Features

It appears to be a good news headline: Yk1 keeps $200,000.

The $200,000 the public school board gets to keep was money Education Minister Charles Dent threatened to cut from funding if the district failed to close down one of their schools. They were supposed to do that to make room for Catholic students displaced by the fire at Ecole St. Joseph in August of 2006.

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This follows a previous good news headline in August: Government, YCS share cost of portables.

What happened to Dent's math that concluded the public school board was operating schools at 60 percent capacity while Catholic district schools were bursting at the seams, a situation made much worse by the fire. He seemed determined to fix the imbalance in the name of sound financial management.

Not only did he threaten to cut funding to the public schools if they did not act, he also said the territorial government would not pay for any extra portables if the Catholic school board decided to go that route. His stated goal was to have the two education boards work together toward a common sense goal.

Well, none of that came true, which would be understandable if Dent were running for re-election but he's not.

So both school boards are quite happy and we expect quite a few parents are relieved.

The only problem remaining of course is that nasty math problem, the one that shows YK1 schools are running well under full capacity.

While Yellowknife ratepayers seem content with the outcome and the unnecessary costs, the math problem will be one for the new territorial government to resolve.

The specter of a 'secret slate' is being raised by some MLA candidates but it is a non-starter.

Frame Lake's Chris Johnston, Kam Lake's Dave Ramsay, and Yellowknife Centre's Robert Hawkins, point at the attendance of several other candidates at a series of workshops held earlier this summer by the Canadian Labour Congress.

The organization has close ties to the NDP, a party which it helped found in 1961. The NDP is the only political party in recent memory to attempt to elect MLAs - at least in some Yellowknife ridings - to the legislative assembly, which is ruled by consensus government and carries a tradition that excludes political parties. The NDP's efforts failed, and they haven't made another attempt since 1999.

What Johnston, Ramsay and Hawkins appear to be implying is that based on the voters' apparent reluctance to accept a candidate under a party banner, the NDP is trying to elect a willing block who will act as NDP members in all but name once elected. And so what? Is there a rule out there that says candidates who belong to a political party must have its name stamped on their foreheads should they choose to run?

Ironically, most of those identified as having attended the workshops, including Weledeh's Bob Bromley, Range Lake's Ashley Geraghty, and Great Slave's Doug Ritchie, aren't even NDP supporters.

If voters are really troubled by a particular candidate's supposed political persuasion, do not vote for them. That's the way democracy works. Political association is nothing to be afraid of.

The Kivalliq News now has a weekly online survey called, Have Your Say.

It can be found on the right-hand side of the Kivalliq News home page.

Most people realize surveys can be far from 100 per cent accurate, scientifically speaking that is.

Yet, they are an effective means of checking the general pulse of the public in any given location, especially if a fair number of people take the time to have their say.

The higher the sample size, the more accurate a survey tends to be in reflecting public opinion.

Two weeks ago, for example, those who cast a vote overwhelmingly supported uranium mining in Baker Lake.

They were given the choice of voting no, due to mining companies' poor track record of respecting the land, or yes, due to the fact Baker needs the jobs a uranium mine would produce.

This week, as of press time, people in the Kivalliq were supporting English as the primary language of instruction in our schools at a 90 per cent clip.

Readers had their choice of voting yes for English, at least until Nunavut can offer complete post-secondary education in Inuktitut, or no to English, supporting the stance that Inuktitut should be the main language of instruction in all Kivalliq schools.

The first two weeks of the survey had readers supporting artificial ice in Arviat by the slimmest of margins, and the regulating of bonfires by a wide majority.

The survey can be quite thought provoking on any given subject, and a new question will be added every Wednesday when a fresh edition of the Kivalliq News hits the streets.

Plans are also in the works to have the weekly survey results published in the following edition of the Kivalliq News so readers without Internet access, or who didn't have time to cast their vote the previous week, can follow along with the results.

Web-based surveys can be a useful tool for politicians and organizational heads to get a basic feel for what their constituents may be thinking on any given topic.

And, again, while we're not claiming our survey to be infallible by any means, any question running a 90 per cent or higher opinion rate from a fair number of voters should get our leaders thinking.

Another aspect of the online survey I like personally, is that it gives people the chance to have their say in complete anonymity.

Having said that, a vote on an anonymous survey is nowhere near as effective as writing an articulate, well-researched letter to the editor of your local newspaper, but it does get your voice heard, albeit in a limited forum.

And, you can do it without any fear of fallout over your opinion.

Add in the fact democracy is founded on the secret ballot, and you have a legitimate vehicle for expressing public opinion.

The Kivalliq News will not shy away from asking public opinion on the most controversial issues facing our region today.

But, we will also throw in the odd question every now and then just for fun.

We look forward to seeing the results each week after our Kivalliq readers have had their say.

When it comes to emergencies you can never be too prepared.

In Fort Simpson a measure of the community's preparedness was taken during the live emergency response exercise held on Sept. 13.

During the event that ran for approximately three hours, a variety of organizations and departments had to deal with a scenario as if it were happening in real life. The scenario involved a mid-air crash of two airplanes.

