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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2010-09-09, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2010.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; $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 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO CIRCULATION DEPT. PO BOX 152 BRUSSELS ON N0G 1H0 email: norhuron@scsinternet.com September 8, 1948 One of the largest beginner classes in the history of Blyth Public School happened as 19 students reported to the school for class on September 7. The Blyth Standard reported the new families in the village resulted in the increase in the amount of students in the 1948 beginner class, as well as many of the other classes throughout the entire school. There were no changes in personnel, however, and J.A. Gray continued to serve at the principal of Blyth Public School. Local hydro consumption had to be cut by over 25 per cent in order to avoid daily power cut-offs. The cut- offs were said to be avoided if all village customers co-operated and cut their hydro usage. The average kilowatt consumption at the time was 2,000, but immediately, that had to be cut to be no more than 1,500. William Thuell was conducting daily tests and said he would continue to do so until September 14. The lack of rain in the area had been the prime source of the power shortage. The Blyth Lions Boys and Girls Band took fourth place among the six competing bands in their division at the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto. Beating out the team from Blyth were ones from London, Guelph and Assumption High School. Jean Mills of Walton had been awarded one of the three Dominion Provincial University Scholarships that were awarded to Huron County each year. The scholarship was renewable from year to year and came in the value of $400. Mills had previously received the Seaforth Collegiate Institute Alumni Memorial Scholarship in the amount of $25, as well as a scholarship from the University of Western Ontario in the amount of $250. Professor Raymond of the O.A.C. in Guelph was set to open the Belgrave School Fair for 1948 immediately after the parade. Over $600 worth of prizes were to be awarded over the course of the entire fair. September 12, 1968 The Brussels Lions Club held its first meeting of the autumn season. New club president Jan van Vliet was presiding over the meeting, which was held at the Brussels Library. William Turnbull captured the first prize for Yorkshire sow born after July 1, 1967 at the Western Fair in London. A work bee was scheduled for September 23 to help set up for the Brussels Fall Fair, which was quickly approaching. The Brussels Horticultural Society was set to meet on September 16 with Doug Miles, agricultural representative for Huron County was set to be the evening’s guest speaker. September 12, 1990 Paul Klopp won the Huron-Bruce MPP seat in what was called an “upset victory” by The Citizen, winning the NDP its very first seat in provincial parliament in the riding. Klopp, a Zurich-area farmer, municipal councillor and past president of the Huron County Federation of Agriculture, took over for Jack Riddell, who was a long- time Huron-Bruce representative for the Liberal party. Klopp took 10,000 of the votes, which totalled just under 30,000, which was a huge jump from the 14 per cent of the votes he had received in the previous election. The 70th annual Belgrave, Blyth and Brussels School Fair was set to take place on September 12. At the time, the fair was the only celebration of its kind left in Ontario. Perfect weather helped to boost attendance at the 1990 Thresher Reunion. Mary Terpstra was crowned as Queen of the Furrow at the 1990 Huron County Plowing Match. Terpstra, from RR3, Brussels, was sponsored by Todd’s Bakery. September 11, 2008 Candidates had begun to file for nomination for the 40th general election in Canada’s history. Blyth’s own Greg McClinchey was set to represent the Liberal party, taking over for long-time Huron-Bruce member Paul Steckle, while Ben Lobb from the Holmesville area, had filed for the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada and Lucknow-area farmer Tony McQuail had filed to represent the riding for the NDPs. New owners Becky and Dave Bartman had just purchased Belgrave Variety. Becky, a Belgrave native, had grown up across the street from the store and had worked there while she was a student in high school and college. North Huron Council voted to uphold a bylaw that limits the types of pets that residents of the township are allowed to keep. A question had come up regarding a snake in the area, that a local pet store wished to carry for purchase. Council, however, decided that it would not bend the rules in this circumstance, after words from Councillor and former veterinarian Alma Conn, who spoke against changing the bylaw. Rev. Cathrine Campbell retired from Melville Presbyterian Church. 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 An extra school tax As kids go back to school, these days parents not only must find money for new clothes and personal supplies like pencils and backpacks, but increasingly they’re expected to shell out for supplies that would seem to be the responsibility of the school. An older generation can remember when the provincial education system went in the other direction. Concerned that the burden of school supplies was too hard for poorer parents to afford, schools began providing supplies that had previously been the responsibility of parents. Today, parents get a list of classroom supplies they’re expected to contribute to, things like: Kleenex, markers, pencil crayons, crayons, erasers, glue sticks, pencil cases, earphones, sheets of lined/holed paper, binders, computer paper, pocket folders, exercise notebooks, graph paper, a solar calculator and a USB drive. For the majority of parents the request for these supplies the schools should be providing is just a nuisance. For families just scraping by, it can be an added burden and has the potential to add to the stigma of being poor for those kids whose parents can’t meet the request. In reality it’s an additional tax that hits poor families the hardest. Universal primary and secondary education is one of the cornerstones of our prosperity. A tradition of giving all children the chance to rise to the level of their ability through equal access to education is what has helped create a dynamic society where the privileged can’t rest on their laurels because they are always being pushed by bright, hungry young people who are trying to improve their lives. The last thing we want to create is a situation similar to that in some African countries where children can’t get an education because their parents can’t afford the school uniform that is a prerequisite to attending school. If our schools need more money for supplies, then we should pay for them from our taxes, not school fees. We must make sure that the money actually goes to the needed supplies, however, and not be sucked up by the system that had 74 Avon Maitland District School Board employees on the “Sunshine List” for earning more than $100,000 last year and that can find money for an $11 million school and added transportation costs but not to repair buildings that already exist. — KR What’s a billion? In a simpler, pre-inflation time, a Canadian finance minister in the 1950s helped torpedo his government’s re-election by quipping “what’s a million?” when opposition politicians questioned overspending on a government project. Today that should perhaps be updated to “what’s a billion?” “What’s a billion?” seems to depend on whether you agree or not with how that billion is spent. Major ammunition for scrapping the Long Gun Registry, has been the overruns that bloated the costs of setting up the registry to over $1 billion. Even those who didn’t oppose the idea that all rifles and shot guns should be registered, were offended by the bungling of the Liberal government that drove the costs ridiculously out of sight. The current government of Stephen Harper has used that price tag to show the system is too costly, even though police say it now costs $4 million a year to operate the registry. But the Harper government shrugged off public anger at spending $1 billion for security for the G20, saying it was Canada’s responsibility to take a turn hosting the summit, and our responsibility to protect the safety of world leaders when they come to Canada. Likewise, the Harper government is unconcerned about spending hundreds of millions of dollars to build and maintain new jails as part of its “tough on crime” campaign to put more people in jail and keep them there longer. The government has committed $9 billion to acquire new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft, because it considers national defence a priority. So a billion was excessive for the gun registry; was perfectly excusable for a few days of the G20 summit; and is a fraction of the cost of new jet fighters – showing that a billion has become a relative figure. — 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.