HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1998-10-14, Page 4Getting down to it
Photo by Ashley Gropp
Looking Back Through the Years
From the files of the Blyth Standard, Brussels Post and North Huron Citizen
October 17, 1968
Eastern Ontario corn growers
expected their highest corn crop
ever. Acreage in the area was up 17
per cent from the previous year.
The final week of the season for
Brownie's Drive-In Movie Theatre
was highlighted by The Party star-
ring Peter Sellers and inspector
Clouseau starring Alan Arkin and
Beryl Reid.
At McCutcheon Grocery, Robin-
hood Parfait Instant Puddings cost
29 cents for two packages and
King Size Tide cost $1.49.
In bowling news, the highest sin-
gles score was 257 by Jane Ward,
and the highest triples score was
Elaine Nicholson's with 604.
In 1967, the library of the
National Institute for the Blind
served 5,444 patrons, who received
books on tape, on LP records, and
in Braille.
At Thompson and Stephenson
Meat Market, Aunt Jemima Waf-
fles cost 39 cents per package and
sliced large bologna cost 45 cents
per pound.
October 17, 1973
Londesboro United Church cele—
brated its 75th anniversary with
two special services, one in the
morning, the other in the evening.
Rev. A. E. Menzies was the guest
minister. He had led the congrega-
tion throughout the years of the
Second World War.
Huron Pioneer Thresher Reunion
Chair Don Snell led a meeting to
review the success for the event.
Gas engine displays were paid $5,
model steam engines $7 and
antique cars $5.
The director of education for the
Huron County Board of Education
D.J. Cochrane, received a raise to
bring his yearly wage to $32,440.
Other board administrators had
wages ranging from $25,900 to
$27,000.
The cost of educating elementary
students was $533 and $1,007 for
high school students.
Ed Davies of Auburn grew a 20-
inch tomato that weighed three
pounds. He obtained the seeds in
Florida.
October 15, 1997
Recipients of the Menzies Award
at the F.E. Madill Secondary
School commencement were John
Lowe, Chris Burkholder, Jeffery
Elliott, Brent Pepper, Nicole Fox-
ton, Stacy Hahn, Janice Jacklin and
Lorie Ann Black.
Two businesses opened in Wal-
ton. Walton Restoration and Repair
was owned by Steve Gulutzen and
Val's Custom Sewing was started
by Val Gillis.
The Park Theatre in Goderich
featured Mr. Bean, starring Rowan
Atkinson and The Game starring
Michael Douglas.
Sandra Giesbrecht of Brussels
attended a worldwide gathering of
reflexology practitioners in Eng-
land. There were 33 countries rep-
resented.
Bill 160 was discussed at a Stu-
dent Advisory Council meeting at
Madill. Student Council represen-
tatives, teachers and others were
heard discussing this issue. Talks
also turned to the possibility of a
teachers' strike.
Letters
THE EDITOR,
It has been 10 years since the
federal government has reviewed
the Criminal Code relating to
impaired driving. This fall MPs
will finally be looking into this
issue.
MADD Canada is calling on the
federal government to develop
more effective and efficient laws
that better reflect the seriousness of
this terrible crime.
These are some overwhelming
facts:
• Drunk drivers skill an average of
Continued on page 6
The North Huron
itizen
eNA
P.O. Box 429, P.O. Box '52, Publisher, Keith Roulston
BLYTH, Ont. BRUSSELS, Ont. Editor, Bonnie Gropp NOM IHO NOG 1H0
Phone 523-4792 Phone 887-9114 Advertising Manager, C UL s
FAX 523-9140 FAX 887-9021 Jeannette McNeil Emzrraisi
E-mail norhuron@scsintemetcom
The Citizen Is published 50 times a year In Brussels, Ontario by North
Huron Publishing Company Inc.
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Publications Mail Registration No. 6968
PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1998.
Use 'em or lose 'em
So one more branch of the Huron County Library is gone, and
another one could follow. The lesson for those who still have a local
library is to keep using it or risk losing it.
Faced with government cutbacks and declining circulation in the
libraries in the countryside villages, the county library board has been
trying to close libraries like
Cranbrook and Auburn for more
than two years. Local councils
have been standing up for these
L . 1 communities by refusing to
allow closures but Grey Twp.
has now agreed to allow Cranbrook to close and West Wawanosh will
be asked to reconsider the Auburn library situation. As circulation
declines, arguments for saving the library branches become weaker.
County Librarian Beth Ross points out that while circulation in
branches like Cranbrook has gone down (about 10 per cent between
1996 and 1997), circulation in Brussels has increased greatly over the
years. That's good news for the remaining libraries.
Once the very small branches have been closed, however, libraries
like Brussels and Blyth will be the smallest in the system. If the
financial squeeze continues, these will be on the bottom of the priority
list and most likely to suffer cutbacks in hours which will inevitably
lead to cutbacks in circulation.
The closure of Walton and Cranbrook and the other small libraries
should be an early warning for the residents of the areas served by Blyth
and Brussels: make sure your library remains busy and vital in the
community. Check out the programs offered and see if they can help
you (the libraries have computers to help you explore the internet, for
instance). Some communities have "friends of the library" volunteer
organizations to help raise money to make sure the local branch is well
equipped (for instance there are no microfilm readers at local branches
so if you want to read a copy of The Brussels Post you have to go to
Seaforth and The Blyth Standard is available only in Clinton).
We've come to take our libraries for granted in recent years. The
lesson of the recent closures is that we can't afford to continue that
attitude. — KR
Whose side are governments on?
There's no doubt one of the reasons businesspeople like the new
global economy is that it puts them beyond the reach of government
regulations and if last week's Ottawa meeting of the Organization for
Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an indication,
some governments are willing to help keep it that way.
The OECD meeting was called to try to come up with rules for
electronic commerce on the internet where sellers can be in one country
and buyers can be somewhere halfway around the world. The buyer may
be in a country that has strict laws to protect the consumer from being
cheated, but if the seller is in a country where there is no consumer
protection they can easily defraud people with no chance of being
caught.
One would think that governments would want to do something to
protect their citizens from falling prey to crooks but in today's business-
oriented world, that's not necessarily the case. While some countries
pressed for international regulations to govern commerce on the
internet, others, notably the United States, argued against it, claiming
instead that business could regulate itself.
Self-regulation can be a good thing. The Better Business Bureau
(BBB), for instance, is a valuable tool in helping protect people from
underhanded business deals. It's only a tool, however. We still have a
criminal justice system backing up the BBB if it can't solve the
problem. If self-regulation on an international scale doesn't work, where
do frustrated consumers turn?
Governments seem confused as to on whose behalf they're working
these days. For many years, for instance; the Canadian government
operated a taxpayer-funded inspection system for foods and drugs,
designed to protect consumers from dangerous products. With
government cutbacks, however, this was set up as an agency paid for by
the food and drug companies with the legislation specifically saying
they are the clients of the agency. Critics wonder whose interest will be
protected when a decision must be made.
For a century governments have been acting to protect consumers
from danger and fraud. We must get government back on the job. — KR
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