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The Citizen, 2019-09-05, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 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.huroncitizen.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 September 5, 1968 After two weeks, a CN Railway crew completed work on new cross flashing signs in Brussels. The installation of the signs had been ordered the previous February. Rev. Allan Johnston of Brussels United Church accepted a call to Richard’s Memorial United Church in London, a large suburban church with a congregation of 1,800 people. Johnston would take on his new duties in London on Oct. 1. With 271 students attending in the coming school year, the enrolment at Brussels Public School had increased by 10 students. This included 23 Kindergarten students. Doris Walker was billed as the entertainment at the Queen’s Hotel in Brussels on Sept. 6, followed by Mike Hodgert and the Tri-Tones of Exeter the following Saturday night. September 5, 1973 Record crowds were expected to come to Blyth for the 12th annual reunion of the Huron Pioneer Thresher and Hobby Association. This came after over 7,000 people attended the reunion the previous year. Blyth Village Council voted to renovate Memorial Hall with costs that could reach as high as $20,000. This decision came after the presentation of a report by consultants from B.M. Ross saying that the building’s roof needed to be replaced at an estimated cost of $14,600. The report also concluded that the building’s floor could also use some improvements, which could add another $5,000 to the final cost. Blyth Village Council voted to give themselves a hefty raise in salary. While the reeve had received $250 a year and the councillors received $200 per year, the salaries would be raised to $600 per year for councillors and $750 per year for the reeve. Blyth Village Clerk Norm Shaw said the new, increased salaries were more in line with neighbouring villages and townships after Blyth had lagged behind for several years. September 6, 1995 Grey Central Public School saw a sharp decline in enrolment, dropping by 30 students to 245 for the coming school year. After months of planning and weeks of construction, residents of Blyth, Belgrave, Brussels and Londesborough would soon have access to natural gas for their homes. The communities of Belgrave, Blyth and Londesborough were 100 per cent complete, while Brussels was 75 per cent complete and Wingham was 90 per cent complete. Denise TenPas, Teresa Bridge, Kady Terpstra and Stacy Hahn had all thrown their hats into the ring, hoping to become the next Brussels Fall Fair Ambassador. The competition was schedule for Friday, Sept. 8 at the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre. Bruce Papple of Blyth had taken over as the new owner of the Blyth Mini Mart. Papple decided to make the move after years as a long-haul truck driver. Ted Johns’ classic of Canadian theatre, He Won’t Come in From the Barn, was back on the Blyth Festival stage for the fourth time. Its opening night at Memorial Hall was sold out. September 3, 2009 Hundreds lined the streets of Blyth to pay their final respects to Murray Nesbitt, a North Huron councillor and community leader who died in an industrial accident at the Sifto salt mine in Goderich, where he had worked for 30 years. Nesbitt was killed when he fell into a chute that sent salt into a trench conveyor system. He was 57. There was a large outpouring of condolences for Nesbitt, who was loved by residents. Long-time Blyth Clerk John Stewart said Nesbitt’s first concern was always the employees of the community. “He always wanted to make sure they were treated fairly. He always looked out for them,” Stewart said of Nesbitt. “He was a working man and he was looking out for the other working men.” Huron East Council unanimously endorsed a funding application from the Brussels Lions Club that, if approved, could have seen an addition built onto the existing Brussels Library, rather than the construction of a new structure. Blyth resident and World War II veteran Russell Cook was one of several local veterans whose stories were documented for a new DVD series called Veterans Remember, produced by Kirk Scott of Chesley. Cook had not shared his stories from the war for decades, but decided to open up for the first time eight years earlier, speaking to students at Blyth Public School. Huron East Council found one of its decisions was being appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board. CASA Engineering and Development was appealing council’s decision to pass an interim control bylaw to stop a wind turbine development in St. Columban for the time being. The appeal stated that council was attempting to “thwart the CASA proposal on lands which are already properly zoned and specifically responding to pressure from one citizens’ group against this particular project.” 