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The Citizen, 2016-10-27, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2016. Editorials Opinions Publisher: Keith Roulston Editor: Shawn Loughlin • Reporter: Denny Scott Advertising Sales: Brenda Nyveld & Nicole Gillespie 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 1HO email: info@northhuron.on.ca The Citizen P.O. Box 429, P.O. Box 152, BLYTH, Ont. BRUSSELS, Ont. NOM 1H0 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 ..ocna CCNA Member of the Ontario Press Council We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund of the We are not responsible for unsolicited newsscripts or Department of Canadian Heritage. photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright CMCA AUDITED They just don't get it When discussing the wide gap of understanding of the realities of rural life, generally we rural people focus on government and big business, but now, thanks to the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF), the union representing full-time firefighters has shown the labour movement can be just as ill-informed and myopic as other urban - based institutions. Late last month the Brampton branch of IAFF sent letters to its members warning them they could be disciplined, even kicked out of the union, if they used their off -work hours to volunteer for small fire departments in the communities where they live. Known as "double hatters", these firefighters generally live in a small community and commute to work in a larger centre that can afford to employ full-time firefighters. In their time at home, several have volunteered to help fight fires, just like plumbers or bank employees or police officers who seek to serve their home communities by volunteering and training as firefighters for a volunteer department. The extent of the union's misunderstanding of rural truths is that the union argues that by working as volunteers (which the union says are not true volunteers because they get paid a stipend for attending fires) the professional firefighters are depriving other members of salaried work. The union, in effect, thinks that if there were no volunteers, municipalities would be forced to hire union firefighters. Anyone who knows the limited size of the budgets of rural municipalities and the vast distances to be covered, knows this is an impossibility. Taxpayers couldn't afford to staff all the current fire stations we have in Huron 24 hours a day with firefighters making union salaries. Cutting back to, say, one fire station that could afford to pay full-time firefighters, but would need to serve the entire county, would see lives and property put in danger because of distance to be travelled and time required to reach a fire. We can only have adequate fire protection through the dedicated people who volunteer, for small recompense, for our rural departments. Dream as it may, the union is never going to succeed in forcing rural municipalities to hire unionized firefighters, but in stubbornly threatening members who simply want to join their neighbours in volunteering to help protect their community, the IAFF is just going to hurt the labour movement by making unions seem ill-informed and uncaring for the needs of residents of small communities. — KR Democracy's not clean, simple If there's one thing the stubborn support for Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential election has demonstrated, it's that some people who claim to resent interference by government, are at the same time willing to hand power to a strongman who seems to offer simple solutions to complex issues. Trump declares he'll do things that his supporters want to happen, and never bothers mentioning any difficulties he might encounter if he becomes president. So, for instance, he'll build a wall across the Mexican border to prevent illegal immigrants from entering the U.S. Difficult as this would be to carry out, he makes it harder by claiming he'll make Mexico pay for this fence, though he never mentions how he'd manage to force an independent country to do this. He says he'd throw Hilary Clinton in jail for her alleged crimes, ignoring little realities like the need to prove in a court of law that his Democratic Party opponent has broken the law beyond a reasonable doubt. Trump supporters aren't the only ones who like the idea of a strong leader who can just make their wishes come true. Russian voters turned their backs on the complexities of democracy in favour of Vladimir Putin's near dictatorship that makes people feel, to borrow from a Trump slogan, that Russia is great again. In the Philippines, voters elected Rodrigo Duterte president because he promised to deal with drug dealers. Since his election, vigilante death squads have killed nearly 4,000 people without trials yet Duterte is more popular than ever. Democracy is not simple. It's messy. Those who support leaders who promise to make things simple and clean up the mess are risking the loss of a governing system that's our most important advance in the history of humankind. — KR Letters Policy The