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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2005-08-18, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 2005. Editorials Opinions Publisher, Keith Roulston Editor, Bonnie Gropp Advertising, Heather Armstrong & Dianne Nonkes 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 S30 00/year ($28 04 + $l 96 G.S T ) in Canada; $85 00/year in U.S A and $l00/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, 4pm.- 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 Canada We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Publications Assistance Program (PAP) toward our mailing costs The Citizen PO. 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 Website www.northhuron.on.ca jpcna <*cna Member of the Ontario Press Council We are not responsible for unsolicited newsscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright One small logical step A zoning change approved last week for land around Brussels Livestock is the first official step in the dream to see a cattle processing plant built on the edge of Brussels. The proposal makes so much sense that, given the realities of business politics these days, it seems impossible it might happen. Imagine, building a plant in farm country to process the production of farms! What a revolutionary concept! The one natural business advantage western Ontario counties possess would seem to be proximity to the supply of raw materials from the region’s rich farms to be processed into consumer products. Yet despite the fact that Huron County alone produces more agricultural income than any of the four eastern provinces, Tirther processing of local farm products has not been a major employer in the past half century as food processing plants have been closed and moved to cities. Transportation is often given as the barrier preventing Huron County having more industry: industries like to be located within a few miles of a 400-series highway. Yet farm products have to travel out of this region one way or another. Wouldn’t it seem there’d be less travel for a smaller- volume, refined product than for the raw material? Less bulk in boxed meat, for instance, than in live cattle or pigs? But the mindset is that plants must be built in cities and that’s where they get built. Canada has learned a hard lesson through the BSE crisis from depending on external buyers of our livestock. Rural Ontario has long paid a price for sending its raw farm products away for processing. The Brussels proposal would help solve two problems. Whether it will happen or not remains to be seen but all involved should be saluted for their initiative and hard work in trying to take this bold step. — KR Living with a bully Canada and the U.S. are often portrayed as being best friends, but last week we once again had a reminder that the relationship is sometimes more like a marriage where one partner is abusive. Last week Canada won another round in its 11-year battle against tariffs imposed on imports of Canadian softwood lumber. Much good it did. The Americans simply refused to comply with the ruling of the panel appointed under the North American Free Trade Agreement. Under trade rules, if the U.S. can’t prove softwood lumber imports from Canada pose a threat to U.S. producers it must drop the 20 per cent tariff and refund $5 billion it has collected. The U.S. says it has no intention of doing so. Unlike the situation of an abused partner in a marriage, there’s no external police force to turn to in hopes of getting justice. The NAFTA ruling is like a judge issuing a restraining order against an abusive spouse but nobody enforcing it. And so, like an abused wife, our government thinks the answer to try to keep the bully from doing more damage is by trying to please him. Canadian Trade Minister Jim Peterson said the only way to assure trade peace is a negotiated settlement. But how fair will any agreement be when one side lives in fear? Ask an abused wife how that works out! Being dependent on a bully is a dangerous game. —KR Letter to the editor Looking Back Through the Years THE EDITOR, Have you ever heard about or participated in a shivaree? 1 am a researcher at the University of Winnipeg, and would like to find people in your community and area who have heard about or have participated in these events and would be willing to fill out a questionnaire on the subject. You might know it by another name: sometimes it’s called a 'charivari’, ‘serenade,’ ‘rough music,’ ‘saluting’ or ‘skimmington.’ A shivaree is a community gathering that usually happens after a wedding. A group of friends and relatives get together and celebrate a new marriage by going to the couple’s home and playing tricks on them, often beginning with making a lot of noise. You might also have heard about shivarees in the past that were a little less friendly. Traditionally some communities used shivarees to indicate their disapproval of a marriage. 