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The Citizen, 2007-05-17, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 17, 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 May 17, 1950 Finalists in the Grade 9 public speaking trials, held at Brussels Public School, were Heather Allen, Karen Buschlin, Donald Edgar, Marion Hull and Mary Smith. First place went to Buschlin, with her speech titled Must Ships Be Built To Burn?. Edgar was runner-up. The Detroit Red Wings won the Stanley Cup. Scoring the winning goal against the New York Rangers was Pete Babando, who made the goal 8.21 seconds into the second period of overtime. A young couple in Los Angeles, California were violently attacked in the city. The couple was attacked by a “thug” who pistol whipped the man until he was unconscious, and proceeded to assault the woman before robbing them and escaping. The man, after regaining consciousness crawled to a nearby all-night radio station. Staff there then called the police. May 17, 1961 There was a break-in at the Wallace Turkey Products restaurant owned by Robert Wallace. This break-in marked the fifth robbery in the business’s seven years of existence. Despite spotlights directed at the entrance of the buildings, burglars were bold enough to blatantly break the glass of the front doors. An estimated $50 worth of silver was stolen, as well as a large carton of cigarettes valued at $25. All other merchan- dise remained strangely untouch- ed. Mr. Wallace, who had left work at 8:30 p.m., returned at 12:30 a.m. to check on the restaurant and he discovered the break in. The Wingham detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police was investigating. Miss Sally Lutton gave a lecture at a meeting of the North Huron Women’s Teachers Federation. Lutton spoke of her teaching experiences in various countries across the world, stressing the need for proper care and social security for children throughout their lives. Residents of Greenwich Village in New York were demonstrating outside New York City Hall. Wearing sunglasses marked with Xs, representing the Xs marked on windows of houses in the village to be demolished, the protesters were trying to put a stop to the proposed village renewal project, which would result in the destruction of several buildings and homes. Bowler Robert ‘Corky’ DeGraff became the youngest player ever to roll a perfect 300-point game in an American Bowling Congress tournament. May 17, 1972 The community of Grey Twp. was shocked and full of grief when it was learned that a car crash had claimed the life of one of its youth. A 16-year-old local boy passed away from injuries which occurred when his vehicle went out of control and crashed into a tree along Huron County Rd. 16, four miles east of Brussels. A funeral and wake was being planned for the young man and condolences went out to the family from the community. Members of the Huron County Health Unit were conducting extensive check-ups and tests for pre-school children in an effort to catch any conditions which may affect the child’s learning later on. The clinic had a good turnout, and children attending had their hearing, sight, and dental conditions checked among other tests. May 18, 1988 A freak tornado hit the Belgrave area, but thankfully caused only minimal damage. The funnel cloud was spotted northeast of East Wawanosh Public School, giving school officials quite a scare. The tornado only touched down for a few minutes however, keeping surrounding buildings safe from any destruction. Playing at the Park Theatre in Goderich was the comedy Casual Sex as well as the action flick Rambo III. Playing at the Lyceum Theatre in Wingham was Treat Williams and Joe Piscopo in Dead Heat. Playing at Brownie’s Drive-In Theatre in Clinton was Beetlejuice, with Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder, and Moving, starring Richard Pryor. May 15, 1991 Dozens of spectators gathered to watch as work was being done to try and pull an overturned tanker truck back upright in a ditch off of County Rd. 25, just east of Blyth. The driver of the truck was a Belgrave man, who was an employee of Campbell Transport of Blyth. He was headed out for an early morning run to Toronto with a load of flour for Howson and Howson Limited when he happened on a patch of fog and felt the truck go off the road. The driver tried without any luck to regain control of the vehicle, but the tanker tipped over in the south ditch. The cab of the truck was crushed but the driver managed to climb out uninjured, proceeding to help as much as possible with efforts to upright his overturned truck. With a load weighing over 23 tonnes, a large crane had to be brought in to lift the truck, but after a lengthy and determined effort, the truck was pulled back to an upright position. Even the load of flour was salvaged. By Debra Pretty-Straathof OFA Executive Committee Farmers, if they’re to have any hope for success in their businesses, need predictability, especially