The Citizen, 1995-05-31, Page 4Petal essence
Photo by Bonnie Gropp
Looking Back Through the Years
From the files of The Blyth Stan-
dard, The Brussels Post and The
North Huron Citizen -
28 YEARS AGO
June 1,1967
Brussels residents received over
$20,000 in pledges and cash dona-
tions for the medical and dental
canvass.
Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Pearson and
family of the Brussels area visited
Expo '67 in Montreal.
The Centennial Committee were
hard at work with plans for "Come
Home Week." Invitations were
extended to all former residents of
Brussels to join in on the festivities.
A parade was scheduled to cele-
brate the occasion.
George Baeker sold his remain-
ing interest in the Butcher Shop to
long-time employee Fred Stephen-
son. Baeker had previously owned
the business for 63 years.
Mrs. Ross Knight was elected
president of the East Huron Wom-
en's Institute. Helen Mc&ercner,
Toronto home economics teacher,
was guest speaker at the meeting.
The Western Fair Raceway in
London honoured the Brussels
driving Park Association with its
fifth annual Brussels Night. Many
local residents clipped newspaper
coupons for free admission to the
events in London.
The OPP Identification Unit
began using a station wagon
instead of the standard patrol car.
The price for 24 tins of Canada
Dry was $1.89, while a bottle of
Sani Flush was 43 cents.
SIX YEARS AGO
May 31, 1989
Students at Blyth Public School
were learning to appreciate litera-
ture in the Be Enthusiastic About
Reading program.
In an effort to obtain needed beds
for the Callander Nursing Home in
Brussels, 582 people signed a peti-
tion. The signatures were given to
Jack Riddell, the Ontario Agricul-
ture Minister, who promised to
speak to the Minister of Health
about the situation.
Huron County Council's Execu-
tive committee recommended that
county council oppose several key
proposals in a report on county
government reform. The report
included a recommendation that
counties be reorganized so that no
municipality has a population
under 4000.
Murray Cardiff, M.P. for Huron-
Bruce presented the Huron County
Pioneer Museum with a cheque for
$614,000.
Lloyd and Charlotte Allen
opened the Book Shop in down-
town Blyth.
The Blyth Festival reported that
spring sales were up 75 per cent
from the previous year.
Letters
THE EDITOR,
I bought a building in Brussels
with the intent of moving my
business there one day. I applied
for and received an amendment to
the zone to comply with my
business, but now will not move to
the friendly village, a place where
officials are indifferent and do not
appear to care. This is my story.
On May 9, upon arriving at my
property,- I found someone had
entered my building through a
window, opened the overhead
garage door and removed a wooden
cart. I located the cart in the fenced
garden centre of the IGA. I
telephoned the police who spoke
with the store manager.
According to the officer, he
admitted removing the cart from
what he said was an abandoned
building. My name and telephone
number was posted on the window
of my building.
There were no charges because
the cart was visible and there was
no intent to hide it. If I was to
proceed further I was to contact the
justice of the peace.
I did and he informed me he saw
nothing wrong with someone
entering a building through the
window, opening a door and
exiting, without permission. He
said it seemed frivolous to him and
in the old days he may have
followed it up, but now did not feel
like it. He also asked why I would
buy "moose pasture" anyway.
Thinking he was joking, I asked
if he knew my building and he said
no. He added that all property in
Brussels to him was just "moose
pasture."
He asked if I had insurance on
my building and if so not to worry
about it.
The manager of the IGA
telephoned me and I informed him
that if he stored a cart in my
building he owed rent, if not, it was
an unlawful entry.
He admitted to the entry and
removing a cart he said was his and
wanted to meet.
The following day he informed
me the village employees entered
my building through a window
looking for a raccoon. The
township has my name and
Continued on page 5
Reaction to concern irks man
PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MAY 31, 1995.
The North Huron
C • • amen eNA
P.O. Box 429, P.O. Box 152,
BLYTH, Ont. BRUSSELS, Ont.
