Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2011-09-29, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 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 October 1, 1975 Seven sisters, including a Londesborough woman shared in a $100,000 lottery win on a ticket supporting the Olympics. The wife of former Hullett Township Reeve Hugh Flynn said she bought the ticket not to win money, but to support the Olympic games, a cause she believed deeply in. Flynn said she could “spend the money 100 times over in my mind” but insisted that she would commit the funds in the best way possible. The Blyth Lions Club was in the midst of organizing a walkathon to help raise money for Canadian Olympic athletes who would be participating in the 1976 Olympic games, which were to be held in Montreal. The Village Restaurant in Blyth was set to open once again after having been closed for over a year. Jim Watson, owner of the restaurant, was holding an open house to celebrate the restaurant’s opening and to introduce himself to the community. Huron-Bruce MPP Murray Gaunt, after winning the Huron- Bruce riding for a third straight term, said he was considering seeking the provincial Liberal party leadership following the resignation of former leader Robert Nixon. Hullett Central Public School elected a new student council for the upcoming school year. The council consisted of Auburn’s Robert Plunkett as the vice-president, Debbie Westerhout of RR1, Clinton as treasurer, Karen Durnin of Londesborough as the secretary and Judy Carter of RR1, Londesborough as the student council’s new president. The Auburn Horticultural Society was celebrating its 25th anniversary with a party and the cutting of an anniversary cake. September 24, 1986 After existing in a state of bureaucratic limbo for three years, the last section of the Canadian National Kincardine subdivision rail line, which ran through Brussels, Lucknow and Wingham, was proposed to be closed down by Christmas. A record number of people attended shows at the Blyth Festival in 1986 with over 36,000 people passing through the Festival’s gates to take in one of the season’s five shows. Averaged out throughout the course of the entire season, the attendance figures meant the Festival sold 81 per cent of its potential seats in 1986, which was a three per cent rise from the 1985 figures. Eighteen-year-old Jeff McGavin of Walton brought home the Reserve Junior Championship at the International Plowing Match, which was held near Belleville, Ontario. Paul Dodds, 19, of RR1, Seaforth won the Junior Champion Tractor Plowmen Trophy, which enabled him to compete in Quebec at the 1987 Canadian Junior Championship Plowing Contest. Residents of West Wawanosh Township were going to have to take to the polls on Nov. 17 to elect a new councillor due to problems spawned by a relatively minor procedural irregularity. A Blyth planning meeting was set for Sept. 30 where residents could have their say on a proposed amendment to the village’s official plan. The meeting’s main objective was to set up a “Community Improvement Area” within Blyth. The proposed amendment was backed up by a 26-page study that had been prepared by the Huron County Planning Department. September 30, 2004 Huron East Council was preparing for a budget review of the Grey Ward for an eventual meeting that would take place on Sept. 28. The meeting would attempt to answer the questions of an informal group that had been meeting for the past few weeks to discuss Grey deamalgamating from the newly- formed Huron East. The total Huron East municipal budget stood at just under $10 million and it had to be broken down into three different categories in order for councillors to understand it all. The 143rd annual Brussels Fall Fair was hailed as a success after it was accompanied by clear skies and warm temperatures. A total of just under $2,000 was raised by a silent auction, which was double what was raised in 2003 by the fair’s pie auction. The Huron Natural Environment Expo was set to be held over the upcoming weekend and one of its objectives was to draw attention to the Blyth Greenway Trail and instruct organizers on how they might get more out of the environmental resources they have in their community. Members of the Walkerburn Club celebrated the club’s 85th anniversary with a party held at the Auburn Hall. Members of the Wawanosh 4-H group were in Port Albert to help clear the beach of litter as part of The Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup initiative being held throughout the country. The firefighter drama Ladder 49 starring John Travolta was hitting the big screen at Goderich’s Park Theatre. 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 Think before you vote The reality of next Thursday’s provincial election is that whoever you decide to vote for, you won’t get entirely what you’d like. Every party is going to be a compromise: the trick is to find out enough, and think about your vote enough, so the compromise will be as small as possible. Sadly, politicians find that to get elected, they have to stretch, if not break, the truth. Voters don’t want to hear the hard reality and in this election none of the parties wants to deal with the issue of the deficit and how to tackle with it. At least beware those who promise simple, painless solutions. Take a lesson from Toronto, where in last year’s municipal election, voters believed the pledge of Rob Ford that he could cut taxes without cutting services – all by eliminating waste. A year later the city is facing huge cuts in services because there turned out not to be as much waste as people wanted to believe there was. Remember the warning police often issue about scam artists: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. You can’t get something for nothing. The old stranded debt of Ontario Hydro has to be paid for somehow. New electrical generation capacity and expansion of the power grid has to be paid for somehow – if not through your electricity rates, then from taxes. What are the issues that matter to you most? Which party has the best solutions to those concerns? Are those solutions credible? Democracy is the world’s best form of government only if voters are willing to do their homework. Before you make your trip to the polls Oct. 6, think about who best matches your priorities. — KR Must be nice to be so smart Last week, as one of the first priorities of the new session of parliament, Prime Minister Stephen Harper introduced an omnibus “anti- crime” bill that will cost billions of dollars to put more people in jail with longer sentences – even though statistics say the crime rate is declining. Earlier this month, in a plebiscite of prairie grain growers, farmers voted 62 per cent in favour of continuing to have the Canadian Wheat Board as the sole marketer of wheat and barley grown on the prairies. The Harper government rejected the results and said it would carry through with its plan to strip the Wheat Board of its monopoly. The Harper government has consistently rejected evidence presented by many of the world’s top scientists that climate change is taking place and that something must be done to stop it. Canada is run by a man who thinks he’s the smartest guy in any room. He has surrounded himself by cabinet ministers who have convinced themselves that they’re the smartest people around. These leaders often associate with people across the country who know that they’re smarter than anybody else. When you’re convinced you’re this smart, you can find reasons to reject any evidence that goes against your beliefs. Federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said last week: “We are not governing on the basis of the latest statistics. We’re governing on the basis of what’s right to better protect victims and law-abiding Canadians.” Earlier, when quoted figures showing a declining crime rate, one government spokesperson said that’s because much of crime goes unreported (how you’re going to throw the perpetrator of an unreported crime in jail remains a question to be answered). In the case of the Wheat Board vote, government officials questioned the validity of the vote and suggested those who stayed home were opposed to the continuation of the board’s monopoly. They’ll stick with the farmers who want the board abolished because they are sure they’re smarter at marketing than the Wheat Board. The problem for ordinary Canadians is that if the people in power think they’re smarter than the experts, they’re sure going to think they’re smarter than the rest of us. Thus, in a democracy, it’s all about manip- ulating us into allowing them to do what they know is best for us. — 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.