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The Citizen, 2015-01-22, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 2015. Editorials Opinions Publisher: Keith Roulston Editor: Shawn Loughlin • Reporter: Denny Scott Advertising Sales: Lori Patterson & Amanda Bergsma The Citizen P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, Ont. N0M 1H0 Ph. 519-523-4792 Fax 519-523-9140 P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, Ont. N0G 1H0 Phone 519-887-9114 E-mail info@northhuron.on.ca Website www.northhuron.on.ca Looking Back Through the Years CCNA Member Member of the Ontario Press Council 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 N0G 1H0 email: info@northhuron.on.ca January 17, 1979 All local schools were closed for the early portion of the week as a large amount of snowfall and high winds resulted in snow squalls throughout Huron County, The Brussels Post reported. Billy Bishop Goes To War was scheduled for two performances at Memorial Hall, featuring the original cast of Eric Peterson as Bishop. Tickets to either of the shows would cost $4 per adult and $2.50 per child. The Brussels Legion Pipe Band was in the midst of preparing for a Highland Ball at the Legion to mark Robbie Burns Night on Jan. 20. Grey Township Council was feeling generous and handed out a number of raises to both councillors and township employees at the Jan. 9 meeting of council. The annual salary for the reeve was raised from $1,100 to $1,200, while the salaries of the deputy- reeve and councillors were raised to $1,000, up from $950. Grey Township Council also raised the hourly rate for road labour from $5 per hour to $5.50 per hour. The annual Huron County Snowarama, which raised money for children in need, was scheduled to go ahead on Feb. 4, with organizers still hoping for more snow. January 17, 1990 Blyth Village Council was in the process of debating a motion that would result in council holding two meetings per month, rather than just one. Councillor Dave Lee first raised the issue, saying that it seemed council was having to hold special meetings rather often. With some very important decisions being made at the special meetings, he said, he worried that members of the public would think council had something to hide with its meeting structure as it was. Brussels Village Council was looking to sell its Elizabeth Street tennis courts if the right offer happened to come along. One reported offer that had been making news was that a developer wanted to build an apartment complex where the tennis courts sat. Reeve Gordon Workman told council that he had several discussions with a developer who said he’d like to build a two-floor building on the site that would house between 10 and 12 apartment units. Ben Barnes, a 17-year-old Brussels resident and student at F.E. Madill Secondary School, was awarded third place in a national writing contest sponsored by Maclean’s magazine. Barnes’ essay was entitled “Crooks and Liars” and was based on the loss of political innocence January 17, 2001 Huron East Council approved a bylaw that would allow the use of a Tuckersmith property to house a new Seaforth/Clinton ambulance station. The site, reported The Citizen, would be used until a permanent site was chosen from the four being considered. This decision came after ambulance stations in both Clinton and Seaforth were closed at the end of 2000. The period of the bylaw was made 18 months by Huron East Council to ensure that the permanent site would be ready by 2002. Calvin Semple was named the new chief of the Grey Fire Department, following the resignation of former chief Gary Earl. David Diehl was also named deputy-chief, taking over for Stewart Steiss. Huron East Councillor Alvin McLellan said that both men indicated that with amalgamation, it was time to give two new firefighters a shot at the department’s two head jobs. Donnelly and Murphy Barristers and Solicitors welcomed Greg Stewart as part of the Goderich- based legal team. Stewart came to Huron County by way of Windsor, where he was called to the bar in 1983. January 19, 2012 Alan and Laurie Willits of RR1, Wingham were safe and resuming their Italian vacation after their cruise ship, the Costa Concordia ran aground off the coast of Giglio Island, killing six and stranding thousands. The couple, despite losing all of their possessions on the boat, including their passports, resumed their trip after a brief layover in Rome. The plan, while clearly altered as a result of the disaster, was to reach a number of destinations by train, not wanting their trip to Italy to be a waste. Jory, the couple’s 20-year-old daughter who was still in Huron County, said she was unaware of how bad the incident was until after hearing from her parents and knowing they were safe. North Huron Council decided to join Huron East and Central Huron Councils in a court battle to save their representation at the Huron County Council table. The issue came to the forefront when it was suggested that four of Huron County’s lower-tier municipalities should have one fewer representative on Huron County Council, reducing North Huron to one and Huron East and Central Huron to two. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund of the Department of Canadian Heritage. We are not responsible for unsolicited newsscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright Putting the quality in life According to a study released to Huron County Council last week, people in Huron County know they’ve got it pretty good and they’re willing to work to keep it that way. The United Way Perth-Huron’s Social Research and Planning Council study of quality of life in the two counties showed over 90 per cent of residents of the two counties questioned in 2011/2012 said they were either satisfied or very satisfied with life in general. Here in Huron, 75 per cent of those polled felt a strong sense of community. This commitment to community is reflected in the study’s calculation that county residents donated four million hours to volunteer activities. To put that in perspective, that would be the equivalent of 2,000 full-time jobs. Quality of life is a virtuous circle. All those volunteers provide services, from coaching sports teams to enhancing resources in hospitals and other social agencies to providing an enriched life through theatres, art galleries, choirs, orchestras and museums. Having these services in our communities, in turn, makes people want to keep them successful. There are things that contribute to our quality of life for which we can take little credit, from the clean country air to the open spaces and the easy proximity to one of the world’s largest freshwater lakes. One of our curses, the continuing outflow of young people who grew up here, also contributes to one of our advantages: relatively low housing costs. Not only do we pay a fraction of what people in Ontario’s larger centres do for housing, but we enjoy larger houses and yards as well. Not everything is perfect. The study showed that too many of us are overweight, even obese, which is bound to lessen our quality of life in the long run if we don’t take action on our own. We, in Huron County, are blessed. We need to work to continue our quality of life by keeping up that commitment to giving back to our community through volunteerism. –KR Partisanship beats patriotism We are three weeks away from an anniversary most Canadians would probably agree is significant – but their federal government doesn’t seem to agree. February 15 marks the date 50 years ago, on Feb. 15, 1965, when the new Canadian red maple leaf flew for the first time. Information recently obtained shows the federal government, through Heritage Canada, has budgeted $50,000 to help commemorate a day most Canadians would probably agree was a turning point in the making of a modern Canada. By comparison, the federal government has provided $4 million to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Canada’s first prime minister, Sir John A. MacDonald. It set aside $5.2 million to mark the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812. It has even budgeted $1.5 million to commemorate the famine that devastated Ukraine in 1932-33 which many claim was willfully inflicted on the Ukrainian people by Joseph Stalin. With Stephen Harper as Prime Minster almost everything this government does seems to have a partisan goal. Sir John A. MacDonald was, of course, not just a hugely important figure in shaping this country, but also happens to be a Conservative. The maple leaf flag, however, was brought in by Lester B. Pearson, a Liberal Prime Minister, and only after his minority government had invoked closure to finally cut off the efforts of John Diefenbaker and his Progressive Conservative opposition which had blocked the passing of the flag legislation for five months. Few Canadians alive today would remember that history, of course. Few would know which prime minister brought in the flag and which party he belonged to – and what’s more, they don’t care. Most Canadians have just embraced the red maple leaf flag and the stylized maple leaf at its centre, emblazoning it on their clothing, backpacks, etc. Canadians who want to mark the 50th anniversary of the Canadian flag are going to have to find their own way to celebrate this landmark in the shaping of the country we recognize as Canada today. It’s too bad we have a prime minister who is so petty that he would let this anniversary slip by because it is historically tied to the wrong party, but let’s celebrate anyway. Canadians who love the flag aren’t Conservative or Liberal or NDP: they’re just patriotic Canadians. –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.