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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2009-02-05, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2009.Editorials Opinions Publisher, Keith Roulston Editor, Bonnie GroppAdvertising, 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 FAX 887-9021 E-mail norhuron@scsinternet.com Website 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 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 Feb. 4, 1965 The Brussels Public Library board elected its new slate of officers: chairman Ed Martin, treasurer Roy Cousins and secretary Rev. H. Jennings. Other board members were Cal Krauter, Mrs. R.W. Stephens, Louella Mitchell and Cecil McFadden. Librarian was Mrs. C. Long and custodian was Lloyd Kernaghan. Residents were asked to keep their porch lights on the evening of Feb. 5 to welcome March of Dimes canvassers. Mr. and Mrs. Jack McCutcheon attended the annual stock car banquet in Hamilton. A front-age story in The Post told of several cases where parked cars had been ransacked and articles stolen. “The guilty party, or parties, are warned to desist or be prepared to take what’s coming to them. A word to the wise is sufficient.” Those who predicted a mild winter must have had red faces, The Post suggested. Fifteen inches of snow had fallen in the previous two weeks and the winds blew up to 30 miles an hour. Valentine cards were selling at Smith’s Rexall from five to 25 cents. A king-size box of Cheer was on sale at McCutcheon Grocery for $1.25. Jan. 30, 1974 Blyth Lions Club was going ahead with its plans to build a $44,000 swimming pool even though plans hit a snag regarding operating costs. A home located next to the Londesborough United Church sustained $5,000 from a fire. Only 15 people showed up at the first planning meeting for the 1977 Blyth centennial celebration. Plans were made to form a senior citizens club in Blyth. MPP Murray Gaunt attended the organizational meeting to answer questions about the senior housing planned for the village. Mrs. William Carter was elected as president of the Blyth Horticultural Society. Membership of the Huron County Federation reached the 1,800 mark with the signing of Gerald Blake, RR1, Ethel. A Blyth native was named first woman deputy minister in Ontario. Dorothea Crittenden, a career Ontario civil servant for 36 years, would be deputy-minister of Ministry of Community and Social Services. Born in Blyth, Crittenden was the only child of the Mr. and Mrs. Damon Crittenden. Jan. 29, 1986 Grey Twp. insurance costs rose 70 per cent. John Wise, federal minister of agriculture spoke to the Huron County Cattlemen’s Association, claiming his government had cut beef imports from the European community by half. Conestoga College was exploring the idea of providing continuing education classes in Brussels. A local advisory committee consisting of Ruth Sauve, Miriam Zehr, Alan Bragg, Tom Hanrahan and Betty Graber was appointed. Alice McArter was named president of the Brussels Horticultural Society. Brussels Agricultural Society awards were presented to Darren Johnston, Donna Lynn Armstrong, Grant Martin, Kevin Johnston, Doreen Johnston, Heather Wheeler and Dave Wheeler. Renay Taylor and Shawn Campbell were chosen queen and king of the East Wawanosh Public School winter carnival. Huron Chapel Evangelical Missionary Church welcomed Pastor James Carne. Dance champions at the Brussels Figure Skating Club were Dana Mathers, Lisa Pennington, Karla King, Peter MacDonald, Scott Johnston and Stacy Miller. Jim Mair received an award for his long service to the Brussels Agricultural Society. The congregations of the Anglican Churches in Brussels, Blyth and Auburn bid farewell to Rev. Robin Lyons and his family. They were moving to a new charge at Tillsonburg and Culloden. Jan. 131, 1996 Maitland Valley Conservation Authority announced the layoff of six employees as a result of funding cuts. Award winners at the Brussels Agricultural Society banquet were Crystal Ahrens, Kristy Caldwell, Diane Damen and Justin Howatt. Recognized for long service was Fred Uhler, who had been with the Society of 25 years. It was a chance of a lifetime when Chief Warrant Officer Elizabeth Carr of the Brussels Cadets earned the chance to take part in a month-long exchange to Germany. The 18-year-old took part in the program after earning her God Star through a written exam. Bruce and Marie Bergsma, RR1, Londesborough were recipients of the first-ever Producer of the Year award given by the Huron County Pork Producers Association. The first Huron 4-H Chinchilla Club formed, led by Ray and Barb Storey of the Winthrop area. Julie Harrison was chair of the Brussels Public School advisory council. Vice-chair was Kathy Cochrane. THE EDITOR, I have three children who attend East Wawanosh Public School and I would like to thank all the ARC members for their