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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1993-09-29, Page 4VURIMECI Put E ditorial Photo by Janice Becker Letters THE EDITOR, I do have a problem with Don Vair's column (Sept. 15 Citizen) "Spiritual hunger intense" in regards to misleading use of and implying that men and women are "spiritual". As human beings we experience feelings of happiness, love, joy, anger, fear, rage or sadness, whether from the scenes we see on TV or other situations we encounter every day. I would suggest these make us emotional, subjective, or creative, rather than "spiritual". It is both intellectually lazy and a dangerous habit to use this word to describe quite natural human states and feelings. The emptiness or hunger experienced by most is probably the failure of homo religious to evolve into homo sapien as a result of religion to begin with. Perhaps if the god- talkers were more informed instead of relying on superstition, myth, and mysticism for problem solving, problems such as starvation, thirst, overpopulation, environmental destruction and violence would be corrected. If anyone thinks we have actually evolved into homo sapiens, count the number of new churches built in the area in the last 10 years. It speaks for itself. It's enough to leave one in awe. D. Trollope THE EDITOR, On Saturday, Sept. 18 the Brussels Optimists celebrated a very special occasion, 20 years of service to the youth of this community. Unfortunately, the community did not repay its appreciation to the Optimist Club. As an Optimist wife my heart was saddened by the lack of attendance to this event. The members of this organization have contributed countless hours of time and money to community betterment. That arena should have been packed to the brim with people showing their appreciation to these individuals for such things as ball park lights, The Ark, soccer teams, Atom hockey and the scout clubs who ask for money every year, just to name a few. These guys will still plan fund raising events and make money, but they may not do it with as much enthusiasm as before. Everyone needs to feel appreciated from time to time. Just a little something to think about. Alicia Deitner RR 1, Ethel. Through the Years From the flies of the Brussels Post, the Blyth Standard and The Citizen 44 YEARS AGO SEPTEMBER 28, 1949 The RCAF Drum and Bugle Band from Centralia was the spe- cial attraction at the Brussels Fall Fair. The Brussels Lions Club Band which had been together for four months gave its first concert at the town hall. The band consisted of 50 local boys and girls. Exeter MP Thomas Pryde was the guest speaker at the Lions Club meeting. Betty Galbraith and her cat Bozo placed first at the Blyth Fall Fair. 24 YEARS AGO OCTOBER 1, 1969 Snell's Grocery Store was broken into during the night. After entering the building through a small base- ment window, the thieves took $25 in quarters. Rabies became a problem in the area again. A steer on the farm of Gordon Carter was put down after it was seen running wildly around the field and falling down. the Blyth United Church Choir travelled to Oakville to entertain in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Kai. Administrative changes were THE EDITOR, Yes, we have a beef! with regards to the poor turnout for Friday night's fundraising dance in Brussels. Where has all the Brussels, Morris and Grey community spirit gone? We have a pool, a ball park, and an arena, all paid for, but what about on-going expenses? Where were all the people who plan to benefit from any possible new equipment for our COMMUNITY ARENA? Debbie Sent Jan Dietner. made at Huronview. The new Administrator, Chester Archibald replaced Harvey Johnston who retired. Dr. Doorly replaced Dr. Ross as the home physician. Miss Nancy Van Camp joined the hair styling staff at Doreen's Beauty Shoppe. The Huron Plowmen's Associa- tion 42nd Annual Plowing Match and Farm Machinery Demonstra- tion was held on the John Rodges farm near Goderich. Ernie "Freck" Button of the Blyth Butcher Shop offered sale prices: epictire bacon, 99 cents per lb.; weiners, 59 cents per lb and fresh picnics, 59 cents per lb. For the fall fruits, Snell's Food Market offered: Wealthy or Mac apples, five lbs. for 79 cents; Elber- ta peaches; six quarts for $1.69 and six quarts of prune plums for $1.79. 4 YEARS AGO SEPTEMBER 27, 1989 The long story of the $200,000 fire on July 6 at the Brussels Legion finally came to a close. Lenard Gordon Cowie and Robert Martin Killick pled guilty and were sentenced to one year and three years respectively. Several Brussels families received congratulations for their recycling efforts. They were Winona Martin, Karen Bridge, Mary Mawhinney, Pete McQuarrie, Jeanette Boynton, Dorothy McDon- ald, Mary Stretton, Barb Knight, Dawn White, Doris Fischer and the Brussels Public Library. East Wawanosh landfill was being overrun with tires after Turn- berry imposed the $5 dumping fee. A two-tire limit was implemented. Poor attendance irks readers PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1993. C The No th Huron itizen eNA P.O. Box 429, P.O. Box 152, Publisher, Keith Roulston BLYTH, Or& BRUSSELS, Ont. Editor, Bonnie Gropp NOM 1H0 NOG 1110 Phone 523-4792 Phone 887-9114 Sales Representatives, FAX 523-9140 FAX 887-9021 Jeannette McNeil and Julie Mitchell 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. 