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The Citizen, 2009-10-22, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2009.EditorialsOpinions Publisher, Keith Roulston Editor, Bonnie GroppAdvertising, Ken Warwick & Lori Patterson The CitizenP.O. Box 429,BLYTH, Ont.N0M 1H0Phone 523-4792 FAX 523-9140 P.O. Box 152,BRUSSELS, Ont.N0G 1H0Phone 887-9114 E-mail norhuron@scsinternet.comWebsite 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 $34.00/year ($32.38 + $1.62 G.S.T.) in Canada;$105.00/year in U.S.A.and $175/year in other foreign countries.Advertising is accepted on thecondition that in the event of a typographical error,only that portion of the advertisement will becredited.Advertising Deadlines: Monday, 2 p.m. - Brussels; Monday, 4 p.m. - Blyth.PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 40050141PAP REGISTRATION NO. 09244RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO CIRCULATION DEPT. PO BOX 152 BRUSSELS ON N0G 1H0 email: norhuron@scsinternet.com Letter to the editor Oct. 21, 1965 Grey Twp. council met and accepted snow removal tenders for the cost of $7.50 per hour of work and $5 per day of standby. Jack Thynne, known as Canada’s Singing Violinist, performed his farewell concert at the Brussels Legion. Thynne, who was known extensively throughout Canada and the U.S., was to perform one of his final concerts with a dance to follow, which was sponsored by the Brussels Legion. The Lyceum Theatre in Wingham was featuring Ferry Across The Mersey, which starred Gerry and the Pacemakers, which eventually gave way to Von Ryan’s Express, which starred Frank Sinatra and Trevor Howard, which was billed as “one of the biggest pictures ever made about the last war.” The going rate for toilet tissue was 81 cents per ten rolls, while just $7.77 would buy 100 rolls from the Belgrave Co-op. Oct. 14, 1981 The Blyth Centre for Arts was in the midst of planning a medieval feast, where Blyth Festival regulars Ted Johns and Janet Amos were to play the king and queen of the court. Johns and Amos played Aylmer and Rose Clarke, their familiar characters from He Won’t Come In From The Barn, a Blyth Festival favourite. Blyth building inspector Eugene McAdam issued building permits worth nearly $67,000, with permits being issued to Howson and Howson Ltd. among others. Len Rooney of Blyth caught the biggest rainbow trout caught in Port Albert in 1981, weighing in at 9.5 lbs. Blyth hosted the 30th anniversary dinner for the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority with Dave Gower, chairman of the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority hosting the event. The Park Theatre in Goderich was hosting a double feature, with Continental Divide, starring John Belushi and Bustin’ Loose starring Richard Pryor. The official opening of the Huron County Health Building and Huronview Home for the Aged was held, with an invitation published by warden Fred E. Haberer. Oct. 22, 1986 The Londesborough Lions aimed to raise between $25,000 and $30,000 in one day to finance the purchase of a specially-equipped van for one of their members, Ron Nesbitt, who has been injured in a an automobile collision the previous summer. Blyth council employed the services of the Wingham detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police due to increased incidence of vandalism around the village. Several events sparked this action, including the smashing of a prize pumpkin, a daylight burglary of a residence and the theft of flags from Radford Construction’s planter at the corner of King and Queen Streets. The Citizen was in the midst of planning its first birthday party. Later on that week there were two open houses being held at both the Blyth and Brussels offices to celebrate the newspaper’s first year in existence. The Walton PeeWee baseball team won the Tri-County crown over Belmore, who they beat 4-0. Walton swept Belmore, winning the first three games of the best of five series. Tom Hanrahan, president of the Brussels Public Home and School Association, introduced a new principal and several new teachers to the staff at Brussels Public School. The Morning Star Rebekah Lodge installed its new officers at their meeting in Seaforth. Hullett Twp. council voted in favour of a new Ball’s Bridge, supporting Huron County’s proposal to replace the then-101-year-old bridge. The Blyth Figure Skating Club had sponsored a demonstration for early November where the marvels of microwave cooking would be on display. Oct. 23, 1996 The annual Blyth Skate-A-Thon raised $2,300, raising funds for the Blyth Figure Skating and Power Skating Club as well as Blyth Minor Hockey. The Goderich Pirates beat the Brussels Crusaders by a score of 7-5 in hockey pre-season action. The Brussels Mennonite Fellowship held its annual Crafts Of The World sale and raised $5,800, which was up $1,300 from the year before. After a meeting with Huron- Bruce MPP Helen Johns, several local representatives said they were disappointed. The representatives were opposing amalgamation with expert studies backing up their opposition. Hullett Central Public School’s annual cross country meet was held in Londesborough, with eight schools sending students to participate. A free footcare clinic was held at the Blyth Apothecary, which