when it comes to matters of finances. Federal Minister Strahl acknowledges this, and even promised programming that would deliver predictability. Last year the minister introduced the Canadian Farm Families Option Program. Initially, OFA found little reason to support it. It was not a farm income program but rather a social program, providing a safety net to try to address rural poverty – a noble cause, but not one that should have come from an agriculture budget. When uptake was limited, we urged the minister to re-direct funding to provinces so they could provide companion programs such as Ontario’s proposed risk management proposal to their producers. That didn’t happen. Recently Strahl announced an unforseen twist when he said only farmers who had signed up in its initial year would be eligible for the second year of the Options program. This caught a large number of farmers and accountants off guard and has introduced serious consequences to their financial planning. In many cases, this planning was based on qualifying for the program’s second year. The perceived change in eligibility nullified all such plans, jeopardizing those the minister intended to assist. In light of this, OFA has contacted Strahl’s office to request a reversal of the decision to exclude new applicants. Without his co-operation, many farm families will find their financial matters in serious trouble – predictably bad. Canadian farmers and their organizations were ignored when they should have been consulted. This continues to be a problem that is frustrating efforts of farmers and farm organizations as they seek ways of providing workable, bankable and predictable income support programs to agriculture. When we hear Strahl promising the types of programs we’ve been calling for, there’s hope things will improve. But, again government introduces an unexpected twist that threatens the livelihoods of farm families. We call on Minister Strahl and his department to examine the impacts of announcements coming from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Agriculture is an essential industry in Canada, providing the essentials of life for Canadians. OFA believes it is time for governments to treat the country’s farm families with the respect and importance their work merits – not with fickle policy. 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 Keep up the fight Spring is a time of renewed hope, when trees that could have seemed dead all winter burst forth with leaves and blossoms. Sometimes the human spirit can revive what seemed to be dead too. This spring is seeing a rebirth of Blyth’s main street as individuals show their commitment to their community, and their faith in its future. Two new shops have opened, three other buildings are in the midst of renovation with shops planned there too. The retail area, a bleak face for the community for the past couple of years, suddenly is looking up. This is what small communities are about. A few people in a village can make a huge difference — though sometimes it can be a struggle. While major investors are happy to invest in cities or regional shopping centres, sometimes creative ways are needed to make a small community work. So one proposal for a new Blyth shop is a co-operative store called Maple and Moose, which will pool the efforts of craftspeople and small food processors. This kind of coming together of people in a community has been part of our rural culture. So in Walton, for instance, a group of people got together a few years ago to buy the former Walton school and make it a home for local businesses. These are the kinds of efforts that will let our communities adapt to the changing economic reality. The key thing is not to give up in the face of what sometimes seems to be an overwhelming international trend. As Blyth’s main street is reborn, as Brussels celebrates its 135th homecoming this summer, these are times to reflect on, and learn from, our communities’ successes, and put those lessons to work in reshaping our villages for the coming century. — KR But nothing changes The signs are growing that this could be an unpleasant summer in Canada as unrest sweeps through Native communities. Already an angry group of First Nations residents blocked a railway line in Eastern Ontario to protest gravel being taken from a pit on land they claim is theirs. While such disruptions damage public support for First Nations, we need to try to understand the frustration that brings them about. As activist Naomi Klein pointed out recently, federal government delays in settling land claims play into the hands of everyone but the Natives. Gravel keeps being taken out of that pit until nothing will be left and even if they win, the First Nations will get a hole in the ground. At Caledonia, houses were swallowing land the Natives claimed as theirs. The glacial pace of land claims negotiation is going on in all our names as Canadians. We must press government for faster action. — KR & OFA Commentary