Friday, February 23, 2001
Last week's sentencing of Maria Semmler has raised important questions surrounding the issue of intermittent sentencing in the North.
After pleading guilty to sending 15 grams of marijuana via ExpressPost to a sick friend in Fort Good Hope, Semmler walked out of the courtroom with a $1,000 fine.
| Clarification
The news brief "Ward swapping" in Wenesday's Yellowknifer said Stanton Regional hospital officials might partially close the pediatric in order to re-open the surgical ward. The suggested closure is only one of several possibilities. It is also an option Health Minister Jane Groenewegen mentioned in the Legislature last week.
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The only problem is the women's prison is in Fort Smith. She would have to serve her time at the Yellowknife RCMP detachment.
Unfortunately it's not suited to house female prisoners: shower facilities are limited and the cells are often jammed with drunks.
Even the RCMP seems to agree. Superintendent Terry Elliot confirmed to Yellowknifer that police do not like the idea of female prisoners serving sentences at the detachment.
Had Semmler been a male, Bruser could have sent the person to serve at YCC.
Does this mean that women are getting off easier by default? Even the new jail won't provide a solution.
According to the department of justice, the soon-to-be built North Slave Correctional Centre will not offer accommodations for women. There may be a ray of hope. Deputy ministers of justice across the country have been told to review intermittent sentencing and the difficulties that result in smaller centres where facilities are limited. Until then, unless the government is willing to spend the money to improve cells at police detachments, they'll have to be content with stiff fines.
Crime doesn't pay in Judge Brian Bruser's court.
Last week, the judge dispensed the toughest sentences yet -- from nine months to four years -- to five men charged in last November's Operation Guiness.
While the punishment levelled against those convicted is crucial, the ramifications of each sentence is far-reaching.
The judge is telling others facing charges that they could be looking at hard time. He's telling anyone thinking of or currently dealing drugs that, if caught, they could spend years behind bars. And he's telling police that their long and expensive investigation was not in vain.
All we can say is keep it coming, judge!
The $1,800 raised at the Gallery's Valentine's Day Bachelor Auction will go a lot further than the hoots, hollers, laughs and love it bought on Feb. 14.
Staffers at the downtown bar organized the event in the name of their charity of choice -- the Make A Wish Foundation.
The foundation is dedicated to making dreams come true for kids and teenagers between two-and-a-half and 18-years-old who have been diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses.
So while folks at the Gallery got their kicks watching men showboat on stage, the money they waved around will buy electronic games, toys, trips to amusement parks and professional sporting events -- bringing smiles, hoots and hollers to little faces that are too often grim and serious.
Editorial Comment
Malcolm Gorrill
Inuvik Drum
Congratulations are due to the Samuel Hearne Wolverines.
Over the weekend they captured the 14-and-under girls banner at the NWT Senior Cager basketball tournament in Hay River.
Monday afternoon the Wolverines were proudly on hand during a school assembly as their banner was hoisted high up a wall in the gym.
The triumph is all the more special because it's the first territorial team banner for the school since 1998.
I wasn't able to be there when the banner took its proper position, but I did catch up with the girls Monday at noon. They were still excited by their victory but, at the same time, they seemed quite worn out from their tournament.
Many sported assorted bumps and bruises acquired during their quest.
Coach Geoff Buerger couldn't praise his team enough, and said another team effort on behalf of parents and others within the community was key to their victory.
His comments highlight an important aspect of sports, in that a lot of the work is done prior to the start of the match.
Whether it be driving kids to yet another practice or tournament, or hosting dinners or other events to raise funds, many people can lend a helping hand for athletes.
What's also significant is that Buerger said his players acted like true ambassadors for the community. A positive attitude is supposed to be what sports is all about.
Most students may consider school a drag, at least some of the time, but later in life they will look back and treasure the good times they had during what in many ways is a magical time, when almost anything seems possible.
This week the Wolverines girls basketball team members added a special memory for themselves, and their schoolmates, to cherish for years to come.
Tackling bullies
Of course, not everything about school days is positive. Bullies can spoil the day for many a student. But steps are being taken to combat the problem here.
