Any fear that Gord Van Tighem's acclamation for a second term as mayor would lead to a lacklustre and apathetic campaign has largely been assuaged by the hotly-contested race for council seats, with five of the eight incumbents seeking re-election, along with 12 newcomers.

The message here is that while Van Tighem remains personally popular, there are issues people feel passionately enough about to run for office.

Clearly, there is some unfinished business that will be left over from the present council for their successors to deal with.

After 17 years of studies, planning and consultation, waterfront redevelopment in Yellowknife is still largely in limbo. The squabble with squatters fighting to preserve their private docks at the expense of a public boardwalk along the Back Bay waterfront is a small but useful illustration of how council got bogged down in obsessing on small snapshots rather than seeing the big picture.

Yellowknife's waterfront, as we have said before, is a diamond in the rough and a public treasure that should be redeveloped for all of its citizens, not frozen in time by a few vested interests.

All of this will be for the next council to tackle again.

There are other issues. Public drunkenness, the over abundant serving and over consumption of alcohol and flagrant drug dealing and using are all problems plaguing downtown particularly, although not exclusively, on 50th Street, between Franklin Avenue and 52nd Avenue.

Cleaning up 50th Street is not exclusively a city council problem, but that is where the leadership must come from to begin tackling the problem.

This year's group of council candidates can loosely be divided into two contingents: pro-development and pro-green environmentalists, although the greens would stress they're not anti-development, but rather in favour of planned, responsible development.

Think about what kind of Yellowknife you want to live in and on Oct. 20 get out and vote for the candidates of your choice.

The old adage that you forfeit your right to complain about the electoral outcome if you don't vote remains true.

The power of the people in a democracy is the power of the ballot box.

Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News

Anyone with the slightest bit of insight into the personality of Jordin Tootoo was not surprised by his decision to dedicate his first NHL game to his brother, Terence.

Before his death, Terence was one of Jordin's biggest fans, and the two siblings spent as much time together as possible.

Jordin and Terence enjoyed almost hero status during their time together with the OCN Blizzard in The Pas, Man., where 'Keep your hands off our Tootoos,' was the fans' rallying cry.

The dedication to his brother is the latest example of why Jordin is cementing his reputation as an all-around class act.

Jordin is the subject of a poster campaign launched by the Nunavut government aimed at encouraging Nunavut youth to stay in school and follow their dreams.

The amount of time he has dedicated to visiting Nunavut schools during the past few years has been impressive, to say the least.

For all the glory that can accompany it, the life of a professional hockey player is a difficult one.

Time off to spend with friends and family, and simply to relax after a gruelling schedule, is closely guarded by many professional athletes.

Jordin is among the select few who take the time to live up to what they, themselves, see as an obligation to the youth of their respective areas.

Feel good story

Al Muir of the sports-collectibles magazine, the Beckett Hockey Collector, hit the nail right on the head when he said Jordin is that rare breed of professional athlete who fans feel good about idolizing.

The press coverage he has received as a fourth round NHL draft pick is unprecedented.

The elements of his story drive sports journalists into a feeding frenzy.

His coming from a small Arctic hamlet in Nunavut, entering minor hockey on natural and outdoor ice, leaving home to pursue his career, defying all odds in realizing his dream to become the first Inuk to play in the NHL, and overcoming personal tragedy combine to produce one of the true feel-good stories of the year.

Jordin's willingness to embrace his role-model status and do what he can to help young Inuit develop the self-confidence to follow their own goals and dreams is but the icing on the cake to this remarkable story.

He is, truly, an ambassador we here in Nunavut can all be proud of.

And, as remarked on by former NHLer and current TV analyst for Nashville Predators games, Terry Crisp, during the broadcast of Jordin's first NHL game -- someday a movie is going to be made about this young man's life.

We can't help but wonder who Jordin would pick to play himself.

Whomever it is, he'll have big skates to fill.

Editorial Comment
Terry Halifax
Inuvik Drum

I have never had such a response to anything I've written as with the bit headlined "These kids are brats" (Inuvik Drum Sept. 11).

A month later and I'm still having people stop me to comment on that and the letters from Ms. Young's class certainly underlined that a nerve was struck.

