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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2009-05-14, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 14, 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. 09244 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO CIRCULATION DEPT. PO BOX 152 BRUSSELS ON N0G 1H0 email: norhuron@scsinternet.com May 12, 1965 Fire, allegedly started by children, broke out in a storage building at the rear of Export Packers in Brussels. The stubborn blaze, which started on the ground floor, spread quickly destroying a large number of egg crates and packing material. It took the fire department several hours to extinguish. Dense smoke hampered their efforts to stop the fire. Just before this, fire was discovered in two cars at nearby McCutcheon Motors. Paper had been put into the interior of the vehicles and ignited. It was fortunately noticed before much damage was done. The slate of officers for the Brussels Lions Club was presented. President was Hank TenPas. Also on the executive were: first vice- president, George Mutter; second vice-president, Leonard Machan; third vice-president, Calvin Smith; directors, Calvin Krauter, Gordon Stiles, Gordon Workman, Jan van Vliet; secretary, Jim Armstrong Jr., treasurer, Cecil Parker; Lion tamer, Cecil McFadden; assistant, Selwyn Baker; tail twister, George McCutcheon and assistant, Gordon Stiles. The executive of the Brussels- Exeter 4-H Tractor Club was: president, Graeme Craig; vice- president, Ken Oke; secretary- treasurer, Keith Strang and press reporter, Don Storey. Brussels council was asking all residents to do their part in beautifying the village, by tidying up their property in a general clean- up campaign. The CNR station was forcibly entered for the second time in recent weeks. Nothing of value was taken either time, though damage was done to a window, which was broken to gain entry. The number of rabies cases, particularly among domestic animals, increased in Canada over the year. Confirmed cases totalled 1,412, an increase of 265 from the previous 12 months, but far below the record 1958-59 period which saw 2,550 with 1,171 of those domestic animals. At Brownie’s Drive-in in Clinton it was The Pink Panther with David Niven, Peter Sellers and Robert Wagner. May 8, 1974 Blyth Little Theatre presented a two-play evening at Blyth Public School. A 12-unit senior citizens’ apartment project was approved for Blyth. Phil Durand, head of the Ontario Bean Marketing Board told Huron County farmers that marketing was the key to an improved farm income picture. It was anticipated that the renovations to Blyth Memorial Hall would get underway in July, an engineer told village council. Mrs. Keith Webster was elected president of the Huronview Ladies’ Auxiliary. A half-gallon container of ice- cream was on sale at Snell’s Grocery Store for 89 cents. A 32-oz box of fish and chips was $1.19, while a two-pound bag of french fries was selling for 49 cents. The championship team of the Blyth men’s dart league was Reg Brindley, Harold Knox, Dave Crich, Bill Buchannan and Louis Phelan. Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford starred in The Way We Were, while Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman had the lead roles in Papillon. The shows were the double feature at Goderich’s Park Theatre. Theatre Passe Muraille was using Blyth Memorial Hall to rehearse the play The Farmers Revolt of 1837. May 7, 1986 Brussels Lions Club would build a new wading pool. The Blyth Agricultural Society, faced with either making its account active or losing the money into the banking system, decided to give away the remainder of its funds to an organization with a project in mind. Two weeks later, however, no one had come forward. The Society held its last fall fair in 1972. Marlene Albers was chosen Queen of the New Canadian Club of Huron and Perth. Walton’s population increased for a time, as a work train from Canadian Pacific Railway made the hamlet its headquarters for crews working on the line. Huron 4-H members received recognition for completion of 12 clubs. They were: Connie Alcock, Darlene Darlow, Ruth Higgins, Rose Ann Machan, Melanie Sanderson, Leanne Armstrong and Peggy McLellan. May 8, 1996 Hours after the participants of the mystery dinner had finished at Blyth Memorial Hall, a mystery on its own was developing across the street. Someone broke into The Book Shop and selected nearly 20 books of science fiction and fantasy. Minimal damage was done to the building. Taking home trophies from the 4- H dairy club awards night were: Tanya Franken, Heidi Meier, Stewart Marshall, Carla Cook and John Armstrong. Amateur actors performed a Blyth Festival fundraiser, staging Come Back to the Gym, Mary Lou, Mary Lou, an original play penned by Goderich-area resident Rob Bundy. F.E. Madill drama students presented Guys and Dolls. 