One airplane carrying 17 passengers crashed alongside a runway at the airport while the second with three passengers was discovered shortly afterwards at a location down the highway. Emergency responders arriving at the site were met with victims: high school students given a variety of injuries to act out.

Things became more complicated when the second crash sparked a forest fire that moved towards the village, threatening inhabitants. To make a bad situation worse the smoke from the fire led to a closure of the highway cutting off victims from the health centre.

While parts of the scenario such as the forest fire sound a bit far fetched the reality is that any part of that mock disaster could happen, and when situations go wrong they often do so spectacularly.

Although no one wants to see what a real emergency situation of this kind would look like, residents in Fort Simpson can be comforted in the knowledge that the village is well prepared.

Throughout the entire event responding agencies ranging from airport staff to the members of the volunteer fire department acted in a professional manner treating the scenario like it was actually happening. All the organizations involved deserve a round of applause for the effort and energy they put into the exercise to make it as realistic as possible.

But even with evaluators judging their performance, responders managed a few lighthearted moments revealing their comfort level in their skills.

At one point a volunteer firefighter asked high school students pretending to be crash victims what was supposed to be wrong with them. When he heard the answer (impaled by shrapnel from the plane), he smiled warmly at the student, who was by then strapped to a spinal board, and commented that that was pretty serious. Having filled the momentary pause in the action, the firefighter helped lift the student onto a stretcher and into an ambulance to be taken to the health centre.

The village is fortunate to have so many qualified people who are committed to ensuring the safety of residents and willing to spend half a day away from their other duties to practise their responses. All participants gave valuable efforts whether they were in the field or in offices.

Russ Head, a security and protective services officer with the airport division, made a valuable observation about the importance of having the whole village pull together to work in the exercise. Small communities in the North need to be able to count on their own resources because in the case of a real emergency outside help will take time to arrive.

The emergency response exercise showed that while the village still has a few areas to smooth out where responsibilities overlap, overall they are just as prepared to handle an emergency as any southern community.

Residents should be proud.

I don't mean to pick on those who are obviously already down, but we need to curb the temptation to light up and start smoking cigarettes.

I was walking through the halls of Samuel Hearne last week when a student came up to me and told me he wanted to see something done about the high number of cigarette smoking youth in town.

It's true, we have a situation on our hands. Somewhere down the line, our kids started smoking and now the habit is too much to put aside any longer.

Luckily, I haven't started the filthy habit of cigarettes, I hope I never do. All I need is the support given to me by my closest friends. They all smoke and I feel good for not being in their club.

Tobacco tried to get me at the young age of 13, but I steered clear with the help of some concerned family members.

As adults, we need to set a good example for the youth of tomorrow.

There are a lot of young people in this town who don't light up and they seem fine. Almost ahead of the game I'd say.

There are posters and ads all over that attempt to stop the smoking fad in our younger people.

Information is given at young ages about the dangers of smoking. Maybe it's working. I feel good because I know a large group of young students who don't even think about stupid things like cigarettes.

I applaud those young learners and the people around them. Obviously something good is happening, now we just need a way to expand the good word.

All this talk about cigarettes reminds me of the region's number one anti-tobacco campaigner; Alfred Moses.

Moses is not living in Inuvik any more, but he was always seen waving the flag for the good guys. He would talk with youth and set up signs, information kiosks and other events.

He is one of the best examples for a role model I can think of. Stopping smoking by reaching out and connecting with the young people is what needed to be done.

Generations of people in this region smoke and it's been that way for a long time. Maybe a pack of cigs were the first item handed off by early explorers who made contact with the locals here.

With tobacco being a part of aboriginal traditions, it's hard to banish the leaves without stepping on sacred toes. I don't think the traditional uses for tobacco abuse the substance. Feel free to light those peace pipes, just not in our school yards.

While I was doing an interview with a student at my alma mater, the vice principal came out the door and shooed some smokers from the doorway.

I don't blame the schools, because this was a problem before them and it will probably continue to be a problem for years to come.

Push the unsightly smokers away, to the back of the building. It makes the place look nicer, when there aren't a massive pile of butts on the ground.

I don't understand what keeps people going, but I guess we all need something to get us through the day.

You cannot tell your kids that smoking is bad in between puffs. Show your kids that you care for their wellbeing and your own. Butt out the smoke and chew some gum.

When you feel that craving, just don't reach for the pack. I could be wrong, but I don't think people have died from not smoking. Just stay strong and one day, you can join the others who have quit too.

Errors appeared in Friday's Yellownifer ("On the hot seat," Sept. 21). The all candidates forum was co-sponsored by the Native Women's Association of the NWT and the Status of Women Council of the NWT. Also, contents from a letter to the editor were missing due to an editing error ("Bishop ordination glorious, majestic"). The missing words were Most Reverend Jim Weisgerber "challenged the intellect and nourished the spirit. Beautiful Father Matthew from Inuvik danced for joy!" Yellowknifer apologizes for any embarrassment or confusion caused by the errors.