Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2004-02-19, Page 4The Citizen P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, Ont. 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 Cu',.' Member of the Ontario Press Council WIZEN. We ore not responsible for unsolicited newsscripls or photographs. Contents of The Citizen ore Copyright LET'S GO, MURIEL. THIS IS A GOVERNMENT PROJECT. WE REALLY CAN'T EXPECT THESE GUYS TO KNOW THEIR ASHES FROM THEIR WALNUTS ! News Item: To control the emerald ash borer, the federal government hired contractors to remove areas of ash trees in SOuthern Ontario. They mistakenly cut clown scores of valuable privately owned walnuts as well. I.A. Netpolon Looking Back Through the Years PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2004. Editorials Opinions Publisher, Keith Roulston Editor, Bonnie Gropp Advertising, Jamie Peters and Alicia deBoer 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 $30.00/year ($28.04 + $1.96 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. PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 40050141 PUBLICATIONS ASSISTANCE PROGRAM REGISTRATION NO. 09244 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO CIRCULATION DEPT. PO BOX 152 BRUSSELS ON NOG 1H0 email: norhuron@scsinternet.com THE EDITOR, Every day the North Huron Museum celebrates local heritage by helping people find out more about themselves, their families and their community. This Feb. 18 on Heritage Day, those supporting the museum through purchases of the 2004 cash calendar get two tickets for free admission to the museum from now until March 31. Upcoming events include: F.E. Madill Student Art Show in April, A Celebration of Blyth's 30 years of theatre in May and Homecoming Memories in July and August. The museum, its staff and volunteers enjoy making the history of the area available to all. Tours are available if wanted. Jodi Jerome, Curator. Feb. 19, 1959 Grace Lamont of Ethel received a Provincial Honour Certificate and pin for satisfactory completion of -12 projects in 4-H homemaking. Grey Twp. council gave its approval to the construction of an eight-room addition to Wingham District High School. The Wingham General Hospital board re-elected H.C. MacLean as chairman for his eighth term of office and R.B. Cousins was named vice- chairman. Grey Twp. council gave Huron County Soil and Crop Improvement Association a $15 grant. Feb. 13, 1969 Dorothy Elliott of Brussels was the senior secondary winner of the annual public speaking contest. Grey Twp. council appointed engineers, E.W. Hayes Ltd., to make a survey and prepare plans for the repair and improvements of the Brewer municipal drain. Council also appointed Melville L. Lamont as trench inspector to enforce the requirements of the Trench Excavators' Protection Act in the township. During the council meeting, Maitland Teleservices Ltd. was requested to provide a fire summoning system for the Grey Twp. fire department. Feb. 16, 1972 Susan Langlois won the junior division in the Royal Canadian Legion speaking competition in Goderich while Fernie Elliott of Brussels placed second in the senior division. The first major event in the Brussels Centennial celebration took place with the a personally delivered, hand-written invitation to John Ainlay of Evanston, Ill, to attend as Honouray Parade Marshall., Ainlay is the great-grandson of the founder of Ainlayville, now Brussels; We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Publications Assistance Program (PAP) Brussels council agreed to pay $325 to the Maitland. Valley Conservation Authority ics 'assist in the purchase of the Morrison property.' Brussels Novices defeated Mtnkton and continued on to the WOAA semi finals. Outbreaks of Newcastle disease in poultry flocks in south-western Ontario caused much concern for the area. New members for the Ethel Community Centre board were Bruce Speiran, Carl McDonald, Ross Stephenson, Mrs. William Dobson, Mrs. George Heimstra, Donald Martin, Charlie Thomas. Feb. 19, 1986 Blyth Festival prepared for its 12th season starting in June with Another Season's Promise by Anne Chislett and Keith Roulston, as its opening production. The play dealt with the farm crisis issue. The Kids on the Block program was touring elementary schools in Huron County. Brussels council approved a bylaw to sell the historic Queen's Hotel to McLaughlin-Inland International Inc. of London. At the same time, council approved a demolition p. unit for the hotel and a building permit. The Church Women of Canada were planning to join with Christian women throughout the world to observe the 99th World Day of Prayer. , The Ontario government introduced a new program that required people to have a picture on their driver's licence. A third stage of homecare was introduced in Huron County under a new grant by the Ontario government. The county was one of six areas in the province chosen for a $3 million pilot project called Integrated Homemaker Program for frail seniors and physically-disabled adults. Feb. 16, 1994 Graduated licensing for new drivers was implemented by the Ministry of Transportation. Director of Nursing at Huronlea and Huronview, Donna Surgeoner and county planner Dr. Wayne Caldwell were appointed as co- administrators for the county homes for the aged following the retirement of Wayne Lester. April Van Amersfoort and Christina Black, members of the Blyth Public School student's council, accepted a donation for $1,336.20 from the Blyth Legion for transportation to swimming lesson in Vanastra for the Grade 4 and 5 students. The