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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1999-04-07, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 7, 1999. C itizen P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, Ont. NOM 1H0 Phone 523-4792 FAX 523-9140 The North Huron >cna P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, Ont. NOG 1 HO Phone 887-9114 FAX 887-9021 E-mail norhuron@scslntarnat.com Publisher, Keith Roulston Editor, Bonnie Gropp Advertising Manager, Jeannette McNeil Member Ontario The Citizen Is published 50 times a year in Brussels, Press Council 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 $100.00/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. 09244 Canadian Publication Mail Agreement No. 1374990 E ditorial C . . ' - """ i 911 —for better or worse For years now rural residents have been hearing about the efficiency of the 911 emergency calling system and so the proposal to extend it to rural Ontario seemed like a step forward. Some disturbing cases across the province, however, pose the question about whether 911 is an improvement over the current system or whether it’s just one more excuse to save money. A family in the Belleville area is calling for an inquest into the death of their daughter after ambulances were delayed because of a mix up with dispatchers. Though the young woman was injured in an accident near Belleville, the dispatcher who handled the call was in Kingston. Confused about the location of the accident, the dispatcher sent an ambulance from a town 30 minutes away instead of a closer ambulance. There used to be a dispatch depot in Belleville but it was closed because of cost cutting and all calls were rerouted to Kingston. The parents of the dead woman feel the confusion wouldn't have happened if the dispatcher had been more familiar with the area. Kingston dispatchers must cover too much territory, they argue. Similar stories have been heard from the Owen Sound area where dispatch calls are now handled in London, a three-hour drive away. It’s impossible for people that distant to be familiar with the peculiarities of a particular area. They become totally dependent on the information in their computer systems and if that doesn’t work, they’re flying blind. Huron County is currently undergoing a mammoth effort of renaming roads and numbering each property to accommodate the 911 emergency system. One would like to think the result would be an increase in service, not just the ability to centralize dispatching.— KR No good options At times such as the current crisis in Kosovo, government leaders must be strong in their belief in their actions, because no matter what they do they will be criticized. The NATO leaders, for instance, are in a no-win situation in Kosovo. If they didn’t take action they would have been blamed for sitting by and watching people be murdered or driven from their homes by the Yugoslavian army and police or Serbian thugs. When they did act, they were first criticized for not ending the war in a couple of hours or a couple of days at most, then it was questioned whether they were making life worse for the ethnic Albanians who fled the country. Now, Canada and seven other NATO countries are planning to give temporary shelter to 150,000 people from the refugee camps but they're being criticized by the Albanian president for taking the people too far from their homes. It’s easy to sit back and criticize in times like these. Most of us should just be grateful we’re not in charge of finding solutions when there are no good options. — KR Fighting a micro-wave war In an age when we’re used to cooking our supper in two minutes in the microwave or having a a column of figures instantly calculated by a computer, a war seems to be a terribly slow thing — al least for television reporters. Within two days of the start of bombing of Yugoslavia by NATO forces, television commentators were already speculating that the war was dragging on longer than expected. Apparently they felt that Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milosevic was supposed to run for cover the instant the first bomb dropped and when he didn’t, they figured NATO was failing. As one American official said last week, a war isn't something that can be fought so that it’s over in time for the commercial break, as TV news seems to want. While freedom of the press is essential and can save us from making terrible mistakes, one can hardly help wondering what World War II would have been like covered by modern media. It was a war that dragged on for six long years of desperate struggle. There were times when it seemed the allies might lose the war. There were mistakes and tragic deaths as a result. With today’s intense media coverage, would governments have had the public support to win the war? — KR Photo by Janice Becker Looking Back Through the Years From the files of the Blyth Standard, Brussels Post and North Huron Citizen April 11,1979 Robert Adams won a gold medal­ lion for being the top winner in Huron County in a poster contest during Lord Baden Powell Week. The runners up were Brian Howatt, Robert Radford and Scott Overboe. The Huron Perth County Roman Catholic Separate School Board was asked to provide additional space at St. Joseph's School in Clin­ ton to meet the needs of the 110 enroled students. Harvey Hoggart of RR1, Londes- boro placed second at the Quartera- ma horse show in Toronto. The 1st Londesboro Cub and Scouts Groups had their annual father-son banquet. David Stephen­ son was awarded with his woods­ man badge, the first awarded in nine years. The Londesboro Explorers were planning their mother-daughter banquet. At Roth's Food Market in Seaforth, four, 2 lb. bags of Valley Farm french fries were selling for 99 cents. Enter The Dragon was one of several movies playing at the Mus­ tang Drive-In outside of Goderich. At Brownie's Drive-In Theatre in Clinton, the Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Jaws 2 were two of the films showing. April 12,1989 The plans for the first Brussels Fun Fest were discussed at an open meeting. Committe members included Chairman, Wayne Lowe; Co-Chairman, Gerry Wheeler; Sec­ retary, Mary Stretton and Treasurer, Karen Hastings. The Brussels recycling program began with a bang as Don Carter of Carter's Waste Disposal reported that 1,990 lbs of recyclable materi­ als were picked up in the first week. Murray Cardiff, member of par­ liament for Huron-Bruce was swom in as parliamentary secretary. Brussels resident Margaret Jarvis competed at the semi-provincial speaking competion in Richmond Hill. She was the first runner-up for her speech on cystic fibrosis. She also entered a separate contest sponsored by the Oddfellows and Rebekahs. She was selected as the top speaker. Her prize entitled her to a two-week tour of Ottawa, New York City, Washington and Philadelphia. April 6,1994 Approzimately a dozen Scouts and fathers delivered the blue boxes to houses and apartments as part of the recycling effort initiated by Blyth council. The Blyth Atom Rep hockey club won its first group playoff in five years. They were, however knocked out of OMHA playoffs by Stephen Twp. three games to one. Farmers interested working with draft horses took part in a daylong workshop at Tony and Fran McQuail's, near Lucknow. The day consisted of safety, grooming, har­ nessing, hitching and driving and equipment. While Iron Will was playing at the Lyceum Theatre in Wingham, Naked Gun, 33 1/3, The Final Insult was being shown at the Park Theatre in Goderich. Letters THE EDITOR, Thank you for the fine editorial "Importing old world issues" (March 31 issue). I totally agree if refugees wish to live in Canada, their countries problems should be left behind. The security cost placed on our police to control demonstrations is deplorable, and Serbs are fast losing Canadian respect by these Continued on page 6