Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2011-12-08, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 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 $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: norhuron@scsinternet.com December 13, 1950 The Brussels Lions Club was bringing Santa Claus to the Village of Brussels on Dec. 16 for the annual Santa Claus parade. There was, however, much more than Santa to the parade, with costumed characters from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Mickey and Minnie Mouse and people in gum drop costumes as well. The parade began at 2 p.m. sharp and it was sponsored by the businessmen of Brussels. Scholarships were awarded to Huron County students at the University of Western Ontario once again. Students awarded were Margaret Colquhoun of Clinton, Alice Laidlaw of Wingham, J. Grant Mills of Woodham, Ronald Sills of Seaforth and John Graham Wallace of Seaforth. A mysterious shopper was on the loose in Brussels and the first person to identify him or her would win a turkey. The rules of the contest stated that you had to approach the person you suspected as the mystery shopper and say, exactly “Pardon me Sir, (or Madam) are you the mysterious shopper for today?” The contest would take place in Brussels between 2:30 and 4 p.m. December 24, 1975 An old-fashioned Christmas concert was held at Londesborough United Church. The evening featured music from several different area residents and even a reading of ’Twas The Night Before Christmas. The evening also included a special visit from Santa Claus, who showed up and was able to meet with each one of the village children personally, taking notes about what they might want for Christmas. He also, of course, had some sweet treats with him for the boys and girls. A Christmas community carol service was held at Knox United Church on Dec. 21. The service featured carol performances as well as musical performances by the church choir. December 10, 1986 Following some Halloween night vandalism, an attempt to impose a one-night-only curfew was blocked but Brussels Village Council planned to discuss the issue with the Huron County OPP to explore other avenues they could take to limit the destruction that had plagued Brussels over the past several years. The decision to move to Plan B came after legal advice from the village solicitor who said imposing a curfew could infringe on the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Two men charged with robbing Brussels Variety had been remanded after being picked up after the Nov. 29 robbery. Twenty-four-year-old Gary Melhuish and 22-year-old Mark Wood would appear in court once again on Dec. 29. They were, however, ordered to stay in custody until the new court date in Goderich. Brussels Village Council donated $325 to the annual Brussels Santa Claus parade, but at the same time expressed anger at the apathy in the village regarding the parade. Council was disappointed that there wasn’t a higher level of community involvement in the parade, especially from the local businesses. “Who are we doing it for?” asked Reeve Hank Ten Pas about the parade. “If the businesses aren’t interested in supporting the parade, why should the service clubs and the village do it at all?” With snow falling and cold temperatures in the air, hundreds of residents and visitors were in Brussels for the annual Santa Claus parade. The Township of East Wawanosh gave authorization at its Dec. 3 meeting to purchase a subdivision in Belgrave. The property purchased had formerly belonged to Lorne Humphry. December 9, 2004 After a recent visit to Toronto, Abby McGavin of Walton felt she needed to take action and began a campaign to collect coats for the homeless with the cold winter season looming. McGavin, nine, collected 72 coats through a church campaign in 2003, However, in 2004, she collected over 70 coats, a dozen pairs of snowpants and a large bag of gloves and hats to be distributed in the coming weeks. Huron East Council heard a presentation from a focus group discussing the future of the Seaforth Community Hospital. The group discussed the hospital’s viability and its representation through the Local Advisory Committee due to recent concerns that the hospital might have had to close its doors for good. Sparling’s Propane announced an expansion to an eight-acre property in the Wiarton area. The company planned to begin construction on a retail facility beginning in 2005. The location would be the company’s sixth. Ruth Johnston of Belgrave celebrated her 90th birthday with friends and family members at Knox United Church. The Township of North Huron began its search for someone to perform marriages on the township’s behalf. National Treasure, starring Nicolas Cage, opened at The Park Theatre in Goderich. 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 Get smart this Christmas As we approach the holiday season, which traditionally has been a time when special efforts have been made to reduce drinking and driving, there’s a good news/bad news. The good news is that drunk driving convictions and deaths due to drunk drivers have been falling. In 2008 there were 1,162 people killed on Canadian roads in crashes in which a driver impaired by alcohol or drugs was involved. This is down significantly from 1982 where there were 2,501 impaired-driving deaths in Canada. Still, imagine if the Canadian government were to involve us in a war in which 1,162 were killed each year. There would be people marching in the street demanding an end to the slaughter. Unfortunately, even with today’s heightened awareness, we still put deaths in traffic accidents, even if alcohol was a major factor, in a different class than deaths on the battlefield. Even the use of the term “accident” waters down the senselessness of the death. Rural areas are particularly dangerous places when it comes to drinking and driving. When people go out to have a good time and alcohol is involved, there is no public transit to use as alternative transportation. The only safe transportation is the use of a designated driver or not travelling at all. There’s also the sad fact that there’s still a macho culture in our area, particularly in young people, which sees drinking too much, and even combining this with driving, as a part of living it up. This Christmas season, let’s put the emphasis on the “living” part of that expression. A few drinks, a few extra inebriated laughs, are a poor trade for causing a death, and shattering the lives of both the victim’s family and the family of the perpetrator. Get smart this Christmas. — KR Emphasizing the bad news Last week Statistics Canada announced third-quarter GDP coming in above expectations at 3.5 per cent. That night CBC television’s The National didn’t even get around to actually mentioning the growth figure before it concentrated on why things were likely to get worse. Last week RBC reported quarterly net income of $1.6 billion, up 43 per cent from last year. The same day Scotiabank also reported a fourth- quarter profit of $1.2 billion, up 11 per cent from last year. The headline in The Globe and Mail’s Report on Business concentrated not on the success, but on the potential that things that would be worse next year. There’s something about human nature that makes people want to be part of a crowd. In the news business, this means that a story narrative is created and reporters find a way to fit all stories into that theme. Right now the theme is that we’re teetering on the edge of recession. Reporters seem almost disappointed about anything that points in another direction. Certainly there’s lots of bad news to go around. Last Friday Statistics Canada reported there were 18,600 fewer people working in this country last month, even though economists had expected that the job market would grow by 20,000 people. The concern over the situation in Europe with some governments having to slash budgets to try to get their deficits under control continues to be a drag on confidence. Yet last week it was announced there had been a 120,000-person increase in U.S. employment in November dropping the stubborn unemployment rate to 8.6 per cent. Meanwhile U.S. “Black Friday” retail sales far outpaced the numbers many predicted. Sometimes bad news can be a self-fulfilling prophesy. There’s an old legend in the advertising business about a guy who ran a hot dog stand that was doing very well even in the Great Depression. He was going along promoting his business and thriving. But people began to question him about why he was promoting so aggressively. Didn’t he know there was a Depression going on? Eventually the businessman thought the other people must know more than he did, so he stopped promoting and hunkered down to ride out the Depression. Soon his business began to dry up and he was indeed suffering just like everybody else. Certainly today’s situation may require caution, but if everyone acts like they expect the worst, that’s what we’ll get. — 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.