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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2011-03-31, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MARCH 31, 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 March 29, 1950 The Melville Women’s Guild met at the home of Mrs. Orrie Elliott and decided to sponsor a minstrel show at the Brussels Town Hall, brought to Brussels by the Wingham Kinsmen. J. Cleveland Baeker sold his share of the Baeker Brothers butcher shop to his brother William due to health concerns. J. Cleveland had been in the butchering business in Brussels for the previous 45 years. Over 50 women met at the home of Mrs. J. H. Galbraith for a successful expense tea meeting of the Women’s Missionary Society of the Melville Church. The meeting was accompanied by piano numbers, book readings and a women’s quintette performing two musical numbers. March 27, 1974 Huron County engineer Jim Britnell had recently been elected as president of the Ontario Good Roads Association and he spoke to Huron County Council about the year’s upcoming roads budget. He said that while the amount of money raised was $738,000, the amount of work to be done by the department had been cut drastically. Britnell said that the roads department had not asked for an increase from the county in the last four years, but that the department was facing rising costs for labour and materials. The OPP was in the midst of investigating several separate incidents between March 18 and March 24. A Clinton man sustained minor injuries when his Boa-Ski struck a barbed wire fence, a Kitchener man sustained injuries as a result of a motor vehicle collision on Highway 86 and a Goderich woman was involved in a single vehicle collision. She was not injured, but her vehicle did sustain an estimated $200 in damages. A Blyth man and a Blyth woman were involved in a two-car collision on Highway 4 north of County Road 25 with damages topping $350 between the two vehicles. Another vehicle involving a RR2, Blyth man resulted in no injuries, but did result in $500 worth of damages. R. S. Cummings, Huron County’s development officer brought a report to Huron County Council saying that Huron needed a Tourist Promotion Association. He said it was necessary to help handle the increased tourist traffic the county was expecting in the upcoming summer. March 26, 1986 Huron County Council approved its budget for 1986. The budget totalled more than $18.7 million and was increased by 4.6 per cent. Nine local students were awarded a free trip to Vancouver, B.C. for Expo ’86. The students, from F.E. Madill Secondary School in Wingham, were all rewarded for their participation in a poster design contest that used the Expo’s transportation theme as a subject for the project. Local winners were Patrick Cull and Heather Morton from the Belgrave area, Tom Bailey and Gisele Kelly from the Blyth area and Veronica Bakelaar, Shelly Bray, Cherida Garniss, Karen Knight and Linda Thysson from the Brussels area. The offices of Howson and Howson Limited were broken into around 3 a.m. on March 24, but the suspects left with only a handful of sweets. The burglars gained entry through a rear window of the office despite the fact that people were there working throughout the night. The only money in the office was a small collection of coins that was left untouched. Robert Kiddy and his family were left with no place to stay after a fire at their Londesborough home damaged the building beyond repair. The house was owned by Jim Anderson of Londesborough. Blyth Fire Chief Irvine Bowes said the fire was believed to have started as a trash fire that spread through the grass to the woodshed at the rear of the house. April 16, 2003 A group of Grey Township firefighters rescued a man and his two sons who were canoeing in the Maitland River before their boat capsized and the family was ejected into the river. Fire Chief Calvin Semple said that a tree had fallen across the river and the family was left holding onto the tree to avoid being swept away with the current. A Wellington County woman was hospitalized in Listowel with a suspected case of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) at a time when SARS cases throughout the province where climbing steadily. Huron-Bruce MPP Helen Johns was set to represent the Progressive Conservative Party again for the upcoming election. The nomination meeting was held on April 10 in Blyth. Clinton Public, Seaforth Community, St. Mary’s Memorial and Stratford General Hospitals formed a new hospital alliance that was set to take effect on July 1. The alliance was to be formed following the demise of the Huron Perth Hospitals Partnership at the end of June. 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 Tilting at wind mills So you think it’s easy being a municipal councillor? How would you like to try to live within the rules set down by the provincial government while keeping your local constituents happy? In Huron East, Central Huron and Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh, councillors are trying to find ways to protect people who see wind turbines as a threat to their health. At the same time they are handicapped by the Green Energy Act which was set up precisely to stop local pressure groups from getting municipalities to impose restrictive zoning rules on wind farms. Opponents of the wind farms want municipalities to act anyway. Councillors know that all the taxpayers in their municipality may end up paying for huge legal fees to defend their decision before the Ontario Municipal Board or from law suits by the wind companies. Oh, and just in case that’s not hard enough to juggle, there are also the interests of landowners who want to lease their land for windmills. Then in Morris-Turnberry, there’s the problem of farms being designated as sites for possible future gravel extraction, which makes it illegal to sever a surplus farm residence. Councillors wonder if the gravel will ever be needed, but their choice is to go along or fight the province. Municipal councillors have tough jobs, often being asked to make impossible choices. — KR Take advantage of this right On May 2, Canadians will get a chance to do something that people across northern Africa are fighting and dying to get the right to do: vote in a free and democratic election. Many Canadians don’t appreciate this opportunity, of course. Quite a few people have expressed anger that we’re having another federal election. If this is like other recent elections, only about half of Canadians will vote. One young woman interviewed on television said “Why should I vote – these people don’t do anything for me anyway.” Many others can’t be bothered getting involved in what they consider an unsavory business. What they don’t realize is that the choice of who forms the government will affect the taxes they pay, the services they receive, the perception of Canada by people around the world, even the life and death of our soldiers who may be asked to fight anywhere on the planet. So this duty and privilege of casting a ballot on May 2 needs to be taken seriously, despite how difficult it may be to make an enlightened decision. The first thing to do is to try to get past the attack ads of all parties. These ads are aimed at influencing the people who can’t be bothered to learn what the election is really about – who are willing to swallow the negatives about the leaders without delving into the issues. Judicious use of the TV remote control to switch off the ads as soon as they occur may help better inform your vote (although you may need extra batteries for the remote because there seem to be so many attack ads). Try to find out what the policies of the parties are, perhaps using the internet to seek out their positions on issues. The CBC has a new internet tool to help you see which party’s policies meet your sense of what the country needs. There are differences between what the Conservatives, Green Party, Liberals and New Democrats stand for. The country will be a different place depending on who runs the government. Unfortunately, we have only one vote and there are so many issues. If you support a party because of one policy (or one ill-thought-out opinion fueled by an attack ad), be aware that the winning party will say it has a mandate from the people for all its policies. It’s important you know what you’re giving the party a mandate for. Voting is a privilege that many people in the world long for. It’s also a responsibility – the one time every few years you are asked to help shape the future of your country. Though you are one of millions, it’s important that you take the time to vote and to consider who should get your vote. We owe it to the people who are fighting for the freedom to vote to take seriously this opportunity. — 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.