NOM 1H0 NOG 1H0
Phone 523-4792 Phone 887.9114
FAX 523.9140 FAX 887-9021
Publisher, Keith Roulston
Editor, Bonnie Gropp
Sales Representatives,
Jeannette McNeil and Julie Mitchell
The Citizen is published weekly in Brussels, Ontario by North Huron Publishing
Company Inc.
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Contents of The Citizen are C Copyright.
Publications Mail Registration No. 6968
We have found the enemy
At last! We have found the enemy who is preventing Ontarians from
finding the good life. The culprit, it turns out, isn't high interest rates or
globalization but the poor and unemployed. That is the message that
seems to have come out of the
election campaign in the last
couple of weeks.
Lyn McLeod, Ontario
Liberal leader, has proposed
making people on welfare
either take training or do volunteer work or have their benefits cut. Her
tough stand doesn't seem to be tough enough for voters, however. Mike
Harris has promised to cut people off welfare altogether if they don't
get training or do volunteer work. Perhaps Bob Rae could get back in
the running if he pledged to flog anyone who applied for welfare.
There is no doubt there are abuses of welfare. There are some
people who are collecting welfare when they could be working. There
is no doubt that Rae's government , soon after it took office, made the
situation worse by opening up new categories under which people
could collect welfare. But really, folks, is this really so bad that it
should turn around an entire election campaign?
Harris and McLeod are campaigning for the votes of the people who
have jobs and decent incomes (even with high unemployment 90 per
cent of the people still have jobs, after all). It's comforting for people
who are working to think that only shiftless lazy people are out of
work. It's nice to be able to shuck the sense of responsibility for our
fellows and blame the poor for their own poverty. It's nice for people
who see themselves as a victim of too much government and too much
taxation, to think they can enjoy a 30 per cent tax cut by chopping the
rolls of welfare recipients.
It's much easier to strike out in this way than to realize we're in the
middle of a complicated situation brought on by a combination of high
interest rates, free trade-inspired restructuring, too much government
overspending and the seemingly endless political uncertainty that drags
down the Canadian economy. Better to have a nice, simple target to hit
back at.
Reform welfare? Sure, most things can use reforming. But surely
the Ontario voter isn't so simple minded that setting up the poor as a
target can win so much support so quickly and easily. Surely we want a
compassionate but practical provincial government but the signal
voters have been sending is that the way to success is being mean arid
pitiless in the name of tax savings. —KR
No compromise with evil
The picture of a Canadian soldier handcuffed to a post near a
Bosnian Serb ammunition dump brought two responses from
Canadians: anger, and a feeling we should get out of Bosnia and stop
risking the lives of Canadians — even if it means abandoning innocent
people to meet their fate at the hands of barbarians.
And the temptation on the part of western governments that have
peacekeepers on the ground in Bosnia is to do just that: get out. How
can their unarmed peacekeepers do their job if they are constantly in
danger of being grabbed and held hostage? If they can't do their job,
should they not just withdraw?
Factored into the equation for democratic governments will be the
political implications of seeing their citizen-peacekeepers abused or
killed in a country most of their citizens don't care about. Is it in their
"national interest" for countries to be involved in peacekeeping? Will it
matter to Canada one way or another, what happens in the Balkans?
Western countries have just celebrated the 50th anniversary of the
defeat of an evil regime in Europe but we often forget the beginning of
that conflict. The Nazis early on displayed their ruthlessness but no
government was willing to pay the cost of opposing them. With
memories of the terrible losses of World War I only 20 years old,
people in Britain, France and other countries, didn't want to go to war
again. They would rather sacrifice Czechoslovakia or the Rhineland
than to fight. They rewarded the evil of Hitler by backing down. They
passed up a chance to stop Hitler before he was really powerful and
they paid a huge cost.
The Bosnian Serbs are not Hitler. It's unlikely that the conflict there
will spread further than the boundaries of what was once Yugoslavia.
But evil, ruthless things are happening in Bosnia. The taking of
peacekeeper hostages goes beyond even Hitler's bounds of decency.
The slaughter of innocent civilians goes on. We cannot reward evil by
giving in to the Serbs. We must find ways to make them pay a price,
and send a signal to others that the world will not stand by and allow
barbarism because it is afraid to pay the price to prevent KR
E ditorial