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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2011-01-27, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 27, 2011.Editorials Opinions Publisher: Keith Roulston Acting Editor: Shawn Loughlin • Reporter: Denny ScottAdvertising Sales: Ken Warwick & Lori Patterson The Citizen P.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 $34.00/year ($32.38 + $1.62 G.S.T.) in Canada; $115.00/year in U.S.A. and $175/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: norhuron@scsinternet.com January 25, 1950 The Zone 3 Lions Club District Deputy Governor, Dr. E.A. McMaster of Seaforth visited the Brussels Lions Club at their regular January supper meeting held at the Brussels Library. McMaster congratulated the club on their “progressiveness” as five new club members were present at the meeting. The Melville Presbyterian Church held its annual meeting and it was said that the church had a successful year. The Brussels Town Hall was in the process of being redecorated. A new hardwood floor had been installed which would be ideal for dancing and was said to “add considerably to the pleasure of the young people”. The stage had also been entirely remodeled with the curtain being replaced altogether. A considerable fire hazard, the building’s narrow, twisting stairs had been straightened and enclosed. January 23, 1974 Several collisions in Blyth prompted an investigation by the Huron Ontario Provincial Police (OPP). Seven collisions had been reported in the area from Jan. 14 to Jan. 20, leading police to investigate the spike in collisions further. In every collision, however, there were very limited damages and no injuries to speak of, despite how many people were involved in all of the incidents. Hullett Township Council enjoyed a dinner at the Triple K restaurant in Blyth before deciding who would represent the township on which committee. The Blyth Standard had some help with its appearance with the inclusion of a new computerized typesetter that the staff was calling Myrtle. Myrtle was said to weigh 400 lbs. and just sits in the corner. “She’s quite a lady,” The Blyth Standard proclaimed. January 22, 1986 The Huron County Board of Education met for its January meeting and a formula was proposed by the Elementary Staffing Committee that would allow staffing on a more equitable basis. There was some concern, however, that this new staffing formula would hurt some of Huron County’s smaller schools because it hadn’t even been considered. Bob McCall of the school’s Operations Department assured those who were concerned that smaller schools had been considered when adopting the new formula and if anything, the new formula would have a positive effect on smaller schools. The Ontario Medical Association recommended a ban on smoking in all provincial schools. The suggestion was forwarded to the executive committee for its opinion. Mary Ann Dempsey, a board representative from Goderich, proposed that the recommendation be forwarded to each of Huron County’s schools so that staff can make their own decision on a school-by-school basis. Development was a topic of heavy discussion at a Brussels Village Council meeting and optimism for the future was the general consensus. Council received a visit from Rad Slobodan, who had recently purchased the Master Plastics building on the main street of Brussels. Slobodan said that while his plans for the building were not quite firm yet, he said he hoped to install storefronts on the main floor and renovate the upper floor so it could be used for apartments. February 5, 2003 A deal had been worked out by the Blyth Fire Department for the construction of a training facility just on the outskirts of Blyth for area firefighters. The centre was a joint venture between the Township of North Huron, Sparling’s Propane and the Blyth Fire Department, as well as a silent partner. It was said that the centre would be state-of-the-art and expandable, with fire chief Paul Josling saying that there were no limits to how much the centre could grow. Initially it was planned that the centre would include a two-storey tower that would allow firefighters to train in flashovers, confined space rescues, fire simulation for structure fires, high-angle rescues, sloped roof ventilation and simulated basement fires. Policing costs were set to be hotly debated at Huron East Council, as budget deliberations were just about to begin. In treasurer Brad Knight’s budget projection, Seaforth would be paying what councillors considered to be a high amount, causing Brussels Councillor Joe Seili to defend the rural wards, saying “don’t get my dander up. Seaforth wanted a cruiser in town all the time – that doesn’t happen in the rural wards,” he said. Current Wingham Ironmen all- star Chris Corbett of Brussels was pictured withholding a basketball from an eager defender from Grey Central Public School as he represented Brussels Public School at a tournament held at F.E. Madill Secondary School. 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 Too many politicians? To steal a line from the great poet Robert Frost: “Something there is that doesn’t love a politician”. Today, more than ever, it often seems like politicians are handy wax dolls to stick pins in whenever we have something to complain about. We tend to think they’re stupid and can’t see the obvious things that should be done – things obvious, at least, to us as we sit safely at home far from the realities they must deal with. Such is the unpopularity of politicians that when Mike Harris wanted to push through municipal amalgamations a decade ago, he called it the “Fewer Politicians Act”. Every time an amalgamation was made official, a press release celebrated how many politicians had been eliminated. But even politicians don’t seem to like politicians. On a regular basis some municipal politician proposes to cut the size of a council to make it “more efficient”. Certainly each councillor comes with a price tag for honorariums, per diems for special meetings and conferences, mileage costs and other expenses, but in terms of the total budget of these amalgamated municipalities, the cost of municipal representation is small. Think of it as an insurance cost. Municipalities spend thousands of dollars for insurance to protect themselves from the possibility of something going wrong. Our municipal councillors are insurance that there are enough different views, shaped by experience of living in different parts of the municipality, by age, by education, by basic political philosophy and by the knowledge that comes from the different people encountered in life. Has a council ever made a foolish decision because it had too many points of view expressed? The theory often expressed is that, like boiling down maple syrup, if you reduce the number of councillors you’ll concentrate the best and brightest. Watching various councils reduce their size over many years, it seems there’s still the same mix of ambitious and lazy, wise and wingnuts, no matter what size the council. If you can find that one all- wise person, of course, then we’d be best to move to a dictatorship. The fewer people hold municipal office, the fewer people will have personal contact with a decision-maker and the more distant municipal council will seem. One of the great advantages of rural areas is our greater sense of control over the decisions that affect our lives. Municipal amalgamation reduced that sense. Let’s not lose more of it because we’re in a rush to have fewer politicians. — KR The meanness is back The attack ads are back. Last week, in what seems to be a first strike against the opposition just in case there’s a federal election this spring, the Conservative Party rolled out a new series of ads questioning the characters and integrity of the leaders of all three opposition parties. In response, the Liberal Party put out its own ads, questioning decisions such as the purchase of expensive new fighter jets without going through a bidding process. There’s no election in sight, yet, but already the kind of unpleasant- ness that makes people tune out politics is surfacing. Just imagine full election campaign mode when these ads come at you hour after hour. The sad thing is that the ads work. They’re like that rumour that some gossip spreads about a neighbour that, no matter how you try to dismiss it, sticks in the back of your mindå, always shaping your opinion of the victim. Conservative attack ads helped shape public perception of Stéphane Dion when they flooded the TV immediately after he was named Liberal Party leader. Similar ads made it seem Michael Ignatieff was a political opportunist for coming home to Canada to run for parliament and the Liberal leadership, instead of a distinguished, internationally-lauded Canadian who wanted to offer his services. In the long run, we are to blame for these vicious ads. As long as we respond the way political strategists want us to, the ads will continue. We’ve got to be informed and involved enough to rebel if we want this to end.— 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.