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The Citizen, 1995-11-08, Page 4* CNA BLUE RIBBON AWARD 1995 Frosting Photo by Janice Becker Mischief makers upset mothers Letters THE EDITOR, I read with interest your article two weeks ago about Mac Taylor and the school started in Dawson Creek, B.C. This school educates the students to live in the community and start a business, rather than be educated and have to move to a big city to find work. As I write this the new St. Ann Catholic School in Clinton is being officially opened, costing many, many millions. About three blocks away is the Clinton District High School running at a little over one half capacity. Would any farmer, factory owner or any business person build a new building just to produce one more thing? No, you would integrate it into the system you have and better it. Maybe a combined board would be the answer and we would not have two bodies trying to build an empire bigger than the other. New and bigger buildings, factories and farms do not necessarily turn out a better product. We are in the Common Sense Revolution so please let common sense prevail. Neil McGavin, Walton. THE EDITOR, It was reported to me Oct. 30 that the beautiful white marble angel was missing from my daughter's tombstone in Blyth Cemetery. If anyone has any information on the whereabouts of same please contact me or the Goderich OPP. I pray that it will be returned in good condition. Sincerely, Mrs. Reta Kelland, Londesboro. THE EDITOR, We understand that the problem of substance abuse in children and youth is on the increase in our community. The Ark is currently running a SAFE program (Substance Abuse Free Environment) that promotes an active drug free lifestyle for young people. As a Brussels community partner we applaud the Ark for its lead in confronting this challenge and offer whatever assistance we can through the Brussels and area schools. We hope all organizations committed to a Better Brussels area can work together in addressing this issue. Ignored, substance abuse can only have disastrous results in our community. Together we can all make the difference. Yours truly, David Kemp Principal, Brussels Public School. Paul Statia Principal, Grey Central School. THE EDITOR, I am writing to you today in regards to an incident that happened on what is commonly known as "Devil's Night." I know that Brussels has been notorious in the past, for the vandalism that has occurred at this time of the year, and that in the past few years the incidences have certainly decreased. However, I feel compelled to write this year because of something that happened that directly affected my family. My children and I created pumpkin people on our front lawn to depict our family. The children identified with these characters and realized that each one represented each member of our family: Mommy, Daddy and each of our three little children. Well, some prankster(s) decided to have fun and destroyed one of our pumpkins, namely, "Mommy's Pumpkin Face." Can you picture, the children waking in the morning, looking out the window and com- menting to Mommy that her face had fallen off? Well how devastated they were when upon further investigation, mommy's face had not just fallen off, but it was laying across the street smashed into pieces. I sincerely hope that the person(s) responsible for this vandalism is reading this letter and Continued on page 6 PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 1995. C The North Huron itizen P.O. Box 429, P.O. Box 152, Publisher, Keith Roulston BLYTH, Ont. BRUSSELS, OM. Editor, Bonnie Gropp NOM 1H0 NOG 1H0 Phone 523-4792 Phone 887-9114 Advertising Manager, FAX 523-9140 FAX 887.9021 Jeannette McNeil The Citizen is published weekly In Brussels, Ontario by North Huron Publishing Company Inc. Subscriptions are payable in advance at a rate of $23.00/year ($21.50 plus $1.50 G.S.T.) for local; $33.00/year ($30.85 plus $2.15 G.S.T.) for local letter carrier in Goderich, Hanover, Listowel, etc. and out-of-area (40 miles from Brussels); $62.00/year for U.S.A. and 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 newscrlpts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are ID Copyright. Publications Mail Registration No. 6968 The value of an open mind Exeter Reeve Bill Mickle urged his fellow county councillors last week to keep an open mind about the possibilities of waste management in Huron. The value of open-mindedness was proven later in the same session of county council when councillors voted to offer to sell a controversial county forest to a naturalists' organization. Keeping an open mind can be harder for politicians than one might think. People consider politicians easy targets for cheap shots. If a politician expresses a point of view with which we don't agree, we feel quite free to call him/her stupid, or suggest he/she has some hidden, suspicious agenda. Some politicians have been known to do stupid things, but often the people accusing the politicians of stupidity, or cupidity, don't know as much as the politicians. They don't know the limits of the branch of government (particularly at the municipal level) or they don't have access to facts the politicians have. Given criticism that is often unfair, sometimes downright silly, it can be easy for politicians to become stubborn and not willing to sift through the haystack of silly comments for the point of the needle that may make perfect sense. At the beginning of the controversy over the Morris Tract, when the county proposed selective logging of the woodlot, councillors took a lot of abuse from those who didn't want a single tree cut . Some councillors got their back up and were determined not to give in to the extremism of some of the Fritnds of the Morris Tract. Later, after a violent storm toppled hundreds of trees in the tract and the Friends of the Morris Tract now called for quick action to re-open hiking trails and salvage downed trees, some councillors got a touch of revenge by delaying such a clean-up. But now, with a valuation of the timber content of the tract and the land value, council has come up with a compromise. They have offered the tract for sale to those who want to preserve it in its natural state. If the Nature Conservancy of Canada can come up with the money to buy the property everyone will win. The Friends of the Morris Tract can protect the land from logging and the taxpayers of Huron can be compensated for the timber value of the property. Open-mindedness helped bring about this proposed solution. Hopefully a willingness to explore new ideas may help find a cost- conscious, environmentally friendly solution to the waste management conundrum as well. — KR Time for the people to speak The one positive thing to happen during the Quebec referendum was the great march on Montreal in which more than 100,000 people rallied to show Canadians cared for Quebec's place in Canada. Despite the efforts of separatists to debase the motives of Canadians who travelled to Montreal, there's no doubt that ordinary people of Quebec must have got a message from the ordinary people of the rest of the country. The marchers by-passed the politicians and perhaps saved the country. Peter C. Newman sees that rally as a symptom of how citizens had seized power from the elites. In his new book The Canadian Revolution, Newman says the last 10 years have seen a great change in Canadians. We no longer trust our politicians or other elite groups like big business and the media. Canadians turned down the Charlottetown Accord despite support for it by all the people who usually hold influence. Quebecers refused to be frightened by big business predictions of doom if they supported independence. With the referendum vote so close, the vultures are gathering. From Preston Manning to provincial premiers, politicians see the Quebec crisis as a chance to create more power for the provinces. Is that what ordinary Canadians want? There's no indication that a majority of Canadians want a weakened federal government, but will their interests be put forward or will provincial politicians seek more power for themselves? Perhaps it's time for a new people's march in which ordinary Canadians get together to force politicians to heaoheir message and act on behalf of Canada, not provincial fiefdoms. If enough Canadians could get together to make their point, politicians would have to listen. We must find a way to make our voices heard. — KR Editorial