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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2019-05-23, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2019. Editorials Opinions President: Keith Roulston • Publisher: Deb Sholdice Editor: Shawn Loughlin • Reporter: Denny Scott Advertising Sales: Brenda Nyveld • Heather Fraser The Citizen P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, Ont. N0M 1H0 Ph. 519-523-4792 Fax 519-523-9140 P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, Ont. N0G 1H0 Phone 519-887-9114 E-mail info@northhuron.on.ca Website www.northhuron.on.ca Looking Back Through the Years CCNA Member Member of the Ontario Press Council The Citizen is published 50 times a year in Brussels, Ontario by North Huron Publishing Company Inc. Subscriptions are payable in advance at a rate of $38.00/year ($36.19 + $1.81 G.S.T.) in Canada; $180.00/year in U.S.A. and $380/year in other foreign countries. 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: Mon. 2 p.m. - Brussels; Mon. 4 p.m. - Blyth. PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 40050141 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO CIRCULATION DEPT. PO BOX 152 BRUSSELS ON N0G 1H0 email: info@northhuron.on.ca May 23, 1968 Stuart Nichol, the son of Mrs. Eleanor Nichol and the late Frank Nichol, was a member of the graduating class at the University of Guelph on May 22. Nichol received the Ontario Degree of Horticulture, graduating with distinction thanks to his win of the Canadian Nursery Trades Association scholarship. He earned the scholarship thanks to finishing the program with the highest mark in any section. Mrs. Lyle Murray of RR2, Clifford was elected as president of the East Huron Women’s Institute, taking over the organization’s top position for Mrs. Frank Walters of RR3, Walton. Mrs. Charles Mathers of Bluevale and Mrs. Harold Wallace of Clifford would both serve as the institute’s vice-presidents for the coming term. May 23, 1973 Blyth United Church welcomed a special guest speaker from Japan, Dennis Howlett, the son of Rev. and Mrs. Floyd Howlett of Hokkaido, Japan. Howlett spoke to the Sunday school children, as well as during the main church service, about growing up with his parents, missionaries in Japan. Howlett, however, had recently moved to Canada, completing his first year at York University. He would be spending the summer in Toronto working with senior citizens. This came after Howlett had worked in Bangladesh the previous summer. He was part of a group of Japanese farmers who had been sponsored by the church to help the locals with their agriculture. The Blyth Board of Trade was set to hold its regular meeting. One of the topics set to be discussed at the meeting was the poor postal delivery between Blyth and other local centres. Locals with problems with their postal delivery were urged to attend the meeting. The Blyth Fire Department was on the scene of a house fire at the home farm of Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd Barth on RR3, Blyth. The fire had caused heavy damage to the roof of the house and upper level before firefighters arrived on the scene. May 24, 1995 Renowned author Timothy Findley stopped by the Blyth used book sale to see what all the fuss was about. What had been billed as the biggest book sale in Huron County, welcomed Findley, who opted to read from his most recent release, The Piano Man’s Daughter. Elaborate staging and outstanding dress were set to be on stage for the Blyth Festival’s opening night production of Ballad for a Rum Runner’s Daughter, which was set to open the season. Set designer Stephan Droege and costume designer Debra Hanson hopes to capture the imaginations of theatre-goers, telling a story that spanned through the 1930s to the 1980s, all in one show. Melody White was offered a seat on Morris Township Council on May 16, filling a vacancy on council. White was the candidate with the highest number of votes who was not elected to office in the most recent election, which is why she was offered the position. White allowed her name to stand and councillors voted unanimously that she fill the position. The Village of Brussels would be home to a village-wide yard sale on the first weekend of June, which would coincide with a ball tournament held in Brussels. George Langlois, one of the organizers, said that everyone who wished to participate would have their sale listed on a map of the village that would then be distributed to visitors to the village that weekend. The students and staff of Walton Public School planted a tree to honour former Vice-Principal Louise Wilson, thanking her for her years of hard work at the school. Bob and Isabelle Henry would be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary at Memorial Hall in Blyth on Sunday, May 28 with an open house. May 28, 2009 Over 1,400 area homes found themselves without power after a hydro pole on Hydro Line Road, just north of Seaforth, caught fire. While power was restored to many homes in just a matter of hours, some Brussels residents were without power for nearly six hours after the fire. In the wake of the tragic abduction and killing of Tori Stafford in the Woodstock area, Huron OPP officers were suggesting a blanket approach to “street- proofing” to keep children safe. OPP Const. Joanna Van Mierlo said that while imparting knowledge to local youth to ensure they would be “street-proof”, supervision would always be the best way to keep them safe from predators. Grey Central Public School was well on its way towards completing its new toboggan hill project at the school. This came thanks to a generous donation from Rathwell Gravel, which dropped off a load of fill to the school to help with the creation of the new hill. