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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1999-04-14, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14, 1999. C itizenTheNorthHuron >cna P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, Ont. NOM 1H0 Phone 523-4792 FAX 523-9140 P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, Ont. NOG 1 HO Phone 887-9114 FAX 887-9021 E-mail norhuron@scslnternetcom 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 i ~ 1 " i Eyes^ frorvtf_____________________________________ Photo by Mark Nonkes Looking Back Through the Years Stumbling toward single tier The thing that most every municipality tn Huron County says it least wants, single-tier government, county-wide government, may become inevitable if people soon can’t get together to work on smaller amalgamations. Alliances in various corners of the county continue to shift, as municipalities join amal­ gamation talks, then drop out. As the difficulties in reaching agreement continues to grow, so does the likelihood that someone will call on a provincial commissioner to impose a restructuring option — an option that may erase all municipal boundaries within the county and lead to only a county government This, supposedly, was what no one wanted. At a meeting of all councils across the county the single-tier option was rejected by a wide majority. There’s a fear of too much power being put in the hands of a small council and a (relatively) large bureaucracy. The alternative to this, however, is trying to come up with local amalgamations. The problem is that trying to put together large regional groups is difficult While small unions, such as that between Brussels and Grey Twp. are manageable because only two councils have to see eye to eye, while when you try to put six or 10 municipalities together the problems multiply. As the northern Huron group has found out, if one or two municipalities in the middle don’t agree, the whole puzzle falls to pieces. Perhaps Huron County could learn lessons from Bruce County. There smaller amalgamations eventually led to larger ones. For instance, Teeswater and Culross Twp. amalgamated and Mildmay and Carrick Twp. united. A couple of years later, the two new amalgamated municipalities then got together. Some new tack is needed. If Huron municipalities continue to squabble, an imposed amalgamation seems inevitable. — KR Undemocratic war While one can agree to disagree on whether the NATO governments are right to be trying to stop ethnic cleansing in Kosovo by attacking Yugoslavia, one thing seems clear — Canada should not be bombing and killing people without there even having been a debate in the House of Commons. The actions of Canadian fighter-bombers in attacking targets in Kosovo and Yugoslavia are an act of war. People are being killed in the name of the Canadian people who have never had a say in the government's decision. A country should not be able to go to .war on the whim of the government in power. Now the government is saying it may consider having a debate before ground troops would be sent in to Kosovo but Prime Minister Jean Chretien says all this is hypothetical because there are no current plans to send in troops. The government may be correct in its actions in Kosovo — only time will tell for sure. It's inexcusable, however, that it should be conducting a war without the sanction of the Canadian parliament.— KR Justice is fragile What is justice? That question was being asked this week as the jury deliberations went on for days in the case of a man accused of murdering 11-year-old Alison Parrott in Toronto. The jurors weren't told that the accused man already had convictions for raping two other teenage girls, though they were told of his convictions for theft, fraud and assault. As the jury deliberations dragged on, giving rise to the thought jurors may not be able to reach a unanimous verdict, many people are angry that the rights of the accused were given more protection than the rights of the Parrott family. Defence lawyers across the province, however, argue that juries may be prejudiced if evidence of past crimes is submitted and they may decide a case more on the basis of the past convictions than on evidence presented at the trial. The debate demonstrates how delicate a thing justice is. There is no right or wrong answer. Whatever set of rules is adopted some innocent people are likely to be convicted and some guilty will go free. — KR From the files of the Blyth Standard, Brussels Post and North Huron Citizen April 18,1979 Four plays showing in the fifth season of the Blyth Festival were announced. They were: Peter Colley's I'll Be Back Before Midnight, Patricia Mahoney's This Foreign Land, Keith Roulston's McGillicuddy's Lost Weekend and Child by James W. Nichol. Huron County public school sup­ porters faced an 8.4 per cent increase in taxes under the 1979 budget adopted by the board of edu­ cation. A budget was passed calling for expenditures of $23.6 million, a 13 per cent increase over 1978. The Londesboro Lions donated $200 towards the purchase of more instruments for the Hullett School Band. They had also donated $500 in 1978 for the same purpose. Donald S. Henry, RR1, Bluevale, had the top indexing Landrace in the group of 105 boars which recently completed testing at the Ontario ROP Swine Test Station. Letters Future of Brussels Minor Ball in jeopardy, says chairman Conduct miffs visitor THE EDITOR, On Friday night, April 9, I drove up from Listowel to the BMG complex to be a part of the stagette, sponsored by the Optimist Club. The meal and social time was wonderful, but I was appalled at the conduct of one tableful of ladies. They continued talking all through speaker, Gisele Ireland's presenta­ tion. On top of that they traipsed back and forth, in front of the platform, to the bar, as she spoke. I know we were all there for a good time, but to be so disrespect­ ful towards a good speaker and others who wished to enjoy her presentation, was disgraceful conduct. Phyllis Thompson. April 19,1989 Blyth council raised salaries. Reeve Albert Wasson received a raise of $300 to bring his salary to $2,000 per year and councillors' salaries went up to $1,400 from $1,080. A newly-formed service organi- zatio Brussels Basket, was created to welcome new residents to the vil­ lage. Kelly Overholt took top marks in the physical category in the Brussels Public School science fair and was eligible to compete in the science fair in Clinton with Jason Galloway and Sheri Huether. Rain Man, winner of four Academy Awards (Best Picture, Best Actor), starring Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise was play­ ing at the Lyceum Theatre in Wingham and Goderich's Park Theatre. April 13,1994 Winners at the Brussels Public THE EDITOR, Another year has come to start to plan for a summer of softball in Brussels. But this year appears to be very different from previous years. Over the past few years minor ball has seen registration decline but this year we are on the verge of starting a season with only one team to field. In years gone by minor ball enjoyed registered numbers as high Writer seeks alumni for reunion THE EDITOR, On June 30 the doors of the Owen Sound Collegiate & Vocational Institute will close forever. Fittingly, one of the most prominent events in the storied history of the 143-year-old educational institute will be its final farewell on July 2, 3 and 4. Plans are well underway by the OSCVI Alumni Association for a grand School Science Fair, who had the opportunity to compete in the • Huron County Fair were Jason Walker, Robbie Burkholder, Jenny Gowing, Amy Crawford, Mike Cooper, Amy McDougall, Tracy Goodland, Nathan Garland, Krissy Dilworth, Mark Kroll and Justin Ruttan. Young actors were being audi­ tioned for roles for the Blyth Festival production Glengarry School Days. At Blyth Public School, the Peacemakers, specially trained Grade 6 and 7 students were seen on the playground, solving prob­ lems for their fellow students. The program was designed to teach con­ flict resolution. John Verwey of RR1, Auburn, earned a first-place finish at the Provincial Dart Championships held in Toronto. Over 100 people competed with the top eight posi­ tions qualifying for the Nationals. as 200 but as another year approaches registration is down to a meager 53 children. This is unfortunate because there are kids who want to play but there is not enough in certain age groups to field teams. We hope that maybe there are some out there who forgot to register but if we don’t hear within the next few days it will be too late. John Harrison, Chairman Brussels Minor Bail, 887-9865. finale - The OSCVI Last Class - Fond Farewell To the Old School Weekend. Registration and information packages are being distributed to over 3,000 alumni, teachers, staff, guests and dignitaries. The weekend will host a variety of events including memorabilia decades rooms, an outdoors entertainment tent and live and Continued on page 6