The Citizen, 1998-12-02, Page 4P.O. Box 429,
BLYTH, Ont.
NOM 1H0
Phone 523-4792
FAX 523-9140
-Fhb North Huron
it cn izen eN A
P.O. Box 152, Publisher, Keith Roulston
BRUSSELS, Ont. Editor, Bonnie Gropp NOG 1H0
Phone 887-9114 Advertising Manager,
FAX 887-9021 Jeannette McNeil
norhuron@sesinternet.com
The Citizen is published 50 times a year in Brussels, Ontario by North
Huron Publishing Company Inc.
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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 Mall Registration No. 6968
Front and back
Photo by Bonnie Gropp
Looking Back Through the Years
From the files of the Blyth Standard, Brussels Post and North Huron Citizen
December 5, 1968
James Knight of RR2, Brussels
was elected president of the Huron
County Soil and Crop Improvement
Association. He succeeded Robert
Grasby of RR4, Brussels.
The Morning Star Rebekah
Lodge No. 315 held Past Grand
Night. District Deputy Mary Lowe
presented 35-year jewels to Flo-
rence Baeker, Jean Little, Carrie
Dunbar, Aletha Rann, Winnifred
Edgar, Jean Leach, Janet Shrepnik,
Laura Williamson, Reta Hoover and
Beth Hoover.
Bowling high score singles were
Ruth Huether with 281 and Al Har-
vey with 279.
Ronald Machan of Brussels pur-
chased a hardware store in Luc-
know.
A $10 prize for the best horse-
drawn vehicle was added to the
prize list for the first Brussels Santa
Claus Parade in many. years.
December 5, 1973
Blyth council called a meeting to
prepare for the community's centen-
nial celebrations.
Four Huron County councillors
put their names in as candidates for
warden. Hugh Flynn, reeve of Hul-
lett Twp. and Edd Oddliefson, reeve
of Bay field ran for a second time,
while newcomers were Bill Elston,
reeve of Morris Twp. and Charlie
Thomas, reeve of Grey Twp.
A survey was conducted in Blyth
and the surrounding territory to
determine the need for a senior citi-
zen housing project in the village.
White Gift Sunday at Blyth Unit-
ed Church brought in 53 gifts and
$47.80 for the Children's Aid Soci-
ety.
Belgrave's Junior Auxiliary held
its Christmas social in the Belgrave
Orange Hall. Anne Procter opened
the program with a recitation, "A
Christmas Welcome".
Local delegates at the Ontario
Federation of Agriculture conven-
tion were Mason Bailey, Bill Pullen
and Adrian Vos, Blyth; Maurice
Bean, Auburn; Jack Benjamin,
RR1, Blyth and Gordon Bldnchard
and Martin Baan, Walton.
Dec. 3, 1997
DEAR EDITOR,
This past Saturday I attended a
conference titled "The Changing
Face of Agriculture" sponsored by
Catholic Rural Life, Diocese of
London. It was a fascinating and
exciting conference with three
sections each of which should be of
interest to our communities.
The first was a talk by Dr.
William Heffernen, a professor of
sociology and economics at the
The Huron County Road Depart-
ment announced it would start win-
ter maintenance an hour earlier in
the day and shut down at 11 p.m.
North Huron Publishing Compa-
ny, parent company of The Citizen,
reported a record profit.
Brussels Lions donated to the
Brussels pool.
Three Brussels boys, Nathan Gar-
land, Andrew Exel and Adam Carr,
were members of the F.E. Madill
Secondary School senior boys vol-
leyball team which captured the
WOSSA tournament title.
The Blyth Midget Bulldogs made
it to the C championship final of the
annual Silver Stick tournament in
Wingham.
University of Missouri-Columbia.
Dr. Heffernen provided an
overview of the ever increasing
concentration in the food process-
ing sector and the impact of vertical
integration on rural communities
and the family farm.
He asked the question, "In the
past, why did rural farm
communities prosper and rural
mine communities economically
Continued on page 7
Letter to the editor
Writer tells of conference
PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1998.
Tough rules badly needed
With the Christmas period arriving the move by the provincial
government to increase, the penalties for people driving while their
licence is under suspension couldn't be more timely.
Earlier this year the province announced stricter penalties for those
convicted of driving while they arc intoxicated but anyone who has
attended court knows that just
taking someone's licence away
doesn't stop them from driving.
It's a regular occurrence at court
to hear of people being stopped
for drunk driving while they
were already under suspension for similar offences. Often they can get
away with it if they don't have an accident or there doesn't happen to be
a police officer around to get suspicious. In many cases, the drivers
don't seem to think they have a lot to lose.
But starting this week drivers convicted of -driving with a suspended
licence can face fines of $5,000 to $50,000. Beginning Feb. 2, those
drivers will also have their cars impounded for 45 days. It isn't just cars
belonging to convicted drivers, which will be impounded. If you lend a
car to a driver who has no licence, you may lose your car for 45 days.
The penalties are indeed harsh, but they need to be. There is still
something in our culture that makes a joke out of drunk driving. There's
a sort of macho culture that sees people brag about how much they can
drink and "not be affected". But people who drink and drive are
handling a deadly weapon while not fully in control of their faculties. If
we were to see a drunken man wandering down the street waving a
loaded gun we would be suitably afraid. If he's a loaded man driving a
two-ton car many of us are likely to see it as a momentary indiscretion,
even if he gets caught.
Thousands of innocent people pay with their lives for society's
forgiving view of drunk drivers. The provincial government is showing
the right tone that this behaviour is no longer acceptable. — KR
Hidden governments have power
We like to think we live in a democracy but many of the decisions of
how to spend our money is made by unelected bodies, as evidenced by
two reports to Huron County council last week.
The new Grey Bruce Huron Perth District. Health Council made its
first report to county council and for the first time many councillors
were able to put a face on this provincially-appointed group that is
seldom seen in public. If few in the public knew who sat on the old
Huron Perth District Health Council until the storm about possible
hospital closings, the new four-county health council seems even more
remote. Yet the body had $1 million to spend, most of it, Jim Whaley
the executive director, told council, on health planners.
At the same meeting, some councillors were upset to learn the new
Community Care Access Corporation had awarded a contract for
homecare to a Toronto organization instead of the local Victorian Order
of Nurses. The CCAC is a provincially-appointed group charged with
organizing long term care and probably few people know who sits on it.
At the same meeting there was a discussion about who would control
the OPP officers who would be working in a county-wide police force
funded by $5.9 million in money from local taxpayers. It was noted the_
officers working under contract to the county would be directed by a
police services board, probably with five members: two appointed from
county council, one appointed by the county with no involvement with
county council, and two appointed by the province.
Other important organizations arc also run by un-elected boards: the
board of health, the library board and the Children's Aid Society.
But these groups arc downright insignificant compared to some of the
commissions with the power to refashion our lives without us ever
knowing who the members arc and why they got their jobs. The hospital
restructuring commission, for instance, went around the province
dictating which hospitals Would remain open and which would close.
There arc also commissions that the provincial government appoints to
bversee municipal boundary changes. In Kent County a commissioner
sent in to arbitrate a disagreement between municipalities imposed a
decision no one had originally supported.
Many people don't want to think about government, just have the job
done. Those people won't care about the power these unelected Officials
have. Those who care about democracy, however, may worry about the
increase in groups that can't be held publically accountable.—KR
E ditorial