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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1997-03-26, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 26, 1997 C itizenTheNorthHuron 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 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 foreign 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 for unsolicited newscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright. Publications Mail Registration No. 6968 E ditorial Spend now, pay later The lure of tax cuts continues to drive Canadian politics. Last week federal Progressive Conservative party leader Jean Charest became to latest party leader to think he could get popular support by promising to cut income tax. Charest made a 10 per cent cut in personal income tax part of his platform for the election expected in June. Strangely, the very people most likely to vote for a party because of a promised tax cut, are also those who say government must be cut because of the deficit. Yet by promising a tax cut before the budget is balanced, these people are adding to the deficit, not reducing it. At the Members of Parliament dinner sponsored by the Huron County Federation of Agriculture, Saturday, one person, speaking about the need to reduce the deficit, said, "it's a crime to pass our extravagance on to our grandchildren". That argument is being used to slash social programs and close hospitals. Yet isn't taking a tax cut now when the deficit isn't paid off, passing on our extravagance to our children? Any tax cut will have to be financed by borrowed money. This is what Charest wants to do. It is what the government of Mike Harris in Ontario has already done. It's interesting that at Saturday's meeting the word tax cut was never mentioned amid all the talk about fighting the deficit. The truth is, by promising a 30 per cent tax cut at the same time as trying to tame the Ontario deficit, Harris has had to make cuts far deeper than would be necessary without the tax cut. Many people in lower income groups are supporting cuts to government programs because they feel responsible for getting rid of the deficit. Ironically, at the same time, they are supporting a tax cut that won't do much for them (the added expenses in user fees and municipal taxes seem likely to dwarf any tax savings) but will benefit wealthy people enormously. The bottom line for all the bottom-liners, is that you can't have it both ways. If fighting the deficit is a holy war then let's fight the deficit and forget the tax cuts. If you want to borrow money to give wealthy people a tax cut today, then stop talking about not mortgaging the future of our young people. — KR Protecting common resources As several Huron County townships move toward adopting bylaws to govern the application of manure on farmland, controversy is just beginning to percolate up from the grassroots farmers. The bylaw grows out of concerns that technology is pushing livestock operations to get larger and larger. It’s now common for there to be 4,000 pigs in one bam, creating more "sewage" than a town of 4,000 people. Yet while that town would need a sewage treatment plant, farms just store the manure in a liquid-manure tank, then spread it on the land. It's a practice that has been going on for centuries, helping fertilize crops and feed people. The problem is one of scale. Plants can only make use of so much of the nutrients in the manure. If more manure is applied than the plants can use, there's the possibility of the nitrogen going through the soil and into the aquifer that supplies our drinking water. Spreading manure on soil too often, also overloads the soil. The new bylaw will require large operations to design a plan to make sure the manure their animals produce will be taken up by the plants and not affect the groundwater. For farmers, it's one more headache and expense. On one hand they feel forced to get bigger and bigger because consumers' demand for cheap food means they must take less for each animal they produce. On the other hand, they are expected to take on the expense themselves for protecting the environment. Many bitterly note the government provided money for municipal sewage treatment plants but they must provide their own facilities. The fairness of the situation can certainly be questioned but the immediate need is to protect our water supply from the potential dangers of these huge operations. We cannot afford the kind of mistakes that have polluted the water supply in states like North Carolina. No doubt these new regulations seem heavy-handed and unnecessary to some, but if they were wrong, if the water gets polluted, it’s too late to say they’re sorry. — KR Photo by Janice Becker Letters THE EDITOR, On behalf of the council of the Village of Blyth I wish to apologize if we have given the impression that we have decided to amalgamate our municipality into a larger municipal unit From your editorial, "People's Needs Come First," (March 19 edition) it appears that you have misinterpreted us. Please permit me to clarify our position herewith. We are adamantly opposed to altering our boundaries or present structure unless and until we are satisfied that Blyth ratepayers will not be worse off and we are certain that Blyth ratepayers are in favour of such change. However, we are also aware that we may have no choice in the matter if the provincial government proceeds with their apparent plans to eliminate small municipalities, in which event we are looking at all options, if in fact, we are given those options. If we are to be swallowed up by a whale, the ratepayers of Blyth may want the opportunity to choose their whale. Respectfully, Mason Bailey, Reeve, on behalf of the Council of the Village of Blyth. Clinton hosts OGS branch THE EDITOR, The Huron County Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society will be hosting the Region 3 meeting on Saturday, April 19 at the Wesley- Willis United Church in Clinton, Ontario. Region 3 consists of counties of Bruce, Grey, Waterloo, Wellington, Perth and Huron. If you have ever wondered how to trace your family tree or what reference materials are available to assist in your research, this meeting will be informative and an excellent opportunity to network with people sharing a similar interest. Valuable research tips will be given in the two lectures. Ruth Burkholder will show how to track down your elusive ancestors who immigrated to the State of Michigan. Colleen Maguire will demonstrate how to transfer your family tree material to videotape. The use of the video camera has skyrocketed over the last decade and it provides an inexpensive means to distribute your genealogical information. In addition, genealogical reference material will be available for purchase by those in attendance. The OGS Branches of Huron, Perth, Waterloo-Wellington, Bruce- Grey, Lambton and London- Middlesex will have sales tables. Four used book sellers from London, Hamilton and Varna will also have hard-to-find reference books (many of which are out of print). Valuable reference material will also be available at the sales tables of the Huron Historical Society, the Bruce Genealogical Society, Mac Andrews Archival Supplies, Nor Sim Publishing, Genealogical Research Directory and Bur-Mor. Finally, we are indebted to the following Huron County municipalities which will have local histories available: the Village of Brussels and the Townships of Grey, Morris, East Wawanosh, West Wawanosh, Ashfield, Colborne, Goderich, Stanley, Stephen, Howick, Tuckersmith, Turn berry and Usbome. There will be plenty of material available for your perusal. All are welcome to attend this event. The cost is $20 per person for the day. Registrations received prior to April 4 will include a free soup and sandwich lunch. Registration is available at the door on April 19 with the registration table open at 8:30 a.m. The first lecture will commence at 9:30 a.m. Registrations with cheques playable to the Huron County Branch OGS can be mailed to: Huron County Branch OGS Box 469 Goderich, ON N7A 4C7 Thank you. Donna Nicholson Region 3 Meeting Co-ordinator.