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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2011-02-03, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2011.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 $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 February 1, 1950 Directors at the Huron County Federation of Agriculture held a special meeting to discuss pending changes in the curriculum for Ontario schools. There was a large group of people in attendance representing nearly every school section in Huron County. There was discussion regarding the entrance examination, specifically, the elimination of the examination. It was said that 95 per cent of Huron County students passed the test and 93 per cent of the students went on to high school. The federation eventually made several suggestions that were to be forwarded to the Minister of Education. Publicity that had recently been given to Mrs. Harold Vodden of Blyth who had found a half-penny from the Bank of Upper Canada dated 1857, and a United States penny dated 1849 had other local collectors rummaging through their collections to see if they had anything worth salvaging. A 1948 Chevrolet Coach was for sale for the price of $1,700. The car featured super-cushioned tires, undercoating, a custom-built radio and heater, an oil filter and backing- up lights. It was said to have low mileage and in perfect condition. The Brussels Legion was set to hold its annual Sports Day on July 19. The Legion requested that citizens kindly make an effort to keep that date open. January 30, 1974 The Blyth Lions Club hit a snag in its plan to build a swimming pool, but decided that it would proceed with the $44,000 project, despite the setback. On Jan. 21, the Lions discussed issues like operating costs and maintenance once the pool was built. Blyth Village Council had agreed to take the pool over once it was built, Lions took the time to research the cost to maintain and operate a pool, finding it to be quite expensive. They stated that deficits in municipalities with pools tended to run quite high and that it would be an issue going forward. The Lions explained that the construction of a pool could result in up to 10 mills of additional taxpayers if Blyth picked up the entire deficit. A Londesborough home was damaged to the tune of over $5,000 thanks to a fire. The Blyth Fire Department, however, prevented the fire from resulting in a lot more damage. It took firefighters in excess of four hours to finally extinguish the blaze. The first meeting to discuss centennial celebrations for Blyth had only 15 people in attendance, which organizers called a poor showing. January 29, 1986 Councillors in West Wawanosh Township decided to hold the line on their salaries. Reeve Jim Aitchison’s salary was set to $650, plus $50 per meeting. Aitchison was paid the exact same as the rest of the councillors. Grey Township councillors found that they would be paying up to 70 per cent more in insurance costs in the coming year. The premium for 1986 would be raised to $17,000 for the year. The Huron County Cattlemen held their annual meeting in Clinton and issues included beef imports being cut. Federal Agriculture Minister John Wise was on hand to speak to the beef farmers. Beef farmers had been loud in their protests in the previous year regarding imports of beef from the European Economic Community, which Wise said his government had voted to cut going forward. February 12, 2003 The Huron OPP were investi- gating what appeared to be a murder in Howick. Felix Ulrich Barufe was found in his rented farmhouse deceased from what police said was the result of an altercation. Huron County Councillors set aside a full day to tackle the Huron County budget. The job was seen as a big one, as councillors were charged with trimming a budget that was up 17 per cent from the previous year. Mark Becker, administrator/ clerk-treasurer in Ashfield- Colborne-Wawanosh was named vice-chair of the Huron County Clerks’ and Treasurers’ Association, adding that he would be named chair in 2004. Central Huron Secondary School principal Mike Ash praised the community for its assistance when students were snowed in at the school. He said that the school received dozens of calls from parents in Clinton, offering their homes to students who were unable to get home because of inclement weather. Don Pletch, originally from Brussels was named to the vacant post of Huron County engineer. Pletch would be in charge of all Huron County highways. Pletch had been the deputy-engineer in Sarnia for nearly three years and he had worked previously as a consultant. The position was vacated by Sandra Lawson in 2002. The Livery Filmfest was presenting Michael Moore’s documentary on gun control, Bowling For Columbine. 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 Knowing the date of the death Well, the communites of parents and friends built up around the schools in Brussels, Blyth and Belgrave now know the date of those schools’ death. Last week’s announcement from the Avon Maitland District School Board that the end of the 2011-2012 school year will be the end of those schools whether a new school in Wingham is ready or not has allowed us to plan the funeral. The efficiencies the school board sees in the new distribution of students pays no attention to things like community. From a community standpoint, the lines are like tearing the wings off a butterfly with some parts of the Blyth and Brussels communities going in one direction and some parts in another. At least students from the village of Brussels will all be going to Grey Central. Blyth’s students may end up at either Hullett Central in Lond- esborough or at Wingham. Parents who care about keeping the commun- ity together may choose Hullett but others, seeking the advantages the new school is supposed to bring, will no doubt choose Wingham. It will be the great divide. Kids who grow up side by side may never attend the same school. Those who go to Hullett will then go to Central Huron Secondary School while those who go north, will go to F. E. Madill. Those students from Morris Twp. who previously attended either Brussels or Blyth, and East Wawanosh students going to Blyth, will now be separated from their former classmates and from the communities where they take part in activities like hockey, soccer and baseball. With the die cast, it will be up to the communities to find ways of rebuilding ties between citizens of all ages once the institutions that once brought people together send them off in different directions. Other community activities – the ones we still control – must be revitalized. We can’t turn to the “people in charge” to make it happen. In today’s world the people in charge are usually located outside our communities and don’t really care much what happens to them. Only by people becoming involved and doing things themselves can these communities be strong. If people can be reinvigorated to become involved in starting or maintaining events and activities that make their communities exciting places to live, then we will actually be stronger in the long run. — KR Illustrating democracy’s worth With Parliament back in session and the various political parties in full attack mode, most Canadians are probably dreading the thought of a possible spring election. For an alternative, look at what’s happening in Egypt and Tunisia these days. Changing government is so easy in Canada that we seldom think about it. Increasingly, people don’t even bother to take the time and effort to go out and vote when an election is called and they have an opportunity to have their say in the future of the country. Compare that to the efforts of people in Tunisia and Egypt where people have taken to the streets to try to oust long-time strongmen who, even if they won elections in the past, most likely rigged the results. These people are risking their lives, but they’re tired of seeing friends and family of the rulers grow rich while people live in poverty. At our most cynical, Canadians cannot ascribe to our politicians the faults of these dictatorial rulers. Even political attack ads couldn’t believably accuse our politicians of the sins perpetrated by leaders of all- too-many countries. In our laziness, Canadians assume that such things could never happen here. We can’t imagine a leader who lost an election refusing to leave office as happened in Ivory Coast. But if we continue to take our democracy for granted, if we pay less and less attention to what’s happening in politics because we want to keep clear of the dirty games of politics, we might get to the point of demonstrating to some leader, somewhere down the line, that he/she can refuse to honour democracy. Countries have lost their democracy before. We must stay involved if we want to protect this precious gift. Ask people in Egypt how much they’d like to have what we take for granted. — 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.