hard work and time. Everyone who has been participating in this process has done so because we care about our kids. The process started initially because school enrolment is declining in our rural communities and is predicted to continue to do so. I expect that a large, centrally located school is probably inevitable and I am not opposed to this. However, I am also not opposed to my kids attending F. E. Madill when they are in Grades 7 and 8. I know that nothing spreads faster in a small community than a bad rumour. But I also know that thousands of kids in Grades 7 and 8 are in high schools and there has to be a positive side to the story that we are not hearing. Three other parents and I had the opportunity to meet with the principal of F. E. Madill, Martin Ritsma. He has an interesting perspective because he was the principal in Stratford when the students in Grades 7 and 8 joined the high school there. We asked Martin our toughest questions and the conversation touched on all of our fears. But I came away from that meeting filled with enthusiasm. What struck me most was that Martin talked about our kids, not about windows or toilets. He talked about students and teachers, about learning, mentoring, safety and navigating in the real world. Martin talked about solutions. That conversation made me think more critically about the ARC’s proposal. I suppose parents who plan to send their kids away for a private education might not care about F. E. Madill. However, if we reject the idea of Grades 7 and 8 in the high school, where does that leave our high school? I cannot support a $25 million proposal that does not adequately address the issue of declining enrolment in F. E. Madill. We need to ask ourselves some tough questions. The kids in Madill also belong to us and they are the future of rural Ontario. They need to know that we care. We need a solution that embraces all of our children – kindergarten to Grade 12. Leaving our high school to twist in the wind sends the wrong message to the youth we need to build a vibrant future for rural Ontario. I would ask that all the parents please remember that our children need an education that goes beyond Grade 8. Kate Procter. 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 Industrialized education Provincial education funding formulas over the years have been systematically severing the tie between the community and the education process. The most recent round of accommodation review for northern Huron schools may take education out of the community even more. Some months ago Ontario Education Minister Kathleen Wynne, said the small size of a school didn’t matter, but the funding formula still seems to require larger numbers, even if it means closing existing small schools and building an expensive new building and adding lots of busing costs. The school system seems to be adopting an industrial, versus a community-based, model. It’s about maximizing plant and offering the best variety of courses, not about seeing education as part of each community. Larger schools may offer increased opportunities for bright, outgoing students who can adapt to a strange setting with hundreds of students, but less adaptable, shy students, may suffer if there’s no sense of the support of a familiar community. Education is a personal human interaction, not an industrial process. Next to the family, the community is the most important structure in human society. Community needs to be given huge weight when considering the educational process. — KR Paying what’s due One of the greatest flaws in a flawed federal budget, announced last week, is the failure to reform Employment Insurance (EI) to deal with the needs of the current economic crisis. For more than a decade, under both the Liberals and the Conservatives, the government has been building a huge surplus in EI premiums versus the payments paid out to the unemployed. Organ- izations like the Canadian Federation of Independent Business have been screaming about the hidden tax of asking employers and employees to pay higher premiums than are needed to fund the program. The only excuse for these premiums is to build up a rainy-day fund for the time when there is an economic downturn. Well it’s pouring, but the government is acting as if there were spotty showers. The extension of payouts by five weeks is unlikely to make a big difference in helping unemployed families if this is as prolonged a downturn as economists are now predicting. If people get to the end of their EI and can’t, for instance, keep up their mortgages, we could see thousands of homes thrown on the market and face the kind of real estate collapse seen south of the border. Meanwhile laid-off Ontario industrial workers, still face discrim- inatory rules for qualifying for benefits compared to other provinces. EI money has been paid in. Now it’s time to pay what’s due. — KR &