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The Citizen, 2007-02-22, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2007.Editorials Opinions Publisher, Keith Roulston Editor, Bonnie GroppAdvertising, Ken Warwick & Kelly Quesenberry The CitizenP.O. Box 429,BLYTH, Ont. N0M 1H0 Phone 523-4792 FAX 523-9140 P.O. Box 152,BRUSSELS, Ont. N0G 1H0 Phone 887-9114 FAX 887-9021 E-mail norhuron@scsinternet.com Website 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 ($30.19 + $1.81 G.S.T.) in Canada; $92.00/year in U.S.A.and $175.00/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: Monday, 2 p.m. - Brussels; Monday, 4 p.m. - Blyth. PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 40050141 PAP REGISTRATION NO. 09244 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO CIRCULATION DEPT. PO BOX 152 BRUSSELS ON N0G 1H0 email: norhuron@scsinternet.com Feb. 22, 1950 Canada's first ever cancer information centre was officially opened. Called The Little Red Door, those visiting the centre would be attended to by a graduate nurse whose duties would include making all information, booklets, and other educational sources available to the public. Also, nurses employed by the centre would interview patients and direct them to clinics for their proper care. The centre was opened and supported by the Toronto Women's committee and Canadian Medical Association. A New York vendor found a generous way to encourage academic success among local students. East Sider Sam Miller's ice-cream stand became the busiest it had ever been after Miller began putting up a sign that said any student with a 90 per cent or a B+ in all subjects of their report card would be entitled to a free half pint of frozen custard. The incentive seemed to work, as local students flocked daily to the stand for their frozen reward. Millionaire manufacturing tycoon Stanton Sanson and his wife Maxine, a former model, were very upset after returning to their home to find that their closet had been broken into. What was troublesome was that it was no regular closet. Mrs. Sanson claimed that the various pieces of jewellery that was taken from 11 different cases had a combined value of over $1 million. Upon further investigation by the insurance companies and the police the claim was scaled down to a much smaller $290,000. The couple had no further comments and the thief had yet to be caught. Eleanor Roosevelt made a rare appearance at a nightclub in California. The former first lady was pictured chatting happily to actress and friend Janet Blair. Despite this public appearance, Mrs. Roosevelt did ask that her party be given a table in a quiet corner of the club. Feb. 22, 1961 Legendary actress Shirley MacLaine was undergoing some serious costume work while on the set of her new film, My Geisha. The actress, whose Scottish heritage probably influenced her naturally blue eyes and red hair, was transformed each day by white face make-up, wigs, and brown-eyed contacts into her geisha character for the film. Tragedy struck in Belgium when an avalanche caused the collapse of a large building. The slag heap avalanche swept down onto the unsuspecting mining village of Moulin-Sous-Fleron, crushing a building, which also, in turn, crushed some parked cars unfortunately placed near the building. Several bodies had been salvaged from the rubble, but others still were missing. Frustrated orchestra conductor George Melachrino resorted to putting up signs which contained a plea to burglars who had broken into his home in London, England twice in two months. The sign contained some self-written lyrics from Mr. Melachrino, saying "Dear Burglar, No third time please for heavens sake, there's nothing left for you to take." Grace Kelly, now princess of Monaco, was busy entertaining dancer Gene Kelly, who was visiting the tiny nation for a dance appearance at the Monte Carlo Opera. A 28-year-old athlete named Donald Brock held the world record for the 440-metre snowshoe dash. Feb. 23, 1972 Three couples from Brussels were welcomed warmly at their destination of Evanston, Illinois. The couples set out from Brussels a week earlier to carry an invitation from the Brussels village committee to John Ainlay, the great-grandson of the founder of the village of Brussels as part of the village's Centennial celebrations. The Ainlays were very honoured to have been invited in person, and promised to make it for at least one day of the week long festival, despite other commitments. The family also took the couples on a tour of Chicago and showed the visitors several different albums of pictures detailing the history of the Ainlay family. A Kitchener man was eastbound on Hwy. 86 in his 1968 Chevrolet, towing a 1968 Ford when it skidded on the icy road. The vehicle being towed swung around, causing the front left corner of the trailer to hit the left rear quarter panel of the Chev towing it. Wingham OPP investigated, and damages were estimated at $250. There were no injuries. Feb. 10, 1988 Playing at the Lyceum Theatre in Wingham was Shoot To Kill, starring Sidney Poitier and Tom Berenger. Also playing at the Park Theatre in Goderich was the Robin Williams classic Good Morning Vietnam, a film which