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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2007-07-05, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JULY 5, 2007.EditorialsOpinions Publisher, Keith Roulston Editor, Bonnie GroppAdvertising, Ken Warwick & Kelly Quesenberry 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 ($30.19 + $1.81 G.S.T.) in Canada;$92.00/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 July 5, 1950 The University of Chicago Clinics made an unusual discovery, one which would be sure to help surgery rooms all over the world. As an experiment, the school’s surgeons started playing music during surgery in an attempt to alleviate patient tensions. The trials worked so well that they have now introduced the music method to all of the operating rooms in their hospitals, and hope to encourage others to do the same. The patient would be given a choice of music to listen to while under local anesthesia. The music would be played non-stop for as long as the operation continued, audible only to the patient and not to the surgeons at hand. The music was supposed to reduce restlessness by distracting the patient from all the clicking instruments and other common medical sounds. Audie Murphy, actor and decorated Second World War veteran, had given away all of his 21 medals to children across the country. His Congressional Medal of Honour, the most prized award in the United States, was given to Murphy’s nephew Weldon Burns, eight. His reasoning was that “there are too many guys who should have gotten medals and never did,” and therefore giving them to the youth would hopefully spread the honour. July 5, 1961 The graduating class of 1961 from Blyth Public School was as follows: Keith Cartwright, Betty Jean Cook, Grant Elliott, Glenna Gowing, Emma Gregory, Tom Heffron, Josephine van Lemmeren, Terry Madill, John Martin, George McClinchey, David Medd, Melvin Riehl and Donald Scrimgeour. The United States had a leak of information on their hands. U.S. counter-spy Karel Hlasny was pictured entering a restaurant in San Francisco with two large briefcases, full of highly classified information. A few moments later, Czechoslovakian diplomat Miroslav Nacvalac was pictured entering the same restaurant, most likely to receive information from Hlasny. The U.S. charged that on six different occasions these men met in San Francisco for the exchange of classified information, Nacvalac paying upwards of $1,700 for what he believed was espionage material. Hlasny also worked as an instructor at the Army Language School in Monterey, California. The United States demanded that Nacvalac be recalled as a diplomat. President John F. Kennedy was photographed using crutches after an injury to his leg. President Kennedy was out on a cruise on the presidential yacht, the Honey Fitz, for a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Hayato Ikeda. The ruins of a Peruvian landmark Machu Picchu was scheduled as the site of a seven-month folk festival, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the site’s discovery. The magnificent collection of palaces, sacred temples, gabled houses, elaborate plazas, and massive stone stairways and walls was unknown to the world, even to Peru itself, until it was discovered by Yale professor Hiram Bingham, high in the Andes mountains. The site was once the stronghold of the Inca peoples in ancient times. Hollywood film director Dino De Laurentiis spent thousands of dollars filming a shocking scene for his film Barabbas which was sure to cause controversy. The scene, which was called the “most beautiful and moving sequence to reach the screen”, was of three men being crucified against the backdrop of a real-life solar eclipse. De Laurentiis spent over $16,000, all on a gamble that such a phenomenon could be captured on film. July 5, 1972 Festivities continued as the Brussels Centennial celebrations really got underway. An open-air church service drew a large crowd to Victoria Park to listen to a sermon given by Rev. C.A. McCarroll, of Melville Presbyterian Church. There was also a variety show scheduled, but it was moved indoors due to inclement weather. Also happening was a beard competition, as well as the much anticipated Centennial Parade down Turnberry Street, a village barbeque, and the Centennial Queen pageant. The black 1964 Pontiac sedan which had been stolen from a Grey Twp. residence was returned. It was found by police in a Morris Twp. gravel pit. Unfortunately, the car had been completely destroyed by fire, and the Ontario Provincial Police were still searching for the culprits responsible. July 6, 1988 Officers of the Wingham OPP detachment discovered one of the largest marijuana cultivations which had ever been reported in the area. Approximately 800 plants, with a projected street value of over $150,000, were found in a secluded area of Grey Twp. The landowner made the call after discovering the plants on his property. Four culprits were charged in the incident. The parties were scheduled to appear in Wingham provincial court. Playing at the Lyceum Theatre was BIG, starring Tom Hanks. Also playing, at