If you were simply known as 'buddy down at the store,' it might not worry you too much. But you can guarantee one thing: there's not much personal pride in being known so blandly.

So it is with our buildings.

We put names on them to jazz them up, to give us a sense of ourselves.

Would you rather have people know you live in the 'Ritz-Carlton Apartments,' or in that 'crumbling crack house' down the road?

As Yellowknifers, we have to look at naming significant buildings as a way to make them stand out from the boring, the indifferent, or the just plain ugly.

Well, maybe. There are names for buildings that say something of who lives or lived in a community; and then there are names that say nothing about a town except that they're greedy.

That's why Edmonton has The SkyReach Centre. That's why Toronto has Air Canada Centre. That's why Vancouver has GM Place.

Yellowknifers don't want to be in the same godless greed hole as these cities.

That's why, according to our Name the Arena contest, people overwhelmingly voted to give Yellowknife's new arena/gym/sports facility a real person's name.

Only one in 10 said the city should sell the name to the highest bidder.

City hall: take note.

Selling the name to a corporation might speed along completion of the second pad of ice but we think this city can get that job done soon enough without selling part of its soul, too.

After two weeks of our contest, the people chose Shorty Brown as most deserving to have an arena named after him.

An excellent choice among many excellent (and some well-argued) choices.

Shorty Brown is known as the guy who gets kids free skates.

Since coming to Yellowknife in 1950 to wow citizens with his hockey skills, Shorty Brown's crusade to provide disadvantaged kids with free ice skates has scored thousands of times over.

Indeed, the tally is now up to 10,000 kids in communities across the North who've been able to lace up a pair of skates to play Canada's game.

Among the many worthy people who could have their names attached to the new arena complex, Shorty's stature stands tallest.

Hey city hall: The people have spoken.

Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News

It has been interesting to watch reports of those who are protesting the U.S.A.-led invasion of Iraq.

The fact of the matter is, more than 70 per cent of American citizens support President Bush's decision to "liberate" the people of Iraq from Saddam Hussein's regime.

Moreover, more than 60 per cent of the world supports the forceful removal of Saddam from power.

Yet, the protesters get the majority of the publicity.

Of all I've heard on the subject, the most thought provoking message came from a family in Ontario that has taken down the Canadian flag from the front of their home.

They are embarrassed over the fact Canada is not part of the "liberation" force.

The family raises some valid points.

What a wonderful day for a peace rally -- gather by the Inukshuk, do a few chants, sing songs of freedom and make a few speeches about our war mongering, power mad neighbour to the South.

Then it's off for a little shopping at the Northern, maybe stop for a coffee in a local establishment and go home with a self-content feeling that you did your part against the atrocity of war.

A real feel good about yourself type of day.

But let's echo the question; where were these protesters when thousands of Iraqi citizens were being gassed by their own government?

War, we take it, is more of an atrocity than genocide?

Imagine, waking up tomorrow to find the mayor of Rankin Inlet has decreed all residents with bloodlines traced back to Coral Harbour or Baker Lake are to be deemed second-class citizens.

Or, worse yet, decreed as a drain on the Rankin economy and deemed expendable.

Imagine waking up next week to find Premier Paul Okalik has adopted the philosophies of Friedrich Nietzsche in attempting to lay the foundation to a perfect society in Nunavut.

From this day forward, the family name you're born with will dictate what position in society you are allowed to hold.

There can be no place in the world for dictators or regimes who put into practice such philosophies.

And, sing and chant idyllic notions all you want, you cannot reason with a man like Saddam Hussein.

No, George Bush is no Gandhi, but the Iraqi regime is no British government either.

If it were, Gandhi would, in all probability, be a tragic figure in the annals of history, responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of his followers.

The songs of peace will only be heard in the hearts of the Iraqi population when Hussein is removed.

Editorial Comment
Terry Halifax
Inuvik Drum

Dawson City will host the 2005 World Championship Dog Sledding Championships, due in large part to the work of their mayor and their MLA.

The championships will bring an estimated $10 million into the town of 2,200 and that's a lot of kibble for a town that needs all it can get right now.

