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The Citizen, 2017-03-23, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MARCH 23, 2017. Editorials Opinions Publisher: Keith Roulston • Associate 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 $36.00/year ($34.29 + $1.71 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. PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 40050141 Canada RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO CIRCULATION DEPT. PO BOX 152 BRUSSELS ON NOG 1H0 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 1 HO NOG 1 HO Ph. 519-523-4792 Phone Fax 519-523-9140 519-887-9114 E-mail info@northhuron.on.ca Website www.northhuron.on.ca AOC11a � ber Member CMCA CCNA AUDITED Member of the Ontario Press Council We are not responsible for unsolicited newsscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are m Copyright Do the natural thing The Ministry of Transportation's (MTO) plan to utilize roadside tree plantings as "living snow fences" is a common-sense approach that could save money, traffic collisions and lives. The plan, discussed at last week's meeting of Huron County Council, would identify areas where planting trees might prevent white-out conditions in wintery weather. Nearby landowners would be paid $500 per acre per year to allow a strip of land a distance back from the road, to be planted with snow -catching evergreen trees. Anyone who has paid attention while driving through Huron County's blustery winter conditions, has observed the sense in this. You can be driving through white-out conditions in heavy winds and then come to an area such as the Sunshine Conservation Area on Morris Road, and suddenly the visibility clears. Having the most wind-swept stretches of road tamed by these living snow fences would probably save snow - removal costs and definitely would save lives. The only problem with this scheme, besides convincing farmers to give up a small parcel of land in these days of big machinery and big fields, is it will currently only happen on MTO highways that, thanks to downloading, many of us in the northern Huron hardly ever drive these days. Here's hoping Huron County's roads department takes up the idea, rather than its trend recently of denuding highway roadsides. — KR Thank you Holland After last week's Dutch election results, Canadians have one more thing to be grateful to Holland for, besides the thousands of immigrants who have helped reshape large parts of our country like Huron County with their ambition and energy. The world had become a pretty depressing place recently as the angry and the small-minded have reshaped the political agenda in Britain and the United States and threatened to do so in elections across Europe scheduled for this year. In fact, for two years leading up to the Dutch vote, Geert Wilders a viciously anti -immigrant, anti -Muslim demagog had led the polls and appeared likely to come out with the most votes in the 12 - party Dutch parliament. He still finished second, though a distant second, but he won't be in a governing position. The surprise of the election was the strong showing of the Green -Left party which is led by Jesse Klaver, the 30 -year-old son of a Moroccan father and an Indonesian mother, who is sometimes compared to Justin Trudeau. By more than tripling his party's standing, Klaver's success seems a direct rebuke to the hatefulness of Wilders. Lots of bad things could still happen. Far -right, anti -immigrant leader Marine Le Pen is still a serious threat in next month's French presidential election and anti -immigrant politicians have been making inroads in Germany and Italy where votes will be held later this year. Meanwhile, however, Dutch voters have given moderate, caring people a hope that, when it comes right down to making a decision in the voting booth, people will choose a higher path. — KR Building a gated country Perhaps there's a weird sort of logic, in a country in which rich people often live in guarded, gated communities to protect themselves from a population they see as unsafe, that billionaire U.S. President Donald Trump would seek to turn his whole country into a gated community. The analogy goes well beyond Trump's famous/infamous pledge to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border to halt the influx of undocumented migrants. Other steps also seem to demonstrate the idea of the gated neighbourhood that you can lock out all the bad stuff. In his planned budget, the U.S. President has proposed cutting U.S. foreign aid spending by 28 per cent, while increasing defense spending by 10 per cent. This echoes the policy of wealthy areas where the rich want social assistance programs cut to save taxes, but wish to increase the police budget to protect themselves from the desperately poor who might try to force their way into their little corner of heaven. Trump vows to repatriate U.S.