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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2009-04-23, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 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 E-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 Letter to the editor April 22, 1965 Reeve Calvin Krauter proclaimed Sunday, April 25 at 12:01 a.m. to be Daylight Saving Time, “to fall in line with other municipalities”. Cousin’s Dairy marked its silver anniversary. R.B. Cousins had purchased the Brussels Creamery on Nov. 28, 1939 from F.M. Samis. There were 75 stores and restaurants within a 20-mile radius of Brussels, whose customers enjoyed Cousin’s Ice-Cream and Dairy Products. Mrs. Bill Bremner was named honorary president of the Cranbrook Women’s Institute. The president was Mrs. Mac McIntosh. It was announced that the establishment of beverage rooms in McKillop Twp., which had been rejected in a plebiscite in June 1962, was probably going to be put to voters again. Council had received a petition signed by more than 25 per cent of the township’s eligible voters asking for another vote on the question of providing drinking facilities for both men and women. James Darren, Pamela Tiffin and Nancy Sinatra appeared in For Those Who Think Young, which was playing at the Lyceum Theatre in Wingham. The Ontario Safety League said, “In most cases of self-inflicted death, the ‘weapon’ is a person’s feet. Because the majority of people killed in traffic have only themselves to blame. They put their foot down too hard on the accelerator.... or they walked into traffic without taking care.” Wingham District High School board struck its mill rate for the year at an even 12 mills on the equalized assessment figures for the communities within its boundaries. An 18-oz. container of Kraft peanut butter was selling for 49 cents at Willis’s. April 17, 1974 Huron MPP Jack Riddell expressed concern about strong rumours that Ontario Hydro intended to locate a nuclear power plant south of Goderich. A twister that hit the Seaforth- Dublin area caused a three-hour power blackout in Blyth and much of Huron and Perth Counties. The Huron-Perth County Roman Catholic Separate School Board was planning to initiate a pilot mini course in family life instruction. Blyth bowlers, Mary Davey and Theresa Machan took two of the three top prizes in the Clinton-Blyth bowling league. April 16, 1986 About 50 residents attended a meeting to consider the altnerative routes proposed by Huron County to replace Ball’s Bridge. Hullett Central Public School science fair winners were Mike Merner, Shannon Duizer, Darlene Buffinga and Anita Gross. Mrs. John Vanass was installed as Cranbrook Women’s Institute president. Other officers were: vice-president, Mrs. Bert van Don- kersgoed; secretary, Mrs. Gordon Engel; assistant secretary, Mrs. Frank Workman and treasurer, Mrs. Jim Hart. McGavin’s marks 50 years in business. Hubbard’s rutabaga company in Blyth marked 23 years in business. Jack Armstrong, one of the original members of the Londesborough men’s bowling league received a plaque on his retirement from the club. Armstrong started the organization in 1947. Belgrave Novices took a tournament consolation trophy and the Tri-County B trophy to cap off their season. Members were Mike Golley, Mark Olson, Brandon Coultes, Kevin Procter, Doug Wilson, Corey Moran, Andrew Potter, Aaron Coultes, Brian Marks, David McBurney, Brent Robinson, Chris Casemore and Jason Curtis. Victoria Playhouse Petrolia presented Oil, Oil, Oil, “a play with music” at Blyth Memorial Hall. Tickets were $8. April 17, 1996 Majestic Women’s Institute members received milestone pins: Ida Evans, 23 years; Dorothy Steffler, 22; Leona Armstrong, 30; Marie McCutcheon, 30; Jane DeVries, 36; Ruby Steiss, 30; Jessie Engel, 37; Marie McTaggart, 31; Leona Connelly, 25; Verna Tunney, 25; Doris McCall, 25; Yvonne Knight, 33; Eleanor Hemingway, 49; Jean Fraser, 10. Doug Walker, coach of the Belgrave Atoms received the 3M Coach of the Year award. Speed skater Kathy Hunt took gold in four races at the North American championships in the 40- 49 age group. Hunt took up competitive speed skating at the age of 37 and at 42 held records in the 35-50 Masters age group at the North American level. Brussels Legion Ladies Auxiliary celebrated its 50th birthday. Two members, Kathlyn Rutledge and Verna Tunney were recognized for 50 years of dedicated service. The organization had had 21 past presidents. Those present were Mary Lowe, Pat Shaw, Helen Dobson, Doreen Rutledge, Mabel Willis, Jean Bridge and Jean Little. Jennifer Cochrane was the new secretary at Grey Central Public School. Award-winning author Jane Urquhart was giving a reading at the annual Blyth Festival book sale. She was reading from her most recent bestseller, Away. THE EDITOR, As a resident of Blyth and participant in the recent Accommodation