Loading...
The Citizen, 2018-04-19, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2018. Editorials Opinions We're in this together 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 1H0 email: info@northhuron.on.ca It's good to see that Huron County Councillors signed on to the Ontario Federation of Agriculture's Producing Prosperity in Ontario plan at their April 11 committee of the whole meeting. The plan, designed to get attention from the province's political parties prior to the June 7 provincial election, calls for distributing economic activity across the province instead of concentrating growth in a few cities, resulting in significantly higher costs. Housing, for instance, is much cheaper in Ontario's small towns than in Toronto. Attractive to municipalities is Producing Prosperity in Ontario's call for provincial support to improve infrastructure in rural communities. For too long farm organizations and small towns and villages have been travelling alone on separate paths. We need to realize that we must work together if we hope to have healthy rural communities, both on rural concessions and urban streets. — KR Anger gets expensive For Ontario residents fed up with the size of their hydro bills, it must seem inviting to fire both the Premier who was in charge during the increases and the head of Hydro One who imposed the increases. For these voters, Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford's pledge to fire Hydro One's CEO is a good reason to elect him. But just as taking out your frustrations by picking up some object and hurling it through a windowpane has unpleasant consequences, Ford's promise to fire CEO Mayo Schmidt and Hydro One's entire board of directors may not be as satisfying as people think. With his $6.2 million salary, Schmidt is certainly an inviting target for all those people whose incomes are so small that they're struggling to pay the hydro bills he increased. But those with experience in business know that in the real world the seemingly satisfying "You're fired!" command that Donald Trump used on his reality TV show comes with a price. In the case of Schmidt, that's expected to be a severance payout of at least $10.7 million. If Ford refuses, the courts will make him pay. What's more, a new CEO might demand at least that $6.2 million to run a huge, complex corporation like Hydro One. So our electricity bills will not diminish by taking out our spite on Schmidt. Instead we'll end up paying for another political promise, just as we did with the Liberals' cancellation of the gas plants in 2011, though obviously for a much smaller amount this time. Please, can we stop playing politics with electricity costs before we're all freezing in the dark? — KR It's not a game Such is the way national media treat politics as some sort of game that those listening to coverage of the stalemate between Alberta and British Columbia over the Kinder Morgan pipeline might think this is all about the predicament Prime Minister Justin Trudeau finds himself in. It's not! It's about the predicament in which all Canadians find themselves. One can sense at times there's a salivating delight among some commentators that the Prime Minister is caught, like a fly on sticky - paper, in a situation with no solution. If he could actually solve the dispute it seems as if those commentators might be disappointed to lose such a juicy story -line. This is far bigger than the future of one Prime Minister or his government. This is about how we run a country when people from two neighbouring provinces have such diametrically -opposed desires. On one side, the economy of the province of Alberta is on the line. Thousands of jobs hang in the balance if the province's oil industry can't move its product to international markets more efficiently. On the other side, many in British Columbia fear an oil spill on their province's magnificent coastline could be devastating. This fear is magnified to the point there is no acceptable compromise. No business or government effort to prevent a spill is enough. Nothing but leaving the oil in the ground will satisfy opponents. Even the opposition of First Nations is not simple. Dozens of First Nations communities directly involved stand to benefit from the pipeline while other coastal First Nations communities, not even near the pipeline, fear the effect of a possible spill and claim they weren't consulted — which really means they didn't get a veto on the project since for them any risk is too much. Beyond all this, Canada's reputation is at stake. On one hand, environmentalists will give Canada an oily black mark if the pipeline is built. On the other hand, if a project approved by the federal government can't get built because of the opposition of one province and the guerilla tactics of opponents, then Canada's reputation as a place to do business will be damaged — with collateral damage to jobs and taxes. So stop thinking of this as a problem for the Prime Minister and his government. This is a crisis for all Canadians. — KR We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada. If 'April showers bring May flowers', what do April ice storms and blizzards bring? 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 4.E O 0 d e '. ifrJ Looking Back Through the Years April 23, 1958 The annual Belgrave Music Festival was scheduled to take place on May 1-2. Adult admission for the event would cost 15 cents. The new Brussels Livestock Sales Barn was set to open for its first weekly livestock sale on May 2. Hugh Pearson and Jack Bryans would serve as sale managers for the day, while Harold Jackson would be the auctioneer. The sale would include a "large offering" of pigs and 150 head of cattle. April 26, 1978 Graeme Craig of Walton was chosen to represent the Huron -Bruce Liberals in the upcoming federal election. Craig was chosen at the local association's nomination convention, which was held in Clinton on April 19. The 31 -year-old Craig was a lifelong resident of the community and had been farming in the Walton area since graduating from Ridgetown College. He had served as a technician with the United Breeders for 10 years and as a director of the Huron Cattleman's Association. He had also served the community as the president of the Brussels Agricultural Society and assistant secretary treasurer of the Huron Plowmen's Association. Fallen hydro lines caused a fire near Londesborough when the lines from a barn fell and started a fire in some dry wood and weeds at the base of the barn, Marsha Szusz received a call from a neighbour who noticed smoke coming from the Szuszes' barn. She went out to check and found the flames, attempting to use snow to extinguish them. Damages to the barn were said to be minimal Marion Wright was honoured for spending 22 years as a volunteer with the Blyth Horticultural Society as its secretary and treasurer. She received a gift from members of the society, thanking her for her years of service. April 24, 1991 Betty Graber was selected as the Citizen of the Year Award winner for the Brussels community. Thanks to her work in the community, being active as a village councillor for a number of years, as well as her work at the Brussels United Church, she was nominated by Citizen readers for the award. Graber had also, alongside Kathy Workman, started the Morning Group at the church. She was instrumental in setting up a grief counselling service in Brussels, as well as working as the World Outreach Chairman, a youth group leader and Sunday School co- ordinator, in addition to being a member of the Brussels Medical - Dental Board and teaching CPR classes in the village. She was also working to bring Conestoga College classes to Brussels. While there were some major changes to the cabinet over the previous weekend, Huron -Bruce MP Murray Cardiff, who had been serving as parliamentary assistant to Don Mazankowski, who had been serving as the Minister of Agriculture and Deputy -Prime Minister, would remain assistant to the Minister of Agriculture. Mazankowski was shifted to serve as the Minister of Finance, but would remain Deputy -Prime Minister, while Cardiff would remain with the Minister of Agriculture position. Don and Lenora Scrimgeour were responsible for bringing a bakery to Blyth for the first time in 30 years. The couple, who operated a supermarket in the village, decided to open a bakery section in the market, training Barb Black and Debbie Cook to work there. After 81 years of serving the community, the Blyth Women's Institute had decided to disband due to declining membership. Blyth Public School received word that it was successful in obtaining a grant from the Shell Environmental Fund. The funds, according to teacher Karen Webster, would go towards equipment that could be used for composting and recycling, as well as bird feeders for the school. April 24, 2008 Wingham residents expressed their anger with North Huron Council, which had just cut its lawn refuse pick-up service. Several months earlier, council decided that the township would no longer pick up the waste. However, many residents were upset because they hadn't received word until after they had done the yard work. Blyth firefighters spent hours battling a chicken barn fire in Morris-Turnberry that would, by the time it was put out, claim the lives of 10,000 animals. Blyth Fire Chief Paul Josling said that nearly 200 feet of the roof of the barn was already gone due to the fire by the time the department arrived on the scene. He said it was suspected that the fire began as the result of an electrical problem in the barn. North Huron Council passed its 2008 budget with an overall increase of just under four per cent. An end - of -year surplus from 2007 of $259,320.86, however, helped to ease the burden of an increase that could have been a lot higher.