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The Citizen, 1998-08-19, Page 4E ditorial 1 The blossom and the bee Photo by Janice Becker Looking Back Through the Years August 22,1968 The results of the swimming tests at the Seaforth Lions Pool were published. Brussels children passing were Helen Rooney, Moira Rooney and Ross Mitchell in the Junior class, Roger Humphries, Julie Valiance and Julie Hanna in the Intermediate class, Terry Lewis, Faye Dalton, Gwen Bosman, Juanita Smith, Ann Wat- son, Steven Pletch, Beth Valiance, Gerald Rutledge, Peggy Gibson and Joan Huether in the Beginner class, and David Stephenson, Fer- nie Elliott, Jackie McWhirter, Louise Alcock, Scott Bridge, Paul Humphries, Debbie McLure and Kevin Nichol in the Tadpole class. At Brownie's Drive-In in Clinton Guess Who's Coming to Dinner played every night that week, while the second feature was Casino Royale. Former Brussels resident Elmer Bell resigned as president of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party after eight years. August 22, 1973 Brussels, Blyth and Auburn resi- dents were being surveyed to deter- mine if those residents would be interested in toll free calling to Wingham, residents of Wingham were also being surveyed as their phone rates would also go up. Cus- tomers in Blyth and Brussels would be paying an additional 30 cents per month for an individual residence phone and Auburn cus- tomers would be paying an addi- tional 60 cents. The Blyth Standard received two national awards for community newspapers. It received second place for best editorial page and third in general excellence. Both awards were in the division of less than 1,500 circulation. One of Canada's top auto thrill shows, the Imperial Hell Drivers, was scheduled to be at the Clinton Raceway. The cost of the show was $2 for adults and free for chil- dren under 12, when accompanied by an adult. August 20, 1997 Over 4,000 spectators went to the Trans-Can National Motocross races in Walton. There were about 800 racers participating in the event. OPP service costs were down- loaded to the municipalities by the and North Huron Citizen Harris government. On a county wide average, it was projected that each household could expect $171.81 added to their tax bills to cover OPP policing. The Blyth Tykes captured the A Championship at their year-end tournament and were treated to a victory ride through the village on top of the fire truck. A backhoe, parked at the Blyth arena was vandalized. There was an estimated $2,000 damage. Forty-nine teams in total, com- peted at the year-end soccer tour- nament in Brussels for the U-6, U-8 and U-10 divisions. Over 600 players were registered in the weekend long tournament, and teams came from Brussels, How- ick, Wallace, Listowel, Elma, Newton, Palmerston and Drayton. Thieves stole $12,000 worth of tools and equipment in two sepa- rate break-ins at McGavin's in Walton in four days. Russell and Marion Cook of Blyth celebrated their 50th wed- ding anniversary. A Norwegian teenager, Hilde Moi was visiting at Don and Kittie MacGregor's Londesboro farm. From the files of the Blyth Standard, Brussels Post PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 1998. The North Huron itizen cn eNA P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, Ont. NOM 1HO 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 E-mail norhuron@acsinternet.com 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 Mall Registration No. 6968 Finding the balance Canadians by the millions have been travelling across the country this summer getting a break from the stresses of work and discovering a little more about their country and its people. But as this writer toured a historic site last week the thought came up that if restoration of this part of our history had been proposed to a government in the 1990s instead of the 1960s, there might not have been a tourist attraction there at all. In a scant 30 years political attitudes in Canada have changed almost as dramatically as the lifestyles we enjoy today compared to those of the sailors living at Pcnetanguishene harbour on the site visited. We've gone from a sense that government could be a way of accomplishing things that wouldn't be done on a commercial basis to the idea that everything but the bare necessities of social programs should be left to the private sector. As in most things, when the pendulum swings it goes from one extreme to the other. Today's political philosophy was born by the excesses of the "government can make it happen" dreams of the '60s and '70s. The problem in all things is to find the proper balance. For instance, despite the fact that many government-sponsored tourist attractions are direct money losers, are they in the long run a good investment, not only for the community where they are situated but for the government itself? When a Discovery Harbour in Penetanguishene or an Old Fort Henry in Kingston or an Ontario Place in Toronto or the Trent canal system are examined on a dollars and cents basis they are expenses a government might feel it can lop off (especially if you look at the development costs). Yet these and probably 80 per cent of the other tourist attractions in Ontario (and probably in Canada) are ways that the government can stimulate the economy of local communities and, in the end, earn back the expense through sales taxes and income taxes on those who have work because of the attractions. These tourist magnets also keep Canadians at home instead of travelling abroad. The Stratford Festival would not exist without government aid in the beginning and -on an ongoing basis over its nearly half-century of existence. Today, however, it is such a force in the local economy that many businesses would shut their doors if it disappeared. Now who benefits from the government grants the Festival gets, the artists or the business community that depends on their work? It is, of course, impossible to say. And aside from the economic spinoffs from these government- assisted tourist attractions, there -is the education and entertainment value of a visit. Visiting a pioneer village or an old Indian village like Sainte Marie Among the Hurons gives us an insight into the past and a sense from where we've come. It can give us some perspective about the sacrifices people have made in the past to let us live the comparatively easy life we enjoy today. Certainly government cannot do everything and has tried to do too much in the past. Certainly there are instances where there are other options than either government or private investment to make interesting projects happen. To turn our back completely on government as a tool to improve the long-term wealth of the community and the country, however, is to throw the baby out with the bathwater.— KR Taking advantage If there's one thing sadder than a needless death, it's seeing people take advantage of that tragedy to push their own agendas. When Toronto police constable William Hancox was stabbed to death recently, within hours the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters used the opportunity to promote its campaign against gun controls. It issued a press release asking if the government would now be writing laws to control knives. As public sympathy swelled and 10,000 police officers from across North America attended Hancox's funeral, the Toronto Police Association took out full page ads in Toronto's daily newspapers to renew its attack on the Special Investigations Unit, a provincial body that investigates cases of police wrongdoing. The police are angry because officers were charged after a police chase that ended with a stolen van mounting a sidewalk and killing an elderly cyclist. Groups such as these need to be told that, no matter what the justice of their cause, trying to ride on the back of tragedy harms, not helps, their cause. — KR