Review Committee process, I wish to protest strongly against the Avon Maitland District School Board staff’s recommendation to close Blyth Public School in 2010 and divide the students between Hullett Central and East Wawanosh schools. Some pertinent facts: Historically, BPS has the highest enrolment as per cent of school rated capacity of the five schools in the review. BPS also has the lowest operating and maintenance costs per pupil place of the five schools in the review. Nearly half (48 per cent) of the students of BPS walk to school, while almost all those at Hullett Central (85 per cent) and East Wawanosh (90 per cent) have to be bused – thus incurring considerable transportation cost and inconvenience if BPS was closed. BPS enjoys municipal services (sewer/water, emergency response) not immediately available at the other sites. To close BPS would be to make the grave mistake of shutting down the best-utilized, most cost-efficient school in the review, eliminating a valuable asset at the heart of our community. Why? The mantra AMDSB staff seem to fall back on to justify their recommendations appears to be: “The Ministry of Education has a stated preference for funding school consolidations where existing surplus space is used as part of the solution to declining enrolment issues.” However the net effect of this policy’s application in this case is cannibalization of a well-utilized school (BPS) in order to prop up other schools in remote areas with ‘surplus space’ (enrolment/capacity ratio: BPS, 84 per cent; East Wawanosh, 66 per cent and Hullett Central, 64 per cent. Not to mention the risks associated with uprooting vulnerable Grade 7/8s and tossing them in alongside 18-year-olds in the high school crowd. Why is BPS (and the Blyth community) being penalized – in fact, sacrificed – to address other schools’ problems? At the public meetings, parents were supportive of the closing of four schools if (and only if) a new, modern, state-of-the-art North Maitland Education Centre of Excellence could be substituted. However to close BPS and offer nothing in its place but ‘same old, same old’several kilometres away is hardly an attractive alternative. Ernest Dow, Blyth. 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 Are boards democratic? The recommendation of the staff of the Avon Maitland District School Board last week to ignore the proposals of a northern Huron area Accommodation Review Committee leaves parents and communities wondering whether they really have any say in running their schools. School boards are strange entities. Supposedly they operate on democratic principles but they have always been a little off-centre in the community governance model. Even back in the days when each school had its own school board, people often didn’t give much thought to electing trustees. Over the last 40 years, school boards have become more and more distant from the people who send their kids to school and pay taxes to support the system. Local school boards became township school boards which became county boards and now district school boards. Most people would be challenged to know even where their board administrative office is located, let alone the trustee who represents them. Accommodation Review Committees (ARC) are supposedly designed to give people some say when declining enrollment brings the future of a school into doubt. Over the past few months parents and concerned citizens from the regions served by Hullett, Blyth, East Wawanosh, Turnberry and Wingham public schools came together to look at the future of schools in north-central Huron. The one driving motive behind all their decisions was that they didn’t want Grade 7 and 8 students going to F. E. Madill Secondary School. The staff recommendation to send Grade 7 and 8 to Madill has left many of those who worked on the committee and those who attended meetings wondering if they wasted hundreds of hours of work. Is there any democracy left in the administration of our schools or are decisions “too important” to be left in the hands of the community. The final decision of the trustees, June 23, on the future of the schools in the area will demonstrate if parents and taxpayers have any role in managing their schools. — KR Where does the money go? The headlines are saying food costs are up substantially but pardon farmers if they wonder where the money is going. Beef farmers are getting out of a business that has seldom made money since the BSE crisis of 2003. Pork farmers are in their fourth year of bad prices. Last year growers of corn, wheat and soybeans saw good prices for the first time in years, but their costs for the fuel, fertilizer and pesticides soared to take away their profits. This year crop prices have fallen, but input costs haven’t fallen as far. Somewhere between the disadvantaged consumer and the disadvantaged farmer, somebody is taking advantage. — KR &