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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1994-10-19, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1994. I----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------c The North Huron itizen P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, Ont. N0M1H0 Phone 523-4792 FAX 523-9140 P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, Ont. NOG 1 HO Phone 887-9114 FAX 887-9021 Publisher, Keith Roulston Editor, Bonnie Gropp Sales Representatives, 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 E ditorial 1' . _____ ______________ Being creative to create jobs It has always seemed strange that in Huron County, the number one food producing county in Ontario, there is very little processing of food left. A Food Networking conference in Stratford, last week, showed that with some creative community action, things can change, at least a little. Those attending the Rural 1 Enterprise Development Initiative conference learned that Huron is not alone in this strange situation. A speaker from the Niagara Peninsula who was trying to organize a food box program (boxes of wholesome local food sold at bargain prices to families in need) found it almost impossible to get local fruit and produce because the local production was almost all shipped out to the Food Terminal in Toronto. There are many economic reasons why the manufacturing and processing goes on in the cities instead of near the food producing areas. It's cheaper to ship com than boxes of com flakes so the com flakes plant wants to be near the urban consumer. In the case of milk, milk producers pay the shipping cost to the processing plant so a dairy would be silly not to locate near the city and save on transportation of the final product. But there are alternatives if we are creative. June Holly, the conference's keynote speaker, works in the southern part of Ohio in a poor area where the Appalachian Mountains make farming difficult. But with some brainstorming and community action, and a little bit of seed money, leaders in the area have been working to find ways to let people help themselves. One concept in development is a community test kitchen, that lets beginning small food processors have the use of a facility that meets all health standards on a rental basis. It means that someone with a good idea can start out without the huge investment of buying all the necessary equipment, and the red tape of having to deal with health officials. There's also an innovative loan program that allows people on welfare to borrow small amounts (as low as $100) to get them started in a small way. In a time of tightened purse strings for governments, this effort to get people self-sufficient is welcome. But Ms Holly stressed that this kind of innovation doesn't just happen. It needs people who are looking at the big picture to bring people together to examine the problems and find solutions. Somewhere between individual initiative and government trying to do things, there needs to be a way for communities to come together to make these things happen. We can encourage a mini-boom of growth in new businesses. Some of these businesses may catch on and provide jobs, not just for the individual who starts the business, but for more people. Nearly every giant company today started as a one-person operation some time in the past. We must, however, be creative in turning problems into opportunities. — KR Business should put up The cry from big business continues to be that the government should slash more spending on social programs. It's a convenient way of deflecting attention away from business's own record. The business sector in Canada has failed the country badly for a century now. Much of the growth of government in Canada has been to make up for the failures of private business. The government got into the railway business, for instance, because private enterprise wouldn't take the risk and so much other business depended on completion of a nation wide rail link. Government got into funding of the arts because there wasn't the kind of private support provided in the U.S. through business-supported charities like The Ford Foundation. Government got into regulations because businessmen were cutting corners and workers were being killed and mangled because of it. Business wants cuts in spending, yet lines up to grab its share of government programs, abusing many programs and driving up the costs it wants government to reduce. Business takes the safe way, not willing to take chances on research and development, then blames the government for Canada's failure to keep up with more innovative countries. Business keeps telling government what it should do, but doesn't outline any alternatives. If government cuts jobs, will business step in and provide them? If government cuts social spending, will business provide better private benefits for workers? If government cuts grants to the arts, will business take up the slack? It's easy to criticize but business leaders should begin offering some alternatives. — KR Looking Back Through the Years From the files of the Brussels Post, Blyth Standard and The North Huron Citizen 69 YEARS AGO OCT. 15,1925 Residents of Blyth were request­ ed to make sure their names were on the voters' list for the upcoming federal election. The purpose of the election was to decide who would make and administer Canada's laws. The Government announced that Oct. 28 would be fish day. All Canadians were requested to have fish for at least one family meal. A new post office was opened for business on Queen Street. The public was first served Monday, Guest column Oct. 12, by Postmaster Tasker. Chewing tobacco sold for 15 cents a package, while the price of fresh butter was 34 cents. A Halloween dance at the Blyth Memorial Hall was scheduled for the night of Oct. 30 by the Maple Leaf Club. After a trip out west, Mr. Joe Heffron returned home. During his vacation Mr. Heffron took in the harvester's excursion and experi­ enced the western life. The Ladies' Guild of Trinity Church held a tea at the home of Miss Emigh. The proceeds of the event went to the organization. Hunters were advised that there would not be an open season for partridge. 42 YEARS AGO OCT.15,1952 The Brussels Lions Club spon­ sored a Tag Day for the Blind. Proceeds of the event were donated to help people with sight problems. A turkey supper at the Brussels United Church was announced. It featured Mr. Arthur Sarge on the electric guitar and other local tal­ ent. Mr. John A. Ainlay travelled from the U.S. to visit Brussels. His relatives were a major fixture around the area in the early days when Brussels was known as Ain- layville. A pair of denim overalls cost $3.95. A woman's blouse sold for $2.98. Feeding migratory birds By Michael O’Sullivan, Exec. Dir. Humane Society Canada/HSI Each year more than 5 billion birds of every size, shape and colour migrate between North America, Latin America and the Caribbean. Your local bookstore will have a number of guides available to help you identify and learn more about these fascinating feathered friends. And by providing food, water and natural shelter, there really is nothing difficult about attracting birds to your backyard. The only other key ingredient required is patience. After all of your hard work, do not become discouraged if groups of brightly coloured birds do not immediately flock to your feeder. It may even take several weeks. A word of caution at this point. The winter feeding of birds is of critical importance to their survival as they become dependent upon humans. Once you start this practice you must continue to feed them for the balance of the winter or they will die. To take this one step further, you may also decide to move at some point in time, with no guarantee that the new pwner of your house or apartment has your interest in feeding birds. For this reason, I recommend that you begin feeding after Dec. 25, and then depending on the weather, Continued on page 7