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The Citizen, 2002-01-09, Page 4"Eyes that fire and sword have seen. And horror in the hall of stone look at last on-meadows green And trees and hills they long have known." - from ).R.R. Tolkieris The Hobbit ZL,, • .A. Nespol on Looking Back Through the Years Jan. 7, 1960 The new year began tragically in Brussels when fire claimed the lives of three little boys, five-year-old David, four-year-old Bevin and three- year-old Eddie Firby. The residents of the village, in an expression of sympathy, suspended business to attend the funeral service for the three young victims. Snow tires at MacLean Fina Service were $31-95 to $34.95 a pair. Jan. 7, 1981 Blyth residents housed victims of an eight car pile-up which occurred in a snowstorm. Two pedestrians, a police officer and a driver were injured and taken to Wingham hospital. Blyth and Londesboro were represented in the World Junior Figure Skating championship in London. Although not competing they did skate at the meet. Dawn Flynn and Shelley Wasson were part of the colour party which carried the flags representing the 19 countries in the competition. Delegates from UCO Belgrave were among many of the co-operators from across Ontario attending UCO's 33rd annual meeting held in Toronto.' Among them were George McGee of Wingham, Bill Coultes of Brussels, Richard Moore of Wingham and Fred Meier of Brussels. Jan. 7, 1987 Bob Szusz was elected to Hullett Twp. council defeating eight other candidates for the seat left vacant by the resignation ot, Councillor Vic Stackhouse. He was elected by a show of hands at a special meeting. Christmas came one day early to Ron Vercruyssen of RR2, Blyth. Dec. 24 was the day he learned he had been chosen to play basketball for Ontario, to compete in the Canada Winter Games in Nova Scotia in February. Margaret Van Nes of Ethel was the winner of the Brussels merchants' Christmas draw by guessing the - correct weight of the 32 participating businesspeople who had posed on the Brussels Agromart truck scale. Both she and John Lowe of Brussels guessed the correct weight dead-on at 5,830 pounds, but the Ethel woman won the tie-breaking draw conducted by Clerk-Treasurer Hugh Hanly. The next closest guess was 5,829 and one half pounds. Huron Bruce MP Murray Cardiff hosted his third annual New Year's Day Levee at the Brussels arena. An estimated 800 to 900 people flowed in and out of the-community centre throughout the day and enjoyed entertainment, food and drink, courtesy of Cardiff. An Auburn-area man was elected president of the Huron County Junior Farmers while two Belgrave-area farmers would serve as secretary and treasurer. As well two Auburn women would handle the club's communication and public relations duties for the year. At the annual meeting Robert Hunking*was elected president, Muriel Taylor was chosen secretary and Andy Williams was named treasurer. Annette Losereit and Linda Cunningham were elected as newsletter editor and PRO respectively. The Brussels Crusaders took the Milverton tournament title. ' The Brussels Bulls won the Exeter tournament crown. On this Junior team were: Mike Chapman, Paul Robinson, Murray Houghton, Jeff McGavin, Pat Chambers, Brian Campbell, Rob Cardiff, Kevin Lee, Doug Taylor, Marty Rutledge, Doug Shaw, Mike Vincent, Dave Harding, Tim Fritz, Kevin Johnston, Gary Pipe, Ron Chambers, Sean Kieffer, Paul Coultes, Blake Flett, Kevin McArter, Troy Smith, Coach Joe Sterner, Trainer Pete Exel, Assistant Coach Hugh Nichol and Manager Steve Coulter. Duane Buffinga was the first baby born in the Wingham and District Hospital arriving at only 30 minutes past midnight on Jan. 1. Parents were Susan and Bert of RR1, Blyth. Jan. 8, 1992 Parents of young school children in Brussels could rest a little easier as the new crossing guards began work. The Bruce Regional Snowmobile Association geared up for the annual Snowarama in support of Easter Seals. Kick-off was scheduled for the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre at 7 a.m. The first baby born at Clinton Public Hospital in 1992 was Andre Egli, son of Arnold and Theresa Egli, RR3, Walton. Money tree winners in Blyth were Diane Fetter, Bev Blair and Christine Hallahan. Bulls rookie Todd Norman, was named All-Star MVP Jan. 8, 1997 Anneke and Rymert Los of RR1, Listowel had the area's New Year's baby, a 6 lb, 14 oz boy named Luke. Three young Blyth residents, Kristen Oster, Rachel de Boer and Jenny Ritchie, had the chance to meet Calgary Stampeder Jay McNeil when he attended a gathering at Blyth United Church to talk to the youth group. Brussels welcomed to new faces to the staff. Jane Johnson assumed the position of secretary, which was held for many years by Isabel! Prior. Sharri MacDonald, was the new Grade 3/4 teacher. Karen Uhler was in the library replacing Jim Prior who had retired. PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2002 Editorials & Opinions Publisher, Keith Roulston Editor, Bonnie Gropp Advertising Manager, Jeannette McNeil The Citizen is published 50 times a year in Brussels. Ontario by North Huron Publishing Company Inc. Subscriptions are payable in advance at a rote of $28.00/year ($26.17 + $1.83 G.S.T.) in Canada; $62,00/year in U.S.A. and $100/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 newsscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are 0 Copyright We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Publications