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The Citizen, 2010-06-24, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JUNE 24, 2010.EditorialsOpinions Publisher: Keith Roulston Acting Editor: Shawn Loughlin • Reporter: Denny ScottAdvertising Sales: Ken Warwick & Lori Patterson The CitizenP.O. Box 429,BLYTH, Ont.N0M 1H0Phone 523-4792 FAX 523-9140 P.O. Box 152,BRUSSELS, Ont.N0G 1H0Phone 887-9114 E-mail norhuron@scsinternet.comWebsite 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 thecondition that in the event of a typographical error,only that portion of the advertisement will becredited.Advertising Deadlines: Monday, 2 p.m. - Brussels; Monday, 4 p.m. - Blyth.PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 40050141RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO CIRCULATION DEPT. PO BOX 152 BRUSSELS ON N0G 1H0 email: norhuron@scsinternet.com June 30, 1948 A large number of students, 25, were at Blyth Public School to take the entrance examination, which presiding officer N.P. Garrett said reminded him of “old times,” referring to when all entrance pupils had to write the examinations and there was no such thing as a student passing through on his year’s standing. The Ontario Regional Officials of the National Employment Service issued a report regarding the seriousness of the farm labour shortage in Ontario on the cusp of a heavy haying and harvesting season for many large farm operations. A “fine young heifer” was killed after a brief, yet severe, electrical storm. Other cattle injuries were reported by several other farmers in the area. June 27, 1968 “Canadians chose to accept the challenge of Pierre Elliott Trudeau to ‘take a risk with the future’ and gave him a substantial majority in the federal election,” reported The Brussels Post. Huron-Bruce, however, voted in the candidate from the Progressive Conservative party, Robert E. McKinley, incumbent representative, with an overwhelming majority of nearly 4,000 votes. The Brussels Lions Park was declared one of the more popular spots in the village throughout the spring and into the summer as a large number of people had been taking advantage of the facilities, predominantly for picnics and the like. Earlier in the week, in fact, St. John’s Masonic Lodge held a steak barbecue at the park during the group’s annual ladies’ night and on June 24, the Brussels Lions and their wives also enjoyed a steak barbecue. The beer strike was taking its toll on area beer drinkers, said an article headlined, “Go Easy On The Beer Boys.” “It’s going to be a long dry holiday for beer drinkers unless there is a swift settlement of the beer strike,”The Brussels Post warned. “You had better go easy on what you have stored up boys.” Lawrie Cousins accepted a position with the dairy branch of the Ontario Department of Agriculture and Food. Cousins was set to work out of the London office, covering London, as well as Middlesex County. Cousins was a Brussels Councillor and a past master of the Brussels St. John’s Masonic Lodge. June 27, 1990 Despite rain all weekend, the first annual Blyth Rutabaga Festival went off without a hitch, with the rain doing nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of festival-goers. “I was just more than impressed with the community spirit for every event over the weekend,” said Festival Chairman John Elliott. A telephone information service was set up to provide information for seniors, disabled adults and their families. Dr. Maarten Bokhout, medical officer for Huron County, announced the service at a press conference at Huronview just days before. The Brussels, Morris and Grey pool introduced its lifeguards for the year: Judy TenPas, Corinna Stephenson, Shannon Rice, Kim Fritz and Karia King. Dick Tracy, starring Warren Beatty and Madonna was playing at the Park Theatre in Goderich along with a special added attraction of an animated short entitled Roger Rabbit and Baby Herman in Roller Coaster Rabbit before the main event. June 26, 2008 Huron East Council adopted a new pay grid for all municipal employees in hopes of making Huron East a more attractive option for potential employees in coming years. Brussels Transport Limited celebrated its 50th anniversary with over 450 people attending a barbecue, which was followed by entertainment. Before the June 17 Huron East Council meeting, councillors toured their newly-constructed Family Health Team building in Seaforth. Clerk-Administrator Jack McLach- lan said contractors were aiming to have the building completed by the end of the summer. Caroline McDowell of East Wawanosh won three medals at the Royal Canadian Legion Track and Field Meet in Kitchener, while Blyth’s Grant Sparling won two medals, both of them gold. A bylaw that authorized a watering ban in