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The Citizen, 2015-10-01, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 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 October 3, 1979 Brussels Public School welcomed Gale Johnston to the school as a new teacher for the school year. Johnston would be teaching the Kindergarten class on a part-time basis. The school announced that it had a “huge” enrolment for its Kindergarten classes for the 1979/1980 school year, so the class was divided into Puppies and Kittens. Greg Smith of Arteeka Canine Control in Mount Forest spoke to Brussels Village Council, offering his services for dog control in the Brussels community. Council didn’t make a formal decision whether or not to retain Smith, but said they would discuss it further at their next meeting. Ian DesLaurier, a resources manager with the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority, spoke with Brussels Council and told members that there were flood plain concerns with the village. DesLaurier said that floodproofing the village was possible, but that work on it would have to begin soon. The Brussels Bombers girls slo- pitch team was named Western Ontario Athletic Association champions after winning it five years earlier as well. The team took the season’s trophy after defeating their rivals from Sebringville in a best-of-three final series. October 3, 1990 Blyth Village Council told the Huron Pioneer Thresher and Hobby Association that it would support improvements to the Threshers’ Park. Councillors decided that Blyth would support the project to the tune of $10,000 from the Village’s Pride program – an amount that would be matched by the Threshers. The Brussels Optimist Club helped Blyth to launch its own Optimist Club as part of a special ceremony. Don Carter was named charter president of the new Blyth club. Two-year directors of the newly- formed club were Jeff Peters, Laurie Sparling and Murray Siertsema, while Cathy Nethery, Herb VanAmersfoort and Alan Young were named one-year directors. Kevin Webster, the son of Karen and Allan Webster of RR3, Auburn, embarked on a fall tour of Northern Ontario with the Ontario Youth Choir, building on his early musical work at the Goderich District Collegiate Institute. The Auburn Horticultural Society marked a special anniversary, as it celebrated 40 years of work in the community with a special ceremony that included five chartered members of the club. The Blyth Festival officially turned over the keys to the new addition to Memorial Hall after the $1.2 million project was finally completed. The ceremony involved the passing of a symbolic brass key from Festival representatives to representatives of Blyth Village Council. October 3, 2001 A group of volunteer quilters was busy at Duff’s United Church in Walton creating a piece that would detail the history of the church. The pieces of the quilt, which were found in British Columbia, listed a number of long-time members of the congregation. The process began in 1998 with a letter from British Columbia asking about the existence of a church in Walton called Duff’s. From there, the pieces found a home and made their way back to Walton, full of familiar names. October 2, 2014 Many area residents learned for the first time that for the Oct. 27 municipal election their municipalities would be moving to mail-in and internet voting, and shifting away from traditional polling stations. While there was initially some push-back on the new methods, several councils worked to make the transition an easy one for those without internet access at home. One of the biggest changes to the election as a result of the new voting methods were deadlines that were moved up, several weeks in some cases. With internet-based voting opening weeks ahead of the election and those municipalities relying on Canada Post to deliver their completed ballots, residents were being forced to cast their votes at least two weeks ahead of the actual “election” which led to earlier all- candidates meetings, normally held closer to the actual election. A number of Huron County residents announced their presence at the International Plowing Match with authority, winning their classes and making their mark on the province-wide competition. Blyth’s Lucas Townsend won his class, while Walton’s Brian McGavin was the reserve champion of his class. North Huron was the setting for the Alice Munro Writers and Readers Festival, which drew participation from all over the world, including one woman who made the trip to Wingham from Paris, France for the weekend. 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 Another sad community loss The closure of Duff’s United Church in Walton on the weekend was another sad loss for the community. More and more churches are closing these days as attendance declines but costs continue to rise. A church closure in a larger community diminishes that community but the loss of a church in a hamlet like Walton means the loss of an institution that helped bring the community together. The church was a community centre, hosting dinners and other events. Neighbours joined neighbours, not just at Sunday services but in church activities, and in doing so strengthened the community spirit. Little by little we’ve been losing the institutions that have been the glue that help communities together, from schools to churches to important groups like the Women’s Institute. Times change and we have to change with them, but if we hope to maintain quality of life that makes living in our small towns, villages and hamlets so enriching we’re going to have to invent new reasons to work together for the community. It won’t happen on its own. People have to take ownership to make it happen. — KR Greed brings regulation Whether we’re individuals or business operators, few of us like living with regulations but the bad actions of some often make tougher rules necessary. Several high-profile bad actors in the international business community last week made it hard to argue for fewer regulations. The biggest offender last was Volkswagen, the world’s largest car maker, which admitted it had rigged computers controlling carbon emissions on its diesel cars so the engines would perform well when being tested but would cause far more pollution when they were driven under normal road conditions. Business’s dislike for government interference has gone hand in hand with the desire of governments to cut costs so governments have moved toward much more self-regulation in various industries. More instances like this are bound to bring a call for government to take a much bigger role in regulating and inspecting industry. The other instance of greed last week was on a smaller scale but showed the repugnant side of the free enterprise system. In two cases companies bought the rights to drugs that were no longer patented then raised the price exorbitantly. In the case of Daraprim, a 62-year-old drug used to help fight off life-threatening parasitic infection, the price shot up from $13.50 per tablet to $750 overnight despite the fact there was no increase in the costs involved. It was pure greed at the expense of people who were sick. Sometimes over-zealous regulators can strangle the entrepreneurial spirit that creates the jobs we depend on, but there’s a difference between free enterprise and destructive greed. Rotten apples make it inviting to try to right the wrongs they have perpetrated by increasing protection for consumers. – KR A poor reason to choose While in the big picture, the beauty of democracy is that it usually works, there are times when the reaction of individual voters, or blocks of voters, makes you shake your head. One of these is the word leaking out that a considerable number of voters in Quebec may turn their support to parties that insist Muslim women wearing the niqab facial veil be forced to remove the covering if they swear the citizenship oath. No matter how you feel about the wearing of the niqab, this is hardly a matter that should decide how you vote. Green Party Leader Elizabeth May nailed it in the French language leaders debate last week: “What is the impact of the niqab on the economy? What is the impact of the niqab on climate change? What is the impact of the niqab on the jobless? It is a false debate meant as distraction from the real challenges for Canada.” Whether or not wearing the niqab for taking the citizenship oath is permitted (and two levels of our courts have said it’s a denial of the women’s rights to require them to take it off) we’re only talking about a few dozen women, or a few hundred people at most. This is not an important enough issue to make anyone change their vote. – 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.