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Home My WebLink AboutThe 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. 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 ere not responsible for unsolicited newscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are e Copyright. 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 E ditorial