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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2007-11-01, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2007.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 ($30.19 + $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 Nov. 1, 1950 Cranbrook farmer Stanley Fischer faced a serious hand injury following an accident on his farm. Fischer was taking out brush with a tractor in some of the forested area on his property when his hands became caught between a chain and a tree trunk. His thumbs were seriously torn and crushed. It was determined that much treatment and rehabilitation would be needed for him to regain full use of his hands. The Puerto Rican Police Force was attempting to better aid in lowering the number of youth delinquents. The police had created the Puerto Rican Police Athletic League, and sponsored 20,000 children to attend. These former juvenile delinquents were given the opportunity to job shadow various positions of the policing force and gave them constructive activities to do, instead of not-so-constructive activity that might occur otherwise. The National Institute of Health and Lederle Laboratories jointly announced that they had successfully developed a vaccine to combat mumps. The vaccine was proven to immunize the recipient for a year after two injections. Cultivated in chick embryos, the vaccine had been experimentally tested on 1,600 volunteers, and it was expected to be administered to any children involved in summer camps, orphanages, schools or other institutions which brought large groups of children together. The tire warning device was being introduced to consumers, and was expected to greatly benefit any vehicle owner. The device, when placed on the valve stem of an automobile tire, would whistle loudly when air pressure dropped to dangerous levels. Easy to use, the device could be adjusted to any specific pressure. Nov. 1, 1961 Tenders were being accepted for some improvements to be made to Huron’s roadways. The tenders were being accepted for grading, drainage and granular base on Hwy. 4 between Clinton and Blyth, a nine- mile stretch of road. Charles S. MacNaughton reported that the tenders would be called from November until January, when a decision would be made on whose offer would be accepted. An outrageous price was being asked for an equally outrageous beauty tool. Taking luxury to the extreme, was the offer of a hand- tooled, 18-karat gold eyebrow pencil, studded with diamonds and emeralds. This piece also came with a $12,500 price tag, including tax. An explosion occurred at the 16- building complex of the Helene Curtis cosmetic supply plant. While 2,000 workers fled the plant, 115 people were injured in the explosion, which was thought to have originated from a chemical tank car on a rail siding at the plant. A prominent seismologist had predicted that a volcano of great fame was due to erupt soon. Mt. Kilauea, on the island of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean, was a volcano which already had a lake of fiery lava almost two miles wide. The volcano had been known to smoke or flame often, and even occasionally overflow slightly, but never presented any concern from nearby residents. The last time Mt. Kilauea erupted was in 1840, when a river of fire five miles broad and 200 feet deep burst from its top and poured down the mountainside. These predictions foretold a repeat of this, or perhaps and even worse outcome. In a desperate response to this news, some Hawaiians had turned to the ancient act of volcano worship, specifically the ritual of human sacrifice to the volcano, but such outlandish ideas had immediately been dismissed and prevented and more rational actions taken in order to prevent serious damage. Nov. 1, 1972 In the provincial elections, Conservative MPP Robert McKinley was re-elected in a landslide majority. McKinley defeated Liberal Charles Thomas, NDP Shirley Weary and Independent candidate Ed Bain. The OPP reported an accident which killed a cow belonging to a local farmer. A Bluevale man was driving on Conc. 1-2, east of Huron County Road 12 in Grey Twp. when he struck and killed a cattlebeast belonging to Jack Galbraith of Atwood. Damages to the vehicle were estimated at $500, but there was no estimate on the value of the cow, though the farmer was to be compensated. Nov. 2, 1988 A debate was held between the four candidates vying for the Huron-Bruce position in the November federal elections. Two hundred people were in attendance in Clinton to witness discussions and pose questions to the candi- dates, who were: Tom Clark, Christian Heritage Party; Ken Dunlop, Liberal Party; Murray Cardiff, Progressive Conservative Party; and Tony McQuail, New Democratic Party. Those attending the Park Theatre were told to “Prepare Yourself” for the film Alien Nation. Also playing at the Lyseum Theatre in Wingham was Mac and Me, baseball story Bull Durham, and Dirty Harry in the Dead Pool. THE EDITOR, It’s rare to find a person of