry Street. The major intersection would be used as a starting point for all numbers. There was, however, significant discussion surrounding the sequencing of numbering buildings. It was suggested by newly- appointed councillor Ruth Sauve that a block should start on the even number of 100 and that the final building on the block should be 199 and that the rest of the buildings on the block should be numbered in between those two. Councillors, however, did not make a final decision on how numbers should be designated. Ontario Minister of Transport and Communications Ed Fulton promised members of the community that current reconstruction plans for Hwy. 4 between Blyth and Wingham would receive a serious review on a priority basis. After a tour with local municipal politicians, Fulton said his concerns with the road were how narrow the current road was, particularly with the winter driving conditions in Huron County. Fulton said that Blyth Reeve Albert Wasson pointed out five or six different areas that were particularly bad spots for visibility due to high snow banks in the winter. August 17, 1994 Toxic fumes were a large concern for Blyth firefighters when a fire broke out at a Hullett Township chicken barn on Aug. 10. Some of the farm’s workers were cleaning out one of the farm’s barns when a hydro panel shorted out and started a wall that was covered in polyurethane foam on fire. According to Blyth Fire Chief Paul Josling, prolonged exposure to the fumes given off as a result of the burning foam could result in death. Josling estimated the damage to the business between $3,000 and $4,000. However, there was no loss of livestock or machinery as a result of the fire. Firefighters remained at the scene of the blaze until the barn cooled down and there was no chance of the fire starting again. Walton was set to host the TransCan National Motocross Championship once again, but this year Canada’s leading sports television network, TSN, would be in Walton filming portions of the race. “An exciting addition to this year’s races will be the presence of TSN,” said Matt Lee, one of the event organizers. August 16, 2007 According to crop specialist Brian Hall, the rain came for area crops, but it came just a bit too late. Hall said that the lack of rain and the abundance of insects had resulted in yields being down in most areas of the county. Many bean fields, he said, were showing yields of about 15 pods, which is about half of what it should have been. A special open house memorial was held in Auburn for native Robert Plunkett, a York Regional police officer who was killed in the line of duty on Aug. 2 after being struck by a car and dragged to his death during an undercover operation. Plunkett’s mother, a former postmistress, Jewel, still lived in Auburn. A trust fund had been set up in Plunkett’s name to benefit his children. Plunkett left behind his wife Sonia (originally from Goderich) and three children Amanda, Jeff and Matt. Lucknow native Dave Farrish, an assistant coach with the Anaheim Ducks, returned to his native Lucknow with the Stanley Cup the Ducks won early in the 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 Geography matters Last week’s announcement of the closure of Huron East’s largest employer, the E. D. Smith salad dressing plant in Seaforth, proves once again that geography does matter when it comes to company ownership. It’s become an accepted belief among politicians and business commentators that the home address of a company doesn’t really matter, but tell that to the 180 people who will be out of work when Oakbrook, Illinois-based TreeHouse Foods moves production to other plants. Some of Seaforth’s production had already been shifted to U.S. plants. If the facility had remained family-owned with Seaforth headquarters as it was before Seaforth Creamery sold to E. D. Smith in 2005, (which subsequently sold to TreeHouse in 2007), it’s unlikely those jobs would have moved. Tell the people who lost their jobs with the closure of the Volvo road machinery plant in Goderich that it didn’t matter when decision-making was made at a distance, compared to when the former Champion Road Machinery was based in Goderich, owned by a local family. With no commitment to the community Volvo had no compunction of moving those jobs to the U.S. And tell it to the workers at London’s Electro-Motive Canada factory, owned by Caterpillar subsidiary Progress Rail, who last February saw their jobs shifted to a Muncie, Indiana plant where wages will be a fraction of what they were in London. Despite the mantra that investment is investment and the location of the company headquarters doesn’t matter, it’s human nature to deal with situations that you are most comfortable with and protect the jobs of those who you see on a regular basis, if necessary at the cost of people who live far away, even in a different country. No doubt there are also situations where Canadian companies, operating in foreign lands, have sacrificed the jobs of foreigners rather than make cuts at home. On the other hand, we’ve been so ready to sell off our Canadian-owned companies, there can’t be nearly as many foreigners as Canadians under threat. There may be fundamental business necessities that require Canadian and local companies to sell to distant, even foreign, owners but let’s not kid ourselves that nothing is lost when they do so. — KR It’s their games Some Canadians worked themselves into a frenzy this week welcoming home Olympic heroes. Others despaired that Canada was matched by such giants as Uganda, Uzbekistan and Grenada in gold- medal count with a paltry one. Both approaches blow the Olympic games out of proportion. In the end, the triumph or success of athletes is their personal story. Most Olympic watchers didn’t know who these athletes were during the four years when they were putting in long hours of training leading up to their moment in the spotlight. A month from now many will have a hard time recalling the names of those who made spirits soar through success or sent them crashing through failure. Perhaps it’s better that countries battle for supremacy every four years (two, if they take part in both summer and winter Olympics) than on the battlefield but something gets lost too. There are those who say the U.S. and the Soviet Union were able to wear off some of their macho competitiveness during the Cold War by turning their athletes into surrogate warriors who were supposed to prove the superiority of the capitalist or communist system through the medal count of the two super powers. If the Olympics helped forestall nuclear warfare then they indeed served humanity. But though people of all countries get a lump in their throats when the team from their country marches into the stadium behind the national flag in the opening ceremonies, probably the closing ceremonies are a better symbol for the world. There, despite the flags still being present, the athletes of all countries mix and mingle and national rivalries are forgotten for a moment. At this point the Olympics become about what the athletes shared at the games, not about nationalism. — 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.