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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2010-11-25, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 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 November 24, 1948 Huron County residents were preparing to vote, as the municipal election was set for Dec. 6. Many of the Blyth-area candidates, however, were acclaimed to their positions, including Reeve Franklin T. Bainton and councillors George Radford, J.B. Watson and William Riehl. Lewis Whitfield was the one new member of council, replacing Harold Vodden, a councillor from 1948 who failed to qualify for the election. There was, however, to be an election for local school board of trustees, with Norman Hamilton, Howard Tait, Albert Maddocks and William Heffron all qualifying for the position. The retiring trustee was Jamie Sims. The Hullett and Blyth Masonic Lodges held their annual joint installation of officers meeting on Nov. 23. Hullett Township Reeve John Armstrong travelled to The Blyth Standard’s office to inform the staff that, should he be re-elected, he would be seeking the office of Huron County Warden. He had just completed his fifth year as reeve of Hullett Township. A concert, held by the Blyth Agricultural Society, was staged at Memorial Hall. The program was said to be dominated by local musicians, but that a few outside artists also performed and, “added much to the program”. December 5, 1968 Rev. Eric L. LeDrew began his ministry of Brussels United Church on the previous Sunday, making his way to Brussels from Hampton, New Brunswick. LeDrew and his family arrived in Brussels on Nov. 28. They enrolled their two older sons into classes at F.E. Madill Secondary School, while their two younger daughters began classes at Brussels Public School. LeDrew was born in Newfoundland and attended post- secondary classes at the University of Saskatchewan. Another prize to be awarded was added to the Brussels Santa Claus Parade, which was coming up on Dec. 14. The award would be $10 for the best horse-drawn vehicle in the parade. Donald McDonald was elected to be the area’s school board trustee, after receiving the vast majority of votes in the Grey and Morris Wards. McDonald was slightly edged in the Brussels Ward, but had received so many votes in the other two wards that his victory of the seat was sealed. December 5, 1990 Blyth Pride grant money, in the amount of $400,000, was proposed by Blyth Council and there was plenty of interest in where it could be spent. Grant applications were being accepted by council until the end of the year. Interest of several community groups was also being sought. Council had already heard from the Huron Pioneer Thresher and Hobby Association, the Blyth Women’s Fastball Team and the Public Utilities Commission and were still waiting to hear from the Blyth Lions, the Blyth Legion, the Blyth Legion Ladies Auxiliary and the Blyth Optimists. Brussels Village Council was set to approach the Brussels Fire Department in regards to starting a new fund to help raise funds for the eventual construction of a new fire hall. Council had been discussing the need for a new fire hall for some time, but other major projects kept coming up. Morris Council met on Nov. 26 and decided to donate $10,000 to the Belgrave Community Centre project, which was being spearheaded by the Belgrave Kinsmen. November 27, 2008 Blyth Festival general manager Deb Sholdice reported a “substantial surplus” for the Festival’s 2008 season, that would be large enough to wipe up the accumulated deficit that the Festival had been carrying. The budget for the year was exceeded by 44 per cent in paid seats, and by $176,280 in actual funds. The Brussels Santa Claus Parade was set to hit the streets on Nov. 30 with plenty of family activities, including visits with Santa, at the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre after the parade. Huron East Council began to consider upgrades that would improve the municipality’s energy efficiency. Five stations were set up for the Huron County Christmas Bureau, including ones in Wingham and Clinton. It was expected that need would increase in 2008, due to the instability of the financial world at the time. The Belgrave Kinsmen held their annual Christmas Home Tour on the previous weekend. Katelyn Watson and Nicole Greidanus, students at Central Huron Secondary School, began to take the initiative in preparing a memorial garden at the school. It was a project that had been discussed for years, but never completed. The first person the garden would honour was going to be Laurie Forrester, a former teacher who died of breast cancer in 2006. 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 Time to solve hamlets’ issues If you have the misfortune to live in one of Huron County’s hamlets that straddle the boundary between larger municipalities, like Auburn, Walton or Belgrave, even the simplest daily tasks can be complicated. As Auburn residents attending a Monday-night meeting on fire service problems noted, they can have different garbage and recycling services depending on which side of the street they live on and who is responsible for snow removal differs whether they live in the section of the village that lies in Central Huron, North Huron or Ashfield-Colborne- Wawanosh. While this can be a minor nuisance in some aspects of life, when it comes to fire protection it can be life-threatening. Living in one community divided between two different municipalities seems smoother in Belgrave and Walton where co- operation between the neighbouring municipalities has been ongoing but in Auburn, split three ways, the situation is more complicated. In many ways, municipal amalgamation solved a problem that didn’t exist while problems that did, like the multiple jurisdictions of border hamlets, got worse when the municipalities got larger and more distant. The provincial government suspended Auburn’s police village status, for instance, that once gave villagers some control over some aspects of their community life. Municipal amalgamation has made it more difficult to co-ordinate aspects of the lives of residents of these villages, not less. If governments at all levels really care about useful reform, they could examine services from the viewpoint of the people who live in these cross-border hamlets and try to find the solutions they need to improve their communities.— KR Debt? Or investment? With the debt crises in Greece, Ireland and Iceland, government deficits in this country have become a focus of concern. But are the debts governments ran up fighting the recession a problem or a solution? Anyone who has travelled the reconstructed Hwy. 8 recently, knows there is value in government spending on infrastructure. For years it’s been a disgrace to have the province’s name attached to that provincial highway. Was a balanced provincial budget something to applaud when a provincial highway was in such dangerous condition? All across Canada in the last couple of years, governments have been trying to stimulate the economy and prevent the Great Recession from becoming a Great Depression. Roads, bridges and subways have been built. As long as these projects were needed, this is an investment in our future. The governments’ stimulus funds are only wasted if they go to projects that aren’t really needed or are too expensive. Last week investors lined up to buy shares in a reorganized General Motors. Two years ago the company, once the world’s largest, was in bankruptcy, saved only by the infusion of billions of dollars from the U.S., Canadian and Ontario governments. These weren’t popular bailouts among taxpayers who didn’t live in communities like Oshawa or Windsor which were directly impacted by General Motors. Many taxpayers felt the company should be allowed to fail. Governments, looking at the bigger picture, felt allowing General Motors to die would be too costly to the country as a whole. If the auto giant had ceased production, for instance, what would the impact have been on dozens of towns and cities across the country that have factories that produce parts for GM cars and trucks? From governments’ self-interested point of view, loss of the company would mean that instead of producing cars, which provide taxes to governments, there would be thousands of laid-off workers needing unemployment insurance which would have made the deficit worse. So the government invested our money, and it turns out that if the company continues its recovery, taxpayers should make their money back or even make a small profit, through the sale of shares. While governments must get back to balanced budgets, current deficits are a sign of the value of governments, as they invest in the country when it will save jobs and make the future better. — 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.