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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1999-08-11, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 11. 1999. C itizenTheNorthHuron Aocna ^CNA 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 Member Ontario Press 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 ditorial A culture ofcheating The Pan American Games have ended, quite successfully for Canada, except for the black mark of a Canadian athlete who was caught cheating by using prohibited drugs. Not that the goaltender on the roller-hockey team was alone in his cheating. Athletes from other coun­ tries at the games also tested posi­ tive for prohibited drugs and else­ where during the same time, sever- |.............................................................] al top track and field athletes were also caught cheating. At least the Canadian goaltender admitted he was cheating. Others caught tried to claim they were victims of mistakes or plots by others to discredit them. The Canadian’s admission, however, was disturbing in that he really felt it was the rules that were wrong, not what he did. The goaltender is a professional ice hockey player and he was just taking drugs he would normally take to boost his performance. It is becoming more and more obvious that there’s a very shoddy underside to the rich world of professional sports. With the rich reward of multi-million-dollar contracts dangled in front of them, athletes are willing to take any edge they can get to make it to the big time — even if it means taking drugs that may affect their health later in life. And hero- worshipping fans, including some in the media, are quite willing to excuse the activity. When baseball’s home-run king Mark McGwire admitted he had used the food supplement androstenedione to help build his strength, many defended his honour, pointing out the drug is techni­ cally not a steroid since it only helps build his own testosterone levels. The drug is also not banned by baseball, they said. Defenders somehow missed the point — baseball is a celebration of human natural ability and hard work, not the miracles of modern pharmaceuticals. The greater problem with cheaters at high levels of sport, is the mes­ sage they send to young people in particular, and society in general that the winners must break the rules to be successful. There was a time when, rightly or wrongly, we held up athletes as examples of the best of humanity. Now the activities of some, and of their defenders, only adds to a mood of cynicism that is threatening to cripple society. — KR Tax cuts benefit prosperous Provincial premiers met in Quebec City this week prepared to tell the federal government how it should run its business, particularly in spend­ ing a government surplus that is expected to grow this year. Not unexpectedly, leaders of rich provinces such as Ontario’s Mike Harris and Alberta’s Ralph Klein called on the feds to cut taxes, but lead­ ers of poorer provinces, like the Maritimes, disagreed. While the idea that cutting taxes will in the long-run mean more gov­ ernment revenue because people will spend more may have some validi­ ty in rich areas, one has only to travel in a poor area like New Brunswick to see that rewarding the rich in the hope money will trickle down to help the poor isn't likely to have a local impact. The economy of a place like New Brunswick isn’t like the economy of Toronto. Because average income is lower, a tax decrease won’t reward people there as much as it does people with high incomes so there will be less positive effect. On top of that, if greater personal income did result and people went on a spending spree, the effect would be minimal. If people were to buy new appliances, say, the benefit would go in a small way to the local retailer, but in a larger way to the manufacturer, likely located far away in Harris’s rich Ontario industrial heartland. Not only would Harris’s Ontarians benefit from greater income themselves, but they’d benefit from the tax breaks to people elsewhere. You don’t have to go that far, however, to see that tax breaks benefit some areas more than others. Huron County’s farmers are not likely to get relief from low prices for just about every commodity just because consumers have more money to spend. People can only eat so much no matter how rich they are, and they’ll only pay the lowest market price. Likewise, tax cuts aren’t likely to stimulate road grader sales or mean more demand for salt on the roads. Perhaps only one of Huron's major industries might benefit because people with more money might buy new cars, creating jobs at Wescast. Tax cuts not only benefit the well-to-do individuals most, they also benefit the winning regions at the expense of the poorer areas. — KR Photo by Janice Becker Looking Back Through the Years From the files of the Blyth Standard, Brussels Post and North Huron Citizen August 8, 1979 The Blyth Vees were set to begin their WOAA intermediate softball playoffs against Ripley in a best of three series. Jim McCall of RR1, Blyth who had been playing violin ever since he was in public school, began writing music. Grant Sparling and his wife Pat discovered they had to let the coach house on the property go because there was no foundation under it and it was literally collapsing. The building held a lot of sentiment for the older people in the village. Beef prices dropped due to province wide cuts of 10 to 20 cents per pound. The Blyth Squirts were in for a surprise when their mothers showed up to play them in some pretty ridiculous costumes. The score was believed to be tied. August 9, 1989 Brussels was told to lobby for the northern unit of the proposed new Huronview. Three Blyth residents applied to fill the position on Blyth council created by the resignation of former councillor Dave Medd. The Londesboro based feed mill, T.B. Allen and Allboro Elevators was sold to the rapidly expanding Hensall and District Co-op. The people of Hullett Township council were proposing a new com­ munity centre. The Shakespeare Colts captured the championship for the 16 teams that participated in the 18th annual Brussels Invitational Men’s Softball Tournament. The Brussels Bowling Club held its first all-ladies tournament. Coming first was Helen Haines and her partner from Mitchell with three wins and 46. Second was Marjorie Solomon with three wins. Letters Adult Day Centre too valuable to close THE EDITOR, I am upset to hear that the Huron Adult Day Centre is being requested to pay an additional $65,000 for arrears for building rent. What happened here? Why are they being asked to pay this amount? Who came up with this figure? What happened to the Huron Adult Day Centre buying the building for $1? I am also hearing that this is the building that the OPP is coming to and that is why the Huron Adult Day Centre has to go. Does that mean that the United Way has to go August 10, 1994 Four of the 11 proposed sites for the Huron County landfill site were being recommended for elimina­ tion by Gore and Storrie Ltd., con­ sulting engineers for the project. The sites were those in West Wawanosh, McKillop, Ashfield and Colbome Twp. also? It is located at the bottom of the building. The reason why I am writing this letter is that my father attended this facility and it was very beneficial to him and myself (the caregiver). It gave my father time out of the house, to meet new people, have a whirlpool bath, have a meal out, play games and more. This program helped lift up my father’s spirits and gave me a break from looking after him 24 hours a day. My father only attended the HADC for a short time from September 1995 to May 1996 until he went into a nursing home. I was glad that there was a program out in the community to help. The HADC also had a program for the caregivers for support. Once a month the caregivers were invited to a support group where we could voice our concerns, our feelings, receive moral support, find out how our family member was doing at the centre and much more. But it was not limited to a monthly meeting. If we had problems, concerns or worries we could go to Continued on page 6