Loading...
The Citizen, 2006-03-16, Page 4Publisher, Keith Roulston Editor, Bonnie Gropp Advertising, Ken Warwick 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 S30.00/year ($28.04 + $1.96 G.S.T.) In Canada; $90.00/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. PUBUCATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 40050141 PAP REGISTRATION NO. 09244 RETURN UNDEUVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO . CIRCULATION DEPT. PO BOX 152 BRUSSELS ON NOG 1H0 email: norhuron@scslnternet.com The Citizen • P.O. Box 429, P.O. Box 152, BLYTH, Ont. BRUSSELS, Ont. NOM 1HO NOG 1H0 Phone 523-4792 Phone 887-9114 FAX 523-9140 FAX 887-9021 E-mail norhuronGscsinternet.com Website www.northhuron.on.ca Canacrg. Aocna C .CNA 4.„e We acknowledge the financial support of Member of the Ontario Press Council IMO= the Government of Canada through the Publications Assistance Program (PAP) We are not responsible for unsolicited newsscripts or toward our mailing costs. photographs. Contents of The Citizen are Copyright -;j1E;11111F11"-lli7117 roman CROSSIM Looking Back Through the Years March 19, 1959 A warm welcome back was received by an important man after a- long trip overseas. Then British prime minister, Frank Macmillan, arrived home to a large crowd at the London Airport after returning from a 10-day visit to the Soviet Union. A strange photo was featured of a man sitting in an odd contraption with propellers on the top. The man's name was Al Wilson, and this contraption was designed to fly. Although, it wasn't confirmed that the machine could fly, it was constructed from several different parts, including a 72-horsepower engine. The machine, in total, weighed 225 pounds. Greek Orthodox Archbishop Makarios, leader of Cyprus' 400,000 Greek Cypriots was slated to become the first president of Cyprus, a country that had long fought for independence, and was receiving the well-deserved prize. March 16, 1960 An open house was held at Blyth Public School for all parents of current and future students. The classrooms were open to all who attended and the students' work was out on display. Then, at 8 pm, the parents were treated to a concert, led by musical supervisor Mrs. William King. Pupils from all ages and grades performed various instruments and pieces. The prize for most parents present at the open house went to the Grade 5-6 class of Mrs. Hall. A new tactic was being used by a dog pound in Wheeling, West Virginia. William Custer, the dog warden, was using a live lion cub to hopefully scare off vandals who had recently been abusing his pound, by wrecking equipment and actually setting free some of the dogs. March 17, 1981 The village of Brussels received the delivery of a brand new fire engine. The truck was a red, 1981 Ford pumper-tanker and came nearly two weeks earlier than planned. The truck was to replace a 1953 pumper that was being used by the brigade. The approximate cost of the truck was $52 000, $30 000 of which was hoped to be supplied by private donations. The vehicle was tested out at the local farm of Hugh Pearson, and the firefighters seemed pleased with its performance. March 18, 1987 Local figure skaters Kerrie Sheppard of Blyth and Peter MacDonald of Brussels were to skate at the Ontario Winter Games in London. The novice dance champions were to skate their compulsory and variation dances at the competition. The pair also competed at the Canadian National Finals in Ottawa, and thrilled many hometown fans by appearing at the Blyth Figure Skating Club's achievement night performance. A special birth happened at the Toll Clydesdale Farms at RR3 Blyth. A purebred Clydesdale colt was born at the farm, although still unnamed at the time. The colt's parents were Collessie Fiona and Dourou Marquari, both originally imported from Scotland. The colt and its mother belonged to Avon Cornell of Holmesville, youngest daughter of Marie and Aubrey Toll. The new musical to be performed at the Blyth Memorial Hall was the rollicking country musical, Pump Boys and Dinettes. March 14, 1990 Several Blyth firefighters were clouded by smoke as they tried to control a chimney fire that started at a residence on Lot 34, Conc. 12 in McKillop Twp. near Walton. A family was residing in the house, which had been deemed unliveable due to extensive damage to the roof and attic, as well as destructive water damage to the second storey. The damage was estimated at at least $25,000. Against fire chief Paul Josling's advice, the man was still living inside his damaged home. "He doesn't want to leave his home" said his daughter-in-law. The rest of his family was then residing at relatives' homes. A devoted man who had spent 32 years of his life delivering the mail on a rural mail route, would retire for good. Harvey Garniss officially sorted through the mail for the last time as he retired from his "beloved" job. A young skater, Tammy Vincent, was presented with a very prestigious award. She received the plaque for most improved figure- skater at the Blyth Figure Skating Club's Achievement Night. The Province of Ontario, through the Ontario Arts Council, awarded a grant of $45,000 to the Huron