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 Let’s make sense The decision by Huron County roads department to lower the speed limit through Belgrave from 60 km per hour to 50 makes sense. With that example, let’s make sense of some of the other speed limits in the county. Parents in Belgrave had a right to be angry and fearful for the safety of their children with the higher speed limit through their village. Children had to cross a busy street with drivers flying over the hill at the south end of town, unable to see who might be crossing the street. Smaller centres seem to be particularly disadvantaged by inconsistent road speed limits. In Walton, for instance, traffic can remain at 60 km for most of the way through the village, only having to slow to 50 in the very heart of the urban area. Compare that to other situations. North of Seaforth, drivers are asked to slow to 50 km nearly a mile outside the beginning of the town proper. Certainly there are a few homes along the area, but the population isn’t as dense as it is in Belgrave or Walton. A similar situation exists south of Brussels where traffic is slowed in an area with relatively few homes. It’s time to find some consistency in setting speed limits. — KR The NHL’s colony Statements by National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman following the attempt of Waterloo billionaire Jim Balsillie’s attempt to buy the Phoenix Coyotes franchise and move it to Hamilton shows Bettman, and the league, treat Canada as a colony. Bettman has made it clear he will not see the bankrupt Coyotes or other troubled southern-U.S. teams, moved to Canada. Like an emperor, he is happy to take Canada’s raw materials – star hockey players – to help him build greater glory in the really important home market of the U.S. He’s happy to have Canadian teams share the revenues from their mostly-full arenas to support southern teams with half-empty arenas. He’s happy that CBC pays a pile of money for television rights – it’s just that he dreams of a much bigger pile if he could persuade U.S. networks they should be paying fat fees to broadcast hockey south of the border. To further this agenda, he’s even given away TV rights to American networks that would take them – then rearranged schedules to favour U.S. network over Canadians ones. The need for businesses to make money was cited when Canadian teams in trouble moved to Denver and Phoenix, but not when a Canadian billionaire wants to buy a bankrupt team and bring it to Canada. If this kind of behaviour was taking place south of the border, anti- combines legislation would step in. In Canada, with its weak competition laws, Bettman can get away with his power play. It’s time for the Canadian government to step in and pressure the NHL to act like a normal business, not an empire. — KR & EDITOR’S NOTE: — Newspapers are always looking for ways to help their readers understand how to properly prepare a letter to the editor. The following appeared in a recent edition of the Rocky Mountain House (AB) Mountaineer. One of the best read parts of any newspaper is the letter to the editor column and there are usually more than enough to make issues lively and interesting. Rules of writing letters are quite simple. Stick to these and we will be quite happy to print them, if not one week, then the next. • Address your writing to the editor.With "Open letters" to someone else, we always get the feeling of snooping in someone else's mail. • "Thank yous". Please use our card of thanks column in the classified section, or have your group budget for display advertising space, rather than using a letter to the editor. Letters are the place to express opinions and carry on debates. • Bad taste.This is a family newspaper. People can make their points without vulgar language. • Libelous material.To bad mouth someone in public is slander, to do so in print is libel. If we allowed someone's character to be unduly attacked, we are just as subject to a libel suit as the author of the letter. • Illegible and incoherent letters. Our typesetters are renowned for their ability to read bad handwriting. However, the most ideal situation is to have the letter typed and double spaced. Some letters ramble and make no sense, no matter how nimble our mental gymnastics. If we can't make heads or tails out of the letter, we won't make our readers try. If we can edit the letter to make it clear, we will. • Length.This is not the place for a textbook of personal opinion. We suggest that most people can get their point across in fewer than 750 words. Keep it short and to the point. It is in the best interest of the writer for the letter to be interesting and understandable to other readers. • Prose and poetry.We are a newspaper and not a literary magazine. There are places for short stories and poetry. The only time we will publish such material is if the item is, in itself, newsworthy. Winning a competition with a poem or story is a good reason. On occa-sion we will invite such material as we might for our Christmas edition. • Anonymous letters.If the writer doesn't believe the letter is worth signing, we can't believe it is worth reading. The opinion is more valid if the writer is willing to stand behind it. If a person does not want his name to appear, he must make a strong case to us in person. • Unsubstantiated facts.If you want to quote "facts" in the letter, tell us where they come from so readers can check on them. • End of Debate.After we feel all sides of a debate have been thoroughly aired and letters on the subject become repetitive, we will put an end to it. • Local Interest.Any topic is fair play, but letters should be of interest to the people of our community. EDITORIAL POLICIES