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The Citizen, 1999-07-07, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JULY 7,1999. C itizenTheNorthHuron Aocna P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, Ont. NOM 1 HO 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 Member Ontario Preee Council E-mail norhuron@scsinternet.com The Citizen is published 50 times a year 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 $100/year in other foreign coun­ tries. 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 newsscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright. Publications Mail Registration No. 09244 Canadian Publication Mail Agreement No. 1374990 Whats the attraction? What’s the attraction of senseless vandalism? It’s always a mystery what pleasure some people find in destroying the work of others. Yet it keeps happening, and the cost keeps mounting. Earlier this summer vandals’ work delayed the opening of the Brussels, Morris and Grey community swimming pool. More recently E ditorial j < ............................. ................. vandals in Blyth have been undermining a community-wide effort to show the village at its best for the Communities in Bloom competition. Main street planters have been overturned, recurring damage has been done to the Greenway installations. The usual excuse for this kind of senseless damage is that there’s nothing for young people to do. Unfortunately, no matter how much is provided there will always be some people more interested in creating their own “fun” than in taking part in sanctioned activities. After all, the vandals who damaged the BMG pool were damaging the kind of facility the community worked hard to put in place for the use of young people. People who say “there’s nothing to do” are really saying more about their own lack of imagination than about the services provided by the community. Even in the city you’ll find imagination-challenged people claiming there’s nothing for young people to do. For those with imagination there are endless things to do in small towns from sports to helping in community activities to exploring nature. No, unfortunately, providing activities to “keep kids busy” isn’t a foolproof solution to vandalism. The only answer is vigilance. Neighbours must keep their eyes open to prevent damage. Parents must have an idea just where their young people are, and what they’re up to. Vandalism is nothing new. It has always been part of society. All we can do is hope to reduce the amount of damage done. — KR Photo by Janice Becker Looking Back Through the Years Skirting trade rules A decade ago during the great free trade debate, many supporters in the agricultural sector felt an agreement would prevent the kind of politically-motivated trade harassment that had hindered Canadian farm products crossing the border. Last week’s decision to slap duties on the entry of live cattle into the U.S. shows how naive these hopes were. No matter what international trade rules say, American politicians will always worry more about local voters than about international law. So last week, after hearing complaints from U.S. cattle producers, the U.S. Department of Commerce ruled that Canadian beef producers were shipping their animals into the U.S. at “below the cost of production”. Any farmer knows there are many years when he is selling his product at “below the cost of production” so the U.S. is probably right. However, since there is a large two-way cattle trade, (Canada is the third largest market for U.S. beef) American cattle entering Canada are also bound to be under the cost of production. You can have all the trade rules you want but when the most powerful country in the world wants to ignore them, it will. In the past, when Americans have lost a trade ruling they either just challenged the ruling all over again or ignored it outright. In some cases, such as softwood lumber and Canadian grain exports’, they have kept up the harassment until the Canadian government negotiated away the rights of Canadian producers in the name of gaining peace. As long as power is so unevenly spread throughout the world, a country like the U.S. will always define the rules as it sees fit. Canadians, by tying their economic future more and more to the giant to the south, will just have to get used to living with injustice. — KR From the files of the Blyth Standard, Brussels Post and North Huron Citizen Mocking democracy Freedom of speech, freedom of religion — they’re two of the foundations of a free society. This week when a disciple of a white supremacist World Church of the Creator went on a shooting spree that killed two and wounded several in the Chicago area, the church’s leader said the killer, who took his own life, was a martyr to the cause. Violence, he said, was inevitable when free speech is taken away. Ironic, isn’t it, how the people who most abuse democracy hide behind it? A racist can support taking away the right to life for non­ whites but he can still mouth the rhetoric of rights when he wants. — KR July 8, 1987 For the second time in his term, Brussels Reeve Hank Ten Pas resigned. Brussels celebrated its 115th anniversary with a birthday and homecoming celebration. Members of all ages representing all organizations of Blyth United Church filled the lower hall to pay tribute to Rev. Ken and Joanne Bauman, Heather and Craig, who were moving to St. Thomas. Rev. Bauman, who had served the Blyth church for four years, was now minister of Grace United. It was noted that the population of Huron County had decreased slightly since 1981. That year it was 56,127. In 1986, the final count was 55,996. Both Brussels and Blyth had shown a decrease with Blyth going from 926 to 892, while Brussels was down to 946 from 957. Brenda Nesbitt of Londesboro and Sandy Carter of RR1, Londesboro were among the CHSS scholars. Marie Perrie of RR3, Brussels and Cheryl Smith of Walton were scholars at Seaforth. A meeting was sought with the councils of Brussels, Morris and Grey, by the recreation committee regarding funding problems. The committee was to be funded by grants of $8,000 from Brussels, $7,000 from Grey and $4,000 from Morris. However, because of a levy from Blyth, Morris cut back its grants to $3,000. Pastor Gary Shuttleworth con­ ducted his last service at Knox United Church, Auburn. Paul Steep of Brussels won $10,000 in a Wintario split. July 5, 1989 Brussels was gearing up for its annual Fun Fest. The parade would begin at noon on Saturday. Huron County council voted on a proposal to build two rather than three county homes for the ages. Blyth Festival held a reunion. After 30 years Lloyd Tasker sold the Blyth Funeral Home. Neil McGavin was president of the Brussels Lions Club. Wingham was one of 26 Ontario communities chosen by the health ministry to receive extra funding for ambulance services. A total of $18 million was allocated for health-care spending in the province, half of which was to go directly to ambulance services. Rev. Carolyn McAvoy was inducted as minister of Melville Presbyterian Church. Michael Schneider of Auburn received the Chief Scout’s Award. July 6, 1994 Moxy Friivous, a Toronto-based group, performed in Blyth. Brussels called for tenders for the construction of a new firehall. Brussels council gave its blessing to the removal and restoration of the diesel engine which once pow­ ered Logan’s Mill. Brussels planned a bargain bash. Downtown merchants offered mer­ chandise for sale with some stores being open Friday evening. The Junior C Bulls hosted a slowpitch tournament through out the week­ end. The Anglican church hosted a pork chop barbecue while there was a teen costume dance at the Ark. On Sunday it was the Lions duck race as well as the gospel con­ cert at the Brussels Mennonite Fellowship Hall. The Threshers began work to upgrade the fairgrounds. There were new campsites and an increase in the display area. Blyth Christian Reformed Church welcomed a new pastor, Rev. Adrian Van Geest. Roslyn Cook opened a stained glass shop on Blyth’s main street. Ralph Wareham was named the new superintendent of schools for the Huron County Board of Education. Lome Wernham of Walton placed first, second and third, earn­ ing a trophy, at a dirt bike race in Flint MI. Several area teens and some adults completed a 25-km walk from Seaforth to Brussels as a fundraiser for the Ark. Ted Johns was still a favourite with Blyth Festival audiences as a full house packed Memorial Hall for his play He Won’t Come in From the Bam.