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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2012-10-11, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 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 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; $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 October 14, 1965 J. Carl Hemingway was nominated as the NDP candidate for the Huron-Bruce riding. Hemingway, a 55-year-old Brussels- area farmer, was nominated at the Oct. 7 party meeting as the federal riding candidate. Hemingway was the only person to put his name forward to the nominating committee at the meeting held at Central Huron Secondary School with about 75 people in attendance. The seat had been held by Conservative L.E. Cardiff, who had recently resigned. Hemingway would run in the election against Maitland Edgar of Clinton, who was running for the Liberal Party and R.E. “Bob” McKinley of Zurich, who was running for the Conservatives. The Brussels Curling Club held its first meeting of the year to establish officers for the 1965-1966 season. D.A. Rann was elected president of the club, while Ken Tyerman was named first vice-president and Stewart Lowe was named second vice-president. October 7, 1987 The Huron County Board of Education approved the proposal of Brussels Public School to initiate an instrumental music program for students in Grades 6 to 8. The proposal was in such an advanced state that representatives from Brussels Public School said the program could be in place by the end of October. Representatives of the Huron County Board of Education said they were fully supportive of any school that wished to implement an instrumental music program, but did not have the extra funds to dedicate to any of the schools. An information night held at Brussels Public School showed that nearly 94 per cent of parents were in favour of the program, should it be implemented. The program would give students the opportunity to rent an instrument for as little as $5 a month. The Belgrave UCW held its anniversary meeting where the group was celebrating 25 years since the first meeting was held. When the group was first created, Alice Scott was its first president. The Blyth Christian Reformed Church held its 25th anniversary service and in attendance was the church’s first minister, Rev. R.J. Sikkema and its most recent minister, Rev. Roger Gelwicks. October 19, 1994 Before the Friday deadline for submissions, election races in the community heated up as several people put their hats in the ring for several different reeve positions. In Brussels Glen Gouldsborough would be running against the incumbent reeve Gordon Workman, while Mason Bailey and Eugene Coburn were going head to head in the race for the position of reeve in Blyth. After a round of public meetings, Union Gas was now compiling information and drafting a final report to present regarding the construction of a gas line through northern Huron County. Union Gas representatives said that the Oct. 5 meeting in Blyth was not well attended with just 40 people in attendance. The Blyth Decorating team was crowned champions of the Huron County Fastball League after a five-year absence. The Blyth team placed first in the 13-team league. In the playoff tournament, Blyth first dispatched Belgrave and then Walton before meeting the Lieury Jets, who came into the series undefeated before losing to the Blyth team. Helen Gowing was presented the Citizen of the Year Award for the Blyth area from Citizen founder Sheila Richards. October 11, 2007 NHL legend Ken Dryden was scheduled to come to the North Huron Wescast Community Complex to sign autographs in an effort to collect canned goods for the North Huron Food Share. Like Lucknow’s Paul Henderson, Dryden played for the Canadians when they took on Russia in the 1972 Summit Series. He also led the Montreal Canadiens to six Stanley Cups. The first Source Water Protection Committee in Ontario was officially formed in Clinton, being chaired by South Huron Chief Administrative Officer Larry Brown. Representing local interests were Morris- Turnberry Councillor Jim Nelemans and Belgrave-area farmer Keith Black, who was an agricultural representative on the committee. For the fourth year in a row, local florists were raising money for the Take Care campaign in support of the Huron Breast Cancer Clinic. Participating florists were selling bouquets of a dozen carnations for $19.99, with $5 from every bouquet going towards benefitting the clinic. A collection of Morris-Turnberry residents presented a petition to their councillors in an attempt to get ATV riders off of municipal roads. Val Watson of Brussels was named the new manager of North Huron’s Children’s Services in Wingham. 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 Perceptions and realities The hurt reaction of North Huron Township Councillors to a report on the Blyth Business Retention and Expansion study shows how large the gap is between councils of amalgamated municipalities and the people – particularly those from junior partners in such mergers. The politicians were indignant that the business owners of Blyth were not appreciative of what the councillors feel North Huron has done for Blyth. They can’t grasp the gap between perception and reality and perceptions that become reality as far as residents are concerned. Councillors have long ago adapted to the reality of amalgamation. People in Blyth have, to a large extent, not. Though this study was done among business owners, if a similar survey were made among all residents of the village, you’d probably find the same sense that they are overlooked by the township government in (what they see as) far-off Wingham – the same suspicion they are not getting as much as they’re giving to this shotgun marriage. This is indeed unfair to councillors who have often gone out of their way to try to make Blyth feel included in the municipality. One coun- cillor produced a long list of contributions by the municipality to Blyth (though to be fair a longer list could likely be produced of what has been given to Wingham). Still, people who were used to having a municipal office they drop into on their own main street, who now must travel 10 miles to go to it (or deal with an aggravating automated switchboard) are likely to feel distanced from their municipal government. The distance and alienation factor is often overlooked among those who want to make government more efficient. This is particularly hard to grasp for those on the inside – who are used to the way the new municipalities work and think everyone else should be too. Often these councillors want to move even further toward “efficiency” when their constituents may not have caught up yet to where they currently are. Councillors may be right in their frustration, feeling that Blyth business people don’t appreciate what their council has done for them. But the study should also be a lesson for councillors (probably in other amalgamated municipalities, too) that they must continue to make an extra effort to make all their residents feel they have a sense of inclusion in these marriages of convenience. — KR Second thoughts, Dalton? A year after the provincial election that reduced his government to the minority status that has given him headaches ever since, might Premier Dalton McGuinty wish he hadn’t been so quick to write off rural Ontario as necessary to his re-election? It was the complete removal of Liberal red across rural area of the province that left McGuinty in this mess. If he had retained even a couple of more rural ridings he would have the majority that would allow him to concentrate on governing, instead of spending too much time man- oeuvring to make sure he has enough votes from either the Progressive Conservatives or the New Democracts to get legislation passed. It’s still a mystery why McGuinty and his advisers thought they could shrug off dealing with rural concerns. They left rural MPPs, including cabinet ministers like Huron-Bruce’s Carol Mitchell and Perth- Wellington’s John Wilkinson, twisting in the winds of rural discontent without any support to fight the election. Meanwhile, in order to win a couple of Toronto-area ridings, they cancelled a gas-fired power plant, at great expense to the taxpayer. Things haven’t changed much since the election. While there have been a few small measures to change the Green Energy Act, there’s been no concentrated efforts to listen to, and address, the concerns of rural residents. The lasting effect of this may be to endanger the Premier’s Liberal Party’s chances of forming a government for many years. Their situation is precariously close to the federal Liberal Party’s position of alienating western Canada 40 years ago and never regaining that support since. Governments must try to serve all the people. When they cynically choose one group over another, they’ll pay the price politically, sometimes for a long period. Remember that Mr. McGuinty. — 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.