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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2008-07-03, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2008. Looking Back Through the Years July 4, 1962 The SRN2 Hovercraft seemed almost ghostlike in its movement to spectators during a demonstration of the newly-designed model on the Solent, the channel between southern England and the Isle of Wight. The craft, which rode on a cushion of air one foot over the water, was capable of speeds over 70 miles per hour. with its four jet turbine engines. It was designed to carry 75 people but could only operate on calm water. A very special fence was designed and erected surrounding the old log cabin which had once been the home of General Ulysses S. Grant, located on Grant’s Farm, Missouri. The fence had been made entirely of dismantled barrels of over 2,500 Civil War rifles. In Madrid, Spain, there were worries and rumours flying everywhere about the state of the nation’s government. Generalissimo Franco, who was 69 years old at the time, had just suffered a stroke, and in addition, was planning to restore the monarchy. The most likely candidate for the successorship appeared to be Franco’s son, Prince Juan Carlos, whose face had long been plastered across every tabloid magazine in the country, along with that of his new bride, Princess Sophia of Greece. Despite the rumours, however, Franco had yet to have made any sort of solid announcement, other than to reassure the nation of his health and wellbeing. July 1, 1981 Huron County council was proud to say that they planned to plant a minimum of 1,000 new trees across the area. For some time the council had been concerned about the number of applications for exemption from the new tree cutting bylaw, and it was hoped that making sure more trees were being replanted would ensure that the environment in Huron was still being well looked after. Three men who had botched plans to rob the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Auburn branch pled guilty to conspiring to rob. Two Kincardine men, and another from Elliott Lake, were remanded out of custody until their next court date in Goderich. They were arrested when witnesses told police two masked men, one carrying a shotgun, were seen near the bank but there was no robbery. July 4, 1990 Candidates had begun lining up for the Liberal nomination in the Huron riding after long-time Huron MPP Jack Riddell announced his intention to retire when the next provincial election was called. First to declare his intention to run for the position was Crediton high school teacher Dave McClure, followed by Jim Fitzgerald, former executive assistant to Mr. Riddell, and Fred Lobb, a long-time farm machinery dealer and fire chief from Clinton. A woman sustained minor injuries as the result of a car accident that occurred at the junction of Hwys. 4 and 86, just south of Wingham. The 52-year-old Blyth resident was southbound on Hwy. 4 when her vehicle was struck by a car driven by a Hamilton woman. Both women were taken to hospital with minor injuries, along with an 80 -year-old passenger in the Hamilton vehicle. The Hamilton woman was charged with failing to yield. Long-time Canada Post employee Marie Heffron announced her retirement after 35 years of delivering the mail to rural Blyth. In retirement, she hoped to travel more and take it easy. Pat Brigham would be taking over the route, and would also be taking over two other rural routes in Blyth. Blyth residents were preparing for yet another dog show season. Campers, trailers, and visitors galore were arriving for the annual Bluewater Kennel Club dog show, held in Blyth for three days at the Campgrounds. The event always attracted people from across the area as well as areas far removed. Brussels residents had surprise visitors for the long weekend when a group of hang gliders and their power glider tow plane dropped in. The group of 10 flyers, from the Grand Valley Hang Gliding Shop and the K-W Hang Gliding Club, were in the area for a competition, and stopped at the Brussels airstrip. June 21, 1995 Brussels native Anita Little was one of the members of Team Ontario, who competed at the National Youth Dart competition. Anita was sponsored by the Blyth Legion Branch. Playing at the Park Theatre in Goderich was Congo: “Where you are the endangered species.” THE EDITOR, In Ontario, many farms function uniquely as both a workplace and a home. However for children, the entire farm may be seen as their place to explore and play. It takes time and guidance for them to recognize and understand the risks that surround them. It is not always possible to provide close supervision on the farm. One solution to this challenge is to provide a designated and well- designed Safe Play Area. A Safe Play Area physically limits the child’s exposure to hazards on the farm. Under adult supervision the child can safely experience the stimulation that play provides for growth within a safer environment. The Farm Safety Association has always stressed child safety and awareness in our activities. The Safe Play Area Grant Program is part of the 2008 child safety campaign. Funding to cover expenses up to the first $500 is available to help farm owners build a Safe Play Area on their farm property. The Safe Play Area Grant Program is intended for a family farm. There will be up to 100 grants provided in 2008. Details, guidelines and applications available at www.farmsafety.ca/pages/grants.html Jane Muegge Regional Information Co-ordinator Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Rural Affairs. Examining ‘net benefit’ In a few weeks time eight jobs will be lost in Huron County that were supported by the readers and advertisers of The Citizen and its sister publications The Rural Voice and Stops Along the Way visitors’ guide because the county plant that prints the publications is closing. The corporation that owns the printing plant has decided it can maximize its profits by laying off these workers, closing the plant and moving all the printing to a plant two hours drive away. This kind of reality is a relevant small-scale illustration of the thinking behind the “Compete to Win” report released to the federal government last week by a panel of business leaders. It urges rules be loosened for foreign investment and bank mergers. While there’s been a criteria currently that a company taking over a Canadian corporation must demonstrate the deal will have a net benefit for Canada, the study says the onus should be on the government to prove that the purchase will be detrimental to Canada before it can block the sale. But who will benefit — that’s the question? In a smaller, local example of the multinational “big-picture” ideas the report deals with, look at that local printing plant. At one point, each town and village had a newspaper that was owned and printed locally. Changing technology in the late 1960s and early 1970s led to centralizing of the printing in one modern, large-capacity printing plant to serve all the newspapers in the region. The communities served had better newspapers because the new technology allowed more space for more complete coverage. Eventually, the county-based owner of that printing plant also bought many of the newspapers he printed. His company became a major employer, with dozens of printers, reporters, advertising salespeople, and people managing and administering the empire, though the community served by each of the papers lost jobs. Then that owner sold to a large corporation. Immediately all the management and payroll staff were laid off and the work was moved to corporate headquarters. The dollars these people once spent in local communities was siphoned off to support the urban economy where the jobs were now located. Local subscribers and advertisers saw their money exported instead of being recycled in the community. But the astonishing profit expectations of the corporation brought a thirst for more cuts and now the printing plant will be closed and those jobs also shifted. More dollars that were once put back into the community to support local merchants, tradespeople and home builders who would in turn advertise in the local paper are now vacuumed into a different economic pool. The high profit expectations have squeezed the available space in newspapers so that coverage is reduced. On a global basis, we’ve seen the same scenario writ large. Who has benefitted by globalization? Definitely shareholders of major corporations that can now seek whatever location in the world will maximize their profit. If they can find workers who will work for $2 a day instead of $30 an hour, then they’ll take the work there. Consumers benefit, at least in the short-run, because cheaper labour means the price of products stays stable or even drops, meaning we can have more “toys” in our homes — as long as we keep our jobs. It can be argued that globalization helps redistribute the world’s wealth. Incomes in Third World countries rise because of new jobs. But all that transportation only adds to the environmental problems of the world so the economic gains are offset by environmental losses. What is the net benefit of a company being bought out by distant owners? One suspects the authors of “Compete to Win” might see what’s good for the corporations as good for Canada, but it’s a lot more complicated than they would have us believe. — KR 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. 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