Loading...
The Citizen, 1999-03-31, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 1999. C itizenTheNorthHuron Aocna P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, Ont. NOM 1H0 Phone 523-4792 FAX 523-9140 P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, Ont. NOG 1 HO Phone 887-9114 FAX 887-9021 E-mail norhuron@scslnternet.com Publisher, Keith Roulston Editor, Bonnie Gropp Advertising Manager, Jeannette McNeil Member Ontario The Citizen is published 50 times a year In Brussels, Press Council Ontario by North Huron Publishing Company Inc. Subscriptions are payable in advance at a rate of $27.00/year ($25.24 + $1.76 G.S.T.) In Canada; $62.00/year in U.S.A, and $100.00/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: Monday, 2 p.m. - Brussels; Monday, 4 p.m. - Blyth. We are not responsible for unsolicited newscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright Publications Mail Registration No. 09244 Canadian Publication Mail Agreement No. 1374990 E ditorial i " i Communities must continue Trapped as we are by boundaries set by surveyors in the early 1800s, it appears plans for municipal amalgamations in Huron County will ignore natural communities. Apparently it will be up to the people of the communities to keep their sense of identity intact despite unnatural new boundary lines. County council has adopted a policy that any amalgamation proposals must involve entire municipalities. Practically, given how difficult the amalgamation process already is, this is probably necessary. For the future of the communities, however, the decision could be fatal. While municipal councils have usually stuck to practical activities like roads and streetlights, they have been a centre around which a community could rally. When larger municipalities are created that bear no relationship to actual communities, this leadership will be gone. So it will be up to people in communities to keep the flame alive. Service clubs and other community-based organizations have always played a large part and their role will become more important than ever. Business groups will have to try to hold the core of villages intact and become more active and creative in economic development. There will need to be more community spirit building events like homecomings and carnivals. Community-wide projects like the Communities in Bloom program planned for Blyth this summer can help get people working together and create a sense of pride in the community. It will be hard work, but if you think a community is more than just a place to sleep at night, it must be done. — KR More than a motherhood issue With his recent spate of announcements in the past week, Premier Harris has effectively admitted his health care cuts have gone too far. While high-profile actions like promising women can be in the hospital for longer after they have a baby are a step in the right direction, there are many other problem areas that need to be dealt with. For instance, women suffering from breast cancer are actually having mastectomies as day surgery. They go in to hospital in the morning, have the operation and are sent home by nightfall. When private insurance companies tried to carry out mastectomies as day surgery in the U.S., it caused a scandal. A special bill was hurried through Congress to give women the right to stay 48 hours after a mastectomy. Here in Ontario there has been little notice of the practice. In many ways it's more important for women having mastectomies to have time in hospital to recover than for new mothers. As well as being invasive of their bodies, the surgery also leaves serious emotional scars. There are likely other similar problems of people being sent home too early. At one time people were kept in hospital much longer than they needed to be, or often wanted to be. The pendulum has swung too far, however, and people are being treated as if they were widgets on an assembly line. The government’s moves are a good start, but they don’t go far enough. — KR Importing old world issues Canada has always been a refuge for people from strife-tom areas of the world. Too often, however, the refugees bring the strife with them. For the past week Canadians of Serbian extraction have been protesting NATO air attacks on Yugoslavia. It’s understandable that, worried about their family members back in Yugoslavia, people would be upset by the bombings. One wonders, however, why these people are putting all the blame on NATO (and particularly the U.S. even though Canada is involved) instead of on the government of Yugoslavia which has sanctioned persecution of the ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. People are being rounded up and shot, driven from their homes and having their homes destroyed as the government seeks to “cleanse” the province of non-Serbs, yet there have been no protests outside the Yugoslavian embassy. Canadian Serbs can’t plead ignorance because the atrocities have been well covered in our media. The very freedom that allows them to demonstrate against their own country requires them to. also be responsible. — KR Looking Back Through the Years 4 From the files of the Blyth Standard, Brussels Post and North Huron Citizen April 4,1979 The Blyth Bantams won the battle for the WOAA Bantam D Championship by defeating Howick. Their season statistics indicated they won 45 of their 50 games and tied one. They scored 478 goals and had 139 scored against them. Over 150 people enjoyed a variety concert at Blyth Memorial Hall. Fourteen acts were put together, with local talent, to raise funds for UNICEF in the Year of the Child. James Laurie was emcee and Susie Walsh began the evening by discussing the charity. An area youth was among the recipients of awards at Mohawk College in Hamilton. Gary Hesselwood, Blyth, won the IODE - Paardeburg Chapter Award of $75. April 5,1989 Dee Graham, art consultant for the Huron County Board of Education was at Brussels Public School conducting art classes with all classes. When about 250 people attended a Brussels council meeting to discuss recycling, it gave optimism to the councillors who felt this showed great concern regarding waste management. Kelly Bosman and Rhonda Howatt, students of Hullett Central Public School, participated in the science fair at school and were chosen to continue to the competition in Clinton. Central Huron District Secondary School Student Council President Greg Lobb made a presentation at the board of education meeting, hoping to stop the transfer of the school’s principal. The Blyth Atoms capped a successful season by defeating Huron Park and winning the group championship. The teams were WOAA champs. April 2,1997 Despite nearly $1 million in provincial government cuts, Huron County council adopted a budget resulting in no tax increase for the county portion of property taxes. It was announced that in May, the Wingham and District Hospital would consolidate its inpatients beds onto one floor for both chronic and active patients. The kickoff for the homecoming in Brussels was a dance at the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre. The winners of the Walter Scott trophy from the Brussels Curling Club were Marie Stute, Velma Locking, Brenda Linton and Norma Cooper. The winners of the D. A. Rann trophy were Tom Warwick, Fran Bremner, Wayne Alexander and Nora Stephenson. Letters THE EDITOR, After reading your local sports section of your paper I was very disturbed by the article written about the Pre-Tyke game against Lucknow. I realize as a parent that young hockey players of this age enjoy both seeing and hearing their name in the paper. BUT I know many parents and grandparents that subscribe to the paper from the Lucknow area were less than pleased to read the headlines written about "Brussels Pre-Tykes Trouncing Lucknow". I am not denying the fact that Brussels did indeed beat Lucknow by a large margin, but I really don’t think it was headline material.' Lucknow is fortunate enough to have one of the Largest minor hockey organizations in this area, Continued on page 7