Seaforth and Egmondville was authorized by Huron East council based on a recommendation from Public Works Manager Barry Mills. The Blyth Festival season began with Against The Grain,a play featuring John Dolan, Tova Smith and Gil Garratt. The play was touted by The Citizen to be a solid start to the season from the pen of playwright Carolyn Hay. Despite some opposition, a Canadian Tire store in Wingham took one step closer to becoming a reality at June 23’s North Huron Council meeting. Initially, the proposal was not just for a Canadian Tire store, but for a Mark’s Work Warehouse store to be connected to the building as well. Kung Fu Panda,featuring the voice of Jack Black, as well as Mike Myers’The Love Guru, were playing 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 Many thanks This issue of The Citizen goes to press without knowing what the effect on the future of the Brussels and Grey Central Public Schools will be from the decisions the trustees of the Avon Maitland District School Board (AMDSB) were set to make at their Tuesday night board meeting. One thing can be certain, however, the community owes a huge debt of thanks for all those who put so much time into fighting for their schools. When the Huron East/North Perth accommodation review process was announced, many cynics felt the school board had already decided the future of the schools involved and those who got involved in defending their schools were just wasting their time. At that point, AMDSB staff had recommended both Brussels and Grey schools be closed. Having watched the recommendations of parents in the Central East North Huron accommodation review being ignored, many people felt the review would be carried, but the board would rubber stamp the staff recommendation. But Brussels and Grey community volunteers seemed to learn from watching what happened to their west. They marshalled the facts to defend their schools, with the Brussels defence team even embarrassing AMDSB staff by proving they had their facts wrong about how expensive it was to maintain the Brussels school. These stout defensive tactics seemed to have influence on the staff and on some trustees. Whatever the final decision, by this week it seemed that the idea had been demolished that it was a cut and dried issue. Sometimes the battle to keep some sense of ownership of small communities like ours can seem overwhelming with outsiders controlling too many of the decisions on vital services. The valuable lesson that the school defenders have given the rest of us is that passion, hard work and reasoned arguments can still make a difference. No matter what the outcome of the school decisions, we owe them our thanks for all their efforts. — KR Stuck in the middle Given that a “united Right” helped propel Stephen Harper’s Conservatives to two consecutive governments, it’s only natural that some Liberals and New Democrats dream of a day when they can unite and become the government themselves. Though party leaders Jack Layton of the NDP and Michael Ignatieff of the Liberals have rejected the idea of a merger, influential party members continue to work for it behind the scenes. Should they actually succeed, they face the same issues the Conservatives still live with. The Right is really united only in its desire to defeat the Liberals. Now that it forms a government, there’s an uneasy balance between the former Reformers who have a vision of creating a Canada more like a northern version of U.S. Republicans and the “red” Tories who formerly held sway in governments like those of Brian Mulroney and Joe Clark. The red faction worries the party is becoming too right-wing; the Reformers worry they’re selling their right-wing souls to get power. A Liberal-NDP merger would create the same dynamics. The Liberals’ problems have had some NDPers dreaming of the day they’ll replace the Liberals, but the reality is that they can only take the Liberals’ middle ground if they give up their left-wing goals. If a united party moved to the middle, there would be an urge to start a new left-wing party. The real problem for the Liberals is that they need a leader who can get across to Canadians why he wants to be prime minister. Both Paul Martin and Michael Ignatieff wanted the job but couldn’t explain what they wanted to do when they got it. Stéphan Dion had a vision, but his inarticulateness made him an easy target for Harper’s attack ads and his credibility was shattered before he even began. Ironically if Liberals can discover a real passion about why they want to govern, they have a good chance of attracting those Conservatives who worry their party is moving too far to the right. They can become a real party of the middle again. — 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.