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The Citizen, 2008-05-22, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2008. Looking Back Through the Years May 23, 1962 A new vaccine was being considered as a new answer to the fight against polio. The Sabin-type vaccine was considered a valuable resource in combatting the crippling disease, but it was also believed that use of the current vaccine, Salk, would not be discontinued in favour of the new one. Instead, Salk-type vaccines would continue to be administered, and it was thought that distribution of any Sabin-type would not be conducted until at least months later. Close watch was being kept on cases of polio in the area, but at the moment the current vaccine seemed to be working quite efficiently. A beloved church was rebuilt in Britain, becoming a symbol of courage and faith. The Ancient Coventry Cathedral was destroyed by a Nazi raid in 1940, an attack which almost destroyed the entire city. The cathedral had now been reconstructed in the same site in which it had stood for 600 years. It was built with pink sandstone, and cost the British government $3.5 million. The United States and Russia were still competing in an arms race of their own. A chronological summary of nuclear testing done by both countries was featured in The Blyth Standard, and showed a certain amount of competition to develop the best weapons. Since 1945, the U.S. had been testing, and most notably, using nuclear weapons. Soon after, the U.S.S.R. began their own testing of weapons. By 1959 they had reached a moratorium on the explosion of any nuclear weapons, but that agreement was soon broken by the Russians in 1961. By 1962, the U.S. had begun testing again, soon followed by the U.S.S.R., suggesting there would be no end to nuclear warfare in the near future, at least until the leaders themselves were convinced that such testing was too dangerous. In another story of international interaction,American astronaut John Glenn and Russian cosmonaut Gherman Titov participated in a television discussion on U.S.-Soviet co-operation in space. May 23, 1990 A 63-year-old Brussels man drowned in a tragic accident. The man, and a Chepstow resident were both taken to hospital following a boating accident which occurred while they were participating in the annual CKNX fishing derby, held in Kincardine. Both men were pronounced dead in hospital, and post-mortem examniations were to be performed to determine the causes of death. An investigation into the incident was to follow by the OPP. Bessie Johnston of Bluevale was named Citizen of the Year for the Brussels area. Mrs. Johnston was involved in many community activities, and was perhaps best- known for her long service as co- ordinator of the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre Catering Group. She was also the former president of the ladies division of the Brussels Fall Fair, and remained a director on the fair board. She would be presented with a plaque in honour to appreciate her contributions to the community. A team of students from F.E. Madill Secondary School in Wingham, including three area youths, won third place in a national contest sponsored by Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo. The contest required Entrepeneurship students to play the stock market. They were given $100,000 to invest in stocks of their choice, the goal being to earn as much additional money on the starting amount as possible. Members of the team included: Chris Bridge, Brussels; Neil Pipe, Brussels and Matt Robinson, Blyth along with fourth teammate Joe LeGrand. Together they accumulated $228,000 in the two months they participated in the contest, achieving a top score among 150 other teams from across Canada. May 24, 1995 The Blyth Festival held its official unveiling of the set and costume designs for the first production by the Blyth Festival theatre company for the 1995 season. The play, Ballad for a Rum Runner’s Daughter, would include elaborate staging and dress. Set designer for the production was Stephan Droege, and costume designer was Debra Hanson. They combined their talents to create a presentation hoped to capture the audience’s imaginations. Acclaimed Canadian writer Timothy Findlay paid a visit to the Blyth Festival’s annual “Biggest Book Sale in Huron County.” Mr. Findlay would be conducting a reading from his latest novel, The Piano Man’s Daughter. He was not only an acclaimed writer, but also an accomplished actor, playwright, and television/radio script writer. He was best known for his award-winning novels The Wars,Headhunter,Not Wanted on the Voyage and Famous Last Words. Students at Brussels Public School were participating in the Jump Rope For Heart, raising funds for heart disease research. Playing at the Park Theatre in Goderich was While You Were Sleeping, starring Sandra Bullock and Bill Pullman. The film was described by critics as “Absolutely enchanting!” and “A 10!” THE EDITOR, Bikers wanted! The Alzheimer Society of Huron County is gearing up for its third annual biker poker rally. The Forget Me Not Poker Rally will take place on Sunday, June 28. Registration begins in Clinton at 10 a.m. at the Alzheimer Society of Huron County office, located at 317 Huron Rd. The bikers will then head out on the road with stops in St. Marys, Ailsa Craig and Zurich. Participants will cross the finish line in Clinton at Platinum Power Sports. If you ride a motorcycle and want to join us for this fundraising ride, please give us a call and we will be happy to get a pledge sheet out to you. Registration is only $25 per bike or raise $75 in pledges and we waive the registration fee. The first 100 bikers to register will receive a t-shirt. Prizes will be awarded for best poker hand as well as most pledges. A door prize table is also provided. For more information, please give us a call at 519-482-1482 or 1-800- 561-5102. Check out our website at www.alzheimerhuron.on.ca The Alzheimer Society of Huron County Such a benign place to live While we Ontarians griped about the cold weather spoiling our Victoria Day holiday weekend, we had only to turn on the television or open a daily newspaper to get a jolt of reality. Our complaints about not being able to go to the beach for what’s considered the first long weekend of the summer seem so trivial compared to the suffering of victims of a massive earthquake in China that by early this week had taken a toll of 40,000 dead; the dead, injured and displaced of Myanmar (Burma) numbering more than a quarter million; or even the dozens killed and hundreds left homeless by storms across the “tornado alley” portion of the U.S. midwest. We like to complain and groan about our harsh winters in Canada, particularly here in the snowbelt near the Great Lakes, but our hardship is only difficult compared to the best parts of living in some other parts of the world. We envy the southern California lifestyle shown to us in beautiful colour on American television, yet we don’t have to deal with their brush fires and earthquakes. We pick and choose from the best Florida has to offer, vacationing there in the winter months but avoiding the heat and humidity of the summer — and definitely the dangers of hurricane season. We might like Cuba for a vacation, but we wouldn’t want to live under its communist government. Such times as these are times to put our lives and our place in the world in perspective. Snow storms or unseasonably cold summer weather are minor inconveniences compared to cyclones and earthquakes. Our complaints against our politicians are trivial when we see the plight of people who suffer under the ruthless dictatorship in Myanmar. It doesn’t mean things can’t be better here and that we shouldn’t try to make them better, but let’s keep our place in the world in perspective before we gripe. — KR Branding us racist A recent ruling by the Ontario Human Rights Commission gave those who have the impression that those of us in rural areas are intolerant and racist another piece of evidence for their case. The commission was ruling on the verbal, and sometimes physical, confrontations with people fishing in a number of smaller communities in southern Ontario. Because the anglers were of an identifiable racial group, the commission ruled that racism was involved, with local people assigned the blame for the incidents. Unmentioned was the fact that the people fishing were poaching, fishing against the law. They were often fishing in the dead of night when they could be sure to avoid detection by game wardens. Local people had often protested, to no avail, about these people who came out from the cities to fish in local waters and asked for more enforcement. We must be vigilant on the topic of protecting human rights. It’s easy to slip into a situation where discrimination seeps into our society. So the Human Rights Commission has a definite place in our society. That said, while racial epithets were likely involved on the part of those who tried to stop people from fishing illegally, it’s discrimination to brand rural people as racist while absolving law-breakers of responsibility. Should rural people appeal to the commission?— KR Letters Letters to the editor must be signed and should include a daytime telephone number for the purpose of verification. Submissions may be edited 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. 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