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The Citizen, 2010-03-04, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2010.Editorials Opinions Publisher: Keith Roulston Reporters: Shawn Loughlin, 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; $105.00/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 PAP REGISTRATION NO. 09244 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO CIRCULATION DEPT. PO BOX 152 BRUSSELS ON N0G 1H0 email: norhuron@scsinternet.com Letter to the editor March 3, 1948 The early stages of a new home for the Blyth Public Library had begun. In connection with new restrooms at Memorial Hall, the site was planned to be ready by May 1. The library’s bank account held a balance of $110 and $65 worth of books had been purchased for the library within the past year. Blyth resident Robert Newcombe celebrated his 21st birthday in his 84th year, having been born on Feb. 29. “Most people think I’m getting old, but I’m only 21,” Newcombe said. Blyth Municipal Council received a report regarding the Fire Marshall’s inspection tour, which detailed the village’s water mains being in poor shape and the distribution system being inadequate for the fire service it was being used for. The water pressure was also an issue with the fire system requiring more pressure than the system could provide. Blyth Municipal Council received letters of thanks from residents of Blyth, England, for food parcels that had been sent to them by residents of the village. Creamery butter began appearing in Blyth grocery stores courtesy of the Blyth Farmers’ Co-operative Association. The product came to be known as Blyth Butter. Londesborough asked Hullett Township Council for fire protection. The Hullett clerk said he would write the Department of Municipal Affairs for more information. March 7, 1968 The World Day of Prayer service was held at Duff’s United Church in Walton. The Callander Nursing Home in Brussels was accepted as a member of the National Geriatrics Society. The home’s application was approved by the Society’s National Qualifying Board after it was thoroughly investigated and found worthy of honour. Dave’s Devils led the team bowling standings in Brussels with a team score of 162. Feb. 28, 1990 Rutabagas were on the agenda in Blyth. A public meeting was held to assess residents’ opinions on whether they thought rutabagas would be the next big thing in Blyth or not. The meeting at Blyth Council Chambers was held to decide whether Blyth should establish the Blyth Rutabaga Festival in order to celebrate the important role of rutabagas in the community. While early indications showed that Hullett residents did not want a new town hall, nearly 80 people made their way to Londesborough Hall to discuss a proposal from Hullett Central Public School to build a new centre onto the school in conjunction with Hullett council. The Brussels Lion Club began television bingo in support of the club. The fundraiser was to be aired on Channel 17, with cards costing $1 each. After several years of large capital expenditures, the Blyth Festival increased its ticket prices, which was knocked in a letter to the editor from past Blyth Festival president Mildred McAdam, who said her consumer resistance kicked in at $10 per ticket. The Maitland Valley Conservation Authority held its annual meeting and announced a $70,883 surplus, an increase of over $63,000 from the previous year’s total. John Bos and Raymond Verburg, of Auburn and Brussels respectively, travelled to the Dominican Republic on a mission trip to help build churches. March 1, 2000 Grey Township Council filed an official protest to the Rural Ontario Municipal Association and met with a representative in regards to the closing of OMAFRA offices. Trustees of the Avon Maitland District School Board officially voted to close six area schools, including Seaforth District High School, Seaforth Public School and Walton Public School. Not all trustees, however, were in favour of the decision. Trustee Abby Armstrong said the board shouldn’t crumble under provincial pressure to close schools. “Their trustees made $50,000 a year and had secretaries. How can the government have the gall to say my kids are worth less than those of schools who were throwing money away like spaghetti on a windy day,” she said at the meeting. Trustee Colleen Schenk said she thought all students would suffer if the board continued to operate all the schools in the district. “If [trustee Atje Tuyten] and I did vote without hearts, we’d be voting don’t close Walton, but we have to take all the students into account across the system,” Schenk said. Former Citizen reporter Janice Becker was nominated in the annual Ontario Community Newspaper Association competition for a feature story she wrote on area education. The new municipalities outlined their representation, deciding which towns and villages would be part of what municipality or township. Transition boards were set up for each of the new municipalities until they took effect in 2001. THE EDITOR, As a parent of Brussels Public School students, a resident of the village, and a business owner, I really feel the need to say something about the many letters written to the editor over the past several months. No one likes or wants to be in a process like the ARC process. Nobody likes change and yes everyone is scared. As for being offended by this and that in written articles and people’s comments, we all need to remember, nobody is right or wrong, no one has the perfect answer, and everyone has an opinion about everything. This hugely affects everyone whether you own a business, frequent the village, reside in or out of the village, it doesn’t mean that I am against you or that I am right and you’re wrong, it’s only that this is my opinion and I don’t have to be right or wrong. At the end of the day, these are my children and I am going to do what I feel is best for my children, because that is all I need to do as a parent. Holly McCutcheon, Brussels. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Publications Assistance Program (PAP) toward our mailing costs. We are not responsible for unsolicited newsscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright Little acts add up Often in our comfortable Canadian lifestyle, it can be frustrating to try to make a difference by helping people less fortunate in faraway lands, but sometimes little acts of kindness can add up to make a difference. When a tragedy like the earthquakes in Haiti and Chile happen, giving money is the easiest thing to do, but sometimes it seems just too easy. We want to do something that feels more personal than just writing a cheque. Local residents, as part of a larger effort across the province are trying to reach out in a real way to the victims of the Haiti tragedy. The collapse of buildings in that destitute land left many people so badly injured their arms and legs had to be amputated. The group is trying to collect crutches that people here in Ontario may have sitting around unused, and ship them to help amputees in Haiti cope with their situation. The campaign for crutches recalls a tremendously successful earlier drive to collect unused bicycles and ship them to Namibia. Recently home for a visit, Mark Nonkes, who inspired his family to organize the collection, explained the impact those bicycles have made. First of all, the bikes have given people a cheap form of transportation, making them more mobile to get their work done. Then the repair of the donated bikes has provided jobs for five people who were previously unemployed. Even the shipping container that held the Huron County bicycles on their long journey to Africa has become useful, being turned into a bicycle repair shop More people have unused bicycles than unused crutches, but this new campaign has the potential to provide the same kind of boost to people who have so little. Besides giving money, we can take action that will more directly help those so badly injured by the Haitian disaster. — KR Small investment, big result Despite the doubt the Conservative government cast on whether it would pick up the additional cost of the “Own the Podium” program to fund Olympic athletes, here’s betting it will be part of the budget when it’s announced Thursday. While the saving of $11 million is the kind of cut the government might like to make as it seeks to trim the deficit, now is hardly the time to look cheap when Canadians are feeling better about themselves than at any time in years, all because of the success of the Olympic athletes who were helped by the program that was jointly funded by the federal government and private industry. It would especially be foolhardy for the Prime Minister after his party’s popularity took a sharp jump during the Olympics, no doubt because he was seen everywhere at the Olympics, associating himself with the athletes’ glory. Lots of arguments can be made that the money for athletes can be better spent on programs for the poor, on health, or education, but what better investment in Canada can be made than to make people feel as good about their country as they do today. For about 33 cents per Canadian, per year, hopefully we can have a party more often. — 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.