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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2009-01-15, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 15, 2009.EditorialsOpinions Publisher, Keith Roulston Editor, Bonnie GroppAdvertising, 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 FAX 887-9021E-mail norhuron@scsinternet.comWebsite www.northhuron.on.ca Looking Back Through the Years 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. 40050141PAP REGISTRATION NO. 09244RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO CIRCULATION DEPT. PO BOX 152 BRUSSELS ON N0G 1H0 email: norhuron@scsinternet.com OFA Commentary Jan. 14, 1965 The new officers for Melville Church’s Women’s Missionary Society were: president, Mrs. Jim Mair; vice-presidents, Mrs. Gerald Gibson, Mrs. W.G. King and Miss Bessie Moses; secretary, Mrs. D.C. Matheson; assistant, Mrs. Harvey Dennis; treasurer, Mrs. John Speir and assistant, Mrs. John Yuill. Also on the executive were Mrs. George Evans, Mrs. John Campbell, Mrs. W.R. Little, Miss Millie McFarlane, Mrs. C. Davis, Mrs. Frank Shaw, Mrs. Roy Turvey, Mrs. Harold Cardiff, Mrs. James Ireland and Mrs. Gordon Stiles. Taking the oath of office as trustees for the Grey Twp. school board were George Pearson, Allan McTaggart, Sam Sweeney, Donald McDonald and Wilfred Shortreed. Campaigners had set of a goal of $200 to be raised in Brussels for the annual March of Dimes campaign. Mrs. William Dobson of Ethel was installed as president of the Brussels Legion Ladies Auxiliary. Other officers were Mrs. Frank Rutledge, Mrs. Leonard Lamont, Mrs. Jack Lowe, Mrs. Rose Duncan and Mrs. Dave Hastings. The executive included Mrs. Joe Brewer, Mrs. Jack Pennington, Mrs. George Somers and Mrs. Archie Willis. It was a two-for sale at McCutcheon’s Grocery. Items included were two 28-oz cans of sauerkraut for 39 cents, two 20-oz. cans of pork and beans for 39 cents, two 20-oz. jars of applesauce for 43 cents and two 15-oz. tins of cat food for 33 cents. Jan. 9, 1974 The Ontario Housing Corporation was conducting a survey to determine a need for senior citizen housing in Blyth. Blyth council learned at its meeting that construction on a sewage system for the village would not begin before 1976. The winners of the best festively- decorated doors were announced. First place went to Mr. and Mrs. Alvin Snell. In second were Mr. and Mrs. Jim Reid, followed by Mr. and Mrs. Ralph McCrea in third. Huron Tractor of Exeter opened its new facility in Blyth, which many farmers taking advantage of the new service offered in the community before the official opening. Morris Twp. reeve Bill Elson was named Huron County warden. Brussels Atoms held second place in their division of the WOAA Zone 2 standings. Blyth Bantams were in first. Specials at Snell’s Grocery Store included: three packages of Voortman’s cookies, $1; seven pounds of all-purpose flour, 75 cents; medium cheddar cheese, $1.09 per pound and bananas, two pounds for 29 cents. Jan. 8, 1986 Huron-Bruce MP Murray Cardiff and his wife Betty, hosted a New Year’s Levee. Mary Ann Howson was the campaign person for Blyth’s annual March of Dimes. Blyth Lions donated money to the local arena as the second half of their $2,000 pledge for the installation of the air conditioning, heat pumps and dehumidification units. Brussels council got the bad word that the liability insurance for the village was increasing 50 per cent over the previous year. Brussels council set the remuneration for the year. The reeve would receive $2,000 for the year, while councillors would be paid $1,400. Mary-Ellen Knight, daughter of Ross and Betty of RR3, Brussels was selected as a recipient of the Rotary Foundation Scholarship. A total of 40 applicants, chosen from across the province, were interviewed in Toronto. The award was giving Knight the chance to study abroad for a year with all expenses paid. She hoped to study French as a second language. Brussels Curling Club donated $4,000 to help pay for the paving of the arena parking lot. Financial market trends were: bank rate, 9.62 per cent; prime, 10 per cent; Canadian dollar, .7152; U.S. dollar, $1.3983. The new year looked depressingly like the old one as the umpteenth winter storm hit Huron County closing roads and extending the school break. Jan. 10, 1996 Huron County councillors voted to close northern Huron libraries in Auburn, Bluevale, Cranbrook, Gorrie and Walton in addition to Centralia in South Huron. The Citizen was preparing to compile a history book for the village of Brussels in conjunction with Homecoming 1997. With Blyth Festival floating on an even keel, two board members with a combined 39 years helping to steer the theatre’s course, decided the time had come to step down. Sheila Richards and Helen Gowing had been on the board since its early years. Mike Miller was named chair of the Huron Perth Roman Catholic Separate School Board. Michael Dack was vice chair. Melissa McLellan, a Grade 8 student at Grey Central School was page for a day at county council. She