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The Citizen, 1992-04-15, Page 4M ?|JT PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15,1992. naCM VAfio W/lo pays the piper? Thousands of seats were empty when the National Hockey League resumed play after a players' strike Sunday night. It's perhaps unfortunate they won’t stay empty as playoff excitement heats up. Most likely most of the seats were empty because fans, who in many cases had already paid for the seats, had decided they had better things to do with their time when it looked like the hockey season was over. After all, fans had been told that if there wasn't an end to the strike by Thursday afternoon, the season would have to be cancelled. When that deadline went by, fans could be excused if they took league owners at their word and figured they had to put aside their interest in hockey for the season. Of course that deadline wasn't a real deadline. Early Saturday morning owners and players reached an agreement and the on-again, off-again hockey season was on again. This abuse of the fans was just the latest insult to the people who pay the bills. The players and the owners have been busy fighting for the past month over who could afford to pay how much but the people who were never asked, the people who in the long run will be the ones to pay, are the fans. Unfortunately, they’ll likely grumble but pay anyway. Probably by the weekend those empty seats will be full again. That's what has happened after several baseball strikes. The players got richer, the owners seemed to keep making money, and the fans kept paying more and more. In Toronto, fans were so unhappy with the greed of their heroes that they just showed up in record numbers to hit the 4 million attendance mark last year, the first time a team has ever drawn that many fans. The average ball salary is now more than $1 million a season. The country is in a recession. Attendance at the SkyDome is ahead of last year's record pace. Is it any wonder owners and players don't respect the fans? Fans apparently can't be insulted enough to stay home. Perhaps some day fans too will strike, stay home and refuse to pay these ridiculously spoiled boys, and then perhaps there will be some sanity brought to professional sports.—AT? Spreading the word The wonders of Disneyland were introduced to Europe with great fanfare on the weekend with the opening of Euro-Disney. Not everyone, however, is happy about the situation. One French commentator hopes that French students, notorious for their militancy, would rise in riots as they had in 1968 and bum the American invader down. A bomb was set off near the complex on the weekend. The French elite will probably be disappointed in their countrymen. The writers and professors are inordinately chauvinistic about their own culture, feeling anything from McDonald's to the word "le hotdog" is an insult to their ancient culture but ordinary French citizens seem to welcome American culture with open arms. Still, one can sympathize with the elite in this case. Building a Disneyland in France is one thing, but including a "Main Street U.S.A." in the park is a bit of a slap in the face. Still it is typical of the missionary zeal of Americans in spreading their culture. Many American cultural leaders, including Walt Disney, son of immigrant parents from Canada, felt they had a duty to show the rest of the world the superiority of the American way of life. The America they showed, of course, was not the true America with its successes and failures of ghettos and "Love Canal" pollution, but a perfect, Norman Rockwell kind of life, epitomized by Disney's Main Street U.S.A., recapturing an idealized small town main street of the 1940's or early 1950's. The America people around the world always see is that idealized land of movies and television where even prostitutes are Pretty Woman. Is it any wonder that millions dream of emigrating to America, that people in eastern Europe were willing to stand up to guns to overthrow their governments in hopes they too could share the kind of materialistic utopia the free market promised? The hard part begins now, however, as we try to deliver the kind of lifestyle these people have come to expect There is a responsibility in dangling dreams in front of desperate people and part of that responsibility for Americans (and Canadians too) is now to help people in the former communist countries to get on the road to the prosperity we tempted them with. We must help out or watch them become disillusioned with the facade of "Main Street U.S.A, and turn back to the comparative security of communism.—KR Looking Back Through the Years ONE YEAR AGO April 17,1991 father, Chris, placed second in the 40plus class. amount of cash. CitizenTheNorthHuron The body of a man was found, shot, in a pickup truck near Dun­ gannon. Ricky Royce Godfrey, 32, an occasional resident of the area, was described by some local people as a "bit of a drifter". An autopsy was ordered to determine the exact cause of death. Three young Huron County sci­ entists were chosen to represent their peers at the Canada Wide Sci­ ence fair in Vancouver. Winners from the Huron Science Fair in Brussels were Brian Currie, Goderich, who also won the Mait­ land Valley Conservation Award and a travel grant; Colin Bowers, Exeter and Julie Lisle, Wingham. Brett Lee, 16, of Walton received the first place trophey for the 125C Class in the MMDa Silverdome International Supercross Series races in Pontiac, Michigan. His THREE YEARS AGO April 12,1989 Blyth firemen battled a stubborn fire at the home of Don Young, RR3, Auburn. Damage in the fire was extensive. Murray Cardiff, Member of Par­ liament for Huron-Bruce, was swom in as Parliament Secretary to the Honourable Don Mazankowski, Deputy Prime Minister and Presi­ dent of the Privy Council and Min­ ister of Agriculture. Brussels resident Margaret Jarvis was selected top speaker at the Oddfellows and Rebekahs contest in Clinton. Miss Jarvis' first prize entitled her to a two week tour of Ottawa, New York City, Washing­ ton and Philadelphia. Burglars forced entry into The Citizen's office stealing a small FIVE YEARS AGO April 15,1987 Blyth firemen hopelessly battled a fire at the bam of Alex Gulutzen near Westfield. The bam was com­ pletely destroyed with the loss of one sow. Two area students were chosen to take their projects on to the National Science Fair in Toronto. Tom Cull of East Wawanosh Pub­ lic School, won in the Physical Sci­ ences category with his project on strength of construction in wood. Tammi Medd of Blyth Public School, was chosen in the biologi­ cal section with her project on spi­ ders. Brussels Council approved a design by local artist Jim LeDrew for use as the official village pin to celebrate homecoming. The design was of a beaver surrounded by a circle with the village's name. P.O. Box 429,P.O. Box 152, BLYTH, Ont.BRUSSELS, Ont.Publisher, Keith Roulston N0M1H0 NOG 1 HO Editor, Bonnie Gropp Phone 523-4792 Phone 887-9114 Sales Representatives, FAX 523-9140 FAX 887-9021 Jeannette McNeil and Merle Gunby The Citizen is published weekly in Brussels, Ontario by North Huron Publishing Company Inc. Subscriptions are payable in advance at a rate of $20.50/year ($19.16 plus $1.34 G.S.T.) for local; $31.03/year ($29.00 plus $2.03 G.S.T.) for local letter carrier in Goderich, Hanover, Listowel, etc. and out-of-area (40 miles from Brussels); $60.00/year for U.S.A, and Foreign. 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