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The Citizen, 2006-11-16, Page 4HOWDY, STEVE. YOUR OLE BUDDY GEORGE HERE. YOU KNOW THOSE SLOGANS WE DISCUSSED TO HELP WIN ELECTIONS FOR CONSERVATIVES ? YEAH, LIKE "TRUST US", "WE KEEP OUR PROMISES", "STAY THE COURSE" AND ALL THAT STUFF... WELL, THEY MAY NEED SOME TINKERING. PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2006. Editorials Opinions Publisher, Keith Roulston Editor, Bonnie Gropp Advertising, Ken Warwick & Kelly Quesenberry The Citizen 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 $32.00/year ($30.19 + $1.81 G.S.T.) in Canada; $92.00/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 PAP REGISTRATION NO. 09244 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO CIRCULATION DEPT. PO BOX 152 BRUSSELS ON NOG 1H0 email: norhuroninscsinternet.com We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Publications Assistance Program (PAP) toward our mailing costs. Canada We are not responsible for unsolicited newsscrlpts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are Copyright A9cna +1►CNA Member of the Ontario Press Council MEM= P.O. Box 429, P.O. Box 152, BLYTH, Ont. BRUSSELS, Ont. NOM 1H0 NOG IHO Phone 523-4792 Phone 887-9114 FAX 523-9140 FAX 887-9021 E-mail norhuron@scsinternet.com Website www.northhuron.on.ca Shrugging away rural Ontario Times are tough on the main streets of. rural Ontario. Merchants don't expect their government to make it harder to survive. But last week Blyth lost a valuable part of its main street, Blyth Apothecary, because, owners Dan and Donna Taylor say, government policy made it impossible to make any money while filling prescriptions for clients under government drug plans. A new government bill effectively means there is no dispensing fee or mark-up for these clients. The impact of this decision is bound to hurt small independent pharmacies across the province. The Taylors say their attempts to make the government understand the repercussions of their actions have fallen on deaf ears. This is hardly a surprise. Just ask Ontario's farmers who just don't seem to be able to get through to the government of Premier Dalton McGuinty about the seriousness of the need for a comprehensive risk management plan. With the government's lifting of the prohibition on closing of schools without its fixing of the flawed funding formula it seems certain more rural areas will be losing their schools, as well. Then there is the continuing discontent over municipal amalgamations where the government has promised to let areas de-amalgamate, but just doesn't listen when voters clearly express their desire to make it happen. Two years ago Natibnal Post columnist Lawrence Solomon reported that the Panel on the Role of Government had suggested that it was time to write off rural Ontario. Though it seemed hard to believe a provincial government would actually heed this advice, the McGuinity government's actions seem to indicate they have. It's frustrating that a government that has done so much to repair the political vandalism of the Mike Harris government, can get it so wrong with rural Ontario. So deaf is the government to the pain of areas outside the major urban centres that it doesn't even comprehend that its representation is likely to be wiped out in rural areas come next election. But from voters' standpoint, where do they turn? The Conservatives who gave us the disaster of forced municipal amalgamations which has increased costs and decreased the sense of people that they had some sense of control? The NDP which seems increasingly focussed on cities? The frustration for rural residents these days is that politically their needs don't seem to exist in the minds of the people who have the power to solve their situation. How do we get people to listen? -- KR The Stephen Harper government regularly. says it's time for Canada to take its rightful place in the world, but apparently that only means in military matters. When it comes to the environment, Canada is being branded as a slacker this week at a world-wide environmental conference in Nairobi. It's truly embarrassing for Canadians, who like to be seen as "good guys" to be branded as one of the "environmental bad guys" inter- nationally because of the government's rejection of the Kyoto Protocol. Being grownups on the world stage means taking all our responsibilities seriously. — KR Taking our rightful place OFA Commentary Looking Back Through the Years By Ron Bonnett, President, Ontario Federation of Agriculture Continued public investment in Ontario agriculture remains an important aspect of our industry's growth and development for the future.- The value of Ontario agriculture is recognized in the government's recent Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review showing 2005 sales of agricultural produce amounted to $8.2 billion. If that level of output is to continue, our agri-food sector will need to rely on the latest production technology, marketing techniques and program support. This can only happen with strategic investments in the industry. The Ontario Federation of Agriculture will emphasize this when it delivers agriculture's latest outline of expectations from the next provincial budget. That presentation is planned for Nov. 27. There are examples of emerging markets which could be harnessed to improve farm income. While energy is normally thought of as one our major input costs — fuel to operate equipment and heat for production and storage facilities, and the production