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The Citizen, 2009-07-16, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JULY 16, 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 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 July 22, 1965 St. Ambrose Roman Catholic Church conducted a summer school of religion. Father Mooney obtained the assistance of Sister Cajetan CSJ, Sister Margaret Ann CSJ and Yvonne Connelly to help. The Sisters were teaching specialists of St. Joseph, London and Miss Connelly was on summer leave from her school in Kitchener. The average attendance at the school was 52 children per day. Passing Royal Conservatory of Music exams were: Diane Turnbull, Nellie Baan and Dorothy Elliott, Honours, Grade VII piano; Judy Work, Honours, Grade V, piano; Nellie Baan and Carol Shortreed, First Class Honours, Grade II theory. A headline in The Brussels Post proclaimed “Men in demand in Huron County”. Employment conditions continued “buoyant” in the county with 274 persons registered for unemployment at the end of June, compared to 310 at the same time the previous year. The decrease applied to male applicants. “As anticipated, the influx of university and high school students into the labour market temporarily alleviated shortages of workers.” Campbell Soup Company in Listowel was advertising jobs for “male help”. George Townsend, 18, was selected to represent Huron County at Provincial Leadership Week. A member of the Seaforth 4-H Corn, 4-H Swine and 4-H Dairy Calf Clubs, Townsend was also active in the Seaforth Junior Farmers Club. Showing at Brownie’s Drive-in, Clinton was Send Me No Flowers with Doris Day, Rock Hudson and Tony Randall. July 17, 1974 Hullett Twp. was joining the number of Blyth-area townships to form a recreation committee. Discussions about forming these committees have been underway for some time, spurred by a Blyth resident John Elliott. Huron was not going to be getting a nuclear generation station in the near future. Hydro had for the time being suspended plans for establishing a site for a generating plant near Goderich. A “disgusted Blyth taxpayer” in a letter to the editor suggested that the town not put money into Memorial Hall repairs, but rather to better use. “All this disagreement and bother about the hall is disgusting. It has stood empty for years. What use would it be?” The letter went on to say that “the young of the community are much more important to the future of this town, than a lot of expense to the Hall, which is used very little.” Playing at Brownie’s was “Mind- blowing suspense” in The Day of the Jackal, and Charley Varrick, starring Walter Matthau. At Wingham’s Lyceum Theatre it was Al Pacino in Serpico, while “Butch and the Kid” were back at the Park in Goderich, with Paul Newman, Robert Redford and Katharine Ross starring in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. July 9, 1986 Hullett was hosting Hullett Days for the fourth year. It was a weekend full of events for the whole family, beginning with ball games, and featuring everything from farmer olympics, bed races and mini tractor pulls to talent shows and barbecues. Neil McDonald was chosen to fill the vacancy on Brussels council. There was roller skating every Sunday evening at Blyth arena. Admission was $1. The official relocation grand opening of the Farm Information Centre was attended by MP Murray Cardiff, who cut the ribbon. Canadian Tire in Wingham, celebrated an expansion, with many new products, dealers and a 40 per cent increase in store retail space. July 10, 1996 Brussels council sought a meeting with five north Huron municipalities to discuss where to go next in looking at municipal restructuring. Disappointed with a lack of information from a county strategic planning meeting, councillors felt it would make sense to meet with Blyth, East Wawanosh, Hullett, Morris and Grey. Not only did the cool, damp spring wipe out large portions of the winter wheat crop, but what was healthy enough to grow through the stress was being infested with a toxin-forming fungus. Christie Warwick, RR1, Bluevale had memorable experiences after spending five weeks as a page at the Ontario legislature. Dr. Mark Woldnik was named director of medicine at Huronlea and Huronview, the county homes for the aged. Three seniors, two residents of Hurornlea, Brussels, had more than 300 years of life experience behind them as they celebrated membership in the 100-year-club. Joe Cooper was 102, Jessie Engel turned 100 and Elsie Cunningham also celebrated her 102nd birthday. Jim Armstrong retired after 30 years in education. Peggy Procter, a Blyth Pathfinder was taking a 12-day trip to Nova Scotia to take part in the World Conference for Pathfinders. Husband and wife Rev. James Murray and Rev. Chris Johnston were the new ministers at Duff’s United, Walton and Brussels United Churches respectively. THE EDITOR, To many cottagers who have the privilege of having a lakefront cottage, getting a view of the lake is often a priority. How they get that view can sometimes lead to problems. This is