County Playhouse in Grand Bend. The grant was increased from $43,000 in order to fund plans for programming for the Playhouse II. Lila McClinchey was the lucky winner of a gift certificate of $100 worth of gas after winning a draw. Playing at the Park Theatre in Goderich was Joe Verses the Volcano, starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Playing at the Lyceum Theatre in Wingham was a film that was nominated for 8 Academy Awards. Born On The Fourth Of July was "a true story of innocence lost and courage found". PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 2006. Editorials Opinions The meaning of a word From lawyers to "cityslickers", there has always been a distrust among ordinary people of those who can manipulate words to change white into black. The power of words may be in evidence these days in how simply changing the term "municipality" to "city" has altered the dynamic of provincial relationships with local governments. For more than a century the relationship of the province has been with municipalities, representing all locally-elected governments. But in the last couple of years Toronto politicians, led by mayor David Miller, aided by powerful Toronto media, have managed to get the idea accepted that all municipalities are not the same. In the Toronto media the relationship is not between the province and mi,nicipalities, but between the province and cities. This takes for granted that cities have different needs than municipalities and must have a different deal with the province. Toronto even pulled out of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario because it did not want to be treated like other municipalities. The result of this clever change of terms is hitting you, as a rural taxpayer, in your pocketbook. When the provincial and federal governments promised more money for municipalities from the gas tax it was originally proposed every municipality should get a share based on a per-capita basis. Toronto cried foul. Toronto needed a greater share because it needs funding for it mass transit system that municipalities don't have, Miller said. The Toronto media accepted without question the concept that people who drive cars should pay taxes to keep the costs down for people who don't drive cars. As a rural resident, you probably drive more miles than a city resident so probably contribute more gas tax. You don't have the alternative of using public transit because we have none. Because we don't, Toronto argues we don't need as much money from the gas tax, even though we must maintain more miles of road with the support of fewer taxpayers. It's unclear just how the money is going to be divided up now that Premier Dalton McGuinty has pledged money to bring provincial funding of ambulances back up to the 50 per cent level, but Huron County politicians are worried. Will the county get its real share, bringing in $1 million in provincial money, or will the cities vs. municipalities definition take hold again, leaving the county with a fraction of what it should be getting? The jury is still out, but the growing fear is that the cityslickers have once again managed to manipulate the language and cheat country residents out of their tax dollars. — KR The two sides of strength In less than two months, Stephen Harper has shown more decisiveness as prime minister than Paul Martin did in two years. Whether this is.a good thing or a bad depends on how his strength of resolve plays out. From Pierre Trudeau to Mike Harris, there's a certain admiration among voters toward politicians who don't always seem to be watching the latest opinion polls. As finance minister, Martin won admiration for being strong, but he squandered that reputation as prime minister by never seeming to be able to make up his mind. Harper, despite being in a precarious minority government, showed an early willingness to govern as if he had a massive majority. He wasn't worried about public reaction to David Emerson's crossing the floor from the Liberals to a Conservative cabinet seat. He wasn't afraid to tell the ethics commissioner to take a hike. This week he also demonstrated resolve by travelling to Afghanistan to support Canadian troops, declaring Canada won't "cut and run" no matter what the opinion polls say. But the line between strong leadership and arrogance is fine. Both Trudeau and Harris went from being admired for strength to being hated for arrogance. Ignoring public opinion, as Harper did in the Emerson affair can easily be interpreted as arrogance. How will the strength vs. arrogance balance play out with Harper? Stay tuned. KR Letters Policy The Citizen welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must be signed and should include a daytime telephone number for the purpose of verification only. Letters that are not signed will not be printed. Submissions may be edited for length, clarity and content, using fair comment as our guideline. The Citizen reserves the right to refuse any letter on the basis of unfair bias, prejudice or inaccurate information. As well, letters can only be printed as space allows, Please keep your letters brief and concise.