of fertilizers and other- crop inputs. Agriculture has the potential of becoming a significant source of energy for the rest of society — electricity, ethanol and other bio-fuels. Because governments play an key role in developing and enforcing energy policy, agriculture needs the co-operation of government to allow it to realize the maximum benefits from the energy produced on the farm. Production and sale of bio-fuels has the potential to change the economic fundamentals for Ontario grain and oilseed farmers. In addition, electricity production from wind or bio-digester systems could provide competitive energy and a valuable new source of agricultural income. However Ontario farmers may not have the opportunity to realize full benefits from their energy potential. Our submission will speak to the need for competitive farm energy policies. Continued on page 6 Nov. 19, 1959 Nine-year-old actress Evelyn Rudie, most known for her TV role as EloiSe, was returning to her Hollywood home after she had supposedly run away weeks earlier. Even the actress herself admitted that the sole purpose of her run away was not a rebellion, but for publicity and a boost in popularity and press coverage. A large fence was put up in front of Buckingham Palace in London, England, to keep unruly spectators at a fair distance. Having to put up with a large amount of harassment daily, the fence was put up to protect the Royal guards from the spectators. Five San Francisco homes were evacuated after the coastal weather threatened the residents' well-being. The California houses were in direct firing line with the large landslides that had been taking place frequently. Nov. 19, 1969 The Wingham OPP were investigating a truck rollover occurring on Hwy. 86, near the Perth-Huron County Line. The transport truck was westbound when the steering arm broke and the truck went out of control, rolling onto its top in the ditch. There were no injuries, and no estimate had been made on damages. The OPP were also investigating a two-car collision taking place at the intersection of Conc. 7-8 and Sideroad 10-11 in Morris Twp. A Blyth man's car collided with a car driven by a Monkton man. The man's wife and five children were in the Blyth car. The family was taken to Wingham and District Hospital, where the wife and the nine-year-old son remained for further treatment of injuries. No charges were laid but investigation was continuing. Nov. 14, 1973- ' The Blyth Lions Club was to be-gin fundraising for their new project at the Blyth Lions Park. The Club was planning to put in a swimming pool at the park, but the estimated cost was as high as $44,000. This project was favoured over the plans for renovations to the entrance of the Blyth arena, with costs of up to $30,000. Many different community events were in the works in order to raise enough funds for such an improvement to the park. Nov. 18, 1987 Blyth village council was disappointed by a response from county council regarding an unreturned severance fee. Blyth council had mistakenly sent a $500 severance fee to the county offices, thinking that fee was a requirement. Later council discovered that municipalities were not required to pay such fees and immediately sent a letter to the offices, requesting the money be returned. After a long wait for a response of any kind, the council made a presentation to the county, but there was still no official response. At long last, a letter was received by Blyth council from the county. However, the response was not as expected, and left council with no new information as to why they were not being reimbursed. The county stated that if the cheque was attached to the appropriate form, the money would already have been deposited and would not be returned. "To me it is very unsatisfactory," Councillor Bill Manning said about the response. "It doesn't allude to any reason this decision was reached." Unimpressed by this response, Blyth council resolved to keep pushing the county until they were fully repaid, and to have an explanation as to why they were refused the first time. A project aimed at rejuvenating the Main Street of Seaforth was busy showing merchants of the street what their storefronts would look like if the modernized fronts had 'not been added in the 1930's. The project was aimed at restoring the classic Victorian architecture that had been covered by modem day add-ons. However, before these improvements could be made, the project also aimed to raise the recently low local economy. Nov. 14, 1990 A debate was heating up in Huron County about a proposed rise in speed limits. The opposition reminded the county council that the police patrollers did not often stop drivers going 88-90 km per hour in the 80 km zone, and so if limits were raised to 90 km per hour as proposed, drivers would be getting away with speeds of up to 100 km per hour. Those for the raise argued that people are going to go over the speed limit no matter what it was set at, noting that drivers were already being clocked at 120 km per hour monthly. The council was left to deliberate, but a decision was not expected until much further discussion and research was carried out. Auburn couple Tom and Eppie Lawrence celebrated their 50th anniversary with family and friends. Playing at the Park Theatre in Goderich was the classic romance flick Ghost, starring Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze. Also playing was one for the kids, An American Tail, a free matinee sponsored by the Goderich Recreation Department.