Wednesday, January 10, 2001
There's no nice way to put it: Lisette Doucet was run down by a snowmobile while she walked across Frame Lake.
Even though the driver of that snow machine probably didn't intend to hit her, it is likely that whoever was at the controls was going too fast. Had that machine been going the required 30 km/h, we expect the driver would have seen Doucet and her friend in time to avoid them.
Instead, Lisette was sent flying and now she rests at home recovering from injuries that are, thankfully, minor.
The snowmobile driver must come forward and take responsibility for his actions. And others who are tempted to gun the throttle while crossing a seemingly empty lake should think twice and then decide to follow the law.
Keep the hot-rodding for the Barren Lands.
It's likely that someone is telling Sirius Diamonds "we told you so."
After a year of economizing by sending its cut and polished gems south by air cargo, the company "lost" a package.
RCMP insist that they are investigating a "missing" package and not a theft. Whatever. The diamonds vanished a month ago en route to Vancouver. Sirius doesn't expect to see them again and has changed carriers to protect future shipments.
It's safe to assume that the wayward diamonds have also changed hands and are now the property of those who know how to remove the distinctive polar bear logo.
No doubt they're happy that Sirius ignored police warnings about criminal interest in their diamonds.
Health Canada wants you to butt out, and its latest campaign delivers the strongest message yet in the battle against tobacco.
Cigarette packs now feature a piece of real-life art: oral cancer, black lungs, a wilted cigarette that symbolizes impotence. These are some of several health-related illnesses you may endure if you keep smoking. We already know smoking-related illness costs taxpayers millions annually and that young people are still lighting up. These images will no doubt have more effect than words. If you don't think so, here's what one 18-year-old Yellowknife smoker said after seeing the new, graphic packaging.
"It looks pretty rancid, but I think it's a good idea. I won't buy smokes with that on them."
This is one campaign that looks like it just might work.
The community owes the Yellowknife Senior's Society a 'great big thanks' for the recent contribution of Yellowknife Tales.
The 278-page book is a sequel to Susan Jackson's Yellowknife: An Illustrated history.
It was published to help mark the Year of the Older Persons and the Millennium.
Through months of hard work, the senior's society gathered and edited these tales to create a colourful collection of stories that capture the people who helped turn Yellowknife from a 1930s tent camp to a modern city.
More than a veritable 'Who's Who' of Yellowknife, this book will serve as a valuable resource book for young and old for years to come.
Congratulations to all who contributed for a job well done.
It seems the energy coming from the hamlet of Repulse Bay and the Department of Public Works would be better served aimed at the task at hand, rather than at each other.
Regardless of whether problems at the Repulse fire station were caused by a design flaw -- the station's overhead door points North, directly into Repulse's prevailing wind, shoddy workmanship during its expansion or poor daily maintenance -- the fact is a problem exists that could put people's lives at risk.
Strangely enough, we get the impression the risk of personal injury or loss of property is taking a back seat to concerns surrounding a fire truck that may or may not be approved next month by the legislative assembly.
Technically, DPW's responsibility for the Repulse fire station ended with the signing over of maintenance responsibilities to the hamlet.
The problems with the building now fall under the Department of Community Government and Transportation's umbrella.
Surely DPW and the hamlet can put aside their differences of opinion and work with CG&T to solve the problem.
We agree that a $250,000 asset has to be properly protected.
However, this problem resurfaced when the fire department could not respond to an alarm.
Although a contingency plan is in place using the hamlet's water truck, that would, at best, save surrounding dwellings in the event of a major fire -- maybe!
The issue here is not who's right or wrong, nor who's responsible for the problem at the fire station.
The issue is not even about protecting a new truck the hamlet may get this summer.
The issue is that lives are at risk when a fire truck cannot respond to an alarm.
It's time for both parties to point their fingers at the problem, instead of each other. If they don't, someone may pay for their vanity with their life.
The hamlet and DPW need to lay down their swords and put on their thinking caps.