A Bully Prevention Workshop was held over the weekend. Part of its focus was to help local officials implement anti-bullying programs in both schools.
Students will deliver the programs, and organizers are right to conclude that young people might be more prone to pay attention when one of their own is involved in something like this.
For too long, society has just accepted the fact that bullies can be found most anywhere, and that not much can be done about it.
Activities like this workshop are designed to make people realize that the issue can not and should not be ignored, and that -- more importantly -- people can make a real difference if they try to solve the problem.
Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum, Fort Simpson
Bompas school's initiative to address bullying is definitely needed.
Bullying exists in all schools, to greater and lesser extents. It can be extremely serious, sometimes tragic. A number of bullying incidents resulting in suicide have been featured in the news over the past year.
Quite often children say or do the most touching things. But who knows what possesses children to torment other children? Sometimes it stems from their home environment, sometimes not.
My parents never terrorized me, yet I sure made life hell for my younger sister at times. At school, I was occasionally targeted by bullies, but I picked on other kids too.
As an adult, I can't really justify that behaviour. I'm certainly not proud of it.
However, I now have a greater capacity to empathize with others. I try very hard to put myself in "someone else's shoes," trying to imagine how he or she feels. Younger children often lack that ability, but they will gradually develop it. Therefore an explanation should accompany any command to stop exhibiting harmful behaviours.
When we're young, we need adults, particularly parents, to reinforce what is right and wrong, acceptable and unacceptable. Until children cultivate the values and judgment required to truly understand the consequences of their actions, parents and teachers have to be children's guides.
It's also good to see that encouraging and rewarding positive behaviours at Bompas school are being treated as important as putting a halt to negative ones.
Healthy living
There have been a number of recreational sports tournaments in the Deh Cho over the past month and a few more to come over the next few weeks.
While taking in some of the action at the NWT Senior Men's Hockey Championships in Fort Simpson over the weekend, one of the officials (who wasn't working the game) told me he thought the arena was kept remarkably clean and the tournament itself was very well organized. He said the same was true of the
Kingland Open hockey tournament in Fort Providence last week.
Sometimes we overlook how meaningful recreational activities can be in our lives. Thankfully, we have hard-working staff members, teachers and numerous volunteers who pull together to make events like hockey tournaments, ski meets, badminton tournaments and soccer tournaments unqualified successes.
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
Kivalliq News would like to add our voice to those commending the work of volunteers this week, especially with the Girl Guides of Canada organization.
Keewatin Area Commissioner, Carla Kolysher, is bang on when she says Guiding leaders play an important role in the community.
These women give their time to provide positive activities for our community's young girls and are positive role models for these girls to look up to.
In helping to mould the characters of today's youth, they are helping to shape the leaders of tomorrow and for that they are to be commended.
Time for action
It is good to hear the Rankin Inlet Housing Association (RIHA) is getting tough with those tenants in serious arrears with their rent.
In all fairness, however, the RIHA must absorb some of the blame for today's outstanding rental accounts due to its past history of slow action and looking the other way while arrears accumulated.
Any business is acting irresponsibly when it allows clients to fall more than $10,000 in arrears.
However, that being said, the change in the RIHA's attitude is a welcome one.
Much has been said during the past two years on the severe housing shortage in our region.
It is extremely frustrating for those on a public housing waiting list, who are willing to pull their weight, to go without while they know rental arrears are piling up in a number of households.
While there are those who view the public housing rental scale as unfair, the fact of the matter is, when one looks seriously at the cost of running a household in the Kivalliq, public housing is still a good deal.
And, no matter where you live, your rent or mortgage has to be paid or the ugly word of eviction will not be far behind.
Take a bow
A big thumbs up this week to the large number of volunteers who worked so hard to make the Polar Bear Plate junior C hockey tournament a reality.
Two thumbs up to Hockey North president Jim Ramsay who probably wouldn't want to know how many hours he spent bringing the tourney together.
And, while Ramsay may have a few more grey hairs these days, he should take great pride in knowing he beat the odds to bring a truly remarkable event to Rankin, which benefitted so many of our region and territory's youth.
Take a bow Mr. Ramsay, you deserve it.