Good on city councillors and their commitment to stay on budget with their travel plans.

Our municipal leaders were originally presented with a budget of some $43,000 to attend various conferences and meetings this year. That number climbed to more than $52,000 after city administration began inquiring about air fare and other travel costs.

To their credit, councillors voted last week to stick to the original $43,000 number no matter what - even if it meant some would have to take a pass on attending the Canadian Federation of Municipalities meeting in Montreal this June, or any of the other conferences that could put them over budget.

As we said before, there doesn't seem to be any real need to have the mayor and four councillors in Montreal.

The dollar difference isn't that much in the great scheme of things - the city's budget this year is almost $43 million - but as Coun. Dave McCann said, it's important council lives within its means, just like taxpayers do.

People likely won't chase councillors down the street with pitchforks should they overspend on travel, but after two years of tax increases and another one on the way, it's the thought that counts. We imagine their promise to hold the line won't hurt them at the ballot box this fall either.

Hopefully, this display of fiscal prudence won't prove an exception.

We are as concerned as Yellowknife's fire department that some people are thinking that burning their trash is somehow a clever way to escape paying for garbage pickup.

The fire department is not happy because ignited garbage sends toxic gases into the air for all of us to breathe, but especially so for the garbage burner.

And sooner or later the stove's chimney will plug with toxic muck that may catch fire, adding more grief to the survivors of that fire - and the firefighters who have to deal with that hazard. On top of that, we are concerned that some people just don't get it: if you live in a city, garbage will pile up. If it's to be cleared away, someone has to pay for that service.

Why not take that next leap in thinking: use less, recycle more. Or pay for the potentially tragic consequences.

Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News

Only time will tell if the Rankin Inlet Minor Hockey Association (RIMHA) files an official complaint over its assertion that about $10,000 is missing from commissions it should have received from ticket sales at the lottery booth in the Northern store.

One thing is for sure, it should.

With the costs of running an efficient hockey program continuing to rise, and government coffers growing increasingly smaller for funding sports in our region, $10,000 is a lot of money.

But the problem runs deeper than that.

The amount of money gone unaccounted for from various committees and organizations in Rankin during the past few years has passed the alarming stage.

It's time for residents to speak up and demand those who handle money in the community be held accountable for where it goes.

In fact, it's rather ironic one of the issues raised at a public meeting in Rankin this past month was the question of where the hamlet spends the money it receives from bingo games.

Of course, the impetus for the query seemed to be bigger prizes during the Christmas Games and Hamlet Days celebrations.

Still, for the public to question the hamlet's integrity in allocating funds it raises, while turning a blind eye to the tens of thousands of dollars going missing from other organizations, defies description.

In the case of the RIMHA situation, every young player, parent, coach and volunteer who keep hockey going deserve an answer.

And, the Northern store deserves to know whether this money went missing or not.

The store deserves a great deal of credit for looking after the lottery booth during the past nine years.

Yes, there's no doubt having the booth there brings extra business to the store, but the Northern will survive quite nicely without the booth, thank you very much.

What is at stake, is the store's credibility and reputation.

It's fine for both Northern and Sport North Lotteries to say the onus is on the RIMHA to file an official complaint or, as far as they're concerned, there is no missing money.

But, let's be honest, even though competition in our hamlet is limited, shouldn't the store - viewed as the community's leading retailer - want to know if, indeed, money intended for young hockey players did go missing?

In fact, you would think Northern would take a lead role in solving the issue to lift the cloud of uncertainty in the public's mind.

There are many times retailers ask for our trust in believing they offer the best value they can, considering the cost of transportation involved.

This would seem like a golden opportunity for the store to earn a little of that trust by working in co-operation with the RIMHA to resolve this issue. If not, we can only hope the local minor hockey executive has the wherewithal to file that official complaint.

If not, it may be time for those who are continually asked to support both the store and the hockey program to raise an official complaint of their own.

Editorial Comment
Jason Unrau
Inuvik Drum

From the hours and hours of oral statements and questioning heard in Inuvik at the National Energy Board hearings this past week, one word in particular jumped out: footprint.

The term "footprint" refers to traces of human activity on the landscape, including everything from industrial development to that Christmas tree you chopped down for the holidays.

And to think that if humans could survive alone on one coniferous tree per year, what a wonderful world it would be. So clean and fresh.

Unfortunately, this is not the case and among many other things humans need to survive, fossil fuels remains top of the heap.

