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The Citizen, 1991-01-16, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16, 1991. Opinion Good move ' East Wawanosh Councillors should be congratulated for their wisdom last week in reversing an earlier decision to build a new township office building. \ Councillors last summer had announced a new 1700-square foot office and council chamber as part of the new front being put on the Belgrave arena by the Belgrave Kinsmen Club. Council had already purchased a large house next to the arena but had decided it would be torn down and a new office would be built at a cost of $138,000. Last week councillors said they had looked over the house and felt it was too good a house to tear down. They decided it could be adopted for township use. The Kinsmen were quite happy. They had made such a suggestion in the first place. Township taxpayers should be happy. The council already has enough money on hand to renovate the building and shouldn’t have to raise taxes for the work. With tough times ahead we need examples of common sense and restraint from our political leaders. In reversing their decision, East Wawanosh councillors have shown that kind of leadership. Don ’t panic Sometimes it is possible to talk yourself right into a recession. There’s no doubt that the country’s economy is not in good shape these days but people in Huron County shouldn’t get caught up too much in the national trauma that’s going on. While unemployment may be soaring in many parts of the country, figures released last week from the Goderich office of Employment Canada showed less than five per cent unemployment in the county. That amounts to nearly full employment by the standards of most parts of the country these days. There’s no doubt there are people suffering out there. There’s no doubt the farm community, which provides such a huge chunk of the county’s revenues, is not as healthy as most would like it to be. Just the same, Huron seems to be an island of prosperity in a gloomy country. It should be something to cheer people and make them think positively. Concentrating too much on the gloom from the rest of the country just might send us into the same kind of mess other areas of the country are in. Issue must be resolved Saddam Hussein has tried to link demands for his withdrawal from Kuwait with the solution of the Palestinian question as a smokescreen to hide his own greed for new territories but in doing so, he may have brought one good thing out of the whole mess in the Middle East. While the United States has resisted the attempts to tie Iraqi withdrawal to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank the issue won’t go away. It has focused the attention of the world once again on the plight of the Palestinian people and the refusal of the Israeli government to seek a lasting peace with the people who were once occupiers of the land they now call home. Western governments have been embarrassed to be reminded by Hussein that just the United Nations had passed a resolution demanding he withdraw from Kuwait, it also many years ago called on Israel to withdraw from land it had captured on the West Bank. But Israel still sits on the land. Worse, it has made moves to colonize the land and make it part of Israel property. It has treated the people of the West Bank as if they were interlopers on their own land. And we in the West have refused to make Israel see the errors of its ways. No matter what happens in the coming days between Iraq and the United Nations forces, there can be no lasting peace in the Middle East until the Palestinian question is settled: until Israel accepts that the Palestinian people must have a homeland just as they once sought a homeland for themselves; until the Arab countries recognize the right of Israel to exist and stop terrorist attacks; until everybody realizes that nobody wins as long as there is killing and turmoil as there has been for the last 40 years. If Saddam Hussein manages to focus our attention on the issue and force everyone to work toward a real solution he will have accomplished something, even if he was only looking to cause trouble between the allies arrayed against him. Snow topping In retrospect ONE YEAR AGO JANUARY 17, 1990 Brussels councillors agreed that for the right price they would sell the Elizabeth Street tennis courts for apartment development. They agreed a sale would depend on whether or not it would bring in enough money for the courts to be rebuilt at the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre. Blyth Council decided to hold twice monthly meetings. The sug­ gestion was made by councillor Dave Lee who felt that too many special meetings had been held in the past of which the public were not aware. Residents of Belgrave requested street lights for the Humphrey subdivision. Ben Barnes of RR 5, Brussels, a student of F. E. Madill Secondary School won third prize in a National Writing Contest spon­ sored by McLean’s Magazine. The topic of the essay was “The Loss of Political Innocence”. THREE YEARS AGO JANUARY 13, 1988 Dan Pearson of Ethel won a small fortune in the Wintario lottery draw on December 31. The Constituency Assistant to Huron- Bruce Conservative M.P. Murray Cardiff, Mr. Pearson is richer by $100,000. Mr. Pearson bought the winning ticket at Brussels Variety. Over the past seven years he says he has spent about $3 a week on lottery tickets. For the 10th straight year Blyth Festival announced it finished the season in the black. The Ministry of Agriculture and Food celebrated its 100th anniver­ sary. Five generations were on hand to help Jennie and Wilbur Turnbull of Brussels celebrate their 70th anni­ versary. Two area farmers were among five nominated for the Norman Alexander Conservation award. Ken Glanville of RR 4, Walton, was nominated for his long-term use of conservation practices. Jerry Continued on page 6 The Citizen The Citizen is published weekly in Brussels, Ontario by North Huron Publishing Company Inc. Subscriptions are payable in advance at a rate of $20.50/year [$19.16 plus $1.34 G.S.T.] [$40.00 Foreign]. 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 We are not responsible for unsolicited newscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright. • • P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, Ont. N0M 1H0 Phone 523-4792 P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, Ont NOG 1H0 Phone 887-9114 Serving Brussels, Blyth, Auburn, Belgrave, Ethel, Londesborough, Walton and surrounding townships. Editor & Publisher, Keith Roulston Advertising Manager, Dave Williams Production Manager, Jill Roulston Second Class Mail Registration No. 6968