No sleep until after Christmas
People who provide essential services will be hard at work while the rest of the community enjoys a day off
Cody Punter
Northern News Services
Published Tuesday, December 24, 2013
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Most Yellowknifers are eagerly looking forward to spending Christmas Day celebrating the festive season with friends and family at home.
Dr. Tom Pisz and Diana Koelbl from the Great Slave Animal Hospital will both be working this Christmas. - Cody Punter/NNSL photo |
However, for those that provide essential services to the community, the annual celebration is anything but a holiday.
Firefighters, taxi drivers, police officers, nurses, and veterinarians are just some of the professionals that will be making sure the city keeps running, while the rest of us enjoy a turkey dinner on Dec. 25.
George Platonow, who works as a dispatcher for City Cabs, said he volunteered to work on Christmas Day so that a colleague with three children could spend the time with her family.
"I don't have any family in town, so quite frankly, it's not a big deal," said Platonow whose three sisters and mother live across Canada.
"I let the people with family have a day off."
While some people might begrudge having to work on Christmas, Platonow said he treats the day just like any other.
"You just gotta suck it up, grin and bear it," he said.
Having been a cab driver and a dispatcher in Yellowknife for the past 33 years, this is not the first time Platonow has worked on Christmas.
He said working as a driver on the holiday has its perks, pointing out that people usually give generous tips on Christmas.
Even now that he works as a dispatcher, Platonow said he enjoys being able to talk to people on the phone.
"I get to be nice and cheery, and I get to wish them a Merry Christmas," he said.
Dianna Koelbl, who recently moved to Yellowknife from Germany, may be spending her first Christmas in the city, but as a veterinarian technician, she is also used to working over the holidays.
She said she finds working on Christmas to be rewarding.
"If you like your job, then you don't mind working on a statutory holiday," said Koelbl.
Koelbl's boss at the Great Slave Animal Hospital, Dr. Tom Pisz, said he has worked every Christmas since he moved to Yellowknife in 1987, and this year will be no different.
He said businesses and organizations that provide emergency services don't have the luxury of closing down.
"The animals are animals - they don't take a break because it's a holiday," said Pisz.
"If they're going to get sick, they're going to get sick."
Koelbl will be starting work at 7 a.m., and hopes to be able to leave the hospital for a few hours to share a turkey dinner at a friend's home.
But at the end of the day, it's the animals that come first.
"You're here as long as you're needed," said Koelbl.
