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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2018-02-01, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2018. Editorials Opinions When being local matters President: Keith Roulston • Publisher: Deb Sholdice Editor: Shawn Loughlin • Reporter: Denny Scott Advertising Sales: Brenda Nyveld • Heather Fraser 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 $38.00/year ($36.19 + 11.81 G.S.T.) in Canada; $160.00/year in U.S.A. and $205/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: Mon. 2 p.m. - Brussels; Mon. 4 p.m. - Blyth. Canada MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 40050141 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO CIRCULATION DEPT. PO BOX 152 BRUSSELS ON NOG 1HO email: info@northhuron.on.ca The quick thinking of a caring Hensall bank manager last week helped prevent a senior citizen from being scammed out of $30,000. For people in communities like Blyth, which recently learned it's losing its bank branch, the question is what happens when we don't have a caring local bank manager? According to Ontario Provincial Police, they were notified by the bank manager after an alert bank employee sensed something was wrong and inquired why an elderly woman made some unusual transactions. When police contacted the woman she told them she had received a call from a man claiming that she had won a large lottery prize. In order to claim her lottery winnings, she was told that she must pay an upfront fee. She was told to send a cheque for $7,500 to an address in Winnipeg, which she did. But the scammer called back and requested another cheque for $22,500 be sent to the same address. The woman sent off another certified cheque. Thanks to the bank employees and the police, the scam was detected and the two cheques were cancelled before they could be cashed. As we distance ourselves from personal contact, whether through online banking or larger bank branches in distant towns, who will care enough about people like this elderly woman, to notice things like this and offer help? Money that's saved by the bank corporations through centralization may cost the bank's clients. — KR Empowering hatred As the first anniversary was marked this week of the terrorist act by a hate -filled man who shot six men and injured five others in a Quebec City mosque, the saddest reality is that rather than shocking Canadians into more tolerance, the tragedy actually triggered more hatred and bigotry among some. Quebec City police said the number of hate crimes against Muslims doubled in 2017 from the year before. For instance, two days after Quebec City's mayor sold city land to the Centre culturel islamique de Quebec so Muslims could have their own cemetery (victims of the shooting couldn't even be buried in their city) a parked car belonging to the group's president, Mohamed Labidi, was set ablaze, leading to criminal arson charges against two men. Stephane Leman -Langlois, a professor of criminology at Universite Laval in Quebec City, says the shooting seems to have mobilized extreme voices who claim they're nothing like the mosque shooter but then say and do things that stir up hatred. He includes in this Quebec City's provocative talk radio hosts, who were blamed in the wake of the shooting for stoking the fires of intolerance, as well as nationalist or right-wing groups such as La Meute, which was founded in 2015 with the stated mission to combat radical Islam. These people are a small minority. The Quebec City massacre touched off a more wide -spread wave of support across the entire country. But it takes only one nut case with a gun to take so many lives. The unhappy fact remains that there are individuals and small groups that were not shamed into rethinking their position despite this terrible act of hate. And in Quebec, intolerance against a handful of women who wear hijabs is such a strong force that the Quebec government felt it must ban religious face coverings or it would lose too many votes. The murders of innocent worshippers in Quebec a year ago illustrates what creating a climate of hate can lead to. No one should speak or write things that might encourage another nut with a gun or bomb to think he's somehow doing the right thing by killing people. — KR Leave bad behaviour at home Two Canadians were among 10 tourists in Cambodia who were arrested last week for "dancing pornographically" in a rented villa after taking part in a pub crawl. While the charge sounds ridiculous to Canadian ears, it's another lesson that when people travel abroad, they are no longer subject to the rules of home. The so-called "pornographic" photos the participants in this wild party posted online seem pretty innocuous by North American standards, certainly nothing to deserve the possible one-year jail term the tourists could face. However, Cambodians are getting less tolerant of what they see as insulting behaviour by visitors since a group of tourists in 2015 posed nude for photos at the sacred Angkor Wat temple complex, near where this wild party apparently took place. The growing sense of privilege in Western countries like Canada, the U.S. and Britain, seems to let people from those countries expect that they should be able to take along their own sense of what's permissible to any country they travel to, as if were