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The Citizen, 2006-11-30, Page 4Publisher, Keith Roulston Editor, Bonnie Gropp Advertising, Ken Warwick & Kelly Quesenberry The Citizen P.O. Box 429, P.O. Box 152, BLYTH,. Ont. BRUSSELS, Ont. NOM 1H0 NOG 1H0 Phone 523-4792 Phone 887-9114 FAX 523-9140 FAX 887-9021 E-mail norhuron@scsinternet.com Website www.northhuron.on.ca Canada Aocna. ENA We acknowledge the financial support of Member of the Ontario Press Council 11=ZIMMII the Government of Canada through the Publications Assistance Program (PAP) We are not responsible for unsolicited newsscripts or toward our mailing costs. photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright 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 $32.00/year ($30.19 + $1.81 G.S.T.) in Canada; $92.00/year in U.S.A. and $175.00/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. PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 40050141 PAP REGISTRATION NO. 09244 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO CIRCULATION DEPT. PO BOX 152 BRUSSELS ON NOG 1H0 email: norhuron@scsinternet.com Environmental, farm and local municipal leaders who gathered in Brussels last week to hear about a proposal to encourage farmers to provide more environmental benefits to society were encouraged to hear an Agriculture and Agrifood Canada official say the federal and provincial governments had reconfirmed their support for the concept only days earlier. But two days later, The Globe and Mail reported Saturday that the federal government plans more cuts to environmental programs, including several, like the $4 million shelterbelts enhancement program which encourages farmers to plant trees. Nearly all the cuts mentioned were to the kinds of programs that the Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS) idea is trying to promote. The idea discussed at the Brussels meeting is that farmers need to be rewarded for all the products of their land, not just food and fibre but air the trees and plants help purify,_ water the farmland collects for the good of society and the wildlife sheltered in the farm's trees and crops. Society needs all these products but too often gOvernments have tried to force farmers to provide them for free through regulations. Only owners of large amounts of land, like farmers, can actually improve the environment by helping clean the air with plants, capture excess carbon in the air and sequester it in the soil through the roots of plants, or catch and keep clean water for our streams, lakes and wells. But if they aren't rewarded for this work, say ALUS supporters, they won't make it a priority. Unfortunately it will take government support for society to pay farmers for this kind of environmental goods and service. When we have a federal government that doesn't really seem to believe there is an environmental problem and whose obsession is on cutting taxes and reducing the role of government, the possibility of a program like ALUS, which would benefit both society and landowners, seems remote. One can only hope that either the, government sees the light, or the voters in the next election do. — KR Put Canada first As Liberal Party members gather in Montreal this weekend to choose a new leader, here's hoping they'll choose on the benefit of who will be best for Canada, not just who will be best for their party. Early leader in the race was an exciting outsider in Michael Ignatieff but he's made several blunders and managed to raise the whole national unity issue again with his promise to recognize Quebec as "a nation". By comparison, Bob Rae has run a smooth campaign, but has given few details of what he would do if he became prime minister. The candidate who has presented the most interesting ideas in the campaign is the one guy who isn't "new". Stephane Dion has put forth a vision for the environment and competitiveness. He fought the battle on behalf of Canadian unity leading to the passing of the clarity bill. He has succeeded in the leadership race despite little money, little charisma and low expectations — just sincerity and good ideas. Those are qualities that seem most likely to serve Canada well. — KR Letter to the editor PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2006. Editorials Opinions Confusing signals Looking Back Through the Years THE EDITOR, Once again, we are in what we often refer to as the Christmas season. As such, I wish to share a few thoughts. Recently, I watched a news report about an organization that is collecting toys and food items to give to needy families for Christmas. .It was a heart-warming report about people helping other people. Of course, the people who prepared the report had nothing but , good intentions. And I certainly applaud the efforts of anyone who strives to help another person, at Christmastime or otherwise. However, there was something said in the report that got me thinking. It was said that many children would have no reason to celebrate this Christmas. Hmmm. To coin an often-used quote, "Houston, we have a problem". The intention was to point out that some children wouldn't receive gifts this year, because of financial need. However, to say that they would have no reason to celebrate implies that our reason for celebrating hinges on receiving gifts. Is that why we celebrate Christmas? Do we celebrate our abundance? Do we celebrate getting together? Do we celebrate the act of celebrating? What, then, is our reason for celebrating? I seem to recall being taught that the gifts, decorations, turkey dinners, carols, etc., are all ways in which we celebrate something else. Does our reason for celebration disappear because the celebration itself is diminished? Are we celebrating for the sake of having a party? Or is there something more? For example, do we have birthday parties because we want to celebrate the party? No. We have birthday parties to celebrate the birth of a person. And so it is with Christmas. Now, this is the part that's not going to be politically correct. Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, the one whom the Bible refers to as the Son of God. God Himself came to earth as a baby, and was later crucified to pay Continued on page 6 Dec. 3, 1959 A bittersweet memorial was built in Berlin as part of the German city's, _ rebuilding. An elaborate, beautiful column was constructed in West Berlin as a part of a newly-built Jewish community centre. The memorial column was built using portions of a synagogue which existed in the same location but was burned in 1938 by theNazis. A new step forward in Christmas tree production was just in tune for the holiday season. A machine efficiently wrapped up to five trees at a time, bundling each tree neatly and securely, binding the branches with cord. A grocery store owner in Cincinatti was the proud gardener behind the appearance of an exotic plant in his store. Ralph Harmon received a seedling banana tree from his father, who, lived in Florida, and soon the tree had grown from six inches to a tall 12 feet in a matter of months. It was placed inside Mr. Harmon's grocery store. A doctor turned mechanic was demonstrating at Princeton University a new toy he had created. Dr. William Bertelson was driving around campus in his aeromobile, a vehicle he had created out of wood and aluminum which seemed to float along. The vehicle was actually hovering along mere inches off the ground, and was being kept up by blasts of forced air on the undercarraige. The military at the time was also experimenting with such a vehicle. Nov. 30, 1960 A hunter in Ashland City was the lucky marksman who made a shot which was thought to be one in a million. Roy McCoy was photographed with the results of his very successful hunting trip, a pure white deer. After thinking he had shot a goat, McCoy discovered that ' his kill was considered a one in a million shot. A type of fowl, being called Churken was successfully bred at the Department of Agriculture in Washington. The hybrid was the first ever successful cross of the domestic chicken and the turkey. Belgium had many of its political problems solved in the form of a much-anticipated royal wedding. The King of Belgium, King Baudoin announced his long awaited, but much unexpected engagement to wealthy heiress Dona Fabiola de Mora y Aragon of Spain. At the time, Belgium had been torn by internal strife over the country's policies in the former colony of the Congo, but the engagement officially called an armistice, relieved many Belgians of much stress and worry. A photo was featured of a soon- to-be elected president John F. Kennedy, sharing a family moment with his wife, Jacqueline, and his three year-old daughter Caroline. Nov. 28, 1973 A Blyth man was becoming a much applauded activist in the fight to find a solution to the energy crisis of not only the county, but the province and even the country. Adrian Vos of Blyth won the support of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture for his call for more government assistance in researching possible solutions to the crisis. He proposed a plan to conduct more research into possibly recovering valuable methane from manure, a resource available to any farmer in the country. With continued use, Vos reported that the methane retrieved could possibly make up for up to one third of the country's energy use. Canadian External Affairs Minister Mitchell Sharp met with Soviet Union Premier Alexei Kosygin while visiting the country. The talks centered on the situation in the Middle East, as well as the co- operation between Canada and the Soviet Union in the field of energy resources, specifically nuclear power. Dec. 2, 1987 Local figure skaters Kerrie Shepard of Blyth and Peter MacDonald of Brussels were the gold medalists at the Western Ontario Sectional Figure Skating Championships held in Preston. The first-place finish allowed the pair the chance to go on to compete at the Central Canada Divisional Championships to be held in London. After that, the pair would be qualified to compete at the Canadian Championships in Victoria, British Columbia. The preceding season, the pair had won silver at the Divisional Championships held in Brandon, Manitoba, and had gone on to place 11th at the National Finals held in Ottawa. Fellow local international figure skating pair Kevin Wheeler of Brussels and Michelle Menzies of Preston would also be proceeding to Divisionals, following their previous season win of gold at the Canadian Finals, as well as two more gold medals at competitions in France and West Germany. Nov. 28, 1990 The penny sale held by the Auxiliary to the Clinton Public Hospital turned out to be one of the most successful fundraisers held in years. The final numbers tallied up to a total of $5,000 raised. Playing at the Park Theatre in Goderich was Chucky II : Child's Play and The Nutcracker Prince.