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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2008-06-12, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JUNE 12, 2008. Looking Back Through the Years June 13, 1962 More than 100 people were in attendance at the Blyth Memorial Hall to hear Farquar Hall, MPP of Grey South. Hall spoke on behalf of Huron Liberal candidate Ernie Fisher on several election issues and concerns. Also in attendance was William Elston, vice-president of the Huron Liberal Association. The election would be the first time in the history of the federal riding of Huron that four candidates would be seeking the seat in Ottawa. They were: Ernie Fisher, Liberal; Elston Cardiff, Conservative; Earl Douglas, Social Credit; and J. Carl Hemingway, New Democratic Party. The last time Huron had even seen three candidates was in 1949 when the federal election was contested by the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation. At the time, the party received less than two per cent of the total vote. The fact that the lesser-known parties had less of a chance of winning the federal nomination was very apparent in the minds of local voters, but their final decision on the matter was yet to be heard. Rare photos of Red China’s leaders had been smuggled out of the country and printed worldwide. The featured two photos were of Mao Tse-tung, the Communist party chairman, and Chou En-lai, the premier of the People’s Republic of China. Six tornadoes swept through western Texas, leaving injuries, casualties, and destruction in its wake. The United Nations Children’s Fund was busy helping with typhus control in Pakistan and other mid- eastern countries and areas with many nomad colonies. Children would be dusted with DDT and talcum powder at ‘de-lousing’ stations on various highways and high-traffic areas. Typhus had long been one of the nomad’s major enemies. June 10, 1981 Blyth students had a very successful run at the area track and field meet. Fifty athletes from Blyth Public School travelled to Seaforth High School to compete in the Central Regional Field Day. Other schools competing there included Hullett, Clinton, Clinton Christian, Seaforth and Huron Centennial. After a hard day of competition Blyth held the top spot with the most wins of all the schools at the meet. Winning athletes were: Dan McDougall, Dave McClinchey, Graham Glousher, Brent and Kevin Scrimgeour, Kevin Lee, Danny McDougall, Lisa MacDonald, Pauline Webster, Selina Hubbard, Nicole Brooks, Julie Howson, Steacy Elliott, Steve and Michelle Aitcheson, Jeff Roetcisoender, Patrick Hulley, Dave Sparling, and John Liebold. A Blyth man was charged with careless driving after rear-ending a vehicle driven by a Brussels resident in front of Queen’s Hotel in Blyth. A passenger in the Brussels vehicle sustained minor injuries. Damages were totalled at $1,800 for both vehicles. Playing at the Mustang Drive-In Theatre in Goderich were Sylvester Stallone in Nighthawks, and Charles Bronson in Borderline. Also playing was Cheech and Chong’s Nice Dreams, Nightwing, and Excalibur: “Forged by a god. Foretold by a wizard. Found by a King.” June 13, 1990 Jack Riddell, long-serving MPP of Huron, would be retiring. He held a press conference at his home in Dashwood to announce that he would not be running as a candidate in the upcoming provincial election. He did suggest, however, that there was more work to be done to improve the plight of rural Ontario and that he was interested in continuing to work towards that goal. The Blyth Festival opened its 16th theatre season with all new plays and events. The opening would also celebrate the new $1.8 million expansion of Memorial Hall and Festival facilities. In attendance would be: Helen Gowing, the only original board member of the Blyth Centre for the Arts; Murray Cardiff, MP for Huron-Bruce; Lionel Wilder, warden of Huron County; Albert Wasson, reeve of Blyth; Jack Riddell, MPP for Huron and Russell Wilson, an honorary member of the Board of the Centre for the Arts. The featured guest speaker would be Peter Gzowski, the popular host of CBC’s national radio show Morningside, as well as author of several Canadian best-selling novels. June 14, 1995 The Citizen was awarded the Blue Ribbon in the general excellence class for tabloids with a circulation under 3,000 in the Canadian Community Newspapers Associa- tion’s Better Newspapers Competi- tion. To achieve a Blue Ribbon, a newspaper must have placed in the top one-third of all competitors. Helen Johns of Exeter was declared the new provincial government representative for Huron County, taking 46 per cent of the overall vote. A Progressive Conservative candidate, Johns beat out Liberal candidate John Jewitt of Londesborough, and New Democratic Party candidate Paul Klopp. Letter to the editor 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 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 TO CIRCULATION DEPT. PO BOX 152 BRUSSELS ON N0G 1H0 email: norhuron@scsinternet.com 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 & THE EDITOR, I am a concerned parent of children who attend Brussels Public School. This year a decision was made to not hand out placement ribbons to the