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 © Copyright. Publications Mail Registration No. 6968 Is there no hope? It's ironic that last week, in the midst of an election campaign in Canada which seems to offer no hope of better times, U.S. President Bill Clinton chose to unveil a health-care plan to fulfill one of his promises in the U.S. election campaign of last year. President Clinton's campaign was much different from the campaigns being waged by the party leaders in Canada. Clinton was able to mobilize support because in a time of desperation, he was able to offer a vision of a better time ahead. One of the key elements of that vision was a plan to provide health care to millions of Americans who, with no private health insurance, stood the risk of being bankrupted if they became ill. By contrast, the Canadian election campaign seems to offer little for the 1.6 million people left unemployed by the combination of the recession and the adjustments required by the free trade movement. Instead, the deficit is the focus of the election campaign in varying degrees. Prime Minister Kim Campbell has a clear focus on the government debt. While she refuses to give details on just what government social programs she would cut to reduce government expenses, she makes it obvious that everything else comes second in importance. Reform Party leader Preston Manning is a Conservative in a hurry and would do pretty much what the Prime Minister promises, only more and sooner. Even the Liberals and New Democrats aren't delivering much hope. There is no doubt the deficit must be a huge factor in the life of the new government, no matter what party forms it. Still, obsession with the deficit may only make the situation worse. Despite huge cuts in expenditure in the past year, both the provincial and federal governments announced in the past few days, that their deficits will be higher than expected because revenues are down. The federal government, for instance, cut payments to the unemployed last year but will still pay out more for unemployment insurance this year because more people are unemployed. On top of that, it is stuck paying a growing share of welfare costs because people have been denied (or have run out of) unemployment insurance benefits. The provincial government's Social Contract with its attendant cuts, necessary as it may be, probably contributed to the revenue shortfall of both governments because it made public sector employees (nearly one in 10 workers in Ontario) nervous, keeping them from spending. We're now in a vicious circle, afraid to spend more for fear of making the deficit worse, yet getting a worse deficit because people are so afraid of the future they aren't spending, not even those who have well-paying jobs. What we lack is leadership. We need leaders who can inspire us, even if they are delivering a tough message. We need a sense that we're on the way out of this mess, to convince those who have jobs to start spending again. If we must dwell on the deficit, we need someone who can inspire people that we're all in this together, the kind of "blood, sweat and tears" message that Winston Churchill rallied people in Britain with in the depths of World War 2. We haven't got that kind of leadership and because we haven't Canadians continue to be hurt and cynical. Until some leader steps forward with a real sense of vision the way Bill Clinton did in the U.S., we're likely to continue to wallow in this mess. — KR Congratulations, neighbours The country showed off for itself, and for its urban neighbours last week, north of the border in Bruce County, and rural people can be proud of the results. The 1993 International Plowing Match (IPM) at Walkerton proved to be the huge success most people predicted, attracting a huge attendance and working like clockwork. The Bruce IPM is a tribute to the kind of community action this part of Ontario is famous for. It was estimated that more than 2,000 volunteers were involved with one or another of the 30 committees involved in planning. In all, 500,000 volunteer hours were contributed by rural and urban people doing everything from staking out the tented city to driving tractors carrying people from the parking lots to the displays. There has been some concern about the future of the IPM in recent years but the success of the Walkerton match may put some of that to rest. Traditionally, the best International Plowing Matches have been held in the Huron-Bruce-Perth area. The 1993 match confirms that tradition. Perhaps, if we want the IPM to remain a rural tradition, it's time for Huron to take its turn in producing a successful match. — KR