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The Citizen, 2019-06-20, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2019. Editorials Opinions President: Keith Roulston • Publisher: Deb Sholdice Editor: Shawn Loughlin • Reporter: Denny Scott Advertising Sales: Brenda Nyveld • Heather Fraser The Citizen P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, Ont. N0M 1H0 Ph. 519-523-4792 Fax 519-523-9140 P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, Ont. N0G 1H0 Phone 519-887-9114 E-mail info@northhuron.on.ca Website www.northhuron.on.ca Looking Back Through the Years CCNA Member 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 $38.00/year ($36.19 + $1.81 G.S.T.) in Canada; $180.00/year in U.S.A. and $380/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: Mon. 2 p.m. - Brussels; Mon. 4 p.m. - Blyth. PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 40050141 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO CIRCULATION DEPT. PO BOX 152 BRUSSELS ON N0G 1H0 email: info@northhuron.on.ca June 20, 1968 Huron residents were set to go to the polls on June 25 to choose their next MP. Bob McKinley was running for the Progressive Conservatives, while Maitland Edgar was representing the Liberals and Shirley M. Weary was running under the NDP flag. Dr. K. Zyluk, who had come to Brussels from England the previous fall, setting up shop in the new Brussels Medical Dental Centre, abandoned his practice in Brussels, moving instead to Wingham. H. Stretton, chair of the Medical Dental Centre Committee, told The Brussels Post that as of press time, he had not received any official notice of leaving from Zyluk. Stretton said Brussels was in dire need of a doctor and Zyluk was recruited with the understanding that the committee would provide space rent-free for one year as long as Zyluk signed a long-term lease or bought a house in the village, neither of which were done. June 20, 1973 While the Blyth Agricultural Society wouldn’t be holding its annual fair in 1973, the group was still planning an event for Sept. 1. In conjunction with the achievement day for the local 4-H Clubs, the society planned to hold a large pork barbecue with some games planned for the afternoon. The Huron Board of Education met to discuss the entry level age for Kindergarten in the county and decided to keep it at five. The board’s recommendation came from Director of Education D.J. Cochrane after a delegation spoke to the board, concerned about children who were ready to participate in regular Kindergarten learning, but would have to “sit it out” until they were age-appropriate. The board also sought input from its teachers, surveying local principals and asking them to discuss the issue with their school’s teachers. Over 90 per cent of the teachers surveyed said they’d like the entry age for Kindergarten left the way it was. Blyth taxpayers were in for good news as Blyth Village Council cut the year’s tax rate by six mills for residential property owners and by eight mills for commercial property owners. Local students were busy working on digging up historical records throughout the county through the Huron County Historical File project. Since June 11, members of the team had visited 26 municipal clerks, librarians, newspaper offices and presidents of historical societies in order to discover which records do or do not exist in the county. June 21, 1995 Blyth Village Council was headed for the courtroom as the village had been served notice of a lawsuit by former Clerk Helen Grubb. Grubb’s lawyer had called the village offices, notifying them of the lawsuit and requesting a meeting. The meeting had been tentatively set for June 26. Lieutenant Governor Hal Jackman made the trip to Blyth for opening night of the Blyth Festival. He was on hand to witness the premiere performance of Ballad for a Rum Runner’s Daughter. “This is [Jackman’s] third visit to the Blyth Festival and his comments emphasized the unique and important role this theatre has played in putting Canadian culture on stage. He is a passionate supporter of Canadian arts, so his acknowledgement of the Blyth Festival was heartfelt,” said Festival Development Co-ordinator Lynda Lentz. The Brussels Lawn Bowling Club hosted a tournament welcoming ladies and mixed pairs to the village on June 8. June 25, 2009 The Bootblack Orator, written by and starring Blyth Festival regular Ted Johns, was set to open the Festival’s 35th season with its world premiere on June 26. Johns said the production would tell the story of “the most impressive and pathetic speaker” of 1886. Festival Artistic Director Eric Coates would also direct the play, working with Johns who was no stranger to the Memorial Hall stage. After a turbulent two months, Huron East Council put the brakes on a wind energy project in St. Columban. Council made the decision at its June 16 meeting, halting the endeavour for one year. Council passed an interim control bylaw on the recommendation of the protest group Huron East Against Turbines (HEAT) and its lawyer, Kristi M. Ross of Fogler, Rubinoff LLP. This decision came after a public meeting in Seaforth, attended by over 400 people, which discussed numerous alleged adverse health effects and horror stories associated with industrial wind farms in Ontario and beyond. Brandon McGavin of Walton was crowned Canada’s junior plowing champion after triumphing at the national competition in Alberta. Thanks to his prowess in the fields of western Canada, McGavin earned a scholarship to Olds Agricultural College in Olds, Alberta, valued at over $4,300. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada. We are not responsible for unsolicited newsscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright We the north (of Huron) North Huron Reeve Bernie Bailey faces a daunting challenge if he’s to persuade his fellow Huron County councillors to move the county administration building to Blyth, but if he’s successful it would mean a huge lift not only to Blyth but to the entire northern part of the county. The odds are stacked against Reeve Bailey convincing County Council that the county administration should move from Goderich where it has been since the county was established in the 1840s. If he manages to win over councillors to the idea that the county headquarters should be located at the centre of the county, many are going to look to Clinton which, at the junction of two of the county’s main highways, has long been perceived as the hub of the county. A look at a county map supports Reeve Bailey’s argument that Blyth is also central to the whole county (Londesborough would be even better). And there lies one of the benefits to northern Huron residents beyond Blyth itself of settling the headquarters in Blyth. Often the perception of the county is that it ends at Wingham, and so Howick and the Grey Ward of Huron East are almost forgotten. That would change with the shifting of the county administration. Locating the headquarters in a small centre like Blyth would also shift perceptions since, unlike Goderich, there’s no possibility of the thinking of county staff being influenced by their location in a town that’s almost self-sufficient without the rest of the county. For Blyth, itself, the move would be an incredible boost. The village currently gets no spinoff effect of government activity other than for some residents who work at the county’s road maintenance facility at Auburn. Goderich benefits from jobs offered by the county headquarters as well as the spinoffs at legal offices surrounding the Huron County Court House. Clinton benefits from hosting Huronview and various provincial offices. All five towns have hospitals with the attendant jobs. Even Brussels has the Huronlea home for the aged. Adding the county administration jobs to Cowbell Brewing Co., Howson and Howson and other private sector employers would be a game-changer for Blyth. In the long run, county councillors must choose what’s best for the whole county, but here’s hoping they take a long, serious look at Reeve Bailey’s proposal. — KR Affordable, or not? Last week an expert panel delivered a report calling for the federal government to work with the provinces and territories to create a single- payer national pharmacare plan to cover every Canadian. At a cost estimated at $15 billion a year, we can hardly afford it. At an overall saving of $5 billion a year, we can hardly afford not to go ahead. “A Prescription for Canada: Achieving Pharmacare for all Canadians”, the 171-page report delivered by an advisory council chaired by Dr. Eric Hoskins, a former Ontario health minister, estimates that though the cost is high for federal and provincial governments, a central buying agency will reduce the price of drugs enough that Canadians will save $5 billion a year in the total drug costs. The proposal wouldn’t see prescription drugs become totally free. Under the plan, the council proposes co-payments $2 per prescription for essential medicines and $5 per prescription for all other drugs on the national formulary, with an annual limit of $100 per household. It says those living with disabilities, people on social assistance and low-income seniors should be exempt from these payments. Canada, as been noted repeatedly, is the only country with a universal health care program that doesn’t also have a universal pharmacare program. We have some of the highest drug prices in the world but most people are shielded by employer-funded benefit packages. Those who aren’t, can be bankrupted if they require a high-cost prescription drug. The pharmacare may save the country money in the long run, but if the federal government decides to proceed, it must be willing to pick up the entire tab, not fob off costs on provinces already struggling to balance budgets. The provinces will have to administer the program, but if the federal government wants the pharmacare, it must pay for it. — KR The president who cried wolf The fable of the boy who cried wolf teaches us that if you lie too often, people won’t believe you even if you’re telling the truth. Currently the U.S. is trying to find international support for its claim that Iran attacked two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman last week. Despite the grainy video that President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claim proves Iran carried out the attack, several allies remain skeptical. And why wouldn’t they? President Trump has told so many whoppers he’s lost all credibility. He’s treated his allies so badly, why would anyone want to risk supporting him when he rattles the chains of war? Like the boy who cried wolf, President Trump is discovering the cost of making people distrust you. — KR &