Hullett Public School boys volleyball, team placed first in the regional championships held in Vanastra. Secondary students from county schools as well as three visiting schools participated in workshops and performances at Blyth Memorial Hall. Areas covered included acting, improv, technical and writing. Karrin Marks, Margie Gordon and Michelle Freiburger, members of Belgrave 4-H, received recognition for 12 completed projects. Feb. 24, 1999 Blyth Bantam boys broomball team won gold at the 1999 Junior Provincial Broomball Champ- ionships in Bathe. Jamie Lewis of the-Blyth Figure Skating Club earned her Skills Level 1. Leanne Elston, Chris Cottrill and Amber Delisle earned the right to represent East Wawanosh Public School at the District Royal Canadian Legion speaking contest. Robert Goodall of Londesborough was excited to have had the chance to travel to Chile for the 19th World Scouting Jamboree. Time to pay up for the mess up Huron County councillors, struggling to slash a tax increase into the realm of reality after an initial budget that would have seen a 50 per cent increase, are not alone in their problems. All across Ontario municipalities are finding it's time to pay the piper for service downloading that allowed the former provincial government to hand out tax cuts. The new Liberal provincial government is also in trouble trying to simultaneously keep promises to have a balanced budget while helping municipalities, school and hospitals that had been starved for funding in order to give tax cuts that were supposed to make Ontario "competitive". The province, in turn, can't look for help from the federal government because, in the name of being "competitive", the large annual surplus was given away in tax cuts. There used to be an advertisement on TV where a mechanic warned viewers that "you can pay me now, or pay me later". It's later and we're paying. The tax cut mantra of the 1990s was as foolishly naive as the sense of the 1970s and 1980s that somehow the government could provide everything. The county councillors demanded a tax freeze for years on end, squeezing waste out of government but also starving programs that people badly needed. As one example, the county is now facing a $6.6 to $8.8 million expenditure to upgrade bridges and culverts. If that maintenance money isn't spent, it could cost more money in the future to replace these structures when they are beyond saving. Provincial roads have also been underfunded for decades, in effect using up the provincial highway capital built up in the 1.950s' and 1960s' road- building binge. Now hospitals and schools are being starved as well. Federally, the armed forces have been allowed to deteriorate to the point of endangering the lives of our personnel. Federal cuts, initially in the name of eliminating the deficit but later funding tax cuts, also starved the provinces who in turn starved municipalities. If all this penny-pinching had occurred during a recession or depression it would have been understandable but it came during one of the longest economic booms in recent history. Now there is concern that the boom may be fading and we're left with huge needs when government revenues may be shrinking. Now it's time to face the hard reality. We're stuck either with reducing the quality of Canadian life by further cutting services from roads to schools to hospitals or giving back large amounts of those tax cuts governments lavished on us in recent years. Maybe things could have been much better if we'd been more reasonable in our demands earlier. — KR Wake me when it's over Unless you're a glutton for punishment or have a pathological hatred for Liberals, watching the nightly news can be downright dangerous to your mental health with half the newscast devoted to the so-called "sponsorship scandal" that keeps growing daily even though nothing new is being revealed. While every Canadian should be concerned about finding the truth, the hot air being expended in the meantime is'a waste of precious energy. For the opposition parties, of course, this is a long-awaited opportunity to chip away at the enormous lead the Liberals have enjoyed for years. Their attempts to somehow link Prime Minister Paul Martin to the scandal seemed desperate at first, yet somehow managed to. Despite the fact even auditor general Sheila Fraser, who's report into the murky handing out of funds to Quebec projects designed to promote Canadian unity started the whole fuss, said there was no reason for Martin, as finance minister, to have known about the misuse of government money, that hasn't stopped opposition or media from suggesting it was his duty to know. - Now the polls suggest support for the Liberals is plunging and that in itself becomes the story. Pollsters call people who may have bee& misinformed by media reports who give personal opinions which, when tallied together, become news to the media. But like the Michael Jackson or Kobe Bryant scandals, nothing really matters until the real facts are known. Everything in the meantime is gossip. It may be a fun game for the opposition parties or the media but it doesn't mean much to the rest of us until an inquiry digs out the truth or until an election translates poll results into a change in government.— KR Letter to the editor piz2 an cou drer $25 witl reac plus 0 the alas beg the tho Can cha H turn lab( day goo S eml blo' Mis trur orif Ir wifi slat Ma Mo "I bizi doll N to-I Wil foul sup fedi offi con fath befi sin( S offi pan ridi exp S spe prei will woi S mai bull strc V wol saic don wol S can con nor noti