earned the actor an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. Ongoing stormy weather was the cause of a four-vehicle pile-up in Bluevale. A car, driven by a Port Elgin man, spun out of control, causing a chain reaction with two other cars and a tractor-trailer. No- one was injured, and the vehicles were safely towed after the weather cleared. THE EDITOR, If you’ve never visited the School on Wheels railcar museum which sits in the southwest corner of Clinton, this is the year. Twenty-five years ago the municipal council and troops of volunteers from the Clinton area jumped on board a project spearheaded by the Sloman family. They received delivery of a CNR railcar in wretched condition and rebuilt it into the travelling school/home that had carried the Sloman family across parts of northern Ontario between the 1920s and the 1960s. The school car has been maintained as an attraction of local as well as international interest for the past 25 years, and the volunteer board of directors, which cares for the museum, invites you to celebrate the silver-anniversary celebration on Aug. 25, 2007. Plans for the celebration include a community-involvement focus, with Breakfast in the Park, beginning at 8 a.m. Preparations are being made for family activities throughout the morning, including activities for the children as well as tours of the School on Wheels. Lunch will also be available for those who can’t make it to school on time. The formal celebration event will take place at 3 p.m., with recognition of and presentations to members of the Sloman family, as well as the volunteers who, over the years, have contributed to the creation and maintenance of a very special Clinton landmark. If you would like to be included in our 25th-anniversary celebration, or know someone who should be included, please let us know by writing to Box 371, Clinton, ON N0M-1L0 or calling 519-482-5725. We would also welcome anyone who is interested in helping out with the celebration as a volunteer. We meet at 7 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month. This is a very special year for the School on Wheels. When our season begins on the Victoria Day weekend, the school car museum will open its doors for what is hoped to be a bumper season for visitors. Come on board with us to celebrate 25 years in 2007. Anne Newington Chairwoman of the Board Clinton. 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 Dream along Momentum has been gaining lately for the idea that Ontario should boost its minimum wage from $8 to $10. Supporters point out that someone earning a minimum wage in the cities can’t afford basic services like rent and food. Yet at the same time as they think employers here should be paying 25 per cent more to their lowest paid workers, people are happy to flock to stores to buy goods made in countries where people earn less per day than the hourly increase proposed. In such a situation, something’s got to give and it’s likely to be a lot of employers. It’s not going to do much good to people to give them $2 more per hour, then lay them off because the boss can’t make ends meet because of higher expenses. — KR Rewarding bad behaviour Why do politicians behave in ways that citizens claim they appall? Because they are rewarded for their bad behaviour. Case in point: this week’s poll results that show the Conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper pulling ahead of the Liberals in the past month. Though neither of the media organizations that commissioned the poll, CTV television and The Globe and Mail, bothered to mention it, this coincides with the period the Conservatives have been running negative ads demeaning Liberal leader Stéphane Dion. The Liberals were riding high following their leadership convention with the public being intrigued by Dion’s sincerity and dedication to the environment. Surprised, the Conservatives adopted a two-pronged strategy. Realizing they were vulnerable on the environment, they flip- flopped, reintroducing as policy of the “new government” many of the environmental programs they’d inherited from the Liberals and then cancelled. They also ran unusual, out-of-campaign advertising denigrating the new Liberal leader as not being up to the challenge of leading the country. The result? According to the poll 55 per cent of those Canadians surveyed say Harper is the most decisive, compared to 19 per cent for Dion (behind the NDP’s Jack Layton at 20 per cent). This despite the fact the prime minister has been reversing himself on many policies in order to chase the approval of the voters. Ironically, 18 months ago Harper was suffering many of the same apparent weaknesses as Dion is now. He was seen as a geek, a policy guy without political skills, someone with no charisma. He got elected more because people were furious at the Liberals over the sponsorship scandal than because of what he stood for. But he’s learned to play the game the way voters want (by their support at the polls) and now he is being rewarded. If you don’t want politicians to play political games, don’t let yourself be manipulated. Don’t reward them for the very activity you claim to abhor.— KR & Letter to the editor