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The Citizen, 2008-10-23, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2008.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 FAX 887-9021E-mail norhuron@scsinternet.comWebsite www.northhuron.on.ca Looking Back Through the Years 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 $32.00/year ($30.48 + $1.52 G.S.T.) in Canada;$101.00/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. 09244 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO CIRCULATION DEPT. PO BOX 152 BRUSSELS ON N0G 1H0 email: norhuron@scsinternet.com OFA Commentary Oct. 24, 1962 Official opening celebrations were being planned in honour of the newly-erected Blyth United Church. The key to the church would be given to the session at a dedication service to mark the completion of the new construction of a new building which would for many generations “serve as a symbol of Christian faith and as a centre of Christian worship and fellowship.” The business offices of a telephone company in New York lay in ruins after a boiler exploded in the building, killing and injuring many people, most of whom were young women enjoying their lunch break. A tragic photo was shown of a priest walking along the rows of victims’bodies, who died as a result of the explosion, giving them the solace of a final blessing. A daring stunt was pulled by a famous Spanish bull fighter. The crowds in the San Sebastian De Los Reyes, Spain, watched on edge as Manuel El Bala (The Bullett) sat calmly in a folding chair in the centre of the ring while an enormous enraged bull charged full force just a few inches away from his seated position. The show was pulled off without a hitch, and no-one, animal or human, was injured. Traffic was blocked off of entering a one-block perimeter due to cave-ins at the site of the new federal court building in San Francisco. The damage occurred during a heavy rainstorm. Oct. 27, 1976 The funding for the Blyth and District Community Centre and Arena was getting a big boost. A grant from Wintario for $191,666 was confirmed by council, leaving just $25,000 to fully pay off construction of the new facilities. Several thefts were included in the weekly report submitted by the Wingham OPP detachment. Wheel discs valued at $260 were stolen off a Ford Thunderbird while parked in Gorrie. Two 17-year-olds were charged with attempted theft of gasoline from a farm in Howick. The Herbert Spencer residence in Belgrave was broken into, and $270 taken. Charges had not been laid in any of the cases, though investigations continued. In other police news, a Gorrie man was charged with extortion following a car collision in Howick Twp. He convinced a Clifford man also involved in the accident to pay him $500, though he was owed nothing whatsoever. Oct. 21, 1981 Blyth Minor Sports executive member Bob Hillis had his letter to The Blyth Standard printed on the front page. The letter detailed his concerns for lack of support for minor hockey, along with all other activities. He pointed out that there was little excuse for poor attendance to organization meetings. Another issue was complaints made about a member of the coaching staff, that if he remained coaching, some players would not be returning to play on the team. Hillis stressed that any issues with coaches should be raised at meetings or face-to-face, instead of that individual simply hearing gossip from other sources. Overall he expressed his disappointment with the way the organization had become disoriented. Communication and co- operation were to be improved upon in order to rally more support for community sports, with hockey especially in mind. Those who did participate were thanked gratefully, but more needed to be done. More than $3,000 worth of various items and artwork were to be auctioned off in order to raise funds for the Blyth Memorial Hall and its construction debts. Prints by local artists such as Ken Jackson and Jo Manning would be featured, and Cal Dodd would also be entertaining at the event. Oct. 25, 1995 Don Scrimgeour was named Blyth and area’s Citizen of the Year. He was recognized for his commitment and work in the village, both as a member of the main street and of service clubs, and for his willingness to help out his community in any way possible. The OPP were investigating an accidental shooting which occurred in a bush area of Morris Twp. Two London men were hunting partridges using shotguns. One man’s shotgun discharged, and the loose pellets from the shell struck the other man in the head. He was taken to Wingham and District Hospital, then airlifted to London, where he was listed in critical condition. No charges had been laid, but the investigation still continued. Referring to his behaviour as “ranking stupidity”, a judge sentenced a Brussels man charged with vandalism and arson to one year in prison. The 20-year-old suspect was accused of torching a public washroom on Maitland Valley Conservation Park grounds, as well as setting off several homemade explosives. The Blyth Lions Club donated $550 to the Blyth Scout organization. Playing at the Park Theatre in Goderich was Michelle Pfeifer in Dangerous