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The Citizen, 1994-07-20, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 1994. The North Huron P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, Ont. N0M1H0 Phone 523-4792 FAX 523-9140 P.O Box 152, BRUSSELS, Ont. NOG 1H0 Phone 887-9114 FAX 887-9021 Publisher, Keith Roulston Editor, Bonnie Gropp Sales Representatives, Jeannette McNeil and Julie Mitchell r The Citizen is published weekly in Brussels, Ontario by North Huron Publishing Company Inc. Subscriptions are payable in advance at a rate ot $20 50/year ($19.16 plus $1.34 G.S.T.) for local; $31.03/year ($29 00 plus $2.03 G.S.T.) for local letter carrier in Goderich, Hanover, Listowel, etc. and out-of-area (40 miles from Brussels); $60.00/year for U S A. and Foreign. Advertising is accepted on the condition that In the event ot a typographical error, only that portion of the advertisement will be credited. Advertising Deadlines: Monday, 2 p.m. - Brussels; Monday, 4 p.m. - Bfyth. We are not responsible for unsolicited newscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright. Publications Mail Registration No. 6968 E ditorial r~ ....1 .-.j .......j clear summer days with dry roads. The price of foolishness With two accidents with multiple fatalities in a week, the summer season of slaughter has begun in Huron County. Given the winter conditions we in the snowbclt face, it is not surprising that we lose many people a year to car accidents. What is inexcusable, however, is that a large proportion of the worst accidents come not under the icy roads and zero-visibility conditions of winter, but on A recent OPP study showed that the main cause of accidents in this region is foolishness. Excessive speed, dangerous lane changes, drinking and driving — they are all the result of people not using the brains God gave them. Travel any highway for a few kilometres and you're bound to see at least one driver doing something stupid. People pass going up hills. They make like Paul Tracey, dodging in and out of traffic to gain a hundred yards, often endangering themselves and others. * Perhaps driving modem cars is too easy and too comfortable. We lack respect for the size and weight of the vehicle we're piloting with our fingertips, with the power available with the touch of the gas pedal. If cars were more clunky, more awkward to drive, perhaps we'd lake them more seriously. As it is, chances are al least one person who is reading this paper today will not be alive by the end of the summer. It's a terrible waste. If you are driving ask yourself if a few seconds gained by speeding or lane changing is worth the risk? If you're acting sensibly yourself, never underestimate the stupidity of those sharing the highway and be prepared for any hare-brained thing they might do. Let’s all be around to celebrate Thanksgiving this year. — KR Quebec needs another party When an election is held in Ontario, the financial world doesn't hang breathless on the outcome, even if the hated NDP come to power. The rest of Canada doesn't fret that the entire country’s future may be at stake. We realize that it is the democratic will of the people to want to change governments. Yet as Quebec approaches a fall election the dollar teeters weekly and the interest rates fluctuate with the worries of the money lenders about the country's future. The newspapers and airwaves are filled with concern about what would happen to the country if Quebecers vote to turn from the government party to the opposition party. There's nothing surprising in people wanting to replace a party that has been in power for a decade. All governments get tired and must be replaced. But the situation becomes worrisome in Quebec because when people want to vote against the governing Liberals there is only one place to turn, to the Parti Quebecois which vows to separate the province from Canada. Polls show that Quebecers want to replace the government and will therefore vote for the Parti Quebecois. But the same polls show that if a referendum was held they would reject sovereignty for Quebec. Yet because the opposition party is separatist, the economic future of Canada is endangered. Our tough fight to escape the lingering effects of the recession is made harder. It's time Quebecers had a party to turn to other than the Parti Quebecois. We can't continue living with a slate of crisis every time someone wants to vote against the Liberals. — KR Confusing the issue It's easy to understand the anguish over the death of a police officer. It's easy to understand the anger when it was found that the man accused of doing the shooting was supposed to have been deported several years ago. But the story changes slightly when one realizes that the accused gunman wasn't some foreigner who just slipped into Canada to take up crime. He was an adult who had been in Canada since his childhood. He didn't bring his lifestyle with him, he learned it here. If someone arrives in Canada and soon takes up crime it makes sense that he should be deported to the country from which he came. When someone has been here for nearly 20 years but failed to take out citizenship, however, it looks like Canada is seeking the easy way out by deporting him. Imagine how his native country must like having this man, who learned his life of crime in Canada, dumped back in their lap. Among all our emotion on this subject, perhaps it's time for a little thoughtful introspection. — KR From the ground up Looking Back Through the Years From the files of The Brussels Post, The Blyth Standard and The North Huron Citizen 34 YEARS AGO JULY 21,1960 A branch of the Canadian Cancer Society was formed in Brussels. Mrs. R. S. Warwick, Reg. N, was elected president; Mrs. Chas Davis, vice pres; Mrs. Jno. Speir, sec; Cecil Parker, trea.; women's service committee, Mrs. Jas Smith, Mrs. R. S. Stephens and Mrs. Ken. McDon­ ald. Reg N. Jas. Doig, of Seaforth and Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Dobbs of Exeter, were the speakers at the meeting. Four members of the local chap­ ter of the Society for the Preserva­ tion and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America crowded close in harmony at bar­ bershop night in Dundalk, Md. Silver-haired Danny Cuthbert lifted his light tenor in a few experimen­ tal "m-m-m-m's" while slender Jim Grant and two other songbirds chimed in. An interesting article appeared about teenage girls who wore ultra- skimpy bikini-type two-piece swimming suits. Police in New York said such scanty wear is inde­ cent and the girls have been warned if their caught again they will be fined. Hot weather is no excuse for such "immodesty" the Police said sternly. Letters THE EDITOR, Despite information recently provided in some local papers, a $25,000 grant from the Ontario Ministry of Health was not intended for the hiring of a "smoking cop". The Health Unit wanted to use the grant money to hire a part-time person who would work co-operatively with existing staff members on tobacco use prevention programs. The Huron County Board of Health decided to return the grant money to the provincial government because it "detests the manner in which this money is being allocated and that it would prefer it be allocated toward education." The funding controversy centres around grant money that was directed to every Ontario Health Unit in response to the recent passing of Bill 119 (The Tobacco Control Act). The Tobacco Control Act will become law in the fall of 1994. The Act focuses primarily on two issues: (i) Lhc prevention of tobacco sales to minors and (ii) the protection of everyone from environmental tobacco smoke. Health Units have the responsibility and have been given the mandate to educate the public about the provisions of the Act. There have been some misunderstandings about the purpose of the "enforcement" funding. "The Health Unit was required to develop a comprehensive enforcement strategy for the Tobacco Control Act. In this context, the term 'enforcement' means public awareness, retailer education and responding to public complaints. The laying of charges would be used as last resort for persons who, for example, continue to sell tobacco products to minors despite proper notification and warnings. 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