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The Citizen, 1992-09-16, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16,1992. Volunteers put on quite a show Three communities, three big shows within a few days, all powered by the enthusiasm and hard work of volunteers. Within a week the Huron Pioneer Thresher and Hobby Association Reunion, the Belgrave, Blyth and Brussels School Fair and the Brussels Fair will all take place, the culmination of thousands of hours of volunteer work on the part of the people who make these events take place each year. Volunteers are harder to find all the time as more people have to work harder to make a living. Many farmers can only keep going by holding off-farm jobs these days, cutting the amount of time they can devote to good works. It's the same story for women. Once the stay-at- home homemaker was the backbone of many local activities but now many women have to work outside the home as well as trying to carry on the activities of homemaking. It's all the more remarkable then to see these events not only carry on, but flourish. Every year the Thresher Reunion seems to get bigger than the year before, for instance. This year the first campers arrived nearly two weeks before the event. By Friday, when the show officially opened, there was already a miniature city on the Blyth fairgrounds. Volunteers had already put in thousands of hours before the first ticket was sold. The volunteers at these three events, and the dozens of other smaller events that add spice to life in northern Huron county, can take pride in the excellent shows they put on. They deserve a sincere "thanks" from all of us.— KR Don't perpetuate inequality Ontario Premier Bob Rae has promised when a reformed Senate is elected, Ontario will be represented equally by men and women. It may be a good way to start the new Senate but let's not chip equal representation rules in stone. Lack of guarantees that women will have equal representation in the new Senate is one of the reasons the National Action Committee on the Status of Women (NAC) has given for its decision to campaign to try to have Canadians turn down the constitutional deal reached by the federal and provincial governments in Charlottetown in late August. NAC wanted guarantees of equality of representation for women written into the constitutional reform. There is no doubt women are under-represented in politics, from the municipal level through to the national level. Something must be done to get the feminine perspective heard more often on subjects of importance. Yet the drafters of the constitution are right not to seek a long-term solution to what is hopefully a short-term problem. Premier Rae would be wise to put a time limit on how long an requirement for equal representation would be in effect. There may well come a day when all the best candidates for the Senate would be women and we should be allowed to vote for the best. Despite the protests of NAC, that's the way most women seem to feel already. Many see quotas on how many women must be elected to the Senate as reverse discrimination. They see legislating a compulsory representation of women in the Senate as being a perpetuation of the feeling that women are victims who must be protected. How much of the under-representation of women in politics is from discrimination and how much is circumstance. Lyn McLeod won the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party over several men, including Murray Elston who had proved himself the ablest member of the cabinet of former premier David Peterson. If cunent polls are to be believed, she stands a good chance to be the next premier of Ontario. Few women, however, feel making the kind of personal sacrifices Ms McLeod made are worth it to be in politics. Ms McLeod herself recently pointed out another problem with a guarantee of a 50/50 split on Senate seats on the basis of gender. Ontario has only six Senate seats, the Northern Ontario resident pointed out. Guaranteeing three seats will be kept for women makes it difficult to also give proper representation to the various regions of the province. And where do we go from here in representing the proper share of racial minorities, linguistic minorities, the handicapped, and those of different sexual preferences. Do we have to have one senator who is part black, part native Indian, part Jewish, speaks French, gets around in a wheel chair and is bisexual, in order to make our six seats properly representative of the makeup of the province? This worry about absolute fairness in representation can go to the ridiculous extreme. Let's try to address problems but not create more with hard-and-fast legislation. —KR Speckled beauties Photo by Lisa Boonstoppel-Pot Looking Back Through the Years ONE YEAR AGO September 18,1991 After many delays and much anticipation, the official sod-turn­ ing for the Huronview North pro­ ject at the south end of Brussels took place. Belgrave Squirts swept their two- game Tri-County championship series to wrap up the title. Brian McKnight opened a new upholstery business, McKnight Upholstery, in Brussels. THREE YEARS AGO September 13,1989 Members of Brussels and Ethel United Churches inducted Rev­ erend Cam McMillan as their new minister. Margaret Cronyn of RR 2, Blyth was crowned 1989-90 Brussels Fall Fair Queen. First runner-up was Tracey Fischer of RR 3, Brussels. The Belgrave UCO branch cele­ brated the 75th anniversary of their founding. Reverend David Fuller was appointed rector of St. John's Anglican Church in Brussels and Trinity Anglican Church in Blyth. Heather McGavin of RR 4, Wal­ ton was crowned Queen of the Fur­ row at the Huron County Plowing Match. First runner-up was Lori DeWys of RR 1, Vama. FIVE YEARS AGO September 16,1987 Huron County voters took part in the red tide that swept the province of Ontario when Agricultural Min­ ister Jack Ridell scored a huge vic­ tory in the new riding of Huron, taking more than 60 per cent of the total votes cast. A Seaforth-area man charged in connection with a number of thefts from parked cars in the Brussels area was remanded after a brief appearance in Goderich District Court. C itizenTheNorthHuron P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, Ont. N0M1H0 Phone 523-4792 FAX 523-9140 P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, Ont. NOG 1 HO Phone 887-9114 FAX 887-9021 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, Ustowel, etc. and out-of-area (40 miles from Brussels); $60.00/year for U.S.A, and Foreign. Advertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of a typographical error, only that portion of the advertisement will be credited. Advertising Deadlines: Monday, 2 p.m. - Brussels; Monday, 4 p.m. - Blyth. We are not responsible for unsolicited newscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copywright. Publisher, Keith Roulston Editor, Bonnie Gropp Sales Representatives, Jeannette McNeil and Merle Gunby Publications Mail Registration No. 6968 Serving Blyth, Brussels, Auburn, Belgrave, Ethel, Londesborough,Walton and the surrounding townships.