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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2000-07-26, Page 4PAGE 4, THE CITIZEN. WEDNESDAY, JULY 26, 2000 Editorials & Opinions Publisher, 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 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 $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. - Bly th. We are not responsible tor 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 moiling costs Publications Mail Reg. No. 09244 Canadian Publication Mail Agreement No. 1374990 The Citizen P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, Ont. N0M 1H0 Phone 523-4792 FAX 523-9140 PO. Box 152, BRUSSELS, Ont. NOG 1H0 Phone 887-9114 FAX 887-9021 E-mail norhuron@scsinternet.com Apcna <*cna Member of the Ontario Press Council Pay now or pay later The troubles in Walkerton go on and on with a Toronto newspaper revealing on the weekend that the entire water system may have to be torn up and replaced because of neglect and just plain bad planning. The Toronto Star reported 3.5 km of the water mains are corroded with rust on the inside, corrosion that might make it impossible to reach and kill any of the E. coli bacteria in the water by using chlorination. But the report goes further, and in this other municipalities may discover askinship to Walkerton. Water mains in a large part of the community (5.5 km worth) are no bigger than an average garden hose, according to engineers. That size of water main doesn't provide enough water to fight fires. What’s more, Walkerton is not alone in having small mains. While saying Walkerton has a higher percentage of small mains, engineer Steve Burns is quoted as saying "They definitely exist in other communities”. Anyone who has watched small-town politics over the years shouldn’t be surprised. Many waterlines go back to the 1950s and 1960s when, even more than now, there was a culture of cutting corners to keep taxes down. Homeowners and businesspeople both pressured local politicians to keep taxes low and politicians, coming from a "practical” background themselves, often looked for the cheapest way to do things, even if it didn't live up the recommendations of engineers and other “experts”. Engineers, politicians often sneered, were people who tried to make water run up hill. Of course no one wants politicians to spend money unnecessarily, but there’s practicality, and then there’s the foolhardiness. What's the old expression — penny-wise and pound-foolish? Sometimes saving money now can cost in the long run. We’re in another time when the demand of the public is to do things cheaply and keep taxes down, yet when something like the Walkerton E. coli tragedy happens, people also blame the politicians for not doing things well. Local politicians should learn from the Walkerton tragedy that they can’t please everyone all the time so they should use wisdom to do what’s right in the long term. — KR How the other half lives The leaders of the world’s seven richest nations gathered in Japan last week to discuss common problems of making their countries richer, and ignored the plight of the poor nations. The leaders, including Prime Minister Jean Chretien, said no to a plan to reduce Third World debt by $100 billion, said no to a Canadian proposal to increase aid by 10 per cent, turned down a plan to open their markets to more agricultural imports from poor countries and turned down an idea of a fund to fight infectious diseases. They did, how-ever, approve a plan to help spread the internet into Third World countries. Going along with the mantra of the millennium, the leaders see providing internet technology to the Third World will help poor nations catch up in the information economy. It may be true, but a lot of people will keep suffering and dying before real change comes. It was recently reported that 50 per cent of the world’s population had never heard a dial tone. That’s a totally different world we in rich nations, including our leaders, can’t begin to imagine. — KR Letters to the Editor Along came a ... Photo by Janice Becker Looking Back Through the Years THE EDITOR, My family recently experienced a theft from our property. In itself this, unfortunately, is no longer unusual. What was unusual was that we were fortunate enough to have the event widely publicized as a result of our local police, news media, friends and neighbours. Consequently we were able to recover the most valuable (and uninsurable) racing motorcycle through the efforts of a good Samaritan. While we can never live in a perfect society this type of occurrence cuts at the knees of some principles that have always made our rural area such a great place to live. The ability to trust, co-operate and share with one’s neighbours springs, I suppose, from the relatively recent regional history of settlement and homesteading. When I moved here as a teenager in the mid-1960s the community support my parents were freely offered left an indelible impression upon me and an obligation to do my share to sustain that legacy. Having been the repeated target of theft in the last few years has only hardened my resolve to be personally diligent in attacking this blight on our community. Judging by the amount of information which came our way and helped to recover the bike and will ultimately (I hope) aid in holding the culprits accountable, many citizens share my sentiment. I find it alarming that many people who came forward did so with considerable concern for becoming targets themselves yet did not avail themselves of Crime Stoppers nor would they go directly to the police. 1 appreciate that regardless they took that perceived risk and that it demonstrated the effectiveness of community action. At the same time the question remains as to why there seems to be such a lack of faith in the existing mechanisms and cynicism about Continued on page 5 July 28, 1960 The subscription rate to The Brussels Post was $2 per year. The Twp. of Grey contributed $358.50 in the recent drive for world refugees. Huron County raised $13,366.00, exceeding the objective of $10,000. Malicious vandalism occured with the defacement of the War Memeorial. Using a chisel or other sharp tool, the culprits cut away portions of the lettering on the cenotaph outside the Brussels Legion. July 24, 1974 Opposition for an Ontario government plan to overhaul the health-care delivery system in Ontario seemed to be heavy in Huron County. The Wingham and District Association for those who were mentally challenged would be the winner regardless of the outcome of a fundraising exhibition slow pitch softball game between the CKNX Try Hards and Brophy Bros. Goodyears. The price of a copy of The Blyth Standard was 15 cents. Playing at the Park Theatre in Goderich was Walt Disney’s Robin Hood while Barbara Streisand and Robert Redford in The Way We Were and American Graffiti were playing at the Mustang Drive-in in Goderich. July 25,1990 Blyth Festival’s production of Firefly which opened that week had a cast of 20 including three area youngsters: Maridale Bromley, Ben Thomson and Erin Roulston. Brussels Bulls chose a new coaching staff to lead the team for the 1990-91 OHA Junior “C” season. Team president Steve Coulter said that Scott Pettigrew of Wingham had been named head coach and that the assistant coaches appointed were Tim Fritz and Hugh Hanly. John Rodrigues, member of Parlament for Nickel Belt, was to be the speaker on Aug. 1 at the nomination meeting of the Huron New Democrats. Nico Peters became the first candidate for the nomination of the Progressive Conservative party in the provincial riding of Huron when he officially announced his candidacy. Brussels stock car driver Murray Ducharme came home from a - successful weekend racing on the Michigan tour. Mr. Ducharme, in his first year driving won his first race at Kalamazoo Speedway and also captured the trophy for the top rookie driver. July 26,1995 Attendance wasn’t as large as expected but those attending the second annual A Taste of Country Food Fair in Blyth termed the event a success. Arson was suspected in two fires set in Brussels July 19. Firefighters were called to extinguish a car fire at 4:30 am and en route noticed a fire at the Mason’s Wayside Chapel. The SWAT (Students Working Around Town) Team in Brussels began working around the village.