Reading those letters got me thinking about my school days, the way I felt about the world and just how I spent a lot of my free time.

The words these kids used took me back to those angst-ridden days when we all thought the world didn't care that we were bored.

I was no angel growing up -- my parents will attest to that -- but I wasn't going around ripping down basketball hoops either and I'd like to believe I always said, "please and thank you."

We didn't have a youth centre in my hometown and my friends and I wasted a lot of time playing crib and drinking coffee, until they kicked us out of the only coffee shop in town.

We wiled away hours standing on street corners stomping our frozen boots together, telling jokes and singing four, five and six-part harmony.

Yes, my friends and I wasted a lot of time and perpetually complained that there was nothing to do, but rather than tearing things down, I remember building things up.

Cabins in the bush and go carts to race down hills or getting greasy in a friend's garage, while we discovered the wonders of internal combustion.

Let them wear overalls

Two guys I knew smashed up some planters downtown one night and were swiftly brought to justice. The judge ordered them to about a million hours community service, to be performed right downtown.

That whole summer, we'd walk by the convicted delinquents Curtis and Jawbone and razz them while they painted the seemingly-endless yellow line around the downtown sidewalk.

Having their shame on public display for the rest of us sure brought the point home that vandalism is not a cool thing and I think it would be a great lesson for kids here.

Put a couple of these little brats to work downtown in bright orange coveralls and I guarantee you'll see the vandalism drop off to nil in this town.

I know there are more good kids than bad in this town and the majority should be working to make their world a better place rather than shrugging it off on police and parents.

There are scores of good parents with bad kids and lots of good kids with bad parents too, so I don't recognize parenting alone as an excuse for hooliganism or disrespect.

Young people are provided with all types of excuses to act up -- I know because I used them myself. "Peer pressure" was a great cure-all excuse, even when I was a kid.

Young people know the difference between right and wrong and there are no excuses for vandalism or even bad manners. Setting kids up with excuses is only setting them up for failure.

Excuses might get them through some minor scrapes in life, but they won't work in the real world; be it on the job or in front of the judge.

Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum

Leaders from small communities often claim that their little towns are at a disadvantage. They frequently struggle for recognition and a share of the pot when funding is doled out. Sometimes they don't have the financial or human resources to keep programs and services running optimally.

So why is it that some small communities insist on making matters worse by engaging in family feuds? Nahanni Butte has recently been embroiled in a skirmish for power based largely on familial lines (There may be other factors for the upheaval but they are only unsubstantiated allegations at this point).

It's happened before. Political strife exists among families in West Point as it did in Colville Lake two years ago.

It seems that the Dene principles of respect and sharing go out the window when it comes to governance in some tiny towns.

If residents can't set aside differences within their own community then how are they going to accomplish anything?

That said, Nahanni Butte's latest initiative to form a band council comprising appointed family delegates could prove effective, if enough residents buy into the concept. It would bring members of each clan to the table. By doing so, everyone's interests should be represented. There will still be disagreements, of course. Perhaps alliances will form among some families. But it's an experiment with historical foundations, an experiment that just might work again. It will be interesting to monitor the results in the months to come.

Flipping out

The BMX competition in Fort Simpson on Saturday was just what the doctor ordered for local youth. Fortunately the doctor wasn't called upon to mend any of the competitors, who pulled off some jaw-dropping, eye-popping stunts.

Yes, it can be a dangerous activity. There have been a few teens hobbling around town as a result of past BMX accidents. Others have sported casts on their arms. But the point is they are doing it anyway, usually in places that are not nearly as safe as the sand-covered arena floor.

Many kids today talk endlessly about the X games (X as in "extreme"), where BMX riders and skateboarders engage in amazing feats of bravado. Local teens had their own version of the X games in Fort Simpson on Saturday and they loved it.

Kudos to the parents who came out and watched, some of them undoubtedly with their hearts in their throats.

Fort Simpson also played host to a more conventional sporting event last week. The community welcomed participants in the NWT Cross-Country Running Championships for the first time. By many accounts it went very well, thanks in no small part to the volunteers.