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The Citizen, 1999-09-22, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 1999. C itizenTheNorthHuron Aocna ^CNA P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, Ont. NOM 1H0 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 Advertising Manager, Jeannette McNeil Member Ontario Press CornellE-mail norhuron@scsinternet.com 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 S27.00/year ($25.24 4 $1.76 G.S.T.) in Canada; $62.00/year in U.S.A, and $100/year in other foreign coun­ tries. 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 newsscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright. Publications Mail Registration No. 09244 Canadian Publication Mail Agreement No. 1374990 Now that’s dedication E ditorial IAA .ZZ.................. ! The untold story behind all the amalgamation planning that's been going on in Huron County is that while the politicians have been front and centre, the nitty-gritty detail work of melding municipalities together has been carried out by some of the people who have most to lose: municipal employees. Think of it: you're asked by your boss to put plans together which may lead to you being out of work. How would you react? Would you be as dedicated to doing a good job as the staff of many Huron County municipalities have been? Certainly not everyone who works in a municipal office is going to be out of work when amalgamation takes place but we don't know who will have a job when the process is over and who won’t. Obviously, if there are to be any savings from tjais whole process, some jobs must be cut. Employees in those municipal offices don’t know who will win the lottery and keep their job, and who will lose. Yet for the most part they have soldiered on in a situation that could be devastating on morale. It’s fashionable these days to denigrate anyone who works for government. Local municipal employees, however, are again proving that they are public servants. — KR A huge contribution As you visit the 1999 International Plowing Match this week, look around. Much of this huge accomplishment is due to some of your neighbours in North Huron. As you go down the list of the key volunteers for “Huron Shines in '99”, it’s easy to be struck by the high proportion of names from the northern part of the county. From match chairman Graeme Craig on down, (there are too many names to mention individuals), so much work has been organized and carried out by your neighbours. When the Brussels area lost out to Dashwood as the site selected for the 1999 match there was much disappointment. It’s a tribute to Huron County, and particularly to those who had worked hard on behalf of that northern Huron bid, that there was no pouting. Everybody just switched to supporting the county’s efforts at the Dashwood match. Whatever the weather holds for the rest of the week, these volunteers deserve a huge amount of praise for the efforts they’ve put into making this an event all of Huron County can be proud of.— KR What an individual can do It was April of 1980. Bill Davis was Premier of Ontario. Pierre Trudeau was in his second go-round as Prime Minister of Canada. An unknown, one-legged runner dipped his leg in the Atlantic Ocean at St. John’s, Newfoundland and started out on an impossible mission. Terry Fox wanted to run across Canada. Nearly 20 years later, Bill Davis is a faint historical figure. Even Pierre Trudeau, larger-than-life as he was, has faded into near-obscurity. It is Terry Fox, who died just over a year after he started out on that trek, who still inspires people. Last weekend, 39,000 people in Ontario communities alone, including Brussels, took to the streets to walk and run to raise money for Fox’s goal — to fund research to defeat cancer. Terry Fox Runs in some 4,650 locations in 60 countries were expected to raise $6 million for cancer research. The Terry Fox story can still bring tears to the eyes of all those old enough to remember the sight of this brave young man hobbling 40 km a day, day after day in his bid to cross the country from coast to coast, a feat that at that time few able-bodied people had contemplated. In these cynical times in the 1990s, it's hard to imagine how an entire country could be swept up in the admiration for this young man but it was. A large proportion of the population of Canada today wasn’t alive when Terry Fox had to give up his dream outside Thunder Bay when cancer spread to his lungs. It's too bad they were never able to see this true Canadian hero. If our education system wants to teach future generations about the great people of the past, perhaps more time should be spent telling the story of Terry Fox. Fox demonstrated what Edward E. Hale once said: “I am only one, but still 1 am one: I cannot do everything, but I can still do something, and because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something that 1 can do.” That attitude can bring amazing results.— KR Looking Back Through the Years From the files of the Blyth Standard, Brussels Post and North Huron Citizen Sept. 19, 1979 The annual Belgrave, Blyth and Brussels Fair was hailed as a suc­ cess. The president was Ross Procter and the first vice was Jack Higgings. Jean Siertsema of-Blyth was Huron County Dairy Princess. Graham Yeats supervised a les­ son after school hours at Blyth Public School to help youngsters learn the right way to play soccer. East Wawanosh Twp. was contin­ uing to press for approval of a sub­ division on its side of the highway in Belgrave. The first bylaw had drawn objections from neighbour­ ing farm owners, based on the grounds that a proposed 15,000 square foot commercial plot was too large and a planned 30-unit apartment building was not justi­ fied. Blyth Lions donated $50 to the Woodstock Disaster Fund. Sept.20, 1989 An agreement was being negoti­ ated between Blyth village council and the Bluewater Kennel Club to try to eliminate potential problems with the club’s use of the fair­ grounds for its annual dog show. If government approval was granted, Blyth could expect the first lots in a new 33-home subdivision on the market by the spring. Weekend At Bernies was playing at Wingham’s Lyceum Theatre, while John Candy’s Uncle Buck was held over at the Park Theatre in Goderich. A commemorative oak tree des­ tined to be cut down to make way for the new addition to Blyth Memorial Hall was possibly to live on as a frame for an historic quilt. The tree was planted in the 1930s to commemorate the visit to Canada of the King and Queen. An attempt was also being made to continue the life of the tree by either taking a cutting from the tree or planting some of its acorns. Margaret Whyte of Londesboro was named the Blyth and area Citizen of the Year. Sept. 21, 1994 Terry Team Member Joanne King led the 14th annual Terry Fox Run in Brussels, There were 159 people registered for the event. They raised $4,236.90 in pledges and dona­ tions. Special acknowledgement was given to Jane Draper who raised $548 and George Langlois who raised $263. Wingham OPP were investigat­ ing the theft of three bicycles in Blyth. There was a total of 3,118 exhibits at the74th Belgrave, Blyth and Brussels School Fair. Mark and Jayne Marquis delight­ ed an audience at the Light the Way Cafe in Blyth with their ballroom dancing. The event was held to raise money for the Light the Way Children’s Fund International.