Brownie’s Drive-In was John Candy in The Great Outdoors. By Geri Kamenz, President Ontario Federation of Agriculture Ontario agriculture singing in harmony is quite the chorus. Everyone had the same script and the same key messages when they spoke at the meeting of Canada’s agriculture ministers in Whistler, B.C., recently. The provincial minister, the Hon. Leona Dombrowsky, performed the lead role in Ontario’s presentation during the session. Minister Dombrowsky has embraced the call for flexibility in risk management programming in Ontario. Federal Minister Strahl was probably as astonished as some of the other provincial ministers with the degree of solidarity shown by Ontario’s agricultural leaders and their minister. The call for flexibility in programming is supported by all Ontario farmers, and many of the other provinces attending the Whistler meeting also want program flexibility – something to meet the needs of as many producers as possible. The Canadian Federation of Agriculture organized a round-table meeting for representatives attending the Whistler meeting. The plan was to have federal, provincial and territorial representatives, both government and farmers, sit face-to-face and talk about the industry’s needs in agricultural programming. There was a strong message for the federal government that the transition to the next generation of Agricultural Policy Framework programming must be smooth and consistent with what farmers and their organizations have been seeking. The transition must be seamless, without interruption to valued programs such as the Environmental Farm Plan. The Whistler meeting also brought Canada’s supply management organizations together in a repeated call, echoed by Minister Dombrowsky, for the federal government to negotiate the best deal possible for all Canadian agriculture. It’s not satisfactory for the federal government to back away from World Trade Organization negotiations claiming a 2005 motion in the House of Commons limits its ability to negotiate. We believe Canada’s balanced position in world trade is achievable, and expect our negotiators to strongly present that position on behalf of our farmers. Minister Strahl and his staff need to embrace flexibility in their thinking when it comes to programs to meet the needs of farmers. It remains inappropriate for him to continue 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 power of the pension Last week, in the largest takeover battle in Canadian history, the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board won ownership of BCE Inc., the country’s largest telecommunications company. Beaten out in the bidding was the Canada Pension Fund Investment Board, which represents all of us who pay into CPP every week. It shows again just how powerful the pension funds of Canadians have become. The Teachers Pension Fund is one of the biggest players in Canadian business (rivaled by the Ontario Municipal Employees pension fund). It already owns such high-profile companies as Maple Leaf Sport and Entertainment (Toronto Maple Leafs) and Maple Leaf Foods. It’s a new kind of public ownership at a time when government investment in companies is no longer acceptable. Each teacher in Ontario now owns a chunk of these large corporations, just as each taxpayer would in a crown corporation. The relatively small contributions of each individual combine to create a powerful force in the market. It’s a lesson Quebec learned before the rest of the country. Using the Quebec Pension Plan (its version of CPP), it invested in Quebec-based companies to give them the equity to compete globally. But there’s a downside to this trend. As pension funds try to come up with the money needed to support generous pension payouts expected of today’s retirees, they require ever-higher returns on their investments, driving companies to shift work off shore and lay off Canadian workers. Still, the power of the pension is a lesson rural communities can also learn: small contributions from many residents can provide the financial muscle to get things done in our communities. — KR Ignoring the reality National Hockey League officials must have overdosed on watching the movie Field of Dreams. Brainwashing themselves with the mantra that “if you build it, they will come”, the NHL insists on placing teams in U.S. markets that have never had an interest in hockey while ignoring Canadian cities thirsting for teams. When Kitchener-Waterloo billionaire Jim Balsillie attempted to buy the Nashville Predators and move them to Hamilton, the NHL made its displeasure known to a degree that the current owner pulled out of the deal and took less money to sell to an owner who would relocate the team to Kansas City, a location the NHL favoured. Earlier the NHL also blocked Balsillie’s attempt to buy and move the Pittsburgh Penquins. The NHL still has visions of a lucrative U.S. television contract dancing in its head. Meanwhile it spits on the people who really support hockey: the Canadians who go to games, who already have a lucrative TV contract and who pay to develop most of its star players.— KR & Commentary Continued on page 14