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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2008-02-21, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2008.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 $32.00/year ($30.48 + $1.52 G.S.T.) in Canada;$101.00/year in U.S.A.and $175.00/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 Feb. 21, 1962 The town of Cedar Falls, Iowa was taking steps to clean up its skyline and improve their electricity distribution. In an experiment conducted by Municipal Utilities of Cedar Falls in partnership with Northwestern Bell Telephone Co. to see if the idea of underground hydro lines was at all effective. The first subdivision of Cedar Falls was first to put its lines underground, and though the cost was about $10,000, it proved most effective in a following severe ice storm, where 300 overhead services were lost, but no underground lines were affected. Both parties involved in the experiment agreed that underground wiring improved appearance, safety, and customer satisfaction, and did not require high maintenance. Advances to be made now that the idea was accepted would also greatly improve the efficiency of underground electricity. Bobo Rockefeller, 44, announced her engagement to Charles Mapes Jr., 41, in New York. Mapes would be Bobo’s third husband, following her marriage to Winthrop Rockefeller, a famed politician. Feb. 21, 1973 Frozen pipes led to a devastating fire in Auburn. A home was destroyed after an unfortunate accident. The home owner and a local plumber were working on unthawing water pipes in the basement when sparks from a torch they were using started a fire. Everyone from inside the house escaped in time before the fire began to spread. Both Blyth and Lucknow fire brigades were working hard to extinguish the flames but it spread rapidly and soon the structure collapsed. The cold temperatures even affected the firefighters as time was lost while they struggled to get their own water pipes unthawed and in working condition. No one was injured, and the family who lived in the home had moved into a vacant house until their own could be rebuilt. The Blyth Board of Trade was appealing to Blyth council to try to fill the void of community events left by the elimination of the Blyth Agricultural Fair. Council reiterated that the fair was unarguably dead but they would be open to any new ideas for community activity. The Board of Trade planned to contact local organizations and service clubs to determine public interest. Over a thousand people had lined up outside the Huron County Gaol in Goderich to attend an open house at the facility. The huge turnout was due to recent controversy over the possibility that the building would be torn down. About 300 people were upset when they had still not gotten inside by closing time at 5 p.m. After the surprising show of public interest in the landmark, it was decided that the building would not be torn down, at least not until further discussion. Feb. 18, 1981 An overheated woodstove was blamed for a house fire in Blyth. The home owner tried to put out the fire herself before calling the Blyth Fire Department. Damage was confined to the kitchen of the home, but the estimated cost of repair was $8,000, including smoke damage and windows broken for ventilation. Security guards were employed at a number of area rutabaga producers and processors, including at the George Hubbard turnip plant in Blyth. The guards, from Barnes Security Services in London, were checking bills and paperwork before any load of produce was shipped, determining truckers, destinations and buyers. The guards were placed by the Ontario Rutabaga Producers Marketing Board after suspicions were raised regarding illegal low pricing of turnips being shipped from area plants. The official election proclamation was posted on page three of the paper, listing the cut-off date for candidate nominations, as well as the dates for advance polls and election day. The proclamation was signed by Roderick Lewis, Q.C., Chief Election Officer. Feb. 21, 1990 Goderich OPP were investigating two break-ins which occurred at Colborne Central and Brookside Public Schools. The vandals smashed windows and sprayed fire extinguishers throughout the schools. Police did have suspects for both incidents. Feb. 22, 1995 Local residents were being warned by police of a contest scam. People around the area had recently been receiving letters offering them the opportunity to win large amounts of money simply by calling a 1-900 number to confirm the prize. The scamming came into play when the person phoned the number, and was charged $4.99 a minute with a minimum charge of $35. The bill would be increased by putting the caller on hold for several minutes. Police advised residents to ignore any offers of cash rewards in such contests. Playing at the Lyceum Theatre in Wingham was Jungle Book, “the legend comes to life!”. Also playing at the Park Theatre in Goderich was Anthony Hopkins, Aidan Quinn, and Brad Pitt in Legends of the Fall. By Don McCabe, OFA Vice-President, Since its introduction in 1993, the Environmental Farm Plan program has worked with 30,000 Ontario farmers. Through an ongoing lobbying process, funding for the program has been maintained from the federal government. Ontario contributes to the program’s success with technical support. Participating farmers pay a share of the costs for many categories of projects. Interest in the program continues. Statistics show the total number of participants is 11,384 – 6,257 of them new, and 5,127 returning workshop participants, since the inception of the new cost-share program in 2005. The Canada-Ontario Farm Stewardship Program has had 11,185 projects approved, accounting for a total of $52.5 million in federal funding allocated and $39.2 million in federal funding paid – that’s 94 per cent of the available budget. With this level of uptake, it has to be obviousthat Ontario farmers take their responsibility for protecting the environment seriously. Unfortunately, even with this level of commitment from farmers, there is no guarantee the funding partnership with the federal government will always be there. The current agreement expires at the end of March. Representatives from the Ontario Farm Environmental Coalition have been negotiating with government representatives for a new agreement. Late last year we were told the government would be offering an extension agreement that would kick in April 1, theoretically providing for a seamless transition from the current program year to the next. As of today we have heard very little news from either level of government and we are being left completely in the dark. This situation presents problems for farmers wanting to begin new projects under the program. The Ontario Federaion of Agriculture and its partners at OFEC – Ontario Farm Animal Council, AGCare, and the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario – know that farmers are concerned with protecting the environment and we will continue the negotiations with the expectations that funding details will be arranged and farmers will have public support for the projects they get approved - if some level of the government would talk to us! OFA and its partners will continue their efforts to ensure funding is available, and workable details remain part of ongoing EFP projects. It is essential the governments keep up their end of the bargain. 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 Telling half the story Supposedly, we live in the information age, but for some people, like those of us living in rural areas of Canada, it has never been harder to impress the realities of our lives on the national consciousness. As national media becomes more urban centred and urban obsessed, not only do editors and reporters in all media from television to newspapers not think there’s anything to report beyond the suburbs, but they lack the expertise and knowledge to be accurate when they do show some interest. A case in point is a two-page article in The Globe and Mail on Saturday with a headline that said, in part: “It doesn’t matter what you farm, times are good for anyone producing food”. The story really spoke about record high prices currently being offered for wheat, corn, soybeans and canola because of world-wide demand but headline writers, ignorant of rural reality, included all farmers. It’s particularly cruel for livestock farmers whose losses because of current low prices and the reduction of exports due to the high Canadian dollar are made worse by high feed costs because those high grain prices drive up the cost of feed. Elsewhere, the article quotes a foolish strategist with the Bank of Montreal as saying “milk is the new oil”. The problem with this ill-informed media coverage is that it shapes public opinion and public policy. With the perception spread by the media that farmers have never seen such good times, it will be harder for pork and cattle farmers to get the help they need to weather their current crisis (and our rural economy will be affected by their survival). Trying to get a true picture of rural and small-town life in front of the majority of people who live in cities will continue to be a challenge if we hope to get the kind of support our people need.— KR Has the tide turned? Universities are competing to attract students these days, according to some news reports. Perks include assisting with travel expenses to have students tour distant campuses or hand-delivering acceptance offers to some students with very high marks to make them feel special. What’s really needed for many students, of course, is financial assistance to help them afford to go to university. For a decade or more, governments and universities have seemed to shrug and expect students and their parents to pay higher and higher tuition, not to mention living expenses. While some could and have paid, other deserving students quite likely have been frightened off by high costs. If we want a dynamic society where the best rise to the top, we must allow all good students to get an education no matter their financial ability. Hopefully universities may be changing their attitudes. — KR & OFA Commentary