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The Citizen, 2004-10-14, Page 4IA . NE S P0 1 . 0N REMEMBER THESAYING, ARTHUR: PEOPLE WHO LIKE HOT DOGS OR POLITICAL DEALS SHOULDN'T WATCH EITHER BEING MADE. PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2004. Editorials Opinions Publisher, Keith Roulston Editor, Bonnie Gropp Advertising, Heather Armstrong & Capucine Onn 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 $30.00/year ($28.04 + $1.96 G.S.T.) in Canada; $80.00/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. PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 40050141 PUBLICATIONS ASSISTANCE PROGRAM REGISTRATION NO. 09244 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO CIRCULATION DEPT. PO BOX 152 BRUSSELS ON NOG 1H0 email: norhuron@scsinternet.com Canada We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Publications Assistance Program (PAP) toward our moiling costs. The Citizen P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, Ont. NOM 1H0 Phone 523-4792 P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, Ont. NOG 1H0 Phone-887-9114 FAX 523-9140 FAX 887-9021 E-mail norhuronascsinternet.com Website www.northhuron.on.ca .ocna 4• CrA -.,„ 00- Member of the Ontario Press Council We are not responsible for unsolicited newsscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright Backdoor downloading Playing games with our future There's a hierarchy of governments with federal and provincial politicians thinking of themselves as the senior, serious politicians and local municipal politicians being amateurs. After last week's shenanigans following the throne speech in Ottawa, the idea that federal politicians are somehow more senior has been undermined by their juvenile antics. With video clips from parliament on the news every night, the ordinary citizen is likely to. give-more importance to the work of federal MPs while the quiet work of local politicians goes almost unnoticed. Yet those who regularly watch municipal and county governments at work (usually just reporters because nobody else attends) generally gain a lot more respect for the local political system than the gamesmanship of provincial and federal politics. With no party system, work at the local level is seldom, barring rare personal animosities, a them-against-us situation. Local politicians may disagree, but it's generally over genuine, personally-held views, not phony stick-with-the-party-line positions that don't allow the politician to think for himself/herself. Watching local politicians at work, there's a. 'sense they want what's best for their constituents and many times a politician has.changed his mind after hearing all sides of an issue. Compare this to the silliness just experienced in Ottawa where the Bloc Quebecois and the Conservatives moved amendments to the throne speech, the first piece of business of the brand new government session. They didn't wait to see the details of what the government was promising to do. They didn't debate any issues. They just tried to back the government into a corner with the prospect of a defeat for the minority government .and a new election where, they hoped, voters would punish the government for not having made a minority work. Conservative house leader Peter McKay spoke of a game of "chicken" being played in the minority government and that's how they started out. Luckily the government swerved and avoided a crash. Huron is represented in the supposedly senior governments by two veterans of municipal politics and former county wardens in Paul Steckle and Carol Mitchell. One wonders if, aside from the fact they now make a good living as full-time politicians, they really think they've moved up in the world when they see the silliness that surrounds them. — KR In the time since the provincial government downloaded ambulance service to municipalities, Huron County is owed $1 million for ambulance calls outside its boundaries. When the province paid the bills, cross-border calls weren't a problem. During downloading no mechanism was created for collecting such fees. It means Huron taxpayers have been left subsidizing ambulance service for their neighbours. Nice work for the province. — KR Looking Back Through the Years EDITOR'S NOTE: — Newspapers are always looking for ways to help their readers understand how to properly prepare a letter to the editor. The following appeared in an edition of the Rocky Mountain House (AB) Mountaineer . One of the best read parts of any newspaper is the letter to the editor column and there are usually more than enough to make issues lively and interesting. Rules of writing letters are quite simple. Stick to these and we will be quite happy to print them, if not one week, then the next. • Address your writing to the editor. With "Open letters" to someone else, we always get the feeling of Snooping in someone else's mail. • "Thank yous". Please use our card of thanks column in the classified section, or have your group budget for display advertising space, rather than using a letter to the editor. Letters are the place to express opinions and carry on debates. • Bad taste. This is a family newspaper. People can make their points without vulgar language. • Libelous material. To bad mouth someone in public is slander, to do so in print is libel. If we allowed someone's character to be unduly attacked, we are just as subject to a libel suit as the author of the letter. • Illegible and incoherent letters. Our typesetters are renowned for their ability to read bad handwriting. However, the most ideal situation is to have the letter types and double 1_ spaced. Some letters ramble and make no sense, no matter how nimble our mental gymnastics. If we can't make heads or tails out of the letter, we won't make our readers try. If we can edit the letter to make it clear, we will. • Length. This is not