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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2005-12-08, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2005. Editorials Publisher, Keith Roulston Editor, Bonnie Gropp Advertising, Ken Warwick & Marcie Riegling The Citizen 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; $85.00/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 PAP REGISTRATION NO. 09244 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO CIRCULATION DEPT. PO BOX 152 BRUSSELS ON NOG 1 HO 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. P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, Ont. N0M 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 Aocna€s“ < Member of the Ontario Press Council MEQQBB We are not responsible for unsolicited newsscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright Toward the new peasantry “There’s more than one way to skin a cat” and it has become clear that World Trade Organization talks have become the new way for long-time opponents of farmers’ attempts to get fair prices to get their way. From the Canadian Chamber of Commerce to the business-oriented Globe and Mail, there’s been a full-court press recently to get Canada to abandon systems that give farmers a fair return for their labours. From supply management to the Canadian Wheat Board, long-time Canadian solutions to give farmers some bargaining power against powerful buyers of their products have been under attack from within and without. Nowhere is the counter argument being heard which is not surprising since it’s big business that benefits most from trade and big business gets its voice heard most through the Chamber of Commerce and the Globe and Mail. These organizations, and many government officials, see what farmers produce only as a raw material that feeds the real business of processing, packaging, selling and trading food products. As long as these huge food companies are making money, there’s little concern about the people out in the country who provide the food to be processed. The National Farmers Union last week released a report The Farm Crisis and Corporate Profits which pointed out that while in 2004 farmers struggled just to keep their heads above water, 75 per cent of the large corporations they deal with, from suppliers to buyers, recorded record profits. We’re really moving back to the future. If you take a historic tour of Europe, many of the old castles were constructed by feudal lords who became rich through a system designed to benefit those at the top at the expense of the people who worked the land. The concentration on those who process and trade the food rather than those who create it in the first place, seems designed to return us to that situation. Speaking recently at the annual convention of the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario, Peter Apedaile, professor emeritus in the Department of Rural Economy at the University of Alberta, and a founding member of the Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation, said net farm income in Canada is approaching zero after 50 years of decline. In order to support living on the land, many farm families have off-farm jobs. In other words it is farmers who, by working off the farm and continuing to produce food at below the cost of production, are subsidizing the large corporations that are the focus of the Chamber of Commerce and Globe and Mail. This isn’t the kind of subsidy that comes under attack at WTO talks. Instead, WTO officials seem to accept that this is the way the world should run. Oh, there will be pretty words used about how reducing trade restrictions will help farmers in poor countries find new markets and raise their standard of living but let’s be realistic. The WTO is in place to make money for multi-national corporations, not for farmers. As long as those companies are doing well, nobody is going to worry about the plight of the world’s new peasants. — KR There’s no mystery Pollsters seem mystified that a majority of people questioned say they want a change in government but the Liberals continue to be the party most people would vote for. There should be no mystery. People may want to change the government but many don’t want to change the policies. This is the quandary the Conservative Party finds itself in. It wants to win with its policies but many Canadians don’t want those policies. The only way it can win is if it changes its policies — or appears to.— KR Letter to the editor Looking Back Through the Years THE EDITOR, We at Wingham and Area Palliative Care Services Inc. (Huron Hospice - Wingham site) have been encouraged by the response to the Wings of A Dove campaign. The generosity has made it possible for us to continue helping to care for those who are suffering from a life-threatening illness, or are bereaved. The Christmas season can be a very difficult time for those who have had loved ones die - the empty place at the table, not feeling like celebrating when all around you are celebrating, going alone to family gatherings or Christmas Eve services, not feeling like shopping... and the list goes on. We encourage you to be sensitive to all those around you who might be hurting and lonely. Palliative care means caring for those with a life-threatening illness and/or the families who are left to mourn the death of their loved one. None