integrity these days, let alone someone who serves. When both characteristics are found in one, it’s verging on a miracle. And for many citizens of Blyth, Rev. Ernest Dow is nothing short of a miracle in an otherwise dreary world. Appreciation for the pastor’s tireless acts of service was partially expressed on Sept. 17 when he and Susan Howson were honoured for their efforts through the Blyth Youth Park Committee. The Twp. of North Huron council nominated them and they received a plaque/medallion and a Certificate of Appreciation, signed by MP Paul Steckle, for outstanding service and contribution towards the town’s skate park which celebrated its grand opening this summer. In total there were seven certificates which were passed on to the other members of the committee. Rev. Dow said he felt honoured and definitely appreciated, as well as somewhat undeserving because so much work had been done by others who weren’t present for the recognition. Dow studied agriculture at the University of Guelph. After marrying Yvonne Anderson, they travelled to Africa for two years serving as missionaries for Christian Blind Mission. Upon their return in 1982, Dow returned to school to become ordained. He then went on to pastor various churches across Ontario, the most recent of which is Living Water Christian Fellowship in Blyth. Four years ago, Yvonne was diagnosed with brain cancer. Her sickness came as a devastating blow to the pastor and his four children, but only represented another way for the humble man to serve. Morning, noon and night he cares for his wife whose tumour is a grade two out of four. Clothing her, feeding her, going on walks with her at night, and watching movies which he knows she won’t remember the next day, Dow finds joy in serving the bride of his youth. And in return,Yvonne Dow shines with pride as she sits in church watching her husband preach. Her blue eyes sparkle and she lifts up her hands shakily during the songs, praising God for a husband who walks the talk. Emily Wierenga 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 Killing the golden goose Urban residents may not believe it but we’re in a farm crisis again, just when the cries of pain from the last farm crisis were beginning to quiet. The crisis this time affects the beef cattle and pork industries, both of which depend on export markets. As might be expected, the rapidly rising Canadian dollar is playing a part in making it hard for these farmers to find international markets for their products. They’re also being hurt, ironically, by the rising prices for corn, and other grains they feed to their animals, the very thing that has eased the crunch for cash crop farmers. Many of these conditions cannot be blamed on government, but other political and regulatory decisions may be driving a nail in the coffin of agriculture in Canada, and Ontario in particular. With some of the richest farmland in the world, we may end up importing our food because of faulty governmental thinking. In an increasingly globalized world, agricultural ministry officials have been quick to tell our farmers they must be ready to compete on international markets. At the same time, however, governments want to continue to act as if they are independent of the world. So to battle BSE, they have imposed on Canadian packing plants expensive regulations for the disposal of specified risk materials that American and other packers don’t face, meaning either Canadian farmers get less or the meat will be too expensive to export. As well, everywhere they turn recently, Canadian farmers face stiffer rules for environmental and food safety issues than their competitors south of the border. Meanwhile Canada refuses to provide the same kind of financial support to farmers that the U.S. government does. Various governments have said they can’t afford to, even as federal surpluses mount. A speaker at the Bruce County Federation of Agriculture annual meeting Friday night displayed a graph that shows since the U.S. farm bill was adopted, Canadian farmers have produced more exports for the Canadian economy, but have seen their net income plummet to negative levels. Statistics Canada’s figures show our farmers have just endured several of the worst farm income years in history. Those bad years came even with the Canadian dollar at an all-time low. Today, fueled by the inflow of dollars to buy Alberta oil, the dollar is trading at above its U.S. counterpart, meaning farmers are getting even less for their exports. There have been predictions at farm meetings recently that as many as half of Ontario’s beef and pork producers will have to go out of business under the current circumstances. It’s obvious that government agricultural policies in this country, which hope to still impose controls on farmers while telling them to compete internationally, are a total failure. Unless somebody wakes up and changes direction, the agricultural goose that has provided golden eggs to the Canadian economy, is going to be killed. — KR & Letter to the editor