the place for a textbook of personal opinion. We suggest that most people can get their point across in fewer than 750 words. Keep it short and to the point. It is in the best interest of the writer for the letter to be interesting and understandable to other readers. • Prose and poetry. We are a newspaper and not a literary magazine. There are places for short stories and poetry. The only time we will publish such material is if the item is, in itself, newsworthy. Winning a competition with a poem or story is a good reason. On occa- sion we will invite such material as we do annually for our Christmas edition. • Anonymous letters. If the writer doesn't believe the letter is worth signing, we can't believe it is worth reading. The opinion is more valid if the writer is willing to stand behind it. If a person does not want his name to appear, he must make a strong case to us in person. • Unsubstantiated facts. If you want to quote "facts" in the letter, tell us where they come from so readers can check on them. • End of Debate. After we feel all sides of a debate have been thoroughly aired and letters on the subject become repetitive, we will put an end to it. • Local Interest. Any topic is fair play, but letters should be of interest to the people of our community. Oct. 16, 1969 Gus Edger of Brussels, an employee with Export Packers, discovered that one of his Leghorn laying hens, which was normal and healthy in every other aspect, had a perfectly formed hornlike appendage over an inch long on both sides of its head. It had been shown to a vet who had never seen such a thing before and could not offer any explanation as to • the cause. The four-year-old palomino mare owned by Mr. and Mrs. Bob Cunningham of Ethel, won two second prizes under the Western saddle competition at the Norfolk Country fair in Simcoe. Lloyd Weber of Grey Twp. grew two "whopping" potatoes, weighing four-and-a-half pounds. Oct. 18, 1972 Two Bluevale men died later in the Wingham and District Hospital after a serious car accident on Hwy. 86 on Thanksgiving Day. Brussels area girls placed well in the Highland Dancing Competitions in Goderich. Catherine Cardiff was awarded the gold medal in the novice class and Susan Langlois placed third. A seven-man committee of grain corn farmers was named by the Ontario Federation of Agriculture to outline the mechanics of a farmer- controlled corn marketing agency. Robert Allan was named chairperson of the committee. Officers of Western Star 149 Brussels were installed by District Deputy Grand Master Brother Harry Gerrie of Wingham. Lorne Dales was installed as Noble Grand and Allen Griffith as Vice Grand. Carol Wheeler and Susan Langlois appeared on CKNX TV in Wingham to perform a dance routine. Although there was no hysteria within Huron County about the abuse of drugs, medical officer of _health Dr. Frank Mills said more and more parents were expressing concern for their family. As the first of a three-part program to bring the drug problem into the open, Mills announced he would show a film about drug abuse to local schools students. Dr. Eva Moses of Indora, India, spoke about the many changes that have taken place in central India since the first missionaries went there over 100 years ago, when she addressed delegates o the 1 1 th Huron Centre Regional United Church Women's Convention in Brucefield. Oct. 15, 1986 Fed up with the perceived inadequacies of the Canada-Ontario Crop Insurance program, John Van Beers of Blyth prepared a resolution seeking input from Huron County farmers on ways in which the program might be improved. An unknown driver paid an unexpected visit to Queen's Villa apartment building in Blyth, leaving plenty of signs of his passing, but no identification. Huron OPP reported that a vehicle left Hwy. 4, cut across the building's front lawn, doing $300 worth of damage to a Huron County road sign, a chain link fence, the lawn 'and two trees. Ontario's PC party leader Larry Grossman was the guest speaker at the first PC event for the newly- created provincial riding of Huron at a fundraising dinner at the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre. Prices were strong at the annual 4-H Thanksgiving show and sale at the Brussels Stockyards with the top calf selling for $1.33 per pound. Taken over the 60 animals shown by the Huron and Bruce Beef Club members, the average prices was $106.60 and the average weight of 1,121 pounds. A four-span $1,888,400 bridge was to be built across the Maitland River, south of Auburn about 1.5 km downstream from the existing 101- year-old bridge. Grey Central Public School girls team won the the championship of the North Huron soccer tournament in Ethel. Paul Klopp the new president of the Huron County Federation of Agriculture pinned the past president pin on Doug Garniss of Wingham, who retired at the Federation's annual meeting which was held in Brussels. Tony and Fran McQuail accepted the Huron County Federation of Agriculture award for ' service to agriculture from Doug Garniss. Oct. 19, 1994 Amanda Wraith and Becky Archambault, dug in up to their elbows to create their jack-o-lantern at Auburn's Pumpkinfest. The fest also featured a weigh-in for both large and small pumpkins, pumpkin baking and novelty displays. The round of public meetings was concluded and Union Gas had compiled the information gathered to draft a final report regarding the construction of a gas line through North Huron. The Majestic WI celebrated its 55th anniversary. Oct. 20, 1999 Senior OPP Const. Don Shropshall visited schools to instruct school bus riders on escape plans and provide training on how to assist each other in a time of emergency. There was a celebration at Blyth Royal Canadian Legion when they officially opened the newly- renovated lounge. The Brussels Beavers hit the streets selling well-polished apples. EDITORIAL POLICIES