Inuvik and the NWT could do a lot more for the sport of dog sledding than they do.

Outside of bingo, dog mushing is the only professional sport we have in the North and I really think it deserves more play than it gets.

The Delta dog mushing season is just beginning, as winter sets on the west and most mushers would love to come North if they could earn some real money in a world-class race.

Our cold weather could extend the season another month for mushers who otherwise head home after the Percy and with some big prize money waiting at the end of the road, most would be happy to point their rigs North.

The mushers, the town and the territory should get together with some big sponsors and see what they can do to bring some of that mushing money into the Delta.

It's nice to have the oil and gas money coming into town, but as Dawson is now realizing, what happens when the gold rush ends?

Silent smokers

I was quite surprised at the turnout at last Thursday's meeting concerning the smoking bylaw.

Outside of town representatives there were 11 people there and they were all in favour of butting out in public buildings.

I was fully prepared for a vociferous crowd of raspy-throated smokers shouting down the bylaw, but not even a cough came from the smoker's lobby.

As with anything else, people don't seem too motivated to say or do anything until after the fact.

Once the ashtrays are yanked off the tables we'll hear the complaints, I'm sure.

Home-grown heroes

The students at last week's career fair got their eyes and ears full of what can happen with a little luck and a lot of effort.

Cecil Hansen and Sharon Firth are great examples of how great you can be, even though you come from a small town.

It's tough for teenagers to say, "I'm gonna be this or that," but it sure helps having positive role models come home to show the possibilities are there. The possibilities are here and opportunity abounds for any Delta youth willing to apply themselves.

The jobs in this next boom are just the tip of the iceberg for our next generation. There is so much more available with grants and scholarships that any student from here could easily return with a diploma from any school in the world.

But it's as the mayor said, keep those doors open kids, because there is not much call in the real world for Grade 9 graduates.

Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum

A familiar refrain in the Deh Cho is that there aren't enough job opportunities.

It's something commonly heard in Fort Providence. Not surprisingly, the adult education class offered there by Aurora College is always full and usually there's a lengthy waiting list.

In Fort Simpson the complaint of too few jobs is repeated now and again. Yet registration for adult education at Aurora College has been inconsistent over the past few years.

Fort Liard offers a different set of circumstances. It's the one community with more than enough jobs to go around. Consequently, there isn't a great deal of demand for Aurora College's adult basic education program.

So what's the problem? Isn't full employment, or as close as one community will likely ever get, the ultimate aim?

Well, sort of.

Let's first acknowledge that some people are completely satisfied being labourers. There isn't anything dishonourable about the job, and the wages are decent. The only problem is that the jobs are often seasonal. Although that's not a real problem for those who earn enough to collect employment insurance and are happy doing so.

For the others, particularly those in their late teens or early 20s, they settle into a labourer position because it's all they see in front of them. Their potential remains untapped. Some of them possess the aptitude to become highly paid tradespersons, as technicians or as part of management, not to mention teachers, nurses, biologists, finance officers or any other profession. In order to make that a reality they must forsake the readily available labour wages. They must commit to a year or two of upgrading their education and then apply themselves to a college, university or an apprenticeship for another few years. It's a substantial sacrifice but it's one that pays off in the long run.

The question is one of motivation. As a side note, Joanne Deneron mentioned that in Fort Liard, before the advent of oil and gas, Aurora College used to be all the rage. However, the criticism at that time was that too many students were spending too many years in the program, essentially biding their time until a job became available. That kept others from getting into the adult education program.

It's sort of a catch-22.

Go with the flow

Although Deh Cho First Nations leaders apparently do not feel the approach or the timing is right for hydro projects, let's hope they do not dismiss outright any potential such projects might have. If large-scale hydro projects carry too great a risk of flooding sacred areas, then small-scale, hydro-driven turbines may present a viable alternative. However, there remains a question of whether small-scale projects would be cost effective. Surely if there's a will, there's a way. Even without big cost savings, hydro would be a welcome relief from the carbon-emitting, diesel-powered plants that currently provide energy to Deh Cho communities.