Attempting to see through the fog that descended on town Friday and lingered until late Saturday afternoon - caused by greenhouse gasses spewed into the air from oil heaters, idling automobiles and the town's power plant - made 30 minutes of NEB hearing exchanges between Environment Canada and Imperial about a three-hectare airstrip seem ridiculous.

As people continue to consume, garbage dumps expand and fossil fuels are necessary to keep things going.

It's a very simplistic way to examine what could be called a global footprint, however the point is that because of modern living - ie the need for electricity, quick transportation and other such futuristic trappings - our lives cannot help but leave a significant mark on the planet.

Next time you savour the taste of a fresh juicy tomato in the dead of winter, think about all of the fuel that was necessary to bring that orchard-grown or hot-house delight to your dinner table in Inuvik. The person who picked it perhaps rode in a tractor to the tomato vines at one end of the farm, maybe even drove him or herself to and from work.

Once the tomato was picked, it was loaded on to another truck to go to a wholesaler, who maybe sold a bunch to Inuvik's beloved Fruitman who trucked it several-thousand kilometres north, or maybe it arrived in a Northmart-bound truck.

And if the tomatoes ended up at Northmart, take into consideration the power needed to keep the lights and heat going so customers can see what they are buying without freezing. If the tomatoes came in plastic packaging, score another for big oil and their versatile petroleum products.

Sure it's easy to criticize oil companies for damaging and polluting the environment, but few if any have stopped buying their product because of it.

It's a fact that a gas pipeline through the valley will leave a significant footprint. However, the benefit of relying on cleaner burning natural gas for the region's power needs instead of diesel could be a positive outcome - for the environment and people's pocketbooks.

Having concerns about how increased development will impact the environment and making these concerns known is part of being a responsible citizen.

Taking a look at one's own footprint and ways to minimize it by idling the car less or turning out the lights when nobody's in the room is that responsible citizen actually making an impact.

Editorial Comment
Roxanna Thompson
Deh Cho Drum

There were some very difficult lessons to be learnt this week in Fort Simpson.

The first was the discovery of how fast a community can be torn apart. Starting on Tuesday, Jan. 24, the fabric of the community could be seen growing more frayed and threadbare daily.

It was an emotionally draining week for many people. Tables at the village council were well stocked with Kleenex boxes that received a lot of use. Reports suggest that negotiation meetings between the volunteer fire fighters and representatives from village council were equally emotional. Opinions that had been bottled up needed to find release.

A second lesson came in the form of realizing how far people will go to stick to a course of action they believe is right.

Surely all the main players involved in the situation made decisions based on exactly what they thought was proper. Others may have disagreed with them, but they remained true to their chosen path.

Admirable qualities were revealed by many people as they choose to work long hours and lose sleep while trying to find a solution to the disagreement.

This week also provided a wake-up call for many people about the importance of volunteers. Regardless of what service they provide, volunteers are an integral, but often under appreciated, part of the community.

Some volunteers toil behind the scenes while others remain invisible despite the fact that their actions are there for anyone to see.

If anything comes out of this dispute, it will be that volunteers cannot be taken for granted and should be thanked far more often.

It always seems that it's not until something is missing that people realize how important it was. The people of Fort Simpson were fortunate to have a strong volunteer firefighter department up to this point. Many communities in the North are not as lucky.

At this time, pointing fingers is useless. It might feel good to place blame, but it's not a constructive tactic for the situation the village has found itself in.

It's time to start picking up the pieces. At the end of the day what Fort Simpson is left with is a municipal administrator appointed by MACA and ongoing talks to reach some solution that will ensure a working volunteer fire department.

Viewing this as a clean slate is the only way that Fort Simpson can carry forward instead of becoming mired in events that have transpired.

It's a chance to learn from history. Whatever lessons can be gleaned should be carried forward and used to help resolve future problems.

The village is facing some tough times ahead. MACA has declared that the village's first priority is to hold elections.

Strong resolve will be needed to make decisions about the shape the future should take and how to rebuild.

In the Jan. 19 edition of the Deh Cho Drum the wrong times were given for the new yoga classes at the recreation centre in Fort Simpson. The classes run from 6-7:30 p.m. The Drum apologizes for any confusion this may have caused.

In Yellowknifer on Wednesday, Feb 1, a helmet infraction article should have been in territorial court with Justice Robert Gordon presiding. In the Friday, Jan. 27, Yellowknifer, Warren Palfrey's name was misspelled.

Yellowknifer apologizes for these errors.