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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1995-10-04, Page 7In the beginning: a community buys in October marks the 10th anniversary of the found- ing of The Citizen. During the month Publisher Keith Roulston will recall some of the memorable moments in the paper's history. By the summer of 1985 Brussels and Blyth had been without newspapers for nearly three years. The Brussels Post and The Blyth Standard, the first with more than a century of history, the latter nearing the century mark, had been swallowed up in a merger of two newspaper chains. People began to realize how important a newspa- per was to their community. Sheila Richards, worried about her community of Brussels, approached me about what could be done. I'd already been thinking of a newspaper to serve the two communities (changing economics made it very difficult for a newspaper to survive in either village by itself). With no money, and with our experience at the Blyth Festival where people felt a sense of community ownership, we set out to raise financing for a commu- nity-owned newspaper. Local residents were quick to support the idea, investing from $100 to $3,000 in the venture. In fact we ended up with too many investors, more than 80 when Ontario securities laws say you can't have more than 50. Most people invested with the thought of providing a badly-needed community service more than the idea of a high return — a good thing since there have been more years they haven't made money than there have been years when they received a dividend_ When the idea of a community-owned newspaper caught the fancy of the media, we got our 15 seconds of fame with stories in newspapers as distant as Ari- zona and radio interviews as far away as Alberta. Unfortunately the stories were also carried in the two largest Toronto newspapers bringing us to the attention of the Ontario Securities Commission which said we were violat- ing the law. Two years of negotiations and a considerable legal bill finally resolved the matter. By then The Citizen was a huge suc- cess. The circulation of the two previous papers had been about 1,000 copies each. Since there would have been some over- lap in circulation in the rural areas, and since farm population had continued to drop, we felt a circulation of 1,500 copies would be a good goal. After sending the newspaper free to all homes in North Huron for 10 weeks, we switched to paid circulation and quickly reached the 1,500 target. Through aggressive promotion, our circulation contin- ued to grow until it reached a high point of 2,300 copies, both subscribers and newsstand purchasers. Circulation dipped a couple of years ago but today is growing at a total of 2,154. 1985-1995 Serving the community Owned by the community Food Markets Assorted Varieties Frozen 750 g/1 kg Bag Frozen Grade A YOUNG TURKEYS Regular or Pulp Free Frozen 355 ml Tin 3-8 kg (7-171b) Avg. 3.06 kg Frozen Grade A Young Turkeys Over 8 kg (17 lb) 3284 1.49 lb. 33% Salt Reduced or Whole, Half or Mini 5.71 kg COKE, SPRITE OR CANADA DRY Assorted Varieties 24 a 355 ml fins Unit Price 7.2/100 ml 750 ml Bottle + Deposit Unit Price 9.2/100 ml Boneless Outside Round STEAK ROAST Cut From Canada A/AA/AAA Grades Beef Hip (Eye Removed) 5.49 kg in616...KNECHTEL YOUR loCalSTORE WITH BIG SAVINGS Scrimgeour's Food Market Blyth 523-4551 Savings based on our regular retails. We reserve the right to limit quantities to normal family requirements. Values effective: Mob., Oct. 2 to Sun., Oct. 8. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1995. PAGE 7. Decorative lights, no or go? Blyth seeks input on rail plan By Bonnie Gropp The decision on continuing the decorative street lighting project has been put on hold once again. At the last meeting of Blyth council, it was decided to look into whether or not concrete poles could be obtained for the same price as the aluminum poles used in the downtown core. Clerk John Stewart informed council at the Oct. 2 meeting that he had contacted the supplier and was told that the price for the 12 lights needed to complete the area from Bell's Variety to the bridge could be purchased at the same cost as the original ones had been. Also, he said, the cement pole is approximately the same price, but it would need to be dug into the ground. Stewart told council that he had spoken as well with someone from the infrastructure office. They told him that the program has been extended and several municipalities had made applications to defer pro- jects until 1996, 1997, or 1998. Originally, the Blyth projects were to be completed by March of 1996 or the funding would be gone. "To date all deferrals have been accepted. No new ones have been approved, however," Stewart said. While council haggled for a time over how much government fund- ing there had been for the first phase of the work, Don Scrim- geour, representing the Blyth Busi- ness Association cut to the chase. "Irregardless of the cost of the ini- tial stage, what we're dealing with is the cost of phase two, which has been approved." Reeve Mason Bailey said he was relieved to hear that a concrete pole was available due to concern expressed over the durability of the aluminum ones. He added, however, that council has a responsibility to the taxpayers to make the best use of the money. Councillor Robbie Lawrie agreed saying that he would like to know what the costs would be for instal- lation. Reeve Bailey suggested that perhaps costs could be cut if village employees could do some of the work Stewart asked Scrimgeour if he felt it was necessary that the project be completed this year or could it be deferred. "I think the feeling was that we would like it done, mainly because if it wasn't done until the end of March it wasn't going to happen. If we can defer it that may change things," Scrimgeour said. Council instructed Stewart to investigate costs of installation to bring to the next meeting. By Bonnie Gropp Blyth council has scheduled Oct. 11 as the day to meet with the pub- lic to discuss the proposed Blyth Brook Community Greenway pro- ject. The project, which will see improvement to railway lands along the side of the Blyth Brook, from the arch to the westerly limits. Some of the improvements will be a walking trail and environmental enhancement through planting. The proposed trail would run from the fairgrounds to the brook, where it would follow the lands east of Hwy 4 to the arch, ultimate- ly linking it to Drummond St. The possibility of restoring the historic arch will also be consid- ered. Clerk-Treasurer John Stewart had attended a meeting in Milverton on Sept. 26. He told council at their regular meeting on Monday night that a verbal agreement had been given to the village to assume the head lease for the old CPR property with the exception of places where lease agreements were already.in place and in the area for which Howson Mills have applied. The committee, he said, prefers that the village lease the land then sub-lease it to others, such as the snowmobile club, in order to mini- mize the number of representatives with which they have to deal. Council decided that they would like to meet with affected landown- ers prior to holding a public meet- ing. The time has been set to meet with them for 7 p.m. Oct. 11 in the Blyth Library. The public meeting will follow at 8 p.m. Deer causes accident Wildlife and automobiles cannot share the highway. That was the experience of Car- man Ives, 46, of RR4 Brussels on Sept. 25, when she was travelling east on County Road 25 towards Auburn. Ives was 4 km west of Sideroad 33/34, East Wawanosh Twp., when she swerved to avoid striking a deer crossing the road. The 83 Pontiac entered the ditch and hit a fence. Ives sustained major injuries and was transported to Seaforth Hospi- tal. Discussing the art Bev Walker, right, of RR3 Blyth, discusses the medium used to create floral designs by her husband, Ron, with fellow artist, Hollis Manske of Goderich. Manske was taking part in the annual studio tour presented each fall by the Huron Society of Artists.