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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1995-01-04, Page 4Winter coat Photo by Bonnie Gropp Looking Back Through the Years From the files of The Blyth Stan- dard, The Brussels Post and The North Huron Citizen 23 YEARS AGO JAN. 5, 1972 Irresponsible snowmobilers in the Blyth area received a firm warning from the council to discon- tinue their recklessness or be banned from the village. Hullett council voted to contact the Ontario Provincial Police about the lack of law enforcement in the community. The first snow of the new year brought winter back in full force. The weather brought its usual inconveniences to motorists and local residents. The Blyth Snow Travellers, led by president John Elliot, announced that they would hold a steak bar- beque in the community. Blyth Village Council voted to all tenders for a new roof on the • Acmirial Hall. The Belgrave Bantams played eight scheduled games in WOAA competition winning them all. Events in the Brussels "Polar Daize" were. announced. A good number of entertaining winter fun events were'planned. Some of the Parents should teach their children to escape a house fire,. says First Alert, supplier of home safety and security products. "Many adults mistakenly believe that in a fire children will run or call for a parent," says Jim Hind, general manager of BRK Brands Canada, makers of First Alert products. "Young children often hide under beds or in closets thinking they arc safe, while other children think they can control the scheduled activities were: a talent concert, a Polar Queen competition, a Polar Dip in the Maitland River at Lions Park and a giant Christmas tree tionf ire. Two boxes of Duncan Hines cake mixes cost 79 cents, while a pound of California Grapes cost 33 cents. • fire." More than 70 per cent of children who die in home fires are under age five, according to the Ontario Fire Marshal's Office. In 1991, 231 children in Canada were-either injured or killed by fire. "To help prevent these needless tragedies from occurring, we have put together a list of tips," added Mr. Hind. First Alert recommends that Continued on page 9 Prepare your children to survive a housefire PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 4, 1995. C The North Huron itizen eNA P.O. Box 429, P.O. Box 152, BLYTH, Ont. BRUSSELS, Ont. NOM 1H0 NOG 1H0 Phone 523-4792 Phone 887-9114 FAX 523-9140 FAX 887-9021 Publisher, Keith Roulstori Editor, Bonnie Gropp Sales Representatives, Jeannette McNeil and Julie Mitchell VERIFIED CIRCULATION The Citilen is published weekly in Brussels, Ontario by North Huron Publishing Company Inc. Subscriptions are payable in advance at a rate of $23.00/year ($21.50 plus $1.50 G.S.T.) for local; $33.00/year ($30.85 plus $2.15 G.S.T.) for local letter carrier in Goderich, Hanover, Listowel, etc. and out-of-area (40 miles from Brussels); $62.00/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 When wisdom is lacking While politicians in Canada are being urged to put a lid on spending these days, there are unelected officials who are driving up costs with whimsical judgements that are costing all taxpayers money. While politicians are urged to realize that the government can't be a fairy godmother which rights all wrongs, judges continue to think that governments should be responsible for compensating people who have been the victims of tragedies. Municipalities across Ontario are going to be forced to increase taxes this year because liability settlements ordered by the courts are driving up insurance costs by more than 30 per cent. Brussels council learned on Monday, for instance, that insurance costs will increase more than $7,000 this year. The increases are because of the generosity of judges in three cases where municipalities were asked to try to right wrongs from accidents. The judgements totalled $20 million. In one case a hockey player tripped over a crack in ice and slid head first into the boards. The judge felt the municipality hadn't taken enough precautions to prevent such cracks. The judgement was $8.7 million. In another case, two drunken men were wrestling, fell down some stairs and fell through a staircase wall. The City of London was found 80 per cent responsible because the judge felt a building inspector, 17 years earlier, should have found out a stud was missing in the wall. The two drunken men were found not to be responsible for their actions at all. The judgement was $5 million to the injured man. There was a time when we liked to think that judges were wise people who exhibited the wisdom of Solomon. There was a time, in our mistrust of politicians, when Canadians were ready to turn over more decision making to judges through the Charter of Rights. Sadly judges have proven themselves terribly fallible. There was the case where a homeowner was found responsible for a drunk who injured himself jumping off a roof into a swimming pool, even though the drunk had been warned repeatedly not to do it. There was the Supreme Court decision that drunkenness was a valid defence in a rape case, opening the door to defence attorneys to claim innocence by reason of drunkenness and drug use. If, under the Charter of Rights, judges were to protect us from politicians, who now will protect us from the whims of judges? Even in the cases where a municipality is held responsible, the size of the awards are ridiculous. As Randy Fisher of the Frank Cowan Insurance company told Brussels council Monday "We are convenient targets for the courts." Since somebody is badly hurt and will suffer then somebody must pay for that suffering. But should all taxpayers be expected to pay to try to make up for a tragedy? The law makes the situation even more silly because through shared responsibility, even if it were held only one per cent responsible, the municipality might have to pick up the biggest part of the judgement because it could "afford" to pay while private individuals couldn't. In the London case the landlord was eventually found, after appeal, to be 40 per cent responsible but since his insurance would cover only $1 million, the municipality had to pick up $6 million of the eventual $7 million settlement. Sanity must be restored. We are quickly descending to the kind of lunacy that has made the courts a laughing stock in the U.S., where a woman successfully sued McDonald's because the cup of coffee she spilled on herself was too hot. The challenge is how to bring wisdom to the judges we appoint because we think they are wise? — KR Democracy thrives on facts Russian President Boris Ycltsin may have helped bring democracy to his country but he is now discovering just what a powerful force he has unleashed. His discovery may bode well for a peaceful future in the world. Mr. Yeltsin's popularity has plummeted as pictures of the war in Chechnya have been fed back to Russia. In taking on the war perhaps Mr. Yeltsin didn't realize that things were different than back in the old days when the government controlled the media. In a new, democratic Russia, the media is free to show what is actually happening. The media in Russia in 1995 is playing a role similar 'to the role of TV in the Vietnam war in the U.S. Disgusted by what they see; Russians are turning against their own government just as Americans •did in the 1970s. Since the American debacle in Vietnam, a government has never been sure that it can wage war without alienating its own people. Perhaps now another military giant is also learning that lesson. If public support is lacking, war will he less inviting. KR E ditorial