Minds: “She broke the rules ... And changed their minds.” Also playing was the thriller Assassins. By Geri Kamenz, President Ontario Federation of Agriculture Aren’t you glad you’re a farmer? I asked this question when I spoke to a room full of farmers at the recent meeting of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture board of directors. When farmers look at what’s going on around the world in just about every business, they are justified to be pleased with their chosen vocation. With banks collapsing everywhere and governments scrambling to prop them up, farmers have an unusual feeling of personal security – there’s always a job to do and food for the family. It’s a feeling farmers rarely experience. Most of the time we are the ones concerned with the future of our industry – world prices have fallen to new low levels and we’re forced to sell our products well below the cost of production. Not so today! While we are seeing volatility, generally, shortages of food in many parts of the world have resulted in prices at a level not seen in recent memory. In today’s marketplace for most commodities, we are able to sell our products, pay our bills and have money left to put back into improvements on our farms – an ideal situation we would like to see continue well into the future. Agriculture’s expanded horizons are also adding to the capabilities of farmers and their families. Now that we have entered the world of energy production, our sense of worth in the world has dramatically improved – not because oil prices have declined to today’s levels, but because farmers are now able to reduce their production costs by producing their own energy supplies. The world’s economy is in an extremely volatile state, something farmers are all too familiar with. We are therefore comforted when we can look in the milk tank or the grain bin on the combine and see the results of our work and know there is a strong demand for the food we produce. Tales of the poverty and hardship of the 1930s depression get an occasional mention as people consider how bad things could get when stock reports are aired in the media today. Farmers and their families can take comfort in knowing their land is a renewable resource, capable of producing food for them and their animals today and tomorrow. Politicians sometimes attempt to calm the economic jitters of society, but people are reluctant to buy into 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 Celebrate good deeds Despite the perception that the youth of today (or any generation) are going to the dogs, there are young people doing remarkable good deeds out there. It’s time to celebrate these good people. The Ontario Junior Citizen of the Year Awards recognize the good works of Ontario residents between the ages of six and 17 who are involved in worthwhile community service, are contributing to their community while living with a physical of psychological limitation, have performed an act of heroism or do more than is normally expected of someone their age to show commitment to make life better for others. Anyone can nominate such an outstanding youth. All those nominated receive a certificate of recognition. An outstanding 12, plus one group, will be recipients of a provincial award and invited to a special ceremony in Toronto next spring to receive their awards. Deadline for nominations is Nov. 30. Take a look around your community and see the young people who deserve recognition, then nominate them. Nomination forms are available online at www.ocna.org or by calling OCNA at 905-639-8720, ext. 228. Let’s celebrate the good ones. — KR A shameful piece of history A disturbing phenomenon called “swarming”, where a gang of boys or girls attacks a single victim and a crowd forms to watch, has been growing among young people. Often, these days, someone has a video camera and the whole sordid event ends up on the internet for all to see. Canadians have just taken part in an adult swarming as part of the federal election campaign, standing by as one geeky “kid” was repeat- edly attacked by a bully, with the whole thing played out in the media. The swarming of Stéphane Dion began the week after he won the leadership of the Liberal party when the Conservative Party launched an unprecedented set of attack ads portraying him as unfit to be prime minister. Experts in anti-bullying strategies say the bully can be stopped if people immediately react, but the media, rather than punishing Prime Minister Stephen Harper for his tactics, sat back and let him get away with it. The public rewarded the activity when polls showed they bought into the charges. By the time the election was called, nobody listened to what Dion was really saying. The media played horse-race politics, talking only about who was ahead. His Green Shift policy was not judged as right or wrong, but only as an unwinnable strategy. And so Dion joins a list of not-cool guys, like Robert Stanfield and Joe Clark who were pummeled for their uncoolness not their policies. Would he have made a good prime minister? We’ll never know. The point is we never really listened to him to find out. — KR & Continued on page 22