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The Citizen, 2019-06-27, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JUNE 27, 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 27, 1968 Incumbent PC candidate Robert E. McKinley won the Huron riding, garnering the majority of the support of the 31,382 voters who turned out in the riding. He beat his competition, Mait Edgar of the Liberal Party, by just under 4,000 votes to secure the riding for another term. This bucked the national trend, however, as Pierre Elliott Trudeau won a majority government on his way to becoming the Prime Minister of Canada, earning 154 of the 264 seats in the House of Commons. One thing to be impressed about in Huron was that voter turnout was at 83 per cent, a very high number at the polls. Lawrie Cousins of Brussels accepted a position with the Dairy Branch of the Ontario Department of Agriculture and Food. He would take over the position on July 2, working out of the London office of the department. The Brussels Post issued a warning to the beer-drinking men of the community in the wake of a beer strike. “It’s going to be a long, dry holiday for beer drinkers unless there is a swift settlement of the beer strike,” The Brussels Post reported. “You had better go easy on what you have stored up boys.” Moncrieff was leading the way in the Tri-County Intermediate softball standings with seven wins and just one loss. Walton was second on the board with six wins and two losses, while it was Bluevale in the basement with just two points from their record of one win and six losses. June 27, 1973 A 20-year-old RR5, Clinton man was acquitted of arson charges in connection with a fire at his father- in-law’s barn near Blyth on July 25, 1971. The man had also been charged and acquitted of arson charges in connection with another 1971 fire and a 1972 fire. The three fires caused a total of over $100,000 in damages. It was Bruce County Judge Peter S. Mackenzie who dismissed the charges against the Clinton-area man, citing insufficient evidence. West Wawanosh Township Council voted to accept preliminary plans for a new municipal building prepared by B.M. Ross and Associates, meaning that final plans would be prepared by engineers in the coming months. As part of a special meeting held in Clinton by the Huron County Pork Producers Association, it was decided to apply to establish an assembly yard in Blyth. At the meeting, those involved said that a yard located in Blyth would mean a central spot in the northern end of the county. It would also serve to fill a void left when the Clinton yard closed. The local association was told to expect the Toronto decision-makers to take several weeks to decide. June 28, 1995 The area had been hit with a hot, dry spell for several weeks, but despite the heat and lack of rain, area crops appeared to be growing on schedule. Local crop consultant Alan McCallum said he hoped that recent rains would help replenish the reserves of moisture throughout area fields. The Brussels Tigers failed to defend their Seaforth Fastball Tournament crown, losing in the “B” final to the Camlachie Black Sox by a score of 8-3. The Tigers fell behind when the Black Sox broke a 3-3 tie in the fourth inning, scoring five runs and never looking back. The Tomorrow Box opened at the Blyth Festival to much critical acclaim, taking on issues of women’s liberation and old world views. The show featured several familiar faces to the Blyth Festival, including Anne Anglin as Maureen Cooper and Eric Coates as Joe Cooper. July 2, 2009 Brock and Janis Vodden were chosen as the Citizen of the Year Award winners for the Blyth area, while Rene Richmond was honoured with the award in Brussels. The Voddens were recognized for their tireless commitment to preserving local history, while Richmond’s involvement in several community organizations made her a prime candidate for the award. Several petitions were in the works asking the Ministry of Education to take another look at the school closure process in North Huron. Community representative Ernest Dow was circulating the petition in Blyth, while Mark Beaven was working to get a similar petition signed in the Belgrave area. Beaven’s claim was that the Avon Maitland District School Board had decided which schools it would close long before the accomm- odation review committee process concluded. The dog days of summer were back again, as the Bluewater Kennel Club’s All-Breed Dog Show and Obedience Trials was set to take over the village from July 7-9. The show traditionally featured over 100 registered dog breeds. 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 Creating excitement In this day and age of big box retailers and online shopping, keeping main streets of our local towns and villages full of viable businesses is a challenge. Any idea that helps keeps storefronts full is one that’s worth snapping up. Last week Brussels entrepreneur Nicole Urquart won the In It To Win It competition for Wingham which includes $10,000 to put toward rental of a storefront for her business Huron County Designs. In It To Win It is the latest iteration of the Win This Space competition which was introduced locally in 2015 by Jan Hawley, economic development officer for Huron East after seeing a similar contest in the Town of Uxbridge. The concept has since been used to spur business activity and fill empty storefronts in Seaforth, Brussels, Clinton and now Wingham. Since new businesses do fail, it’s almost certain that not all of the start- ups encouraged by the competitions will thrive, although the contests often include coaching to make success more likely. Some businesses will prosper, however, leading to more interesting main streets and, hopefully, expanding to bring jobs for others. Moreover the contests encourage the creative thinking that makes people explore ideas that might turn into successful enterprises – ideas that might not be considered otherwise. Encouraging creativity makes communities more dynamic and successful. These contests already show how one good idea can inspire many more. — KR This cut’s an expensive mistake Last week Ontario post-secondary students began discovering the cost of cutbacks to the Ontario government’s assistance to students that were announced by Premier Doug Ford’s government back in January. As part of its cost-cutting program, the government chopped $670 million from the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP). As students received replies to their requests for OSAP support (loans and grants) last week, some found out their funding was cut by up to 60 per cent from last year. Due to reduced support, some students are faced with having to get jobs while juggling their class load, starting to take classes part-time or just plain dropping out. Since it was introduced in the 1960s, the province’s student assistance loans and grants programs have changed the province and the country. Several generations of students have gone on to universities and colleges that their parents or grandparents would never have considered attending. Post-secondary education became no longer something available only to the privileged. The graduates earned more money, and thus paid more taxes. They helped the businesses they worked for be successful and grow, thereby paying more tax and employing more people who also paid taxes. Most often the loans were repaid. Even the grants were an investment with a return over 40 years or more years of paying higher taxes. Today’s students who come from lower-income families face more barriers than previous generations. Cost-cutting governments have forced universities to raise their tuition fees disproportionately to the cost of living. Soaring urban housing costs have made attending education challenging for students who can’t live at home. Given the fiscal mess Ford’s Progressive Conservatives inherited from the Liberals, that $670 million saving in OSAP must have looked inviting. It’s false economy, however, if it keeps students from getting an education that will see them earn more, and support the government with higher taxes. — KR They can’t help themselves Unless ordinary members of Britain’s Conservative Party are thinking differently than their elected representatives, Boris Johnson seems set to be that country’s next Prime Minister, leading to even more economic chaos. Johnson has garnered the most support from British Conservative MPs among candidates to replace Theresa May, who resigned as British Prime Minister after her plan to take the country out of the European Union (EU) was rejected three times, often opposed by members of her own party. If Johnson is chosen leader in a vote of party members, he has promised a tougher line against the EU to get a better deal. EU leaders last week warned there’s no better deal to be had. Tough guy Johnson is willing to lead his country out of the EU with no agreement rather than sign on to May’s deal. Many economists warn that would lead to a deep recession in Britain. There’s something in the air at this moment in history that seems to make voters choose paths that are against their own best interests. A majority of British voters chose to leave the EU when they voted in a referendum. Italian voters chose the populist, anti-EU Five Star Movement. American voters chose Donald Trump as president. We seem to be in an era where people choose a path that’s not in their own best interests. — KR &