1 am also interested in responses from people who have heard about or remember these older shivarees, either from their own experiences or from having heard older people talk about them. If you know about or have been to shivarees, either in the present or the past, I would like it if you could fill out a questionnaire. I am researching all aspects of shivarees, and would be interested in hearing about what people in your area think about the reasons for shivarees, what kinds of things happen or happened at them, and how people react or reacted to them. If you have any information or stories to share, please contact me at the University of Winnipeg at 204- 786-9439. I accept all collect calls, so please phone through an operator. You can also get in touch with me by e-mail at: p.greenhill@uwinnipeg.ca I would be happy to mail you the questionnaire with a stamped self­ addressed envelope for you to return it. or I can e-mail it to you. Pauline Greenhill University of Winnipeg 515 Portage Avenue Winnipeg, MB R3B 2E9 Aug. 18, 1948 The Blyth junior football team., suffered defeats in both of the First League games, but overall gave a good showing, considering that most of the team players had never played organized football. They did a good job holding Winthrop to a 2- 0 score, and were on the short end of a 3-1 game with Walton. Both were extremely seasoned teams and Blyth faced stiff competition. Special mention went to Jim Sibthorpe for a beautiful kick. Dudley E. Holmes, who had been Crown Attorney of Huron County, was appointed Huron Magistrate by the Order-In-Council dated August 10, 1948. It was believed that Holmes would be the first Crown Attorney in Ontario to resign and accept the position of Huron Magistrate, Succeeding Mr. Holmes as Crown Attorney was Glen Hays. Aug. 16, 1972 A young man from Brussels had a narrow escape from fatal injuries when he was involved in a serious accident on his family’s farm. The accident occurred when a loaded gravel truck started to roll away by itself. The male ran to the truck in an attempt to stop it and was pinned between the vehicle and an anchor post. He was rushed to hospital for X- rays and observation. He rbiraculously had no broken bones or serious injuries, only suffering extensive bruising. Gerald Baan, son of Mr. and Mrs. Martin Baan, left for Africa where he would serve for two years with CUSO in Northern Ganya as an agriculturalist. He was a graduate from Seaforth District High School and of Ridgetown Agricultural Col­ lege. Aug. 22, 1973 The Junior Division of Blyth Little Theatre put on a humorous performance of a comedy called Nobody Sleeps at Blyth Public School. A photo of the rehearsals showed three of the performers, Rick Snell, Frances Battye and Kim Watson hard at work preparing for opening night. The Blyth Standard was named the recipient of two national awards for excellence at the annual convention of the Canadian Community Newspaper Associa­ tion held in Calgary, Alberta. The Standard was awarded second place for the best editorial page in Canada of 1500 circulation or less, and took third place in general excellence in the same circulation classification. The only other local newspaper to win awards in the competition was The Clinton News Record, which gained third place for general excellence, third for editorial page, and second for front page in the under 2500 circulation class. A Toronto film company was in Huron County to film the people and events surrounding The Farm Show held in Goderich. The Passe Muraille Theatre Group wrote and presented a play based on their stay in Goderich Twp., and were filming the activities for the film company from Toronto. The Farm Show was based on local people and events. Aug. 20, 1986 Two Brussels area people were killed and five more were hospitalized after a collision at the intersection of Cone. 7-8 and Sideroad 5-6 in Elma Twp. A 1986 Nissan truck was proceeding north on sideroad 5-6 when it entered the intersection and collided with a 1978 Ford LTD. The driver of the Nissan truck died at the scene, while a young passenger died while being transported to hospital. Two other passengers were transported to University Hospital in London with serious injuries. The couple in the Ford LTD car were taken to Kitchener-Waterloo Hospital with serious injuries. Their daughter was taken to Listowel Memorial Hospital. Police did not lay any charges. Aug. 17, 1994 When a fire broke out in a chicken barn in Hullet Twp, fighting the flames was not the only concern. Workers were cleaning out the barn when a hydro panel shorted out, starting a wall covered in polyurethane foam on fire. According to Fire Chief Paul Josling, the foam, when burning, gives off extremely toxic fumes. Prolonged exposure could kill. The manager and employees tried to use fire extinguishers to put out the flames before they fled the barn. The manager called the fire department, who stayed at the scene to cool the bam down, after going in with air tanks to fully extinguish the fire. Damages were estimated at $3 - 4,000. Amber Ruttan and Kara Pepper of Brussels were chosen to play in the provincial qualifying novice baseball tournament in Chatham. The two girls were members of the Seaforth Novice II ball team who placed first overall in the double elimination tournament. The team played five games and took on Aurora in the finals. Playing at the Park Theatre in Goderich was True Lies, quoted as being ‘The movie event of the year” (Mike Cidoni, NTN Radio Network). The film starred Arnold Schwarzenegger.