Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2009-01-08, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 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 TOCIRCULATION DEPT. PO BOX 152 BRUSSELS ON N0G 1H0 email: norhuron@scsinternet.com Letter to the editor Jan. 7, 1965 The Horticultural Society awarded the community of Brussels as a whole, giving honourable mention to the residents for decorating their homes and businesses “so beautifully” for the Christmas season. In addition to individual efforts, the main street was also decorated with Santa and his reindeer, the light standards with tiny trees, Christmas lights and candy canes made it “a pleasure to drive through Brussels. Mr. and Mrs. Bryans of Brussels celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary in Wingham with a family dinner. The New Year’s Eve party at the Brussels Legion was filled to capacity. Of the party, The Brussels Post said “It was crowded to capacity with not an extra square foot to twist in.” Brussels had been experiencing some mild weather around the holidays, leading The Post to express how fortunate the residents should feel that the arena had now been furnished with an artificial ice surface. The arena would be idle, the report said, but due to the ice surface, hockey, broomball, skating, figure skating and curling were all in full swing. Local shops were empty and the main street was “quiet and peaceful due to the end of the holiday shopping season”. Shopkeepers, however, were busy with year-end inventory. Potential customers were warned, “If [shopkeepers] are somewhat curt in manner, please forgive them, for they are absorbed in a pesky, monotonous task.” Jan. 3, 1974 The Blyth Standard looked back on 1973, calling it a seemingly uneventful year at first glance, but that reporting many important events took place upon further inspection. The year’s first local baby was born to Mr. and Mrs. Szusz of Blyth. A letter to the editor thanked the residents of Huron County for their patience and understanding in dealing with the teacher protest of Dec. 18, 1973. There was concern, the letter said, that human rights would be infringed upon and that legal contracts would be tampered with. In the late stages of 1973 an energy crisis and severe inflation sent the stock market and local businesses into a panic over a possible recession in 1974. However, the report said, “One wonders, however, how long it will be until businessmen smarten up and realize the only thing to fear is fear itself. If everyone is afraid and gets too cautious in spending, there sure as heck will be a recession. On the other hand, if all businessmen looked confidently into the coming year determined to continue to think big, the economy would continue to expand as it did last year.” Jan. 1, 1986 This would be the last issue of The Citizen that residents would receive for free. An initial free distribution period for residents from Hwy. 86 to just south of Londesborough and from the edge of Dungannon to just east of Ethel had come to an end with the first issue of 1986. The report called the response to subscriptions “outstanding” saying nearly half of the residents in the area had applied for subscriptions. The first issue of 1986 also marked the beginning of The Citizen’s Citizen Of The Year awards. The awards began in order to give a small reward to the many people in the community who work so many hours to make the community work. Jan. 3, 1996 The first baby born in mid- western Ontario in 1996 was local. The little girl, born to Sheri and Michael McIntyre of RR1 Brucefield, became granddaughter to grandparents from Dungannon and Lucknow. Over the course of its festive RIDE program, Wingham OPP officers charged just one driver with impaired driving and suspending three licences for 12 hours. This was down from the five impaired charges laid in 1994. Plans were well underway for the 1997 Brussels Homecoming, but the committee was still searching for a theme. The committee decided to seek the public’s assistance and dedicated a box at the post office to theme suggestions from Brussels and area residents. A letter to the editor informed readers that the Huron County Junior Farmers had been forced to fold. The Huron group was at the time set to amalgamate with the Perth County Junior Farmers. The downturn in registration (limited by age, 15 to 30) was attributed to members seeking post- secondary education or employment in city centres outside of the county and not choosing to seek a living in agriculture. Neil McGavin also announced in a letter to the editor that Huron County would be bidding to host the 1999 International Plowing Match at a site in Dashwood. THE EDITOR, The communities of Blyth, Goderich and surrounding areas have come together to help a family in need. When the Life Centre in Goderich issued a request a couple of months ago asking for help for one of our clients, we never dreamed we would get the response we have received from this community. A few months ago, a young mother found herself suddenly alone and pregnant with triplets and she worried that she would not have the resources necessary to care for her new family. Fortunately she was referred to the Life Centre where she was offered whatever aid was available. With limited resources the Centre then appealed to the community for assistance and since then has been astounded by the kindness and generosity of this community and the surrounding areas. Trinity Christian Reformed Church sponsored one year of formula. Bethel Assembly is supplying one year of diapers. St. Vincent de Paul made a donation of a washer and dryer. Victoria St. United Church Women and St. Anne’s Catholic Secondary School offered cash donations, while there has been continuous financial sup- port from the Goderich and Kingsbridge Women’s Leagues and there is on-going generous support from the Goderich Knights of Columbus. Many individuals from Blyth, Goderich and area have been equally as generous flooding our office with monetary donations as well as baby clothes, blankets, toys, books and various other items. They have donated time and resources to clean house, feed babies and prepare meals. Although delivered slightly earlier than anticipated for medical reasons the triplets are all thriving and their mother is doing well thanks to the generosity and support of such a caring community. Thank you to everyone for the lives you have blessed with your kindness. The Staff of Goderich & District Pro-Life, The Life Centre 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 Right argument, wrong time The sad death of Whitby Dunlops hockey player Don Sanderson from a head injury when his head hit the ice during a hockey fight, has raised the issue of fighting in hockey again. There should be a serious discussion of the place of fighting in hockey but, at the risk of supporting the dubious wisdom of Don Cherry, this tragedy hardly seems to be cause for that debate. Sanderson was wearing a helmet. The helmet came off. He fell and hit his head on the ice and was fatally injured. The fact he was fighting is one element in the string of misfortune. Still Cherry, who accused fighting opponents of capitalizing on Sanderson’s tragedy, would have done the same thing if an argument could be made to support his favourite bug-bears like wearing helmets in the first place or wearing visors on those helmets. And whether or not fighting was a direct cause of Sanderson’s death, it’s time to stop glorifying this reprehensible side of the game. The media in general, not just Cherry, loves to feature fights, even when they involve players known for their skill and grace like Sydney Crosby. This, in turn, influences young hockey players who are exposed to their heroes fighting from the time they lace up their skates for the first time. Often their coaches have bought into this vision of the game as well. There are those, Cherry included, who argue that hockey is a fast, physical game and fighting is an inevitable and necessary outlet for the frustrations that arise. This makes as much sense as saying a husband has the right to an outlet for his frustrations at work in hitting his wife. The same sort of thinking would say that war is a legitimate solution when two countries have a dispute. Cherry and others legitimize the use of violence and brute force with their arguments. Hockey is too good a sport to be marred by fighting. While Don Sanderson’s death may not be the proper reason, it’s still time to stop this shameful practice. — KR We’re all right Jim Federal finance minister Jim Flaherty met Monday with Canada’s top bankers in Toronto, but after the meeting, the Canadian Bankers Association said it will continue its “prudent” lending policies and won’t make it easier for people to borrow money to buy the things that may stimulate the economy in these troubled times. The bankers cite the health of the Canadian banking system compared to international banks and credit their long-term prudence for not lending recklessly as the banks did. Yet they were happy to have the federal government buy up as much as $75 billion in mortgages and backstop more than $200 billion in interbank loans in its attempt to keep credit flowing in Canada. When the Bank of Canada dropped its lending rate, the banks scooped up half the reduction and kept it for themselves. The banks claim their caution is to protect the investments of depositors, but more likely they’re concerned with protecting their profits and the bonuses for executives. They must play a part in encouraging an economic recovery or their profits will be hurt anyway. — KR &