Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2019-07-11, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JULY 11, 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 July 11, 1968 Watson Sholdice’s Morris Town- ship barn was destroyed when it was struck by lightning during a storm. Twenty-eight pigs that were ready to ship were lost in the blaze, as were three sows, a hog, 1,500 bales of hay, some grain and farm implements. Fire brigades from Brussels, Blyth, Wingham and Grey Township all responded to the fire. The Huron Women’s Institute rally was set to be held at the Cranbrook Community Centre on Oct. 7, bringing together the county’s 31 Women’s Institutes. The team from Moncrieff still stood above the others in the Tri- County Intermediate softball league standings with 20 points and a record of 10 wins and one loss. Walton had 20 points as well, but two losses. The two were much higher up the ranks than the rest of the teams. July 11, 1973 Hullett Township Council requested a meeting with Blyth Village Council to discuss changes to the cost-sharing agreement with the Blyth-Hullett landfill. Blyth Council had recently suggested that the 50/50 payment arrangement should be changed to 60/40 with Hullett paying the larger portion based on the township’s research into which township was contributing more waste to the site. In other landfill news, a delegation from Auburn had arranged to meet with East Wawanosh Township Council about using the township’s landfill. The village had been dumping its waste at the Blyth-Hullett landfill, but was now looking for other options with the recent price jump at the landfill. The car of Blyth Fire Chief Irvin Bowes was stolen and torched as the chief attended the regular Thursday night meeting of the Blyth Fire Department. Bowes’ vehicle would later be found in Turnberry Township burned. While farmers in Huron County had been suffering through bad weather, Bill Broadworth, the newly-appointed associate agri- cultural representative for Huron told members of the Huron County Federation of Agriculture that they were lucky compared to farmers in eastern Ontario, who were being brutalized by Mother Nature. July 12, 1995 Despite pleas from Ashfield Township residents, Huron County councillors continued working towards a county-wide landfill site. While 11 potential sites had originally been proposed, only one site, Site A3 in Ashfield Township just southwest of Lucknow, was still in the running. Blyth Reeve Mason Bailey continued his crusade for another site, saying that other options should be considered before imposing the county’s garbage on one township. “[Blyth Village Council does] not want another landfill site in our community and we do not want to impose our garbage on anyone else,” Bailey said. “We are opposed to spending any more money on a landfill site until other options have been explored.” With Ontario instituting a new driver’s licence card, a new digital camera had been installed in the Brussels vehicle licence issuing office. It was expected that all of the province’s licences would be converted to the new cards by 2000. The Belgrave Kinsmen and Morris Township Council agreed on a purchase deal for the former Belgrave Hotel property. The Kinsmen would buy the property, but the township would assume ownership of it going forward. Club member Kevin Pletch said the club didn’t know what it wanted to do with the property yet, but that ideas would soon be thrown into the pan. July 16, 2009 Central Huron Reeve Bert Dykstra declared his intention to seek the chair of Huron County Warden, making the announcement at the July 6 meeting of Huron County Council. Dykstra said his nearly 10 years as a Huron County councillor made him a perfect fit as the county’s top politician. He said he made the decision to let him name stand because the time was right for him. “I’ve been busy on the farm, but things are settling down now with people here to take on some extra, so the timing is right,,” Dykstra said. North Huron officially hired John Black to be the chief of the newly- amalgamated Wingham and Blyth Fire Departments, to be named the Fire Department of North Huron. Black would officially take the reins on Jan. 1, 2010, saying that for the time being he was the chief of a “non-existent department”. Black said that while nothing was “broken” within the department, work needed to be done, including increasing efficiencies to fire services throughout the township. “That is not to suggest that anything was wrong with the service out there. It’s not broken. There are just some things that need to be changed as an organization. There is different legislation now than when the boards formed,” Black said. 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 Simple decision. Messy reality No doubt years from now, the problems brought about by the legalization of marijuana will seem small, but in the meantime the headaches have been affecting federal, provincial and municipal jurisdictions, making what appeared to be a simple change in the law seem extremely complex. Municipal leaders could not have expected, for instance, the sort of headaches they’re facing now. Few people likely thought growing marijuana would cause the sort of unpleasant odours that brought neighbours of a Vanastra growing operation before Huron East councillors with demands that something be done. Unlike livestock farms, there were no minimum distance regulations in place to prevent cannabis producers from locating near residential neighbourhoods as happened when the former Plant Paradise site was converted to grow the plants. Next week, Huron County Planning and Developing Department officials will present councillors with an amendment to Huron East’s official plan that will restrict future cannabis-growing sites to agricultural or industrial zones, with minimum setbacks from homes, schools and churches. This won’t help the unhappy neighbours, however, because it doesn’t affect existing businesses. This is just one of many issues that have arisen from the legalization process. Health officials worry that children might accidentally be poisoned by eating cannabis edibles. Police puzzle over how to identify and prosecute people driving cars and trucks while high on pot. Provincial officials are trying to balance the number of authorized cannabis dispensaries with the available supplies of legal product. Billions are being made by cannabis growing and processing companies. Governments will reap big bucks in taxes. Users no longer fear criminal convictions for using marijuana. But with issues like those in Vanastra, the simple act of legalizing the drug doesn’t seem so simple anymore. — KR Election-weary, already The 2019 federal election is nearly four months away, but already most Canadians are probably weary of the campaigning which hasn’t even officially begun. Welcome to the wonderful world of fixed-date elections. Even before the final result for the 2015 federal election were tabulated, we already knew that the 2019 election would be held on Oct. 21. This is the change that adopting a fixed date for elections brings. All in all it’s probably a good change compared to the old days when the sitting government decided when the next election would be called. That system gave the incumbent government an unfair advantage over opposition parties by quietly making plans for the election, then surprising the opposition with a quick election call. The government could call an election when its popularity was at its highest, to try to give itself up to five more years in power. (It didn’t always work, as in September 1990 when Ontario Premier David Peterson, who was riding high in the polls, called a snap election after only three years in power and was punished by voters with a resounding defeat.) So barring the defeat of a minority government, we can get used to fixed-term elections, and the early campaigning it brings. It’s not as bad as the U.S. where a presidential election is barely over when campaigning begins for the next congressional election, and that’s barely done when maneuvering begins for the next presidential election. — KR You can’t always get your way Perhaps growing up rich gives a man the false sense that he can always get his way, but Donald Trump’s presidency proves it isn’t always so in the real world of international affairs. Take the mess with Iran. Former U.S. President Barack Obama and European leaders had reached an agreement with Iran under which that country would set aside its ambitions of developing nuclear weapons if economic sanctions used to pressure Iran were relaxed. It seemed to work, although it didn’t stop Iran from undertaking other aggressive actions in the region. President Trump, always happy to undo his predecessor’s accomplishments and listening to regional opponents of Iran like Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was sure he could get a better deal. He withdrew from the agreement and heaped new sanctions on Iran to force it to cave in to his demands. Now Iran has said that unless economic sanctions are lifted, it will return to enriching uranium – though not to the strength required for atomic weapons. President Trump talks tough, promising to obliterate Iran if there is a war but Iran’s not giving in. President Trump undermined the 2015 agreement that had apparently worked well because he was sure he knew better than other leaders who signed it. Now he’s created a mess that nobody can find a way to clean up. — KR &