especially applicable to new lakeshore landowners who have not yet experienced the variety of seasons and coastal conditions. Shoreline vistas often mean that vegetation, or other obstruction, is removed. By first understanding the role and function of shoreline vegetation you can be assured you are making an informed decision, while maintaining the integrity of the shoreline environment, and helping to protect the investment made in owning a lakeshore property. In bluff-dominated areas of the shoreline (such as the area from south of Point Clark to Grand Bend), vegetation is a key component to slope stability. Trees in particular provide the deep-rooted structure to the slope that helps to slow erosion and create stability. Of course, that stability is relative. Without the trees, the slopes are much less stable and vulnerable to greater erosion, including landslides. Why then, would someone wish to remove these trees simply to have an unfettered view of the beach? Clear cutting a view is an extreme action, which can often have extreme consequences. Unfortunately, those consequences are not usually restricted to the offenders’ property. Bluff erosion does not respect property boundaries. So, if erosion occurs because someone decides to clear- cut his lake bluff, chances are that his neighbour will share in the erosion experience. Isn’t there a law against this? Not really, other than civil law suits if damage occurs to adjacent lands. If the clear-cutting occurs entirely on private property, there are no federal, provincial or municipal laws that deal with this kind of action. New shoreline regulations of the local conservation authority may provide some control, but are generally associated with altering the site topography. What’s really needed is common sense. Shoreline vistas can usually be achieved through selectively cutting the odd tree or pruning branches to achieve a lake view. True, it’s not the panorama that some seek, but considering the consequences, it is a more measured approach that helps to preserve slope stability. As well, the ecological function of the lake bluff remains intact for 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 Rewarding top down failures Desperate pork producers have been holding rallies across Ontario the past few weeks, pointing out that after four years of low prices, they need financial aid just as much as the auto industry or the financial sector. They’re frustrated because government doesn’t seem to be listening. What they’re learning is a lesson in the realities of the modern economy where large size brings power – even when companies fail. Though the phrase “What’s good for General Motors is good for America” may be a sad irony after the company’s bankruptcy, the American and Canadian governments’ rush to keep the company (and Chrysler too) going was because they were too important to their nations’ economy to be allowed to fail. Governments don’t have the same fear with pork producers – or small business owners of any kind. They may mouth the right words of sympathy but they can still more or less shrug at the losses because, after all, we have been losing pork producers (and other farmers) for years yet our store shelves are still full of food. And this is the way the free enterprise economy is supposed to work. As long as there are a huge number of producers, the government doesn’t need to get involved. But through time as the number of producers drops, especially if we get down to the point where one or two companies come to dominate, the system doesn’t work. In recent years the Wal-Mart business model has been followed: where a company is so powerful it can dictate the rules to its suppliers. Companies this big want government to get out of the way and let them operate by their own rules – but if they get in trouble they are too important to fail and the government must prop them up. This distortion of the “free enterprise” system weakens our economy because it rewards size and market power, not excellence. Our system has been based on the belief the best ideas and the best-run companies will succeed, but government is propping up the failures, while often small, innovative companies (and farmers) are left to go broke. What’s worse, these large companies have succumbed to the top- down philosophy which is convinced that all thinking and innovation comes from the top executives, and employees are just supposed to follow orders. This kind of thinking means that the creativity and knowledge of employees is ignored in favour of the ideas from people at the top who may be ignorant of the actual work that goes on in their own companies. Certainly it may be essential for the government in the short term to pick up the pieces of General Motors and other giants, but in the long run it’s more important to keep the small companies and farmers like the pork producers in business than the too-smart-for-their-own-good giants. We must encourage a system that harnesses the best from many people instead of a system that centralizes power with a few. — KR & Continued on page 7