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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2002-03-20, Page 4Publisher, Keith Roulston Editor, Bonnie Gropp Advertising Manager, Jeannette McNeil The Citizen is published 50 times a year in Brussels, Ontario by North Huron Publishing Company Inc. Subscriptions ore payable in advance of a rate of $28.00/year ($26.17 + $1.83 G.S.T.) in Canada: $80.00/year in U.S.A. and $100/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 newsscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are Copyright We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Publications Assistance Program (PAP) toward our mailing costs. Publications Mail Reg. No. 09244 Canadian Publication Mail Agreement No 40050141 The Citizen P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, NOM 1H0 Phone 523-4792 FAX 523-9140 P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, Ont. NOG 1H0 Phone 887-9114 FAX 887-9021 E-mail norhuron@scsinternet.com . Website www.northhuron.on.ca ocna ENA Member of the Onion() Press Council Looking Back Through the Years March 17, 1960 • At the Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto examination centre in Stratford, Jean Patrick of Walton received first class honours in Grade 4 piano with 85 per cent. Joyce Harmon of Brussels received honours in Grade 6 piano with 76 per cent. Geraldine Dennis also received honour in Grade 6 piano with 70 per cent. At the Western Ontario Conservatory of Music examination centre in London, Thomas Mitchell of Molesworth received honour standing in Grade 9 piano with 76 per cent. Jean Hillen, also in Grade 9 received honour standing with 73 per cent. They were students of Mr. Louis D. Thompson. Jack Thynne presented his 12th annual concert at the Brussels Town Hall. A popular entertainer, widely known throughout Canada and the U.S. as the Kansas Farmer, Canada's Singing Violinist, Thynne was a native of Brussels. Brussels Guides and Brownies were hosting a St. Patrick bake sale and tea at the Library. March 118, 1997 Bev Elliott became the new Blyth councillor. After seeing new construction virtually stagnate the previous year, Blyth seemed to be on the verge of a minor building boom headed by the construction of a new eight-unit apartment building. National-class figure skaters Kerrie Shepherd of RR1, Blyth and Peter MacDonald of RR3, Brussels skated at the Ontario Winter Games. The lift fund to install a lift at the Blyth and District Community Centre got a lift when the Royal Canadian Legion Branch presented a $5,000 for the project. Locals on the 1987 executive of the Bluewater Shrine Club were Ted East, Rev. Charles Carpentier, Fred Thuell, Max Watts and Jim Howson. _ .Terry Madill, a native of Blyth, was appointed vice-president sales Jor the Day & Ross Air Freight Division of Day & Ross Inc. Niel Edgar received an achievement award from the Ontario Crop Insurance Commission for developing new sales and service to his customers during the previous year. March 22, 1989 A Belgrave family was left homeless after two fires.. The Jane Street residents returned home to find their house full of smoke and called in the alarm. Firefighters remained at the scene for two hours. Most of the damage was paused by smoke and water and the family felt certain at this time that they could restore the home. In the early morning hours, a neighbour looked out the window and reported seeing nothing, yet 25 minutes later heard a cracking sound and discovered the home was ablaze. The family was staying with friends. It was the annual Maple Keys Sugar Bush open house. There were games and activities and Ethel Women's Institute made pancakes so people could enjoy the finished product. Before the rails on the Goderich- to-Guelph CP Rail line are torn up time should he taken to study all possible alternatives, Murray Cardiff, MP for Huron-Bruce told those present at the annual members of parliament dinner. Six youngsters won the poster contest sponsored by the Blyth Library and Festival. Chosen from 83 entries for a ticket to the Green Thumb presentation at the Festival were Rebecca Morrison, Justin Howatt, April VanAmersfoort, Gavin Van Camp, Ryan Montgomery and Allan Gibbons. Dwaine Nicholls was the EMA Brussels Bull of the week. Jack McEwing of RR1, Blyth retired from his position of director with the McKillop Mutual Insurance Company after 42 years of service. Confirmed at Londesboro and Auburn United Churches. were Dwight Caldwell, Dean Caldwell, Brent Howatt, Elvis Vincent, Melanie Knox, Tracy Salverda, Sara Lyons, Denise Hulley, Ian Andrews and Bryan Gross. Neil Mitchell and Steve Knight returned home from Australia. They had worked at Warwick Queensland in asparagus fields. John Huether and Gregg Humphries joined them for three weeks where they toured around in the north, enjoying a holiday of sightseeing. Members of the Hespeler, Galt and Preston Legions presented a cheque to the Brussels Branch for the rebuilding fund. Out of 103 entries, four Blyth boys made it to the (ub Kar ally semi- finals: Shawn Clark, Jeffrey Ferguson, Corey Shannon and Mark Wilson. March 22, 1995 A warm spell hurt the local maple syrup crop. PC Mike Harris made a campaign stop in Huron. Plans were in the works for a big party in Blyth." A group of former and present resident were hoping to hold a celebration in 1996 for the 100th anniversary of the Blyth Public and Continuation School. Four Huron residents were seeking the Liberal nomination: Doug Garniss, John Jewitt, Rick Mclnroy and Sharon Wurm. Alice Keifer of Ethel won $10,000 playing Instant Bingo. • PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2002 Editorials Opinions With enemies like these . . . With Ontario Progressive Conservatives trailing badly in the polls and set to pick a new leader this weekend, leadership candidates couldn't hope for more than the current strike by government employees. With enemies like these, who needs friends? The Ontario. Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) may have legitimate concerns in the lack of respect they've received from the government and from cutbacks to the departments they work with, but when it comes to wages and salaries, their demands are unreasonable enough to put people on the side of the government. The government has offered an across-the-board increase of six per cent over the next three years, or two per cent per year. The union has demanded five per cent per year over two years. In some special job categories where there's high demand, much larger increases have been offered. While many people" who would be happy to get the kind of increases being offered might already be upse. with the union, OPSEU has gone further in alienating people such as farmers, by throwing into question the safety of food, just because non-union Inspectors are now working in packing plants, etc. Many who work in the system say the inspections are actually better than when government employees were doing the work, but the union is neatly equating the situation to the cutbacks that meant there was nobody looking over the shoulders of Walkerton PUC officials when the water tragedy happened there. Farmers, led by the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, were furious and demanded the union withdraw these fear- mongering ads. The union did, then came out with a new series of ads that says, truthfully but misleadingly, that there are no government-employed inspectors protecting the interests of consumers. Strikes are never popular. The number of services that are withheld by striking employees makes the strikers the target of anger by those who are inconvenienced. The union is unlikely to win in this confrontation and its sworn enemy, the provincial government, is likely to see its popularity soar the longer it holds out. — KR With friends like these . . . Prime Minister Chretien went to Washington last week to meet with U.S. President. George W. Bush and while they acted like friends, Canadians are beginning to wonder whether having a friend like the U.S. is a good thing. As the world's sole superpower, the U.S. is more and more acting as if everyone else on the planet is here for the benefit of Americans. So when the U.S. wants help to strike back at terrorists in Afghanistan, we're all supposed to be willing to help, which we were. At the same time, however, the U.S. is showing no friendliness in its trade relations with Canada, wanting total surrender on any grievance it has. Chretien's talks with Bush took place under the pressure of a deadline from the Americans to come up with a deal satisfactory to their demands about our system of growing forests or they would slap huge tariffs on our softwood lumber exports, on top of tariffs which have already cost 20,000 jobs in British Columbia alone. Every time the U.S, has made threats in the past and Canada has taken its case to an international trade tribunal, Canada has won. The Americans just impose another tarrif. Canada no doubt could win this case too but trade hearings take so long that by then the economy of regions dependent on the forestry industry could be ruined so it's negotiating. Farming areas have been through this kind of thing before with complaints about Canadian hog exports to the U.S. and a long series of tariffs that were imposed, only to be overturned but then be imposed again: Meanwhile the U.S. is pressuring its allies to get involved in its newest part of the "war on terror", getting rid, once and for all of Saddam Hussein in Iraq. "You're either with us or against us," Bush keeps repeating. The U.S. doesn't want to let the United Nations do its job; it won't listen to international trade tribunals; it wants nothing to do with an international justice system, claiming in all cases that its sovereignty must be guarded. It all means that internal U.S. politics rule the world and the rest of us have no rights of our own. Some friend. — KR Letters Policy The Citizen welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must be signed and should include a daytime telephone number for the purpose of verification only. Letters that are not signed will not be printed. Submissions may be edited for length, clarity and content, using fair comment as our guideline. The Citizen reserves the right to refuse any letter on the basis of unfair bias, prejudice or inaccurate information. As well, letters can only be printed as space allows. Please keep your letters brief and concise.