Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1993-05-26, Page 4Maternal instinct Letters Readers enjoy visit to Hall THE EDITOR, Just a tip of the hat to the Blyth Festival. We've lived in this area for a number of years and to our misfortune have never attended any performances at this historic theatre. This, however, is about to change. Having attended a show put on by the Preszcator Dancers and the Clinton Cloggers recently, we have only one thing to say -- "wow". The production number was great, from the costumes to the theme, right down to the little card girl who worked so well alongside the voice of an excellent announcer. We enjoyed the surroundings, the atmosphere, and the people, thus we will be back for other festival plays and performances. Again a special tip of the hat to the ladies and gents of the Clinton Cloggers and The Preszcators; you are an asset to the community. Bravo! Linda and Andy Smart, RR 5, Clinton. THE EDITOR, Register now before it's too late! We need to know if you are coming to the Clinton School Reunion to be held July 3 and 4 so that we can arrange all details. We don't want anyone to be disap- pointed that weekend. This is why we are encouraging you to register now. The response to our call for early registration is going well. We now - have over 1,800 registrations with more coming in daily, so anyone wishing to be included certainly should respond at once. There will be no admission to the school or community centre without an identification tag from your registration pack. We are grateful for the pictures that have been sent in but more would be appreciated, especially class picture and ones of general interest. Betty MacDonald, Secretary litounIon Committee. THE EDITOR, You may not be aware of this but May is "Motorcycle Safety and Awareness" month, so I thought it would be a good time to tell you and your readers about a new group being formed in the area. It is called R.A.M. "Regional Area Motorcyclists". The reason for its organization is to make motorcyclists aware of other motorcyclists and events of the interests. There will be no meetings, no discrimination and no politics. Only a newsletter four Photo by Bonnie Gropp times a year. The newsletter will consist of: a membership list including members' name and phone number so that members can phone other members and just go for a ride; a list of any events that members can ride to and/or get involved in stories of travels, places of interest that members have seen or encountered on a tour. Cost is $6 for full member and $4 for an associate member. The price covers the cost of the newsletter. The associate would be someone living in the same residence as a full member. The main objective of R.A.M. is to get out, go touring, meet other motorcyclists and "Just Have Fun!" A lot of motorcycling today is family oriented. My husband has a sidecar on his bike and our four- year-old goes everywhere with us. I am writing this letter to inform your readers who drive or sit on the back of a motorcycle of our program with the hope that maybe they will want to go for a ride with us and have some fun. If anyone is interested they can either phone or write me. My address is: Corey Wormington RR 1, Wingham, Ont. NOG 2W0 519-357-3881 (leave a message on my machine). THE EDITOR, We are back again to let the citizens of Blyth know what has Continued on page 5 C itizen The North Huron P.O. Box 429, P.O. Box 152, BLYTH, Ont. BRUSSELS, Ont. NOM 1H0 NOG 1H0 Phone 523-4792 Phone 887-9114 FAX 523-9140 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 S2.03 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. Publications Mail Registration No. 6968 Publisher, Keith Roulston Editor, Bonnie Gropp Sales Representatives, Jeannette McNeil and Julie Mitchell Serving Blyth, Brussels, Auburn, Belgrave Ethel, Londesborough, Wattort i.04.4Vr201"/Ifil' ow/ PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MAY 26, 1993. Choosing sides Huron M.P.P. Paul Klopp is currently facing one of the toughest decisions a politician must make: to whom should he be loyal? With the recent provincial government decision to close Centralia College of Agricultural Technology (effective May 1 next year) Mr. Klopp is torn by three different loyalties. For one thing, he is a graduate of Centralia and you are always supposed to stick up for your alma mater. He is also elected by residents of Huron County who are now facing the closure of the last post secondary educational facility in the county (earlier decisions by the same government killed off the Registered Nursing Assistant school at Wingham and District Hospital). But Mr. Klopp is also a member of the New Democratic Party and of the government caucus and once the government has made a decision, all party members are supposed to stick by the party. Mr. Klopp has apparently decided that this loyalty is greater than the loyalty to his riding and his school. It's too bad. Looking at what Centralia has to offer the province it seems to make little sense it is being closed compared to the other colleges that are being left open. Perhaps one reason Centralia was chosen was because Huron has a member who can be counted on to swallow hard but stay loyal to the party. Centralia has graduated more students in the past five years than any of the other agricultural colleges in Ontario. It sits in the midst of the most diverse and important agricultural area in Ontario. Huron is the number one food producing county in the province. Other surrounding counties like Middlesex, Lambton, Perth and Oxford are close behind. Closing the popular Veterinary Technology school and moving it to Ridgetown College, for instance, seems idiocy on the part of some deep thinker at the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food (OMAF). Perth and Huron are number one and two in pork production. Along with Oxford they rank high in dairy production. Huron's number one in chickens. The college as it is now situated is in the heart of the greatest concentration of farm animal production in the province. Animal agriculture is almost unknown in Kent and Essex around Ridgetown. The government is even now still spending money on improvements to Centralia. At last week's graduation scaffolding was still around the library which was being rebricked. A new conference centre opened four days after the closure was announced. The Centralia veterinary lab, with some of the foremost experts in swine diseases on staff, is also scheduled to close. The lab currently handles 54 per cent of all pig carcasses submitted to OMAF labs for autopsies, more than twice as many as the Ridgetown lab. The lab also handles 26 per cent of all OMAF autopsies on cattle. It sits in the area with the highest concentration of animal agriculture in Canada. Everyone knows the government must cut back somewhere but the closing of Centralia seems so illogical that there must be more than straight logic involved. One gets the feeling that politics has played a huge part in the closing of Centralia and New Liskeard colleges rather than two of the other colleges. One gets the feeling that for OMAF, it was easier to make one big cut, like closing a college, than to trim the fat from the rest of the ministry. Perhaps if Mr. Klopp wasn't such a good loyal government member Huron might have a better chance of reversing this decision.—KR Showing leadership Employees of the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority have shown a kind of leadership that could well be a model for government employees in these tough times. The employees recently voted to take a six per cent pay cut rather than see one or two of their fellow employees laid off because of government funding cutbacks. The conservation authorities, partly funded by the province and partly funded by local municipalities, were hard hit by the government cuts. The Ministry of Natural Resources cut its budget to the conservation authorities by 22 per cent and coming with almost half the year already gone, it meant the authorities had spent money they thought they were going to get. It was too late to ask municipalities to help make up the difference. In addition, the authorities lost the ability to get a tax rebate on land purchased for environmental purposes. Conservation authorities are looking at the sad possibility of having to close parks and cut services that they feel are important. Given all this, the employees knew no one was trying just to scare them into submission. They showed a lot of wisdom in their solution.—KR