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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2018-6-28, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2018. Editorials Opinions 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 + 51.81 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 We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada. 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 ab CCNA Member of the Ontario Press Council CMCA AUDITED We are not responsible for unsolicited newsscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright Time to step up With a month left in the nomination period for this fall's municipal election (nominations close July 27 at 2 p.m.), now's the time to recruit potential candidates for the Oct. 22 vote. In many ways municipal government is the level at which a politician can make the greatest impact on the day-to-day lives of her/his neighbours. Municipal governments make decisions about which roads to rebuild, how often they should be cleared in winter, how often your garbage will be picked up and how much it will cost you, and whether the local arena is too expensive to keep open. Municipal council is also the level of government in which it's easiest to participate. Running for provincial or federal office means committing to a full-time job and being away from home most of the time. Municipal government is less time consuming, allowing you to keep your day job. But we need good people to seek office and there have been some noticeable gaps in the representation on most area councils in recent years. First off, women are distressingly under -represented on councils. Two or three decades ago there was a real push for women to run for council but in recent elections few women have come forward. We're missing the best minds of half the population and the different perspective women bring to discussions. There has also tended to be a lot of grey hair on many councils lately. Not to diminish the wisdom and experience that older councillors can bring to the table, but councils are making decisions that affect the lives of families and children. We need more people on councils who can represent the interests of young residents. Now's the time to act. Look around for good candidates, encourage them to run and nominate them yourself. Take a look at yourself and see if you can offer something by serving your community. Democracy works only when good people come forward. Now's the time to act. The next month will determine the councillors we must live with for the next four years. — KR We all must win Sometimes the people most involved in political parties tend to get caught up in winning the game and ignore that in the long run what really matters is what's best for the country. Right now Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer and his party seem to have made that mistake. Scheer and the Conservatives apparently see a winning strategy in attacking the Liberal government's carbon tax program, portraying it as a tax grab that will take money from the pockets of Canadians who can hardly make ends meet. It's an approach that seems to be catching on with conservative politicians. Ontario's new Premier Doug Ford is cancelling the province's cap and trade system. Jason Kenny, leader of Alberta's United Conservative Party, has attacked his province's carbon tax. Recently Scheer led his party in a 12 -hour filibuster to draw attention to what they claim is a Liberal cover-up of the cost of the carbon tax for ordinary Canadians. All three of these leaders seem to be telling voters that efforts to solve the climate change issue aren't needed, at the same time as scientists worry climate change is occurring even faster than previously projected. The politicians are also ignoring the fact that, properly administered, a carbon tax doesn't necessarily hurt taxpayers. In British Columbia, for instance, which had Canada's first climate tax, taxes were cut in other areas so that in the long run, most people didn't pay more tax. A carbon tax is meant to be an incentive for people to put less carbon into the air by making things like gasoline cost more. Playing political games by creating a fear of higher taxes will eventually hurt Canadians, exposing them to the unavoidable cost of climate change. That's not acting in our best interests. — KR The cost of one-man rule U.S. President Donald Trump wants to be the CEO of America Inc. but the mess of the U.S. immigration system shows why one-man rule isn't really efficient. In one of his favoured executive orders a few weeks ago, Trump declared there'd be a "no tolerance" policy for anyone crossing the U.S. border without proper papers. People would be charged with a criminal offence and go to jail. Their children would be taken from them. Immigration officials scrambled to implement his decree. But when the separation of children from their parents caused a world-wide furor, Trump signed a new executive order to keep families together. Again, officials scrambled to make it work. It hasn't worked. Some parents have already been deported but their children are in the U.S. In some cases officials don't know where the kids are. A government is much more complicated than a corporation. A president can make declarations but that doesn't mean things work as he wants them to. — KR I know that you're all excited because it's the last day of school, but I ask that everyone leaves the building in a calm and orderly manner... Ili 'moi gtilarkal Looking Back Through the Years July 25, 1978 Kent Van Vliet, son of Con and Lois, was the valedictorian at Blyth Public School. Following her resignation earlier in the year, Morris Township Clerk Jane Badley was offered a raise in the form of expenses being paid for. After a lengthy discussion, council decided to pay her rent, cover her time and travel associated with a course through the Association of Municipal Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario and buy her office equipment. Her wage was also increased to $5 an hour. Ontario Provincial Police prevented a break-in at the Belgrave Co -Op. Officers noticed a strange car at the site on July 1 and decided to investigate since the Co -Operative was closed for Canada Day. A 19 - year -old from Seaforth was charged with break and enter. Over 3,000 people attended the first tractor pull in Auburn. The event was held as part of the village's 125th birthday party. July 3, 1991 Blyth received a $195,000 Program for Renewal, Improvement, Development and Economic revitalization (PRIDE) grant to help upgrade facilities on Highway 4. The funds marked the second time Blyth has received the grant for the same purpose. The reconstruction allowed for improvements to water and sewer services, and the grant was designated to help cover those costs. Brussels also received a $61,000 PRIDE grant to revitalize its commercial core by upgrading water services and the local library. The provincially -funded program provided 50 per cent funding for major municipal projects. Brussels was preparing to host FunFest, an event with fun for all ages including dances, live music, a slow -pitch tournament and a gigantic flea market at the village arena. The Auburn Missionary Church held a mortgage -burning ceremony, marking the church being paid for. July 3, 2008 The Bluewater Kennel Club's All Breed Dog Shows and Obedience Trials marked its 30th anniversary in Blyth, though the 2008 show was its 26th event in the village. The show started in Exeter, but moved to Blyth after organizers found the utility of the Blyth Community Centre and campground. The show was set to continue as normal according to club -member Florence Pullen with plans to include some extra handouts and a new rally course added to the show. The show was dedicated to Hazel and Keith Weber, club members who raised German Shepherds that had passed recently. Ken Cameron's Harvest premiered at the Blyth Festival, starring Marion Day and Larry Yachimec. The Avon Maitland District School Board eliminated the need for students in certain catchment areas to petition for the opportunity to attend a different school. Five areas were recognized as having many families file the paper to send students across a school border. Since the requests were never turned down, the practice was abolished. Morris-Turnberry Council received word that its landfill may be having an impact on nearby wells. A letter from Ministry of the Environment Hydrologist Mark Harris suggested a possible link between chemical levels and landfill leachate. June 29, 2017 North Huron and its neighbours were recovering from an extreme rain event that had caused decades - old records to be broken during a flood -causing rain event. On June 22, 2017, a significant, intense rain event rolled through the area, depositing nearly 200 millimeters of rain in the hardest hit areas in a brief window of time. The Blyth Creek hit its highest level in 40 years as Blyth received 130 mm of rain, the second-highest amount of rain from the storm. The Gorrie dam's emergency spillway was used as other locations saw water going over the top of the dam. Severn Thompson, who was preparing for last year's premiere of The Pigeon King at the time, won a Dora Mayor Moore Award for Outstanding Direction in the Young Audiences Division. Other winners with local ties included Philip Akin who directed The Wilberforce Hotel, Nora McLellan who starred in 2016's The Birds and the Bees and Festival alumni Robert Persichini. The Auburn Lions Club marked its 40th anniversary. Among the events included the dedication of the Lions Friendship Arch on Auburn's main street. The Blyth -based Canadian Centre for Rural Creativity held the first of its "Rural Talks" series focusing on what makes rural communities healthy. Huron County Chief Administrative Officer Brenda Orchard announced her resignation, stating she would be moving to Lennox and Addington.