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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1996-09-04, Page 4Letters Scene from the past Photo by Les Cook Looking Back Through the Years From the files of the Blyth Stan- dard, Brussels Post and the North Huron Citizen 1 YEAR AGO SEPT. 6, 1995 Construction of Union Gas lines neared completion in Blyth, Bel- grave, Brussels and Londesboro, soon allowing for residential hookups. Bruce Papple purchased Blyth Mini Mart. Four young ladies vied for the title of Brussels Ambassador of the Fair. They were Denise TenPas, Teresa Bridge, Kady Terpstra and Stacy Hahn. The Blyth Mites ball team defeat- ed Stanley Twp. to win the inter- township A championship in the year-end ball tournament. He won't Come in From the Barn opened its fourth season at the Blyth Festival, to a sold-out audi- ence. 9 YEARS AGO SEPT. 2, 1987 NDP candidate, Bob Rae, toured the Sherlock-Manning piano facto- ry in Clinton, ensuring voters he would encourage agencies spend- ing government money to give Canadian producers a fair chance. Angela Nethery, the 1986-87 Huron County Dairy Princess was selected as one of the 10 finalists for the title of Ontario Dairy Princess at the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto. Brussels' Kevin Wheeler, along with figure skating partner, Michelle Menzies, earned a gold medal at the International Figure Skating Competition in St. Gervais, France. Jack Bowman and Mary Yuill won the Brussels Lawn Bowling's Gerald Gibson trophy. The white bean crop in Huron County was 30 per cent harvested with yields ranging from 15 to 18 bags per acre. Jack Riddell ran as the Liberal candidate for Huron. Construction began on the $1mil- lion obstetrics wing at Clinton Pub- lic Hospital. 40 YEARS AGO SEPT. 5, 1956 THE EDITOR, The North Huron Community Food Share is having its grand official opening on Sept. 7 from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. at the Home Video Store on Josephine Street in Wingham. Everyone is welcome. Barbecued hot dogs, hamburgers and baked goods will be available. Rhonda Schnare has promised to stay on the roof of the Home Video until a truckload of food is donated. Plan to attend so that you may participate in the fun of helping fill Enrollment at Brussels Public School reached 122. The charge for services at the Brussels barbershop were: 75 cents for a hair cut; 85 cents, brush cut; 40 cents, children; 50 cents, town children on saturday; 15 cents, head rub; 50 cents shampoo and 20 cents, singe. Some of the movies showing on the big screen were: Underwater with Jane Russell and Richard Egan; Gunga Din with Cary Grant and The Violent Men with Edward G. Robinson and Glen Ford. Community Food Share has opening the truck with food, thus allowing Rhonda to return to the ground. Please bring a can of food and donate it to our cause — to supply food to those in need. We are proud to tell you that in the past three months, The North Huron Community Food Share has helped over 70 families in this area. Help us to help others. Hope to see you there. Paul Elgie. PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 1996 O C The Worth Huron cn itizen P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, Ont. NOM 1H0 Phone 523-4792 FAX 523-9140 P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, Ont. NOG 1H0 Phone 887-9114 FAX 887-9021 Publisher, Keith Roulston Editor, Bonnie Gropp Advertising Manager, Jeannette McNeil PAID The Citizen is published weekly in Brussels, Ontario by North Huron Publishing Company Inc. Subscriptions are payable in advance at a rate of $27.00/year ($25.24 + $1.76 G.S.T.) In Canada; $62.00/year in U.S.A. and $75.00/year in other foreigri 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: Monday, 2 p.m. - Brussels; Monday, 4 p.m. - Blyth. We are not responsible tor unsolicited newscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright. Publications Mail Registration No. 6968 Beaten into submission? Staff here at The Citizen are absorbed these days, in what free time they can find, in researching and writing the Brussels history book for next year's homecoming. One of the advantages is that it gives some historical perspective and comparing the 1970s to today, one wonders why people were so resilient back then and seem too ready to give up today. Take 1976, for instance. That year was an exciting time in Brussels. The new LCBO store opened. The seniors apartments opened. There was a bitter debate over whether the village should go ahead with a $3 million sanitary sewer project. School taxes increased 28 per cent in one year as inflation went wild (remember wage and price controls?) And in the midst of all this, new Building Code regulations meant the old arena had to be replaced. Rather than wilt under the pressure, however, local citizens rolled up their sleeves and built a new community centre and arena that provided facilities users of the old arena could only have dreamed of. That same year in Blyth, the community was also building a new arena which was up and paid for by the following January. At the same time the Blyth Festival was in its second year and building toward tremendous success. There was plenty to worry about in those days, but people seemed ready and willing to fight back. Today people seemed discouraged and ready to give in to whatever happens to them. In 1976, for example. Health Minister Frank Miller announced the closure of the Clinton Hospital (as well as Chesley) but the community fought back and kept the hospitals open. Shortly before, angered by talk of regional government, voters in the southern part of the county had elected Jack Riddell over a government representative. Contrast that to today's attitudes? The provincial government is forcing municipalities to amalgamate, and despite the fact nobody locally can see any real financial gain, municipalities are going along. It's a move similar to the abolition of local school boards in favour of county boards — a move that took decision making farther from the people, and ended up costing more. Have we been beaten into submission by six years of recession and government deficit reduction? Are we now to the state that we just sit back and take whatever is thrown at us whether it makes sense or not? Looking back at the proud way Huron County's people responded to the challenges of the past, our lethargy today is disappointing..— KR Court decision no big deal It was nice that a Quebec judge decided last week that Quebec can't separate without permission of the rest of the country in the form of a constitutional amendment, but unfortunately it doesn't mean much. The decision would effectively mean Quebec will be part of Canada forever because we all know how impossible it is to get a constitutional amendment these days with the stubbornness of 10 premiers. Still, if Quebec votes to separate from Canada is lack of a constitutional amendment really going to stop them? If the rest of Canada refuses to give the constitutional amendment how are we going to enforce keeping the country together, armed invasion? The importance of the decision is evident by the play it got in the Quebec media: it was mostly ignored. In nationalist circles the decision is just one more reason to be out of Canada. Why should a "foreign" law apply over the will of the people. It's frustrating for Canadians outside Quebec. Quebec voters hold the future in their hands, not just of their own province, but of our country too. They have the ability to tear out the heart of our country and there's nothing, save armed intervention, that can stop them. We can claim international law says a simple majority vote isn't enough for independence but what does international law mean? That same international law should mean that the Kurds in Iraq cannot unilaterally separate but the U.S. bombed Iraq this week in order to protect them. There is theory, and there is reality. The reality is that we have little way of holding Quebec in Canada other than by winning the hearts and minds of the Quebec people. With the powers of the government and a nationalist-dominated media stacked against us, that's difficult. We can only keep trying, such as people did when they opened their hearts to Saguenay flood victims. Perhaps the message will get through. — KR E ditorial