was introduced by Grey reeve Leona Armstrong. By Bette Jean Crews, President, Ontario Federation of Agriculture Many Canadians suffer hangovers as we transition to the new year. Our senior governments, especially the federal government, have an abundance of hangovers for the coming year – things that farmers need cured as quickly as possible. Farmers need to take action on a couple of issues as well. The Net Income Stabilization Accounts that almost 30,000 farmers have must be closed by March 31. Farmers with a Dec. 31 farm business year-end and an active NISA account need to call Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Winnipeg at 866-367-8506 and request they mail the balance of NISA Fund 2 dollars. As of November 2008, 29,486 farmers still had $204 million in their NISA accounts. There are a number of outstanding commitments to farmers that our governments need to address. Prime Minister Harper promised annual payments of 100 million dollars to farmers to address increasing production costs. That promise was made May 1, 2007, and so far no payments have been made. During the last federal election, Mr. Harper’s candidates announced government would provide 500 million dollars over the next four years for what was termed the Agricultural Flexibility Program. This is similar to the AgriFlex proposal put forth by farmers, but no details have come from Ottawa. The Ontario Federation of Agriculture sees this as an ideal way for the federal government to support current and future programs for Ontario farmers – things like the Risk Management Program for grains and oilseeds and other programs still in development. The new Agri-Invest Account Program is designed very similar to the old NISA program. However, farmers are still awaiting their 2007 Agri-Invest Notices. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada tells us they will start mailing these notices directly to farmers....shortly. The notices will outline how much money the farmer can contribute to the Agri-Invest Account. This amount will be matched by the federal and provincial governments. We’re also told the notices will state how much Kickstart program funding the federal government will deposit into the farmers’Agri-Invest Account. As of Nov. 9, more than 10,000 Ontario farmers have Agri-Invest Accounts with balances totalling just 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 The times, they are changing This week’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit had a distinctly different look when it opened this week: smaller, because several car companies like Nissan didn’t mount displays; more subdued because troubled North American car companies cut back on the glitz and glamour; and featuring more electric cars than ever before. Meanwhile, a speaker at the beef day at Grey-Bruce Farmers’Week in Elmwood warned farmers that consumers are worried about the environmental impact of their food. On the positive side for Ontario producers, more consumers want to eat local and the region is within the famous “100-mile” limit of Canada’s most densely populated area. On the negative side for beef producers, he warned, some consumers are questioning the “carbon footprint” of beef, arguing that between the the amount of feed it takes to make a cattle beast produce a pound of meat and the methane expelled by cattle, we can’t afford to eat meat. (The Environmental Protection Agency in the U.S. has even proposed an annual tax of $175 for every dairy cow, $87.50 per beef cow and $20 per pig to offset the effects of animal-generated methane – labeled the “fart tax” by critics.) Unrelated as the car show and farmers’ production of meat are, they seem to indicate a significant change in direction. People talk about a “paradigm change” in which people suddenly start looking at things from a changed perspective. The shock of the current economic situation plus the ongoing worry about the effect of climate change seem to have come together. Suddenly, things we only talked about doing before – like electric cars and hybrid gas/electric vehicles – are becoming things consumers are buying. Who knows how far this trend may go and how it will affect us all, just as the beef day speaker suggested it may affect farmers. — KR Hoping for the best Barack Obama takes office as the president of the United States next week carrying the unbearable weight of the hopes and dreams not just of Americans, but people all over the world. With hopes so high, his popularity can only go downhill from here. Until he becomes president, everyone can hope he will do what they think he should. People often want contradictory things and obviously he can’t deliver all their dreams. But here’s hoping that Obama is an extraordinary president, even the best president in history. In these times of trouble, his country and the world could use that kind of leadership. Certainly he’s made some good first steps, building a team that unites people, despite their former alliances, to work for his country. — KR & Continued on page 11