-owned manufacturing plants that have moved to Mexico and to charge tariffs on Mexican imports, which will create vast numbers of unemployed people south of the Rio Grande who will want, even more than now, to cross the border into the U.S. Meanwhile he plans to slash taxes for the very rich while cutting the Affordable Care Act, with an estimated 14 million being left with no medical insurance coverage. As frustration grows among the poor there should be a boom in wall -building in wealthy neighbourhoods. It remains to be seen if the U.S. can isolate itself from the hopelessness in the rest of the world through walls and more weapons. But Trump also wants to cut environmental spending by 31 per cent. If climate change is not just a Chinese plot, as Trump claims, a larger army and walls around a wealthy nation (or wealthy neighbourhood) won't stop the floods and violent weather that climate experts warn are coming. Even Donald Trump can't order the weather to obey his desires. — KR icallE1111WILt11671itr Jar ALaTinesta `if .iL PALIr1 40 "1 hear it's `Frothy, visually stunning, but ultimately a disappointment' " Looking Back Through the Years March 22, 1944 Archie Jones, a Turnberry Township farmer, announced that one of his hens had laid an egg that measured nine inches around one way and nearly eight inches around the other way. Jones was hoping that his hen's egg would break a well-established record in the area, as the egg was too big to fit in conventional egg crates. Duff's United Church in Walton would be the place to be for an upcoming crokinole social that was scheduled to take place on March 31. Admission to the event was set at 25 cents. March 23, 1967 A good number of people braved the cold and stormy elements to attend the special Centennial Irish Concert at the Brussels Legion Hall on St. Patrick's Day. Rev. F. G. Braby, on behalf of the Centennial Committee, welcomed everyone to the hall that night and it was Jack Thynne, chair of the committee, who got the music started on stage with his fiddle and "rustic" humour. Linda Wilson, the daughter of Idella Wilson of Brussels, was the winner in the Senior Elementary category of the Zone C 1 public speaking competition, which was held in Seaforth. Wilson topped 21 other contestants to take the top prize. Historical figures and costumes showing Canadian pride were on display for the annual Brussels ice carnival in Canada's centennial year. The Brussels Centennial Committee was working to invite back as many past residents of Brussels as possible for the centennial celebration coming up in the summer and it was going well. The committee reported having 275 names after just a few weeks. Members of the committee were hoping to have all the names they need by March 31, hoping to send out invitations in April. March 25, 1981 Murray Elston accomplished what he had set out to by winning the Huron -Bruce riding for the Liberal party, following in the footsteps of long-time representative Murray Gaunt. Election night saw the lead change hands a number of times, toggling between Elston and Gary Harron, representative for the Conservative party. In the end, however, Elston would win the seat by just 324 votes. Elston earned a total of 12,164 votes, compared to Harron's 11,940. NDP candidate Tony McQuail finished third in the riding with a total of 1,979 votes. Morris Township had would up with a deficit of $9,337 at the end of 1980, which was largely due to overexpenditure on the roads budget. However, council had managed to set aside $50,000 in the reserve for working capital for the year. The Auburn and District Lions Club welcomed two new members at their March 18 meeting. Rev. William Craven was sponsored into the club by Jim Schneider and Murray Rourke was sponsored into the club by Marinus Bakker. With the two new members, the club had 21 members. New minimum wage rates were being instated in Ontario. The general hourly rate would be raised from $3.30 to $3.50 on March 31, while the student hourly rate would rise from $2.45 to $2.65. March 26, 1997 Farmers were preparing for a potentially heavy hit with proposed changes from the provincial government and its taxation structure. Rural residents would likely see a dramatic hike in their taxes after the Progressive Conservative govern- ment announced that it would be taxing farm land at 25 per cent of the mill rate, meaning that municipalities would be facing losses for local uses. The cool spring meant there was going to be a slow start to the local maple syrup season, according to Susanne Robinson of Robinson's Maple Syrup near Auburn. Robinson said that she and her employees would be boiling syrup for a week and then would have to take a week off before they could boil again. Bryce Wedow was the winner of the 1997 Don Higgins Memorial Award, which went to the goalie with the season's best record within the Brussels Hockey Association. Mary and Jack Taylor of Belgrave celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a special open house with family and friends. The couple had been married in Auburn, but would eventually move to Belgrave where they would run a store and post office together for many years. Steve Gibbons of Walton had opened a new business on the main street of Blyth. The store was called Unusual Finds and it was stocked with antiques and collectibles. As part of the Brussels 125th homecoming set for later in the year, Brussels residents Don McNeil and Don Bray had organized "Cruisin' Brussels" which they hoped would be a car show that would attract as many as 400 cars to the community.