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The Citizen, 1997-07-09, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JULY 9,1997 itizen The North Huron 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 E-mail norhuron@huron.net 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 I.......... □ Hi Fading, fading The announcement that the provincial government will turn over Hwys. 4 (north of Clinton) and 86 means that one more vestige of the province will disappear from the landscape. As Brian McBumey, reeve of Turn berry said, people in some northern parts of the county will now have to travel 20 miles just to see what a provincial highway looks like. For local drivers, the change probably won’t make much difference because Huron County has, at least until recent budget cuts, maintained roads that were, if anything, better than the provincial roads. (Those cuts might get worse as the county tries to find the money to maintain 94.4 km of extra highway with lower provincial grants.) But the loss of the provincial symbol on highways means one more in a long line of provincial and federal decisions that make local people feel they are abandoned by their country and their province. As someone recently mention, it’s like the tide is going out as one after another the visible symbols of being tied to the rest of the country vanish. The federal government let our railways be abandoned. There were plans, (thankfully discontinued) to sell off rural post offices. Local armed forces bases have long since closed. Harbours are being sold off. Even the federal weather service, so important in a farming area, has been dismantled. Highways are just the most visible of the areas the province is abandoning including public housing (seniors citizens apartments). But highways are very symbolic. During the heyday of the 40-year Conservative rule of Leslie Frost and John Robarts, good highways were the reward for voting for the party. They knew that it was a reminder to people, every time they drove on the road, what they were getting for their tax dollars (and their support). The two senior governments are still spending a lot of money in rural areas to support education, health care and social safety nets, but there is a danger, as the federal and provincial governments pull back visibly, that a feeling of alienation will grow. That kind of grievance has already turned some parts of the country against others because they feel they get less than they give. When northern Huron residents pull into a gas pump and pay a large part of the price to provincial gas taxes will they be pleased to know they don’t get any road service for the money? Perception, at some point, becomes as important as reality and the growing perception is that the federal and provincial governments are abandoning rural Ontario to concentrate their efforts elsewhere. — KR Arrogance surfaces already Just weeks after an election that should have been a warning, the Chretien government has shown one of the most blatant outbursts of arrogance that has been seen in a long time. Last week the government not only dismissed the report of the commission looking at the Somalia affair but ridiculed the commissioners who spent years looking into the matter. The killing of a young Somali teenager and the subsequent efforts to keep the affair quiet have sickened Canadians. The commissioners, the media and a large proportion of Canadians, know that senior officers have been trying to keep the affair quiet, yet the government declares there has been no coverup. Evidence piled up during commission hearings that senior officers had ordered documents destroyed and had tampered with documents to keep the media from knowing the truth. When the commission was beginning to look seriously at this aspect of the affair, former Defence Minister Doug Young pulled the plug and ordered the commissioners to wrap up their work early. Now Art Eggleton, the new defence minister, attacks the commissioners and Prime Minister Chretien claims there is no justification for the charges of a coverup. The government’s obstinance on this issue is truly mystifying. The Somalia affair happened under the Mulroney government so the Liberals don’t need to have their reputation on the line, which they now have. If they argue they’re staying loyal to the armed forces, the evidence is that they’re not helping the rank and file at all. The senior officers seem ready to save themselves at the expense of the men and women who are on the front lines. The government seems determined to shoot itself in the fooL — KR * w &- Wading at the river Photo by Janice Becker Letters to the editor Acts of mischief irk writers THE EDITOR, I’m so sorry someone made a mistake by dumping their sods on our property. We were not the people who advertised for clean fill. Would the party that dumped this please remove it or we will at their expense. If I have to put it back, they may not appreciate where I will put it. If they wish to use this as a dumping station "BUY THE LOT". There is a town dump "USE IT." Joan Jacobs. THE EDITOR, Over the last few weeks, several volunteers have put in many hours planting and tending the flower boxes and beds throughout the Village of Blyth. Just as the boxes on Queen Street were starting to fill out nicely, some destructive person, or persons, saw fit to pull out and destroy a number of flowers. Early Sunday morning, both the area near the village parking lot and the block across from it by the MemonZ Hall were littered with soil, flowers and plant debris from the boxes, the brick planter and a display in front of a business. If anyone is able to provide information on the perpetrators of this senseless vandalism, I would appreciate a call. In future, anyone seen destroying the work of the Blyth Horticultural Society will possibly face charges of vandalism. For Blyth Horticultural Society Betty Battye, President. Looking Back Through the Years From the files of the Blyth Stan­ dard, Brussels Post and the North Huron Citizen 1 YEAR AGO JULY 10,1996 The Village of Brussels sought another meeting with the five North Huron municipalities to further dis­ cussions on restructuring after a disappointing meeting in Clinton. Area wheat crops were struck by fusarium head blight, affecting as much as 20 per cent of the acreage. A social service administrator told Huron County council that workfare should begin in the coun­ ty by September. County councillors refused to discuss the "Fast Facts" which were being circulated in the region. Christine Warwick of Bluevaie returned home after five weeks as a page at Queen's Park. Chris Stewart and Pauline Stew­ art prepared for trips to Australia and Finland, respectively, as part of the Blyth Lions club participator in an exchange program. Jim Armstrong of Brussels retired after 30 years as a teacher. Brussels, Ethel, Walton and Bluevale United Churches wel­ comed new ministers, Rev. Chris Johnson and Rev. James Murray.