offered the first six participants free footcare that afternoon. Knox Presbyterian Church in Cranbrook celebrated its 131st anniversary with Rev. Cathrine Campbell presiding. THE EDITOR, I was greatly dismayed by the flyer that came in every mail slot of the riding entitled, “Let’s make a deal.” Not only does it make sensational, in a negative way the issues of crime in this relatively peaceful country, it says nothing about addressing the real problems of criminal activity. The ad would suggest that using the prison system with evermore- tough sentencing is a solution to the problems of society. I would suggest that prison rarely solves anything. We must not be satisfied with prison as a way to fix the very real problems of poverty, racism and violence, that we too often ignore. These are the real crimes of society. Overwhelming research suggests the prison system does not help people be accountable for the wrongs they have committed. We continue to believe punishment with no chance of restoration of relationship will be a solution. Our jails must not be simply a storage facility for people with serious problems related to such things as abuse, mental illness and poverty. I wish politicians would not use tactics that pit groups against each other with fear. Instead, tell us about programs that are working. Initiatives like inmate farming programs where those in the criminal system learn life skills, employment skills and emotional rehabilitation as they work with animals, for example. (All six such programs in Canada were announced cut last February by this government). Or, remind us of the policies for more accessible and affordable housing and childcare programs. These are good solutions to our troubles and remind us of our collective obligations to one another. Our well being is tied with one another. Harsher treatment for criminal behaviour seems to serve no one’s well being. Sincerely, Kathy Douglas. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Publications Assistance Program (PAP) toward our mailing costs. We are not responsible for unsolicited newsscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright Mitchell risks credibility Speaking to The Citizen’s reporter Shawn Loughlin this week regarding the accommodation review currently underway involving Brussels Public School and Grey Central Public School, Huron-Bruce MPP Carol Mitchell said the process works. She’s probably the only person, aside from school board officials, who believes that. The example of the accommodation review that led to the recommendation to close schools in Blyth, Belgrave, Turnberry and Wingham and build a new kindergarten to Grade 6 school has led most people to consider the review process a complete fraud – an exercise in making parents and the community think they have an opportunity for input when really the decision has already been made. In that example, it was obvious from the beginning that one of the priorities for board officials was keeping attendance at F. E. Madill Secondary School high enough that its future would not be endangered. Yet that school was not included in the accommodation review process. Parents indicated in no uncertain terms that they didn’t want Grade 7 and 8 students going to the high school but they were ignored and the kids are on the way to the high school under current plans. The credibility of the ARC process is also undermined by the news that the school board had applied for funding for a new central K-6 school before the review even began. So pardon parents if they distrust the system – if, for instance, they don’t believe that Brussels Public School is so badly in need of repair that the future of the school should be in doubt. School board officials, with their manipulation of the ARC in northern Huron, have shot themselves in the foot as far as their believability is concerned. In supporting the dishonest ARC process, Mitchell is also putting her own credibility on the line. — KR Dangerous ignorance A little bit of knowledge, so the saying goes, is a dangerous thing. Many commentators in national media have so little understanding of rural Canada that they really shouldn’t be allowed to discuss issues at all. Not that it ever stops them. The assault on farm marketing boards, ongoing for years in The Globe and Mail, was renewed this week when a report from the paper’s writer in London, England, said the future of a free trade agreement between Canada the the European Community could be derailed by Canadian dairy farmers who insisted on keeping supply management. He gave the impression supply management was a government subsidy while European farmers didn’t get subsidies. The argument is founded on two inaccuracies. Anyone who knows anything about agricultural trade knows that Europe’s farmers are the most highly subsidized in the world, though governments there have found ingenious ways to do it. Yet despite those subsidies, farmers in Europe have been protesting this week because they’re going broke. Secondly, supply management doesn’t cost our governments a dime in subsidies. It simply pays farmers the true cost of producing our food. The dangerous thing about such ignorance is that urban media have such power and the truth is never given balanced exposure. — KR &