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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1999-10-06, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 1999. C itizenTheNorthHuron Aocna (♦£NA 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 Mambar Ontario Press CouncilE-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; S62.00/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 Two wrongs make a wrong Two groups of people, fighting to keep a way of life alive. Each trying to eke out a living under less than prosperous economic conditions. Each feeling it has rights. The result, the horrible explosion of violence that has shaken New Brunswick's northeast shore. When the Supreme Court ruled that the Micmac Indian people had rights to fish set in a treaty signed in 1760, long before there were any worries about the resources of the sea being limited, native people decided they could catch lobsters long before the season opened for non-native lobster fishers. Forced to sit back and watch while natives fished in a way the government had told them was wasteful and illegal, non-native fishers became more and more angry and the anger boiled over on the weekend when they took the law into their own hands — sometimes violently. The native people feel they are just exercising their rights, that for the first time they have a chance to get a hand up out of their poverty. The non-native fishers feel their livelihoods are at stake, having to live by one set of rules while the natives live by another. Both sides have much to lose, beyond their livelihoods. Non-natives are likely to be branded as violent, racist rednecks by an urban media always looking for simple solutions like racism to explain problems. Natives are likely to lose their reputation as caretakers of nature, not exploiters as the “white men” have been. But for the desperate people on both sides, none of this matters right now. They’re fighting for their survival in a society where they have been forced to the edge of economic catastrophe, much like farmers in western Canada have been increasingly anxious because of the rising costs and tumbling prices for their products. In the West, there is no enemy in sight. In New Brunswick, the two sides see an easy target for their frustration and they are taking it out on other people just as disadvantaged as themselves. A society where people are in or on the brink of poverty is a society where frustrations are always just below the surface. It takes little to turn those frustrations into violence, as it did in New Brunswick. — KR You can’t legislate intelligence The battle to stop kids from smoking has taken its next illogical step in Toronto where another level of laws tries to harass students into giving up the weed. The legislative sledgehammer has been trying for years now to crack the nuts who smoke. First there was the law to ban smoking in schools. When kids moved outside to smoke, some genius thought they could be discouraged by banning smoking on school property. That, of course, just pushed kids onto the sidewalks, the streets and the lawns of those people unlucky enough to live next to a school. Now in Toronto, an experiment is being carried out in three schools where community police officers are asking students to clear a path on sidewalks and stay out of the streets where they are obstructing traffic. If they don't, they can face a $125 fine. If they move back onto the school property, they can be hit with a $115 fine by the city health department. The problem with trying to force kids to stop smoking is that many start in the first place as an act of rebellion. The more it seems to annoy adults, the more attractive it is for many teenagers. Cigarettes will lose their appeal much faster if the image of their being “cool” and daring is undermined. When smoking is seen for what it is, something really stupid to inflict on yourself, the laws won’t be needed. Authorities must work on the root of the problem, not look for easy solutions by passing laws. — KR Looking Back Through the Years From the files of the Blyth Standard, Brussels Post and North Huron Citizen So much for competition You can thank the U.S. government for those phone calls you get asking you to switch telephone companies. A few years ago the U.S. government decided that AT&T was too monopolistic and must be broken up to create competition. Canada followed suit with Bell. But this week, in a $100 billion deal, MCI WorldCom Inc. announced it was buying Sprint Corp, in the U.S. How long before the very monopolies the government tried to avoid are back? The natural tendency of business is monopoly and the only counter balance is competition legislation, which in Canada is almost non-existent. — KR Oct. 3, 1979 Huronia Golden Let was just one of Jack and Fred Armstrong’s prize winning cows at the Western Fair. The cow, a daughter of the Armstrong’s grand champion cow Elmline L. Merit’s Lettie, won first prize in the Junior Yearling class. Hullett council hired Harry Lear as the new clerk for the township. Interviews were held with four applicants for the job. Lear was a long time resident of Londesboro. His grandfather Simon McVittie was the township tax collector in 1938. Funding for Blyth Memorial Hall was starting to come in. The Ministry of Culture and Recreation said a community centre grant of $36,677.50 would be available on condition that the plans submitted were followed. Wintario awarded a $53,640 grant for renovations. Rev. Adrian Dieleman was the new minister at Blyth Christian Reformed Church. The new executive for the Londesboro Explorers was Keeper of the Log, Brenda Nesbitt; Keeper of the Treasure, Connie Hoggart. Oct. 4, 1989 Thursday, Oct. 5, was to be the day when Brussels found out if they or Wingham would be the winners of the competiition for the new northern unit of the Huronview home for the aged. There was to be a reunion of World War I and World War II vet­ erans hosted by Exeter on Oct. 22. Gene and Alvin Snell of Blyth were surrounded by family and friends when their 50th wedding anniversary was celebrated with an open house at the Blyth United Church. ~ After a slow start in the regular season, the Brussels Pee Wee boys came alive in the "B" Championship playoffs. A delightful new comedy, Big Girls Cry by actress Heather Esdon kicked off the Blyth Festival Fall series. A ratepayers’ meeting was to be held in Brussels to question repre­ sentatives from various public bod­ ies. Expected to attend with village council were reps from MVCA, the fire department and Wingham hos­ pital. David and Jeanette Boynton proudly announed that their son Jeff had successfully completed the Raido Operator QL3 8902 course and received a Certificate of Military Achievement from the Canadian Forces Base in Kingstong. Boynton graduated in the top third of his class and was one of two to be stationed in Lahr, Germany. Oct. 5, 1994 More than 600 friends, families, supporters and community mem­ bers gathered at the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre on Sept. 27 to pay their respects to recently retired MP Murray Cardiff. A group of volunteers were bor­ rowing an idea from western Canada in an effort to get more people involved with the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. The Blyth/Lon- desboro group was encouraging farmers to donate a tonne or two of corn to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. Residents of Brussels and area were warned of a chain of prank phone calls being made. The recip­ ients of the calls were led to believe they had won a free pizza from JR’s Gas Bar and Takeout.