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The Citizen, 1998-03-11, Page 4Here today, gone tomorrow? Photo by Janice Becker Looking Back Through the Years March 12, 1997 The future may have appeared uncertain for municipalities, but financially there was some good news for Brussels council. The balance sheet which showed a $107,455 surplus painted a healthy picture of the municipality. The Brussels Juveniles were the object of some misfortune in their game against Creemore. Unfair calls from the referees and a con- troversial face-off resulted in 160 minutes of penalties against Brus- sels and two minutes against Creemore. This left the series waiting in the wings until proper paper work was filled out. Kurt Lentz, a Blyth local, returned from a two week medical mission in Haiti with a new found appreciation for Canada. March 21, 1973 Jack Riddell, a Dashwood area farmer, piled up a 3000-vote majority in the provincial by-elec- tion to complete one of the biggest turnaround in Huron's political his- tory. There had been much talk around Huron County for a few months on forming a Regional Sports Council. After many meet- ings, a small group of men and women in Huron County formed the council. The group was com- prised of representatives from all sports and all areas of county. The group had many goals some of which were to promote and encour- age development and participation in sports, and to provide services and equipment needed. and North Huron Citizen March 21, 1968 Fifty-four skaters participated in the annual Brussels Figure Skating carnival, entitled "Toyland". More than 500 fans were treated to a hard-hitting, hard-fought game of Brussels Minor Hockey as they faced Six Nations to lose 6-5. Team members included Gerald Wheeler, Allan Cardiff, Roger Humphries, Rickey McDonald, Randy Cousins, Hugh Nichol, Peter Gibson, John Elliott, Brian Work, Blaine McCutcheon, Robert Stephenson, Doug Smith, Darrell Bauer, Lloyd Vallance, Don Work- man. Coach Al Nichol. A 16-oz. jar of Kraft Miracle Whip sold for 39 cents at Stephen- son's Bakery and Grocery store. • Three boxes of 400 size, pink aqua Kleenex went for 89 cents. - From the files of the Blyth Standard, Brussels Post C itizen icy P.O. Box 429, P.O. Box 152, BLYTH, Ont. BRUSSELS, Ont. NOM 1H0 NOG 1HO Phone 523-4792 Phone 887-9114 FAX 523.9140 FAX 887-9021 E-mail norhuron@huron.net Publisher, Keith Roulston Editor, Bonnie Gropp Advertising Manager, Jeannette McNeil VIEPPLICO 1u0 The Citizen is published weekly 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 $75.00/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. 6968 The North Huron PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 1998. Sharing the dream? Some exciting dreams are floating around our nearby communities. Wingham supporters envision a recreation complex with a new olympic-sized ice rink, indoor swimming pool, squash and fitness areas and a hall to hold from 400-600 depending on the function. The cost is estimated at $7.7-$7.8 million. Meanwhile Goderich has been studying a recreation complex of its own. Though there are no firm plans, Goderich Mayor Deb Shewfelt promises, "When we get ours done, it will be even better". In normal circumstances the rest of us in the county could wish the two communities the best of luck and perhaps some of us would be prepared to pay to use the facilitieS if they are built. With Huron County council determined to have an amalgamation plan in place by Dec. 31, however, these plans can affect people who will never dream of using the new facilities. If, for instance, the proposal for amalgamation of all 10 municipalities in northern Huron goes ahead, isn't it natural for Wingham residents to think that, as the largest municipality, they are a "regional" centre and everyone else in the region should support such a "regional" facility? Isn't the same thing likely in central Huron or whatever municipality Goderich ends up in? As the largest municipality in each region, each town is likely to have the electoral clout to insist on support from the region. It costs a lot of money, not just to build facilities of this scale but to maintain them. It requires a large staff, for instance, to keep a pool operating year round. Advocates of the projects will argue the more people support the facility through their taxes, the less each person has to pay? But what about the people who are already paying to support arenas in Brussels and Belgrave and Blyth? What about the outdoor swimming pools in various communities? There's also the inverse-ratio-of-community-involvement factor. The larger the community, the more people expect services should be provided through taxes instead .of community volunteer involvement. In a small community, people are willing to pitch in to raise money while in larger areas they aren't so ready to help out. If Wingham and Goderich want to have big dreams, more power to them. Residents outside those communities, however, need to realize the possibility that in future they might be financially involved in those dreams. —KR Mr. Harris learns politics Premier Mike Harris learned a lesson in politics last week when he gave in to popular opinion and awarded the surviving Dionne Quintuplets and their heirs $4 million in return for money they say was taken from their trust funds over the years. One of the things that made Mr. Harris popular in Ontario was that he treated tax dollars as if they were his own hard-earned money, resenting paying out a nickel. People liked the idea that he was going to be tough with any expenditure of their tax dollars. So it was perhaps natural that the government offered a mere $2,000 a month pension to the three surviving Dionnes after they had asked for an inquiry into what had happened to the money the government had made when they were put on display in "Quintland" in the 1930s. But when the government took a "take it and shut up" stance, and when the Premier himself said he felt this was a compassionate offer, the public parted company with the government. In this case, they were less interested in saving their tax dollars than they were with seeing justice done. The backlash against the government couldn't have come at a worse time. The government is now in the last half of its mandate and is concerned about getting re-elected. Its stance of standing tough and not listening to public opinion, which once won support, has worn thin and it is far behind in the polls. The Dionne uproar came during a caucus conference designed to try to make the government seem more caring. Ontarians have demonstrated they aren't totally obsessed with saving dollars. They care about other people and they care about a sense of fairness. They felt the Dionnes had been exploited by Ontario governments for years (it was Liberal Premier Mitch Hepburn who took them away from their parents and set them up as freak show attractions) and they'd had enough of it. To his credit, the premier listened. Let's hope it's the sign of a new direction for the government. — KR E ditorial