an extra piece of luggage. There's a simple thing called respect required when visiting others, whether in someone else's home or their country. We need to play by the rules of our hosts, even if we think they're silly. — KR We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada. emr WELL, IT CAN'TGET ANY WORSE-- v� The Citizen P.O. Box 429, P.O. Box 152, BLYTH, Ont. BRUSSELS, Ont. NOM 1H0 NOG 1 H0 Ph. 519-523-4792 Phone Fax 519-523-9140 519-887-9114 E-mail info@northhuron.on.ca Website www.northhuron.on.ca �ocna M Member CMC AUDITED CCNA Member of the Ontario Press Council We are not responsible for unsolicited newsscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright IT JUST GOTWQRSE, NTA N64161 i71!4Secoirktvt5. torn ...DOUG FORD ANNOUNCES PC LEADERSHIP BID... MIIIIMP6 OM. • 1 -gi p Ft� ufl f Looking Back Through the Years February 5, 1958 The annual Brussels skating Carnival was set to be held on Feb. 21, while Brussels United Church was working towards hosting its annual World Day of Prayer service, also on Feb. 21. Wilfred Shortreed was named president of the East Huron Agricultural Society for the coming term at the organization's annual meeting, which was held at the Cranbrook Community Hall. Douglas S. Miles, agricultural representative for Huron County, was the guest speaker for the evening. He said that it takes both dedicated men and women to host a successful fair and attract people to the community for the event. February 1, 1978 The Blyth Swinging Seniors held their first meeting of the year and Mrs. K. Webster was named the president of the organization for the coming term, while Mrs. Griffith was named first vice-president of the group. The first meeting of the Brussels, Morris and Grey official booth delegation to the 1978 International Plowing Match was held and approximately 35 interested people were in attendance. The three communities hoped to serve 4,000 meals at the match in order to raise money for the Arena Fund. Those working at the match hoped to raise $10,000 for the fund over the course of the match's five days. The Huron 4-H Leaders Association elected its new executive for the coming term, with Albert Van Dyken voted in as president and Glen McNeil as the vice-president. Maurice Hallahan of the Blyth area would be the organization's secretary/treasurer. February 6, 1991 The Blyth Festival turned its focus to comedy for its upcoming season, according to Artistic Director Peter Smith. Ted Johns would be the artist behind the season's first production, called Two Brothers. The season would be rounded out by Layne Coleman's Barbershop Quartet, End of the World Romance by Sean Dixon, James Nichol's The Stone Angel and Cornflower Blue by Kelly Rebar. The Citizen had won another award in the Ontario Community Newspaper Association's annual competition. This time, the newspaper was awarded third place in the feature black and white photograph category. The photograph featured Grey Township Councillor Dale Newman flipping a pancake in a relay race at Maple Keys Sugar Bush. The award marked the 15th presented to The Citizen in its five- year history. Despite the tremendous success of its first year, the Blyth Rutabaga Festival found itself in need of a new leader. Jane Gardner, who had served on the committee the previous year, said that John Elliott had done such a great job in the festival's first year, but in the second year, the committee needed someone who would do a good job, but who wouldn't be saddled with all of the work. In other words, Gardner was looking for a strong committee to further support the incoming chair, whoever that would end up being. Charlie Shaw was honoured at a special retirement dinner after spending 30 years with Bainton Limited. Frank Bainton was pictured presenting Shaw with a special retirement gift in The Citizen. February 7, 2008 The Hamilton family experienced a bit of a rude awakening in the early morning hours of Jan. 30 when a large tree was uprooted by wind and broke through one of the upper level bedroom windows. Dalton Hamilton, the youngest son of Tammy, said that he awoke to find that the house was "wiggling". He would soon find out that a tree had hit the house. Tammy thought that a transport truck had gone off the road and crashed into the house. Another symptom of the windy, winter weather was the delayed delivery of The Citizen for the first time in many years. The Belgrave Community Centre Board was in the process of implementing a number of changes all in the name of a better experience at the centre. Morris-Turnberry Councillor and Board Chair Paul Gowing said they would be installing a new swipe - card system, creating a booking co- ordinator position, applying for a liquor licence through North Huron and extending an agreement with the North Huron Recreation Department to continue through Valentine's Day, when the previous agreement was set to expire. North Huron Councillor Greg McClinchey and Huron -Bruce MP Paul Steckle were at Scrimgeour's Food Market in Blyth signing copies of their new book on Steckle's life and career in politics. An open house was scheduled for a new receiving and processing facility at McCall Farms Limited just north of Brussels. The structure would feature a hydraulic cattle squeeze, an electronic livestock scale, a double -deck loading chute and a clearspan truss system.