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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2008-07-17, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JULY 17, 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/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 Letter to the editor July 18, 1962 The C.P.R. discontinued its passenger services between Goderich and Guelph, and would also be inaugerating an alternative highway service to accomodate for express shipments for business purposes. President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy met with Mexican President Adolfo Lopez Mateos in Mexico City. Mrs. Rosemary Weildinger became the forty-first woman to become a member of the “Whirly- Girls”, an international organization of qualified women helicopter pilots. The group was also helping in empowering women across the world to pursue their goals, no matter how non-traditional the occupation. Jack Nicklaus, golfer extraordinaire, was successful in winning the prestigious U.S. Open tournament. Comedian Jerry Lewis called police when $185 000 worth of jewelry was stolen from his hotel room. It was well insured but the worry was of the jewelry’s sentimental value to Lewis’s wife, who he described as “a very emotional Italian woman who takes these things seriously.” The police were unable to find any suspects, and Lewis was forced to deal with accusations from the press that the event had been nothing but a publicity stunt. “There are people who think no real things happen to people in our business,” he said while appearing as host of ‘The Tonight Show’, “They think everything is phony.” July 15, 1981 The Blyth Bantam baseball team came in as the runners up at the George Radford Memorial Bantam Boys softball tournament. They were defeated by the Mitchell team 8-3 in the grand championship game. Members of the team were: Gerry Hakkers, Todd McDonald, Kevin Lee, Kent Howatt, Larry Good, Mike Chalmers, Brent Brooks, Calvin Mackers, and Donald Good. Coaching the team was Gary Hesselwood. Pat Cronin won the trophy for most valuable player for the tournament. Playing at the Park Theatre in Goderich was Harrison Ford in the classic Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark: “Indiana Jones-the new hero from the creators of Jaws and Star Wars.” Also playing at the Mustang Drive-In was George Hamilton in Zorro, The Gay Blade: “Zexy, Zany, Zensational!”, as well as Dom DeLuise, Anne Bancroft, Ron Carey and Candice Azzara in Fatso. The opening of Anne Chislett’s play ‘Quiet in the Land’at the Blyth Festival left audiences speechless, and became considered the big hit of the season. Anne Chislett was better known as Anne Roy, wife of James, and co-founder of the Blyth Summer Festival. The Solicitor General of Canada announced that police had been directed to step up enforcement of the seat belt legislation. Citing a decline in seat belt use, the Solicitor indicated that a program of public education had failed to convince the population that they should indeed be using seat belts. It was indicated also in the announcement that about 300 lives had been saved, on average, each year since the legislation was passed in 1976. July 18, 1990 An 18 month-old Walton girl tragically lost her life in two feet of water. The toddler drowned after slipping into a trough of water on her family’s farm. She was playing outside with her sisters when the incident occurred. After being enlisted by the girl’s mother to help search for her, it was her grandfather who found her only minutes after she had fallen in. Efforts were made to revive the girl, and she was rushed to hospital but she was pronounced dead upon arrival. The Belgrave Kinsmen Club revealed plans to build a new front to the Belgrave arena following a meeting of East Wawanosh township taxpayers. They would be building a new community facility while the township continued work on a new 1728 square foot office building in Belgrave. July 19, 1995 Devastating winds blew through northern Huron County, resulting in the loss of hydro for many area residents. Ontario Hydro pulled help in from Toronto, London, Guelph, Simcoe, Newmarket and Barrie to assist in repairs, but the Barrie team was forced to return home after tornadoes reportedly hit their own area. With the large amount of aid and co-operation, it was hoped that all hydro would be back up by the end of the week. The Wingham Ontario Provincial Police was investigating a series of break-ins which occurred in Belgrave. Police stated that three residences of Belgrave were entered and attempts were made to enter an additional four residences and their vehicles. The break-ins resulted in the theft of personal property, money, and credit cards totalling approximately $15,000. One resident even witnessed their own vehicle being driven away in the middle of the night, although it was later recovered. The public was asked to come forward with any information they might have. THE EDITOR, The Healthy Babies Healthy Children program would like to express thanks for the great support of the Avon Maitland District School Board, Huron Perth Catholic District School Board, Best Start of Huron, Rural Response for Healthy Children and the Ontario Early Years Centre in bringing international speaker Dr. Jean Clinton to Huron County. Dr. Clinton spoke to the general public, parents and service providers about the first three years in a child’s life being very important to brain development. Dr. Clinton is well known in her work in child development. We were fortunate to bring her to Huron County. The event was part of the 10th anniversary in Huron County of Healthy Babies, Healthy Children – a program of the Huron County Health Unit. Our program helps families with the healthy growth and development of their children. We would not have had such a successful event and celebration without our great community partners. Marilyn King Healthy Babies, Healthy Children Co-ordinator. 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 Everyone must benefit Premier Dalton McGuinty made a decision Monday that may be good for the planet, but what will the result be for people living in the northern parts of Ontario? Acting on the advice of 1,500 scientists from 50 countries who last year called on Canadian federal, provincial and territorial governments to protect the 5.6 million square kilometres of boreal forest in Canada, which holds about 186 billion tonnes of carbon, the premier vowed to protect the 225,000 square kilometers at the top of Ontario that make up 40 per cent of the province’s land mass. But what does it mean for the 24,000 people, many of them Native peoples, who live in the area? While the premier has said the First Nations people will be consulted on when, where and if mining development is allowed in this region, and will be given a piece of the action if it is allowed, it remains to be seen if residents will benefit. One of the difficulties of the region is that it’s so isolated that Native communities have few economic resources. Hunting and fishing aren't enough to support families any more. People are left with too much time and too little work and money. They have lived in poverty and often turned to gas sniffing or alcohol to relieve their boredom and frustration. If the Premier can keep his promise of a delicate balance that will allow developments that provide income and give control to the people of the region while still protecting the precious resource of the boreal forests, then he will be making a huge step in two different directions at the same time. Too often, however, the local interests are sacrificed for the good of the majority. In southern Ontario, for instance, protecting farmland has gone to the ridiculous extreme that creating two lots from farmland at the edge of Blyth is prohibited by provincial policies while thousands of acres of farmland in the Toronto area are gobbled up by houses and factories every year. But what’s the sense of protecting farmland if farmers can’t afford to farm it? The Premier mused last week that he might rethink his government’s plan to mandate 10 per cent ethanol content in gasoline because public opinion sees ethanol as responsible for a rise in food prices. But ethanol or no ethanol, food prices had to increase because farmers were losing money producing food (net farm income in all of Canada in 2005 was a negative amount). What’s more, even with the increased prices, rising expenses for fuel, fertilizer and electricity, will eat up much of farmers’ extra income. For the long-run good of society we need to protect farmland that will grow our food in the future. We also need to protect the boreal forest that absorbs so much of the carbon dioxide pumped into the air by the industries of the south. But the long-run good of society shouldn’t be served at the cost of the farmers and rural residents of the farmland belt, or the isolated Native residents of Ontario’s northlands. They can’t be expected to sacrifice their expectations for a decent life to benefit others. If Premier McGuinty can manage to serve both interests, protect forest and farm and still properly reward the people of these regions, he will indeed be a great leader. Nobody’s managed it before. — KR & Letters Policy The Citizen welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must be signed and should include a daytime telephone number for the purpose of verification only. Letters that are not signed will not be printed. Submissions may be edited for length, clarity and content, using fair comment as our guideline. The Citizen reserves the right to refuse any letter on the basis of unfair bias, prejudice or inaccurate information. As well, letters can only be printed as space allows. Please keep your letters brief and concise.