track and field winners. Instead all students received participation ribbons. I don’t understand why both placement and participation ribbons couldn’t be handed out. Much like academics, some students work harder than others and deserve to be recognized. The principal, Mr. Carr told me recognition is given by the top athletes going on to district competition and in the newspaper. However, most elementary students want to be recognized by the ribbon they wear on their shirt that day. Having three children I understand it hurts to see our children disappointed. However, learning to deal with that is a fundamental part of raising healthy and successful children. It is our parental responsibility to help guide them through difficult situations and teach them how to deal with it emotionally. As well, children need to learn to be happy for their classmates’ successes. Placement ribbons serve as more than just recognition to top athletes. They serve as encouragement for others to strive and be better. Placement ribbons are as important to the participants as they are to those who win them. They hold a strong message. A message that should not be silenced in a society of obese children. With these kids, it is all about their desire, their hard work and their determination. When my children win a race or jump the furthest, they did it on their own. Academic awards and rewards can be handed out to children who delivered the best speech their mom wrote or the best Remembrance Day poster their dad designed. Athletic scholarships are given out to top high school athletes to academically further themselves, yet here we are slowly downsizing the importance of such events. I know I am one upset parent out of a community full of them. I hope all concerned address this to Mr. Carr. It not only affects the kids participating in track today, it affects all children at BPS. If we allow this change today, it will be the new future. Turning back is very hard to do. To take away awards and rewards is to have kids give less of themselves. It encourages them to be less than what they can be because in the end, no matter how hard they work, they will all be awarded the same. Shelly Ducharme. They don’t get it This week’s heat and torrential downpours illustrate the complexity of global food issues. While local farmers who have their crops planted probably benefitted from lots of moisture and heat, those who have suffered through a frustrating spring planting season could see only more delays, and indeed might have wondered if they’ll get their crops planted to take advantage of this year’s attractive prices. While television newscasts and newspaper headlines continue to talk about a world food shortage, the effect of this weather on the food supply is totally lost in media coverage. Stories on heat are illustrated by people broiling themselves on beaches. The floods that have struck the U.S. are told from the point of view of personal hardship and property damage. There’s no understanding that, as a result of one of the world’s most productive farming areas being under water, people somewhere in the world are likely to go hungry this year. Instead, the focus of many articles is the need to cut subsidies to ethanol, as if politics and policies were the only factors in rising food prices that are making it hard for people in poor nations to eat properly. The growing gap between urban and rural is becoming increasingly dangerous when perceptions and policies controlled by urban decision- makers bear no resemblance to the on-the-ground reality of food production. The national media as the medium of collecting and transferring information essential to make intelligent decisions, should be the bridge over this gap. In many cases, through ignorance of what goes on beyond the suburbs or down-right willfulness, the media is making the situation worse, not better. Recently the Globe and Mail, for instance, tried to use the world food crisis as a stick to beat one of its favourite drums — the need to abolish farm marketing boards. Farm marketing boards have nothing to do with Third World hunger and everything to do with keeping Canadian farmers producing food for Canadians. Food and agriculture issues are crucial to the survival of mankind, yet without intelligent coverage, public pressure on politicians may force them to make bad decisions. Explaining food production requires more than the simplistic, sound-bite coverage offered by popular media. Urbanites are so isolated from the natural process that it’s hard to understand the realities of getting food to their plates. Recently regional media spoke with orchard owners who had lost most of their cherry and apple crops this year because of untimely cold weather at blossom time. The reality of this won’t sink in for most consumers who can still expect to see cherries and apples in their stores at the appropriate season, imported from somewhere in the world. It may be poor consumers elsewhere, who can’t afford to compete with our ability to buy what we want, when we want it, who will go hungry as a result. Voters and politicians must have access to accurate information to make intelligent decisions on food. The media is failing at this job.— KR