Citizen welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must be signed and should include a daytime telephone number for the purpose of verification only. Letters that are not signed will not be printed. Submissions may be edited for length, clarity and content, using fair comment as our guideline. The Citizen reserves the right to refuse any letter on the basis of unfair bias, prejudice or inaccurate information. As well, letters can only be printed as space allows. Please keep your letters brief and concise. Iwas gonna bea scary clown too, but I wanted to be something even creepier... Looking Back Through the Years October 28, 1959 Members of the Blyth Lions Club had their hands full at their Oct. 22 meeting as the club was entertaining the District Governor at their regular meeting at Memorial Hall. The meeting began with Lions Club President Charles St. Michael presiding over the meeting before he handed it over to Tail Twister Fred Howson, who collected fines from a number of members. The North Huron Women Teachers Association held its regular meeting at Blyth United Church. The meeting consisted of a turkey banquet prepared by Mrs. Appleby's group from within the association. The guest speaker for the evening was Angela Armitt, head of Summer School and Extension Services at Western University. Armitt spoke on how important a sense of humour is in the life of a teacher. The Eager Eight 4-H Club's regular meeting was held on Oct. 22. The meeting began with the election of officers. Kay Carter was elected as the club's president, while Linda Wellbanks would serve as the secretary and Bernice Hunking and Anne Knapp would serve as the press reporters. The Blyth Legion was handing out money to worthy causes within the community, approving donations of $25 each to Hope Chapel, Ball's St. Michael's and Burns Cemeteries throughout the community. October 29, 1970 The Huron County Board of Education, at its October meeting, approved a new scholarship for Brussels Public School. "The late George Menzies of the Village of Brussels bequeathed the sum of $29,000 to be deposited in a trust fund, the earnings from which is to provide scholarships to pupils who have graduated from the Brussels Public School for the purpose of enabling them to attend university or school of higher learning after graduating from any secondary school," The Brussels Post reported. Huron County Council rejected a proposed amalgamation between the Huron and Perth County Health Units. A working committee had been struck containing members from both Boards of Health to study the potential merger. The main concern of Huron County councillors was said to be the fact that Huron County was in the midst of preparing its Official Plan, which would govern, among other things, health services within the county borders. The Brussels Boys soccer team played against their counterparts from Grey Central Public School and came up just short of a 1-0 score. October 29, 1986 The Citizen officially celebrated its first year as a community -owned newspaper in Blyth and Brussels. It was on Oct. 23, 1985 that the first issue of The Citizen was published. As part of the anniversary celebration, an open house was held at The Citizen's Brussels and Blyth offices, offering readers coffee, birthday cake and a chance to win one of the many door prizes being offered. Electors in West Wawanosh Township would be heading to the polls on Nov. 17 to vote on who they'd like to fill the vacant seat on their township's council. The seat had been left vacant when Councillor Cecil Cranston was appointed to the Reeve position in September. Two candidates, Joseph F. Hickey and Kathryn Todd, let their names stand for the position. Young's Clothing and Footwear, a new store in Brussels, was set to open its doors on the village's main street. The store, which was operated by Young Yoon, would carry shoes and clothing for women and children. The store would be located on the second floor of the same building that housed Stewart's Pharmacy, which was operated by Yoon's husband Kang. Also working at the store as it opened to the public were Bonnie Glanville and Judy Smith. February 20, 2002 The Village of Brussels was set to take centre stage as the holidays rolled around for its first-ever Christmas Home Tour. Dunedin Manor Bed and Breakfast, a stately Victorian manner built in 1887, would be one of the five homes to be featured on the tour. After a rash of car thefts in the area, a 19 -year-old Morris- Turnberry man turned himself in as the car thief that police were busy looking for. The man was charged with four counts of theft over $5,000, two counts of theft under $5,000, as well as charges of possession of stolen property and dangerous driving. Several public schools in Huron and Perth Counties were declared safe, at least for another year, as Avon Maitland District School Board trustees voted down a proposal that would have closed a number of schools. The Blyth Skating Club held its annual Skate-a-Thon and over 80 children enjoyed the activities, with several students being honoured as top pledge -getters.