Loading...
The Citizen, 2017-03-30, Page 4PAGE 4.THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 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 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO CIRCULATION DEPT. PO BOX 152 BRUSSELS ON NOG 1H0 email: info@northhuron.on.ca 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 Canada Aocna r . CCNA Member of the Ontario Press Council We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada. CMCA AUDITED We are not responsible for unsolicited newsscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are m Copyright They're welcome here at home It's good news that Huron County and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) are developing a program designed to engage young people in local affairs, with the hope it will make more want to return to their home county after finishing their schooling. We need to keep as many of these talented people as possible here at home to grow our local communities. But there was a disturbing detail in the story about the pilot project that had been carried out at the Listowel District Secondary School. Vicki Lass, the OMAFRA economic development adviser, while unveiling the project to Huron County Council, said an overwhelming number of Listowel students felt they were being conditioned to think that in order to succeed in life they had to leave their community. If students in other schools in Huron and Perth have the same perception, our school system is failing our students and our communities. It would be hard to put the finger on just where students might pick up this perception. Certainly the reality is that for some of them to pursue their interests and their talents, there just aren't going to be jobs in our area for them to come back to — we don't have employers needing many aeronautical engineers or brain surgeons, for example. The school system shouldn't give the impression, however, that it's just expected that those with any ambition will want to leave and never come back. Teachers, most of whom after all live in the area, need to make sure they don't send signals of an expectation that students will leave and not return. School boards must also examine the message that is being conveyed to students to make sure it's not implied that they will have to abandon their home communities. Every year we export hundreds of bright, ambitious young people from Huron County. Those students need to be encouraged to return home if that's where they'd prefer to live. Our communities' futures depends on it. — KR Invest, don't just spend Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau tabled his second budget last week, forecasting a $28.5 billion deficit. The figure is startling, given the Liberals ran on a pledge to run a $10 billion deficit, but the troubling part is what the borrowed money is buying. Voters bought into the Liberal deficit plan because they were promised a massive investment in needed infrastructure. What better time to update highways and bridges and stimulate the economy than when interest rates were at record lows, the thinking went. But the deficit blew way past the $10 billion mark last year and the government hasn't yet spent the infrastructure money pledged in that budget. This year there is little talk about infrastructure but the deficit is still $28.5 billion. There's talk of the deficit declining, but the promise to balance the budget by the end of the government's current term has disappeared. Whether it's a homeowner or a government, borrowing money must be done sensibly. If you borrow money to improve your house which will in turn increase your home's value, there's a good argument for going into debt. If you borrow to take a vacation, it's not a good investment. Obviously with a $28.5 billion deficit and infrastructure spending hardly mentioned in this budget, a lot of this borrowing has been for things that are nice to have but aren't building the value of the country. In the long run, we're must pay back these debts, but the government's philosophy seems to be — hey, that's for our kids to worry about. — KR Thanks for doing nothing Ironically, millions of Americans who couldn't afford private health care insurance without the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare, can thank extreme right-wing Republicans for assuring they'll continue to receive coverage. Last week President Donald Trump's bill to gut his predecessor's health care reforms was withdrawn because the Republicans who dominate the Congress, couldn't agree to pass it. The right-wing House Freedom Caucus felt Obamacare hadn't been obliterated completely enough by the proposed new bill and wouldn't support it. Meanwhile, more moderate Republicans worried that they'd be hard-pressed to win re-election once the cuts kicked in and an estimated 14 million people immediately lost medical insurance. It's not that Obamacare was such a good solution to the problem of access to health care. Former President Barack Obama had cobbled together a public-private partnership plan after watching Bill and Hillary Clinton fail