of use knows when crisis may occur and we might be in need of some support. We provide carefully chosen, trained volunteers to offer care, comfort, friendship and support during a difficult time. We have set up a memory tree in the Wingham Hospital Terrace Room. People are welcome to come and place an ornament on the tree in memory of their loved one. Bring a decoration or use one that is provided. There is also a memory book. Feel free to write a message about a loved one in the book. Memories offer peace to our souls. Kathy Procter, Huron Hospice, Wingham Site Director Dec. 6,1950 The annual Brussels Santa Claus parade was taking place. Scheduled to appear in this year’s event were Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Gum Drop Costumes, Mother Hubbard, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, and some clowns. Leading the parade would be the Lions Club Boys and Girls Band. Pulling up the rear would be jolly old St. Nick and his eight faithful reindeer, of course. A picture was run in the paper of a five-year-old girl delighted at the sight of her favourite radio personality and his little friend. Kathleen Howell, a young girl who was sick with polio, had her dreams come true when radio’s Charlie McCarthy along with Edgar Bergen came to visit her. Kathleen’s mother, who had also contracted polio, said that ‘Charlie’s’ letters were what had pulled Kathleen through when she was near death. Dec. 6, 1972 Several awards were handed out to recognize outstanding local 4-H members at Huron County’s 25th annual 4-H achievement night held in Clinton. Beth Passmore, of Exeter, was named the All-Round 4-H member, while June Alton, of Lucknow, won the C.S. MacNaughton Trophy for obtaining the highest 4-H score in the county, a total of 935 of a possible 1000 points. Dianne Oldfield, a 12-year-old Seaforth girl, took home Huron County’s novice trophy. Brian Oldfield, Dianne’s older brother, won the A.Y. McLean trophy as the champion 4-H showman. These were just a few of many awards and trophies handed out to several deserving 4-H members. The Variety Reviews had been a long-loved tradition in Brussels, and in honour of Centennial year celebrations, two group pictures were featured of past casts.who took part in the review in 1955 and 1956. They were as follows : Pat Bryan, Meryl Wesenberg, Sandra Michel, Rachelle Wineberg, Gwendolyne Martin, Audrey Wheeler, Linda Henderson, Barbara Turnbull, Doug Davidson, Dianne Hastings, May Myers, David Wheeler, Susan Coleman, Jack Galbraith, Ada Exel, Carol Bryans, Bonnie Workman, Ann Higgins, Ruth McTaggart, Joan Johnston, Sally Galbraith, Marni Bronson, Mary Jean McBride and Susan Martin. In 1956, the cast had some of the same members, but new recruits were: Edith Davis, Kathryn McTaggart, Marion Turnbull, Gerald Thomas, Maxine Machan, and Margeret Warwick. There were six lucky winners of the Remembrance Day contest for poems, and essays. Sponsored by the Brussels Canadian Legion, the prizes were $15, $10 and $5. For poems, the winners were: first, Mary Bryans; second, Gail White and third, Norman Kennedy. For essays, the winners were: first, Mary Smith, second, Susan Langlois and third Joan Huether. The Wingham detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police carried out several investigations. The first involved a two-car collision. Vehicles driven by Lucknow man and a Wingham man collided on Sideroad 30-31, in East Wawanosh Twp., south of Hwy 86. There were no injuries, but damages were estimated at $600. The second involved two Wingham residents. Their vehicles collided on Hwy. 86, just east of the Wingham limits. There were no injuries and damages were estimated at $1,100. Charges were pending. On the same day as the previous collision, a Fergus man was involved in a single-car crash. It also occurred on Hwy. 4 in Turn berry Twp. The man was not injured, but the damages to his vehicle were estimated at $250. Dec. 5,1973 Blyth firefighters were called to a home just north of Blyth on Hwy. 4 in the early afternoon. A tractor on the property had caught fire when a starter stuck, causing flames in the engine compartment. The fire was extinguished quickly by the fire crews but heavy, extensive damage was done to the machinery. Playing at the Lyceum Theatre in Wingham was a romance film, Class of ‘44. Also playing was San Francisco, starring Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, and Jeanette MacDonald. Dec. 10,1986 You had to see it to believe it. Blyth residents found it hard to believe when they were informed that their power had been knocked out by a house but the story was true. A house being transported by Royal Homes of Wingham was blown off the truck and off the edge of Hwy. 4, just a couple miles north of Blyth. The house managed to knock a hydro pole down in the process, cutting off the power until Ontario Hydro workers could fix the problem. Dec. 6,1989 Don Bray was awarded a lifetime membership to the Brussels Optimist Club. Bray was a charter member of the club, and a past president of the Brussels Optimists. The award was presented to him by Brussels Optimist George Langlois, Lieutenant-Governor of Zone 2, Mid-Western Ontario. Three Blyth firefighters received 25-year pins from the Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office in a ceremony in London. They were: Don Craig, Jim Howson and Clarence Bailie.