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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1995-05-24, Page 4C The North Huron Amen eNA e P.O. Box 429, P.O. Box 152, Publisher, Keith Roulston NOM 1 HO NOG 1H0 BLYTH, OM. BRUSSELS, Ont. Phone 523-4792 Phone 887-9114 Editor, Bonnie Gropp Sales Representatives, CJRCIJI.ATION VERIFIED Jeannette McNeil and Julie Mitchell FAX 523.9140 FAX 887-9021 The Citizen 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; $3 3.00/year ($30.85 plus $2.15 G.S.T.) fir 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 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 The problem behind the problem Week after week the debate over the bill for firearms registration continues to demonstrate a chasm between the rural and the urban population in Canada. Gone fishin' Photo by Bonnie Gropp Looking Back Through the Years Residents gear up for election From the tiles of The Blyth Stan- dard, The Brussels Post and The North Huron Citizen 47 YEARS AGO May 26, 1948 Residents were gearing up for the June 7 provincial election. John W. Hanna, who had previously served Huron-Bruce in the Ontario Legis- lature for five years, urged citizens to vote for him. The Melville Church Dramatic Club was preparing for their play entitled "The Dutch Detective". The drama was scheduled to take place at the Walton Community Hall. Karen Buschlin of Brussels won the highest marks in all solo piano classes at the Huron County Festi- val of Music. She was also awarded the Silver Rose Bowl trophy. Irene Myers suffered a broken leg after she was struck by a car on her way home from school. The Brussels youngster celebrated her sixth birthday in a ICitchenerhospi- tal. Fans were urged to come out to Victoria Park and support the Brus- sels football team as they prepared to battle Walton. A car collided with a CPR jigger at a crossing in Walton. The colli- sion sent the small railway machine about 12 feet from the track, although damage and injuries were only minor. "Springtime in the Sierras," star- ring Roy Rogers was playing at local theatres. Other features included, "The Foxes of Harrow," and "Driftwood." 11 YEARS AGO May 22, 1974 Conflict arose over the expansion of Zurich's residential and industri- al sectors when the Huron County Board of Education criticized the county planning department. The HCBE said that local schools could not accommodate the large increase in population that might come with the expansion of the town. Two groups in Blyth received Opportunities for Youth grants. A group headed by Evelyn Benjamins received a grant to provide recre- ational activities for the elderly in retirement homes. Marsha McNall lead the other project, which received funds to landscape the Blyth Union Cemetery. The Huron-Perth Separate School Board haggled for almost two hours on the subject of hiring more staff. In the end the group agreed to advertise for a supervisory officer and special educational consultant. "American Graffiti," and "The Last American Hero," were playing on the silver screen. PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MAY 24, 1995. Support for gun control is not divided along rural/urban lines. There are people in the city who hunt. There are people in the city who belong to gun clubs or who want to own a gun because they see it as their protection in an increasingly violent city. There are people in the country who don't own guns and who don't see the need for gun ownership by the vast majority of the citizenry. But the debate crosses those lines and becomes something much more than just about firearms registration. Supporters of the legislation see it as a not unreasonable request for people to register their weapons. If people register their dogs and their bicycles, Prime Minister Chretien said, why should it be such a big deal to register guns. Aside from the fact that the penalties originally proposed for not registering a firearm were much more serious than for not registering a dog or bicycle, or that nobody authorized the police to enter a home without a search warrant to seize an unregistered dog or bicycle, the underlying opposition comes from a feeling by gun owners that they are being blamed for a problem they have nothing to do with. They feel that the bill is a cynical attempt by the government to make urbanites, afraid of growing inner-city violence, think they are doing something to end the problem. Fuelling the debate are remarks of supporters of the bill who portray the "gun lobby" in the borrowed terms used in the U.S. for the ultra- right-wing National Rifle Association. So far, there is no comparison between the wacko beliefs of the NRA and the anti-bill movement (though some disturbing NRA-like rhetoric is starting to creep north of the border as the debate goes on). It's downright silly to equate the opponents of the bill with the U.S. situation because we already have far stronger anti-gun legislation. But it's the morally superior attitude of many urbanites who can't understand the opposition that is winning support for the bill's opponents even among rural people who have no interest in gun ownership. One columnist in a major paper recently wrote in words dripping with sarcasm about the rural MPs "representing" their constituents. There is the sense that those who use guns, whether farmers or native trappers, are brutes and uncivilized and therefore their opinions don't really count. There's the sense that farmers and trappers are part of an irrelevant past that should be ignored. This hurt goes beyond the rights and wrongs of gun registration. For many rural people registration is just the final straw in a growing ignorance by urbanites about the world beyond the highrises. If Prime Minister Chretien and Justice Minister Alan Rock could understand this, they might not be facing the opposition they are to the bill. — KR Greener pastures illusionary Probably by the time you read this there will be one less national Hockey League team in Canada. Rumours Monday were that the Quebec Nordiques would announce their move to Denver on Tuesday. This follows the near move of the Winnipeg Jets to Minnesota last week with the team saved at the last moment when the deal fell through. There are those who suggest that it's just a matter of time before all Canadian teams but Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver have moved to greener pastures in the south. Except that some of those pastures have already been overgrazed before. Denver failed once before as a home for hockey, the team moving on to New Jersey. The Dallas Stars were the Minnesota North Stars until just two years ago. They moved because of poor attendance. But the NHL continues to look at U.S. cities through rose coloured glasses. They see American cities eventually gaining them a major U.S. television contract. They'd rather have a team with a half-empty building in a U.S. city than a full-house in Winnipeg. No U.S. cities have shown the kind of support for their team Winnipeggers did, demonstrating in the streets and donating their own savings to help save the team (unfortunately Quebec hasn't shown that kind of support either). There has been no word if Minneapolis or Denver have been asked by the NHL for a guarantee the team won't be moved for 10 years as prospective Winnipeg owners were. Winnipeg has won, for now, but as long as this U.S. obsession continues Canadian teams will be endangered. — KR E ditorial