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 Volunteer power achieves big With the Thresher Reunion drawing thousands to Blyth this coming weekend and fall fairs in Brussels, Seaforth, Lucknow and Howick and Belgrave’s Elementary School Fair coming up, it’s truly amazing how many outstanding events Huron County hosts – and all volunteer run. Already we had the 2019 Walton TransCan hosting 4,000-5,000 throughout the week, Lucknow’s Music in the Fields drawing thousands for three days of music and Zurich’s Bean Festival feeding big crowds – all on the same weekend. Earlier there were fairs in Clinton and Bayfield, Goderich’s Celtic Roots Festival and, back in the spring, Belmore’s Maple Syrup Festival, to name just a few events. All these celebrations provide exciting things to do for both local residents and visitors alike, and many of them raise money to improve our communities. It’s quite an achievement, and the hard-working volunteers who make it happen deserve our thanks. — KR It doesn’t add up Last week’s results of Ontario student’s math scores released by the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) showed that our education system has some homework to do if it is to equip students for the modern world. The EQAO standardized tests showed 48 per cent – fewer than half! – of Grade 6 students met the provincial math standard during the last school year, which is down from 61 per cent back in 2009. Among Grade 3 students, 58 per cent met the standard. In the 2009-2010 school year, at least 70 per cent achieved the standard. The EQAO also said that the Grade 9 results are relatively consistent, but there is a persistent gap between students in the applied and academic courses — 44 per cent and 84 per cent of them met the standard, respectively. It’s important to do something to reverse the decline in math skills and so the provincial’s plan to test new student teachers on their math scores is understandable, even if it may not be the solution. Even the EQAO has questioned the value of the tests on which a student teacher must achieve a mark of at least 70 per cent to be allowed to teach. Certainly the tests will fan the flames of bitterness between the province’s teachers and Premier Doug Ford. Still, if it gets attention of educators for the need to improve math literacy, perhaps the tests will serve the interests of students in preparing them for the future. — KR Can you trust your news? The rapid rise of world-wide attention to the fires in the Amazon rainforests owes itself, in part, to the power of celebrity, but also to a sort of “fake news”. The influence of celebrities have on the public these days is truly mind-boggling. For instance, Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo last week urged his 120 million Facebook followers and 80 million Twitter followers to help save the jungle, saying “It’s our responsibility to help save our planet.” But although Ronaldo’s heart was in the right place, it was disturbing that the photo he shared was not from the fires currently ravaging the Amazon but one that had been published in a newspaper in 2013, and from a part of Brazil far away from the Amazon. Similarly, musician Jaden Smith rallied support for the Amazon among his 13 million Instagram followers by showing an aerial view of a fire that occurred 30 years ago. Actor Leonardo DiCaprio illustrated his message about the Amazon to his 34 million social media followers with a photo from a stock photo catalogue, which had been taken by a photographer who had died in 2003. All these celebrities were acting for a good cause in trying to influence their followers to push for action on saving the Amazon. Leaving the worthiness of the cause aside, however, those who worry about people living in a democracy basing their opinions and voting decisions on fact, will shiver at the potential for manipulation. Newspapers and television networks must research a story, determine the facts, and find actual photos or video of the news event. Celebrities can write a few lines and find an illustration and send it to their millions of social media followers, and probably influence more people than legitimate, professional news- gathering organizations. The disturbing thing is that many people seem to think they can get enough information from social media that they don’t need to watch television news or read a newspaper. If they get their “news” from a celebrity there’s no guarantee the facts have been checked. The fame of the person disseminating the news gives it legitimacy it doesn’t deserve. It may be fine when it comes to saving the rainforest but it could cause harm on other topics. We’ve already seen, in the world of Donald Trump, what harm can occur when a celebrity sets out to mislead his followers. We need professional newsgatherers to provide fact-checked news. When people think they’re getting the “news” from celebrities on social media posts, we’re playing with fire. — KR &