Assistance Program (PAP) toward our mailing Costs. Publications Mail Reg. No. 09244 Canadian Publication Mail Agreement No. 40050141 The Citizen P.O. Box 429, P.O. Box 152, BLYTH, Ont. BRUSSELS, Ont. NOM 1H0 NOG 1H0 Phone 523-4792 Phone 887-9114 FAX 523-9140 FAX 887-9021 E-mail norhuron0scsinternet.com Website www.northhuron.on.ca ocna C 4c,NA cu KO° Member of the Ontario Press Council 1111106/10 Between rights and wrongs The dangers of taking away peoples' rights in order to protect society from terrorists were brought to Canadians' attentions last week by the story of one Canadian citizen who has been in jail in the U.S. for more than three months without the Canadian embassy being noiified. The Canadian, who was finally charged, after much publicity and pressure from our government, with working illegally in the U.S., was just the tip of the iceberg. It's estimated that 500 people have been jailed in the U.S. since the Sept. 11 terrorist attack. It's hard to find out who they are and why they're being held because normal rules of justice have been suspended in the name of national security. Their familieS don't need to be notified, they don't have access to legal advice. What's more, according to the Canadian's lawyer, psychological tactics like leaving lights on 24 hours a day are being used — the kind of things that would be called torture if evil-doers like the Taliban were perpetrating them on Americans. The Canadian in question broke the law 5y working in the U.S. illegally. He may even be guilty of more serious crimes, perhaps even being involved in terrorist activities. We don't know at this point. It's very likely, however, that there are innocent people among the 500 detained with no concern for their human rights. We created a system of justice because we've felt people shouldn't be held without their guilt having been proved. We've protested when. other countries in the world carry out exactly the same kind of tactics the U.S. is now practising. Canada has put in place the same kinds of laws the U.S. is now using. In some cases these laws are necessary to protect the lives of innocent people by getting dangerous terrorists off the street before they can strike, but once these laws are in place the temptation to use them indiscriminantly can be overwhelming. Canada and the U.S. share a democracy built on hundreds of years of struggle to bring justice to a system that naturally evolves toward a state where a few people have power over many. We have suspended some of those hard-earned gains in the name of protecting that democracy. This may be necessary in the short run but we must be vigilant or we can lose the very freedoms that make democracy worth fighting for. Just because these people are not citizens, are not white and are not of our religion, doesn't mean we can ignore this situation and say it could never happen to the rest of us. — KR, The right reason for going So Canadians are, going to be on the ground in Afghanistan at last, after the government announced Monday that 750 Canadian troops would be joining U.S. forces in the Kandahar region where they will help round up the pockets of Taliban resistance. If they can help bring peace and allow people to get back to somewhat normal lives this 'may be a noble cause, but are we going for the right reasons? There's a distinct feeling of "me too" about this whole affair. Political attitudes in Canada have been strange since the Sept. 11 hijackings in New York and Washington. Suddenly people who had spent years arguing for lower taxes, blamed the government for not spending enough on defence. Stung by the very real perception the armed forces weren't as strong as they once were, the government has been desperate to prove our forces pull their weight. Peacekeeping doesn't cut it anymore: we need to prove we can be just like the Americans. Between U.S. President George Bush's omission of Canada in a list of allies some months ago and the fact Canadians weren't chosen by the British for a role in Afghanistan, there's been an insecurity in political circles that the big guys don't want us. One gets the feeling the government almost begged the Americans to find something for our troops to do. That would not be a good reason for putting lives at risk. — KR . Letters to the Editor THE EDITOR, Perth Hospital Partnership. I The Huron Perth Hospital emphasize that, at this time, the Partnership was formed in 1998 and existing partnership agreement includes the eight hospitals located remains unchanged, the operations in the Counties of Huron and Perth. of each site continue as usual and Six of these hospitals recently there are no anticipated changes in decided to examine the implications any of the staffing or service and benefits of becoming a single arrangement at each of the hospi- organization. The Wingham and tals. Listowel hospital boards have The directors of the Wingham and chosen not to take part in this single District Hospital Board are focus review. The Wingham board committed to their responsibility for wishes to examine all options before ensuring the continuation of quality considering changes to the health care service for our governance of the Partnership. community, and will be providing The board would be working ongoing updates as they deliberate through a process to determine the on future planning. next steps in their relationship with Judith Gaunt, the other members of the Huron Wingham Hospital Board Chair.