In the faltering quest to develop a constitution for a new western territory, no community has more at stake than Yellowknife.

With the largest population base and a high concentration of non-aboriginal voters, Yellowknife stands to lose if its citizens go unheard.

Tuesday night at 7:30 at Northern United Place, Yellowknifers will get the opportunity to say what they think about the draft constitution produced last year by a special committee.

Everyone concerned about their future in the NWT should be there. Otherwise their only option will be to complain after the fact. ( 3/14/97 )

The NWT's phone company, while it still has a monopoly on the business, wants to increase local rates by $4 a month. Ottawa will likely approve the hike, but there's bigger changes we should care about on the horizon.

At the moment, phone customers in smaller communities pay up to $3 a month less than do Yellowknife residents. NorthwesTel says it would like to do away with the difference and make everyone in the North pay the same rate.

As a result, larger communities will still subsidize smaller ones, but the subsidy should shrink. It's a proposal we should support. After all, everyone is paying for the same thing: access to the world. ( 3/14/97 )

So, city hall is taking a hard line on drivers who don't use their daytime running lights.

One wonders why our local lawmakers are so quick to jump on one accident prevention bandwagon when they have yet to address long-standing problems with rush-hour parking on Franklin Avenue and speeding in the 30 km/h zone in front of Mildred Hall school.

We can only hope some of the fine money collected by the city goes toward more visible signs, flashing lights and crosswalks on main street.

Or is the enforcement of the new running light law just another money grab? ( 3/14/97 )

A breath of fresh air came out of Sir John Franklin high school's sports department last week.

Athletics director Bill Burlington apologized to teams in the annual Cager basketball tournament for inadvertently using an ineligible player on the team that captured the tourney title.

And while issuing an apology is humbling enough, Burlington went even further. He turned over his team's championship banner and awards to the next best team, arch rival St. Pat's.

In a sporting world of greed, scandal, cheating and whining, Burlington and Sir John have slam-dunked the notion that fair play is for losers. Their overtime actions prove to us they're still champions.( 3/14/97 )