Sixty-two, if you count what BHP Diamonds still calls Koala Camp, Aboriginal Affairs Minister Stephen Kakfwi's protestations notwithstanding. And count it we must.

By this spring some 900 men and women will be living, working and playing at the site of Canada's first diamond mine, about 300 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife at Lac de Gras.

The first batch will be construction workers, but afterwards a similar number will be employed in getting the diamonds out of the ground.

They will have at their disposal more than just dormitories and a cafeteria. BHP is building a fully-equipped recreational complex and business offices. They already have an airport. In other words, we're not just talking about mere mine, but a town.

With a population approaching 1,000, Koala Camp will be bigger than two-thirds of the communities in the NWT and a lot closer to Yellowknife than most other larger centres.

Of course, when the diamonds dwindle to below market grade a few decades from now, Koala Camp may follow Pine Point's lead and leave nothing but a ghost town.

But with the kind of investment BHP is making, we suspect it could acquire a life of its own, and soon.

On the one hand, Yellowknife shouldn't plan on Koala residents making the trip down here too often. They'll have much of what they need at home.

On the other, our new neighbors may soon be asking for a little respect -- and a piece of territorial political and economic pie.

It's a possibility we all should take into account when considering the economic, political and social future of the western NWT. (1/24/97)

Not too many years ago, Yellowknifers would be cut off from the south for weeks until the Mackenzie River froze over.

Fresh food prices skyrocketed and supplies often ran out. Businesses guessed how much inventory to stockpile. Some years they guessed correctly, some years not.

Last November, ice forced the ferry out for a week. But once the river froze, the crews hacked a u-shaped channel, using a backhoe on the ferry. Then they kept operating 24 hours a day until Jan. 15. Meanwhile, the ice road building crews were hampered buy balmy weather which kept them two weeks behind schedule. Thinner ice meant more water to build up a thickness to handle 64,000 kilograms of weight -- with a big margin of safety.

Their work paid off. There was no further interruption to speak of and it was business as usual, is a good way to start the new year. A Yellowknife cheer to the three ferry and ice road building crews. (1/24/97)

It feels like Christmas all over again. At the inaugural meeting of SportPlus Yk no less than 18 requests for amenities in the proposed centre were made by people representing four different interest groups.

As the arena will be built with public money, taxpayers should have some say in its planning. However, let's not lose sight of the original idea - a rink.

As taxpayers in Inuvik, Montreal and Toronto can attest, cost overruns on sports facilities do happen. (1/24/97)