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada. We are not responsible for unsolicited newsscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright After the floods As the flood waters receded in the Muskoka area, officials began to look at ways of making their region more resilient for the next time there’s a big spring runoff or downpour. One of the solutions mentioned is to have more areas where water can sit for a day or so before draining into rivers. The idea of temporary ponding has often been advanced by the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority here in Huron County. The concept is not to recreate historic wetlands on what is now farmland, but to make short-term water storage (a day or two) so that rivers aren’t overwhelmed by the initial gusher of snow melt or storm water. It’s a difficult argument to make with farmers who want to achieve maximum use of their farmland. Last year the average price of farms purchased in the county was about $15,000 an acre, or $1.5 million for a farm of the original 100-acre size. At that price it’s easy to see why farmers are leery about anything that limits the productivity of every square inch of their property. So the tendency is for farmers to systematically drain any field where water tends to pond – if even for a day to two. What’s good for society may not be good for the landowner. There have been a few experimental programs that pay farmers to allow temporary ponding so that their income isn’t at risk. Governments, which are increasingly on the hook for the cost of fighting floods and perhaps for the cost of buying homes so people won’t be in the path of future floods, need to get serious about rewarding landowners for the service they provide in reducing flood emergencies by storing water short term. — KR All the news we agree with It’s not surprising that Premier Doug Ford’s approval rating has been taking a beating lately, given the cuts his government has made to various programs in order to reduce the provincial deficit. No doubt he and Progressive Conservative party insiders, however, will lay much of the blame on a media they feel is against them. Distrust of the mainstream media lies behind creation of Ontario News Now, the party-run online television service which many people feel is a government propaganda machine. Ontario News Now puts a slant on its coverage that’s favourable to the government, even though it’s paid for by your tax dollars, whether you’d approve or not. The money comes from the allotment given to each of the party caucuses. Although Ontario News Now irks members of the mainstream media and those who think it’s a taxpayer-funded propaganda machine, the really bizarre and dictatorial scheme is the Federal Carbon Tax Transparency Act outlined in the government’s budget that would require service station owners to spout the government’s line. The proposed act would require gas pumps to display a sticker stating the Ontario government’s side of the carbon tax fight. The stickers would tell those filling up that the federal carbon tax is adding 4.4 cents per litre to the price of gas now, rising to 11 cents a litre in 2022. It would be outrageous enough if these taxpayer-funded stickers were sent to gas bar operators to use if they wished. What makes this campaign like something you’d see in Russia or China, however, is a threat to fine the proprietors $10,000 a day if they don’t display the stickers. With these two schemes to get out the government’s views to the public at the taxpayers’ expense, the government earns the growing disrespect of potential voters. — KR Who can you trust? Two Canadians, caught in the middle of a diplomatic spat between China and Canada, last week sank deeper into murky world of Chinese justice when they were officially charged with spying. Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig had been held without charge since Dec. 10, shortly after Canada arrested Meng Wanzhou, a top executive of Chinese telecom giant Huawei who faces extradition to the United States to answer charges she conspired to defraud global banks about Huawei’s relationship with a company operating in Iran. China thinks that if it can put enough pressure on Canada (it’s also blocking shipments of Canadian canola), we will release Meng. It doesn’t understand that we have a system of laws we must follow. China also sees the U.S. charges against Meng as a bargaining ploy by the administration of President Donald Trump to win concessions in trade negotiations. This perception may have been reinforced when Trump tweeted several months ago that he might be willing to drop the charges if a deal was made. There was a time when we could trust U.S. authorities to use the law justly, but Trump has shown willingness to twist laws to attain his goals. Now we can’t trust the U.S. much further than we can China. It’s a sad state when you can’t trust your friends. — KR &