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The Citizen, 1998-10-07, Page 4The North Huron itizen P.O. Box 429, P.O. Box r52, Publisher, Keith Roulston BLYTH, Ont. BRUSSELS, Ont. Editor, Bonnie Gropp NOM 1H0 NOG tHO Phone 523-4792 Phone 887-9114 Advertising Manager, FAX 523-9140 FAX 887-9021 Jeannette McNeil 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 $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 Looking Back Through the Years From the files of the Blyth Standard, Brussels Post and North Huron Citizen PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1998. Are we just our pocketbooks? Huron County councillors last week decided to consider only municipal restructuring proposals that would involve two levels of government, one at the local level and one at the county level. That they made this decision was a disappointment to some councillors because there appeared to be more cost savings if there was only one government for the entire county. Councillors who supported two-tier government said they wanted to keep government as close to the people as possible, to keep people as involved in their government as possible. But one councillor challenged the idea. People, he said, cared most about their tax bills and how much could be saved. He may be right. Certainly the signals people have been sending out in the 1990s are that money is the only thing they treasure. People have shown that saving dollars shopping out of town means more than supporting their own town's economic structure. Earlier in the decade they showed they were willing to line up at bridges to take their business to the U.S. border merchants when they thought they could save a few dollars. Some people were willing to buy smuggled cigarettes and booze in the name of saving money. But are we really willing to trade a chance to have some control in our lives in the name of saving dollars? As the councillor in question said, there is only one reason to undergo restructuring — to save money. Opponents of municipal amalgamation say the current structure gives people the best chance of having input into their local government. You don't have to travel very far to get to the local township, village or town office and deal, face-to-face with the people who make the decisions. Any amalgamation of the county's 26 municipalities into six or three will make government more distant, both psychologically and geographically. So it comes down to a philosophical question: how much control are you willing to give up for how much saving? The fewer municipalities the more saving, but the less sense of control. And if you lose the control, how long will there be savings? Distant governments are more likely to get carried away with bigger schemes. The concept of community seems to be lost in all discussions. The basic level of human structure, next to the family, is the community. Restructuring will keep people most involved in their local government and that, in the long run, will save the most money. -- KR A huge loss to a community The newspaper community was saddened last week when the publishers of The Teeswater News announced it was closing. The news came, ironically, just a few weeks before the 13th anniversary of Blyth and Brussels getting a paper back with the birth of The Citizen. There had been a close bond between The Citizen and The News. Harry and Carol Helfenstein, owners of The News, had bought the paper just a year after The Citizen was born. Both palters were among a handful of independently-owned papers in this neck of the woods, surrounded by large chains. The Helfensteins had worked long and hard to revive their paper. For a decade they struggled on until changing times and the recession of the '90s took its toll. Probably the community will be surprised at the paper's death because most people just take it for granted their subscription pays for the paper (and The News had a healthy subscription list). But the price of a newspaper pays only a small portion of the costs. Do the math: if a newspaper sells 2,000 subscriptions at $25 each, it doesn't go very far toward paying printing bills and salaries for a staff of four or five. A newspaper depends on revenue from advertising to keep going. When people shop at Wal-Mart or Zellers or Zehrs, they are taking the money out of the pockets of merchants in their own town, the people who would be most likely to advertise in their local paper. Worse, Wal- Mart and Zellers and, Zehrs don't advertise in newspapers, just clutter your mailbox with. flyers. A newspaper is more to a community than just another store. It is more than the sum of the jobs directly lost. A newspaper is a way fora community to communicate with itself, a tool for rallying the community around needed projects. Teeswater has lost that tool. It may be years before people realize what they have lost, the way Brussels and Blyth learned what the loss of the Post and the Standard meant.— KR E ditorial Nature's bounty October 10,1968 The Bowling League Hawks consisted of Ron Huether, Joyce Kellington, Susan McNeil, Ruth Huether, Doris Mathison and Jeanne Bolger; the Wings, Bill Stephenson, Grant Stephenson, Joan Stephenson, Merle Cousins, Gordon Matheson and Murray Lowe; the Bruins, Brian Rutledge, Marlene Rutledge, Dave McCutcheon, Velma Stephenson and Al Nichol; the Leafs, Jane Ward, Gordon Jacklin, Carman Machan, Lois McArter and Bob Kellington; the Rangers, John Cousins, Jack Higgins, Don Jack- lin, Ruth Lowe and Al Harvey; and the Canadians, Dianne Hastings, Dave Hastings, Elaine Nichol, Karen Hastings, Carol Harvey and Janet McCutcheon. Mary Leeming of Walton was crowned Queen of the Furrow at the Huron Plowing Match. Thomas Leeming of Walton was awarded the T. Eaton Company junior champion trophy. October 10,1973 The highest indexing boar at the September Station-Testing Boar Sale was a Yorkshire from the herd of Arnold Cook of Belgrave. The boar sold for $710. It was the fifth time in the last eight stations that one of Cook's boars topped the sales. A Canadian Food Prices Review predicted that the prices for eggs, poultry, beef and pork had peaked and were expected to decrease. Douglas James McVittie of Blyth wed Kathryn Jean McDonald of Exeter. The winners of the first season of the Blyth Softball League were Lawrie Decorating. Team members were Vaughan Toll, Steve Walsh, John Stewart, Don Stewart, Gord Rinn, Robbie Lawrie, Grant Elliott, Cameron Manning, Keith Roul- ston, John Elliott, Wayne Coultes, Keith Allen, Jim Button and Dave' Button. They defeated the 8th Lin- ers in the final 7-3. October 8, 1997 The Brussels Tigers were the Huron County Fastball League champs for the third year straight and also won the WOAA grand championship for,the first time ever. Team members were Tim Fritz, Steve Fritz, Greg Fritz, Mur- ray Pipe, Todd Uhrig, Ken Higgins, Brian Niell, Doug Conley, Ron Strome, Doug Shaw, Brett Clark- son, Shawn Conley, Dave Smith, Cory McKee, Pete Exel and Mark Pennington. Doug McArter was the team's coach. Sjaan Gerth of Belgrave captured second in a field of 150 in a cross country meet held in Dorchester. At the Central Huron Secondary School commencement, Terry Pardys earned the Hector Kings- well Memorial Award and W.D.. Fair Scholarship for proficiency in calculus, chemistry and physics. Denise DeJong received the Angela Konarski Memorial Award for a Grate 11 student who has shown interest in helping others. Letters is onost ovr. Rodys comin tomoro." These words were written in a journal by a little girl in Grade 4., Can you read what they mean? "We listen to music. Swimming lessons is almost over. Robbie is ' coming tomorrow." These are the words she was trying to say. We have another daughter, one year younger, who was at a lower level than this. She has been matched with a tutor from the "Literacy and Numeracy Project" through the Avon Maitland District School Board. This letter is being composed for two reasons. One is a desperate plea for more volunteers, and the Continued on page 8 THE EDITOR, "We lisn to masik. Swimin lesin