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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2011-12-22, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 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 23, 1986 Blyth Village Council agreed to limit development of a new housing development, despite the fact that future sewer service was still up in the air. Council was approached by a developer who wished to sell his Drummond Street lots, council originally held off the decision for a month to see what would be involved with the decision. Helen Grubb of Culross Township was named Blyth’s new clerk- treasurer. Grubb was chosen from 24 candidates after the position was made vacant after the resignation of former Blyth clerk-treasurer Larry Walsh. Blyth Village Council drastically wanted to see improvements made to Highway 4 through the village, but had to schedule a meeting with the Ministry of Transporation to do so. The meeting was scheduled, but no official date was set. In November, Blyth joined Morris and East Wawanosh Townships and the Town of Wingham in writing the Ministry of Transportation with their concerns about the stretch of highway. After the letter had been received by the Ministry, a response came saying the Highway 4 project was a part of the Ministry’s five-year capital program, but that no official date as to when the project would begin had been set. After a lengthy campaign entitled “Back the Biter” Ron Nesbitt was closer to independence as the accessible van the Londesborough Lions Club was raising money for had been purchased for Nesbitt, who broke his neck in a swimming accident the year prior. The Lions Club needed $30,000 to purchase the van and exceeded that figure by several thousand dollars. Rev. Bonnie Lamble and Duff’s United Church hosted its annual Christmas concert, which began with a piano duet of “The First Noel”. Several letters to Santa Claus were included in the Dec. 23 issue of The Citizen with children asking him for all kinds of gifts for Christmas. Gifts children asked for included: a transformer gun and several action figures (along with instructions directing Santa to the tree on the ground level of the home), a camera, a ghetto blaster and a walkman and an eraseable pan. December 23, 2004 It was announced that Campvention 2006 would be coming to Blyth. Campers from all over North America, including some from Illinois and Idaho, would be making their way to the Blyth Campground in 2006 for the event. St. Michael’s Roman Catholic Church in Blyth was set to close its doors due to a diminishing congregation and a lack of funds for necessary building repairs. “Young kids aren’t coming anymore and that has really hurt the attendance,” said parishioner Mary Sanders. The winner of a home decor contest in Brussels was announced as it was Merle and Rhonda Hoegy of Turnberry Street that turned judges’ heads enough to be crowned winners. An alleged puppy mill in Central Huron was charged after an investigation by the Ontario SPCA. On Sept. 22, investigators from the Ontario SPCA attended the property alleged to be in violation to follow up on a previous inspection. “The dogs were found to be in extremely unsanitary conditions and several were identified by the veterinarian as having health concerns including inadequete socialization and exercise which is essential to a dog’s physical and emotional health,” said Ontario SPCA investigator Carol Vanderheide. December 23, 2010 Despite a large amount of snow days being taken by area schools, Avon Maitland District School Board officials were not concerned that the school calendar would be affected and extra days would have to be added onto the year in the summer. Huron County Public Works Director Dave Laurie informed Huron County Council that when the snow is heavy and unrelenting, winters can cost the county up to $50,000 per day. Laurie said that because the vehicles are on the road up to 20 hours per day, the costs associated with the vehicles were in the area of $38,000 per day and when the substances used in snow and ice removal are factored in, the number climbs up to $50,000. Several snow days, however, did affect the Blyth Public School Christmas concert, which was delayed several times before it could finally be presented to the public on Dec. 16. It was announced that the emergency room at the Seaforth Community Hospital would reopen 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in February, after being closed overnight for several months. South Huron’s Randy Wagler was acclaimed to the position of trustee chair for the Avon Maitland District School Board. Al Sygrove of Goderich was also acclaimed to the position of vice-chair. 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 For good or evil There’s an irony in the fact that so much media attention has been devoted, in the week before Christmas, to the death of Christopher Hitchens, one of the world’s most vociferous atheists. Hitchens, the British-born American author and celebrity who died last week from cancer, has gained his greatest fame since he published his book God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. Many readers were ready to agree with him about all the evils that have been done in the name of various religions throughout history. Hitchens was deeply affected when his friend author Salman Rushdie was subject of a fatwa issued by Ayatollah Khomeni which made it the duty of Muslims to try to kill Rushdie for the “blasphemy” in his novel The Satanic Verses. When Muslim terrorists drove planes into Twin Towers on September 11, 2001, Hitchens became an American citizen in sympathy for the American people. Controversially, he also supported U.S. President George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq. But in another irony, Hitchens was to atheism what he accused others of being about religion: a fundamentalist. He could see none of the good of religion. He famously said of Mother Teresa, the Indian nun who devoted her life to the poor and dying: “The woman was a fanatic and a fundamentalist and a fraud, and millions of people are much worse off because of her life, and it’s a shame there is no hell for your bitch to go to.” In being a left-leaning commentator who could see no good in religion, he would no doubt be one of those who praised the work of the late Tommy Douglas, yet renounce the fact that the urge Douglas had to help the poor and underprivileged came from his Christian beliefs as a Baptist minister. If she wasn’t a Catholic nun, Hitchens would also likely praise the work of Sister Sudha Varghese whose work has been featured in Stephanie Nolen’s recent articles in The Globe and Mail. Sister Varghese has devoted her life educating girls from the Mahadalit, the lowest of the “Untouchable” caste in India. The girls are the lowest creatures in this group. Sister Varghese wants to give these girls a chance to see they don’t have to be trapped by their caste. Because she does it from a religious base, of course, Hitchens would see it as wrong. But Sister Varghese makes a point that critics like Hitchens should understand. Noting that the caste system was banned in 1950 in India yet persists, she explained that it has the gloss of the Hindu religion but the real reason for its continuance is really economic, not religious. It’s just too easy for upper caste people to keep the Untouchables in submission because it means there is cheap labour around to do the dirty work. Christmas marks the birth of Jesus, whose teachings have been the basis of many of the great advances in compassionate caring. It was Christians who helped end slavery – indeed the hymn Amazing Grace was written by a former slave ship captain turned minister. Christianity has also been an excuse for the cruelty of the Crusades and the Spanish Inquisition. It’s people who make religion good or evil just as it was people who turned godless Communism into an evil, oppressive form of government. It’s our choice how we use the teachings of the man whose birthday is celebrated this week. — KR Flexible thinking The death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and the apparent appointment of his son Kim Jong-un as his replacement shows how people can twist any form of government to do what they want it to. Supposedly North Korea is a Communist state, but the Kim family has turned it into a monarchy, with a third generation of the family in charge. We shouldn’t be surprised at how flexible the thinking of Communist rulers can be. When Communism fell in Russia, many of the commissars immediately became capitalists, profiting by somehow taking over the very industries they’d run for the Communist government. Under so- called democracy, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has continued to run Russia much the same as he did when he was head of the KGB. Opportunists will manage to make any system work in their own best interest no matter what they claim to believe. — 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.