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The Citizen, 1993-11-24, Page 4Evergreen under white Photo by Janice Becker Letters THE EDITOR, On behalf of the Brussels Minor Hockey Association I would like to extend congratulations to our Fund Raising Committee for a very successful day of "Soundsation" performances. Anyone present, I am sure would agree, that it was entertainment at its best. The tireless efforts, for the past few months, of Stephanie Kellington, Darlene Oldfield, Barb Bragg and Annette Stephenson are very much appreciated. Thanks to the parents and hockey players for volunteering food and time to help orchestrate this large endeavor. And of course "thanks" to the community of Brussels for such great support, for without it, community activities like Minor Hockey could be jeopardized. Neil Hemingway, Pres., Brussels Minor Hockey. THE EDITOR, "Were you there?" "Wasn't it great?" Who should we thank first? I guess first of all we will thank Byron Ballagh the director of and singer in the group "Soundsation" who put on two excellent performances in Brussels this past weekend along with their professional singers, sound and lighting crew. Nancy Exel and Barb Mutter helped with advertising and programs and the hockey teams were there for set-up, clean-up and sandwiches. Many volunteers came to serve lunch and sell tickets. Bev Brown was right, it was an unforgettable show. If you get a chance make sure you see them — Through the Years From the files of The Brussels Post and the Blyth Standard 44 YEARS AGO NOVEMBER 23,1949 Three local boys, Harold, Jim and Leslie Knight won honours at the Royal Winter Fair by placing fifth, eigth and 12th for oats. Bob McKinley, 19, sold his Grand Champion Hereford steer at the Royal Livestock Show for $1,785. It weighed 1,190 lbs. The money was to be used for his mar- riage. Baldwin's Hardware Store in Seaforth suffered as much as $15,000 damage after a quick- breaking fire gutted the building. Rev. George Milne of Brussels Presbyterian Church was appointed interim moderator for the Blyth and Auburn charge after the resignation of Mr. Jorgenson. and who knows, maybe you will be able to see them next year in Brussels again for their "Keep on Dancing" musical performance. Brussels Minor Hockey Fundraising Committee. Several new books were added to the Brussels Library collection. Some of them were Treasure Island, "He Shoots, He Scores", Father of the Bride and The Ency- clopedia Cookbook. Brussels Coal yard advertised the availability of several top grade coals for home use. "These coals are all jet black, not dyed and burn down to an ash with very, very few clinkers." Kids' coats were available at Wood's in Brussels for $9.95. 24 YEARS AGO NOVEMBER 26, 1969 Lloyd Walsh was installed as the Worshipful Master of the Blyth Masonic Lodge. Blyth and Stoneschool met at the Blyth arena for a hockey game that ended in a 3-3 tie. The members of the Blyth team were Rick German, Bill Crawford, Robbie Lawrie, Jim Fritz, Larry Boyd, Ken Lee, Don Willie, Bruce Bromley, Bruce Howson, Brian Allan, Jim Button, Tom Cronin, Robert Cook, Dick Chalmers, Brian Carroll and Ross Daer. Doug McDougall was the coach and Ken McGowan was the manag- er. The Eastern Star installed Mrs. Continued on page 5 Writers applaud Soundsation PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 1993. C itizen eNA The North Huron P.O. Box 429, P.O. Box 152, BLYTH, Ont. BRUSSELS, Ont NOM 1110 NOG 1140 Phone 523-4792 Phone 987.9114 FAX 523-9140 FAX 887-9021 Publisher, Keith Roulston Editor, Bonnie Gropp Sales Representatives, Jeannette McNeil and Julie Mitchell voinctaa ellICULATICIN 140 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.1.) for local letter carrier In Goderlch, 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 Mall Registration No. 6968 Loan program a good start The innovative Rural Loan Pool Program announced Monday by Elmer Buchanan, Ontario's minister of agriculture and food, is a good start toward putting the money from rural areas to work building rural areas. Mr. Buchanan's program will allow rural residents of Ontario to invest in Agricultural Guaranteed Investment Certificates (AgGICs) which will be eligible for Registered Retirement Savings Plan classification. The money raised through the program, which is expected to be in place by mid-January, will be pooled for lending institutions such as credit unions to invest in farm and farm-related programs. Loans and mortgages of up to $500,000 will be offered at reasonable rates to cover capital costs for on-farm value-added ventures, cover the capital costs associated with off-farm, farm-related, value-added ventures in rural Ontario, buy moveable farm machinery and equipment, consolidate farm debt, purchase more farmland or improve farm buildings or land. This kind of program has been needed for many years in the rural areas of the province. Believe it or not (and listening to rural residents gripe you'd be apt to doubt it) there is a lot of money invested through regular channels in RRSPs and GICs every year. Rural areas, particularly here in western Ontario, could probably be self-sufficient in capital needs. The regular investments, however, usually channel such money into urban needs: new factories and office buildings for our sons and daughters to work in, new apartment buildings for them to live in. The new program is a good start. It apparently allows more money not only for the production of farm products, but for the further processing of those farm products. This provides the possibility of a boost for the entire rural area, not just farmers. Still needed, however, is a way to invest funds from the towns and villages back into the towns and villages, to provide money for investment that will create more jobs for the young people of those communities, and the young farm family members who don't want to continue farming. —KR Living in the imagination While most of us live in Ontario, the members of the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) and public sector unions seem to want to live in Never Never Land. The OFL made its knee-jerk reaction Monday in condemning the Bob Rae government for its Social Contract and demanding the legislation be repealed. Meanwhile across the province, teachers unions have been going on strike, trying to regain from their local boards of education, the ground lost during the Social Contract. Students are suffering because their teachers feel they should be able to go on forever ignoring the economic facts of life. There is no doubt it is not pleasant to have a sudden reduction in pay. There is no doubt it isn't fun to have to take days off without pay. When you draw up your family budget for the year, it's nice to be able to count on the money you think you should be getting, not have a sudden change in the situation. But hundreds of thousands of Canadians have had unpleasant surprises in the last few years as the country plunged into recession. Their surprises have been a lot tougher to handle, however, than a few unpaid days off or a reduction of a few percentage points in their pay packet. They have faced sudden loss of their jobs. The unions are outraged that the Rae government should reopen contacts to take money away from members they thought they could count on. That this should come from a pro-union government, backed by the labour movement, is a bitter pill to swallow. But what was the alternative for Bob Rae? Could he continue as if nothing had changed since the 1980s and drive the province so far in debt that its credit ratings plummeted and the financial situation got even worse? Hardly. Something had to be done. Mr. Rae could have respected the contracts public sector employees have signed and turned to the one tool those in the private sector have: payoffs. Thousands of provincial employees could have been put out of work. They could have turned to unemployment insurance which would have only increased the debt problem in the country. For those left at work, however, life would have gone on as comfortably as ever. But Mr. Rae chose instead to try to negotiate with the unions. He tried to save jobs. But unions would rather not face the harsh realities. They'd like to stay, like Peter Pan, in Never Never Land. Unlike Peter, however, union members are going to be forced to grow up. — KR E ditorial