in their attempt to bring meaningful reform during the Clinton presidency. They'd been beaten down by the power of medical insurance companies and privately -owned health-care providers. All of this should make Canadians glad that our government, under Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson, enacted medicare way back in the 1960s before insurance companies became so entrenched in the system that they'd fight any government system to the death. — KR THE HOUSE OF COMMONS HAS PASSED MOTION M-103, CONDEMNING ISI. AMOPHOBIA Looking Back Through the Years March 29, 1944 J. Bruce Matheson, assistant agricultural representative for Oxford County for the previous two years had arrived in Huron County to take over the duties of agricultural representative in Huron County. Matheson would be taking over for J.C. Shearer, who was retiring from the post to take on a farm of his own. Matheson was a native of Oxford County and had graduated from the Ontario Agriculture College in Guelph in 1941. Thick smoke from an oil heater was to blame for the smothering death of 300 Leghorn chicks at a farm in Bluevale. The white chicks were covered with black soot after the smoke got out of control. The 39th annual spring show was scheduled to be held in Clinton on Thursday, April 6. It would feature horses, beef cattle and bacon hogs, as well as $1,250 in prize money ready to be handed out. Albert Matthews, the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, would be on hand to officially open the show just after noon that day. March 30, 1967 An enthusiastic crowd packed the Brussels Arena for the game between the Brussels Old Timers and the Brussels Odd Fellows. There was no shortage of goals for those in the market for an entertaining game that night as the two teams battled to a 13-13 tie. Tom Pletch won the night's draw for a portable television, while Robert Thompson of Wingham won the card table and chairs. Mrs. Alfred Nichol won the electric carving knife. Proceeds from the fun charity game went to the Western Star No. 149 I.O.O.F. lodge's cancer, polio and tuberculosis fund. The Brussels Figure Skating Club held its final event of the season with a local group competition day for the club's junior skaters. Julie Campbell placed first in the first group of the night, while Joan Bennett placed first in the night's second group. April 1, 1981 A special Family Fun Night raised over $100 that would be put towards a new piano for Blyth Memorial Hall. A record crowd of 150 attended the family dance that raised money for the special project. Entertainment for the evening included Jim McCall on violin, Harve McDowell on saxophone, Bill Young also on saxophone, Jim Lawrie on drums and Ella Richmond on the piano. Huron County Council voted to approve its budget for the year, which called for spending of $10.7 million. The spending in the budget had increased by 7.5 per cent over the previous year's budget. Due to popular demand, an extra show had been added to an already sold -out week of performances for the one -woman show entitled Maggie and Pierre. Linda Griffith brought the show to Blyth and due to demand, a fourth show had been added to the run. Seventeen perfect attendance pins were handed out at the regular meeting of the Blyth Lions Club. In addition to the 17 perfect attendance pins, three long-term perfect attendance pins were also presented. Harold Cook was awarded for 15 years, Gord Jenkins was awarded for 10 years and John Stewart received a pin for five years of perfect attendance. April 2, 1997 Effective May, 1997, the Wingham and District Hospital would be consolidating inpatients onto one floor, which meant there would be cuts to nursing staff at the hospital. Hospital CEO Lloyd Koch said the move would improve efficiencies at the hospital and bring the bed count to 50, which would be closer to the recommended number of beds in the District Health Council report. Koch also said that efficiencies were needed after 7.2 per cent of the hospital's budget, accounting for $587,000, had been cut by the Ministry of Health. Brussels Homecoming 1997 was officially set to kick off in the coming weeks. The weekend would begin with a dance, which was scheduled for April 26. And while the event carried the name of Brussels, it was for everyone to come and enjoy, especially the town crier competition that was scheduled for the first night of the weekend. "This contest is for everyone," said Murray Cardiff, chair of the Homecoming committee. "It's not just for Brussels residents, but for those from the surrounding area as well and for men and women." The winner of the competition would then be put right to work, taking on town crier duties for the entire Brussels Homecoming weekend. Despite nearly $1 million in cuts from the provincial government, the Huron County budget came with no increase to the county portion of taxes that would be collected in the coming year. The team of Tom Warwick, Fran Bremner, Wayne Alexander and Nora Stephenson was the winner of the D.A. Rann Trophy for the overall winning team of the Brussels Curling Club season.