Editorial page

Friday, June 16, 2000

It's time to clean up our act

Complaints are going public over the amount of rubbish strewn about Yellowknife streets and along our trails. It's a continuous problem.

While the city's community services department has received 31 complaints about garbage so far this year -- from everything from dog feces to dump loads gone astray -- we believe the city is doing its bit.

In the downtown core alone the city's community services department offers 30 cement garbage containers as well as 25 smaller ones attached to street lamps.

Inside the city's trails and outdoor sports areas there are 37 cement containers.

On top of that, city workers are out seven days a week to collect the garbage accumulating in these containers.

Unfortunately, these workers are spending more of their time sweeping up the litter on the streets than emptying the containers.

What some people fail to understand is the system shouldn't have to charge people for butting their cigarettes on the ground.

The answer lies within our own personal habits.

What could possibly be so cool about taking a pop or beer bottle and smashing it on a rock when there's a garbage container two feet away?

Let's face it, many of us and our children are sadly lacking when it comes to taking pride in our community.

The good news is the city reports most containers are actually being used.

It's just a matter of getting the few slobs to clean up their act.

Tonight as we all tear up the town in celebration of Raven Mad Daze and you or your child go to toss that empty bag of chips or gum wrapper on the ground, why not do your bit and put it in the garbage.

You just might feel good about it.


Modern living

The horrifying outbreak of illness that resulted from contaminated water in Walkerton, Ont. served notice to all of us that fearsome things can happen when the ramparts of civilization are breached.

Officials have assured Yellowknifers that the water supply is safe. We don't doubt that.

But then again, it was safe in Walkerton, too.

Here at home, we have power outages to remind us of our vulnerability when the system fails. Just last week, Yellowknifers could be found wandering aimlessly around sunny streets while offices and stores were immersed in darkness.

We are reliant on our creature comforts and we are by and large helpless in their absence.

Just when we begin to believe we are masters of our universe, Nature intervenes to keep us humble.


Training and fries

As a job, working at McDonald's doesn't stand out.

As a job training ground for students, McDonald's may well have few equals.

That's why the NWT Employer of Youth award went to Al and Kelly Kaylo, owners of the Yellowknife McDonald's franchises. Their two outlets employ from 40 to 90 young Yellowknifers over a year.

Punctuality, teamwork, cleanliness and customer relations are all part of working at McDonald's or many food franchises. Because they employ youth all over the world, such global corporations have developed training programs that get results.

So, a career in fast foods? Maybe, maybe not. A career after fast foods? It's almost guaranteed.


Never say die
Editorial Comment
Terry Halifax
Inuvik Drum

The community of Aklavik has got a real job on their hands cleaning up and disposing of a 40-year-old mess.

I took a walk around Aklavik with John Banksland last week and he showed me a handful of vacant, burned-out and abandoned lots scattered around town. Aklavik is an otherwise beautiful place that would thrive as a tourist destination, but these few lots really stick out like so many teeth missing from a smile.

With mountains, rivers and ocean right close by, Aklavik is exactly what tourists think of when they think of the North. Throw in a Mad Trapper and you have a very attractive destination.

Aklavik has struggled for years to get tourists coming in without much success.

As John told me that day, the tourists do come, but they may not come back. The secret to any business is to keep them coming back, but tourists are a fickle bunch with a limited budget.

They'll go where it looks like a postcard and they'll keep going back.

It conflicts with their Hollywood notions of the North -- to come here and see the litter and wrecked vehicles. It's usually the stuff they ran away from.

Tourism is a fantastic renewable resource and RWED and MACA have been all for getting communities to get on board. Scooping dog turds and planting flowers is easy -- disposing of tonnes of machinery, barrels and buildings takes real money.

Money a community like Aklavik could never come up with.

With the support of a resolution from the NWT Association of Municipalities, Aklavik is lobbying to get $150,000 from the feds and GNWT to clean up a mess they helped create.

A small sum considering the billions of tourist dollars floating around out there.

Like Inuvik and many other Northern communities, Aklavik has also passed an unsightly bylaw to legislate the cleanup. The mayor and council are confident they can do most the work themselves, they just need help disposing of the material.

When the government enticed the populace to East-3, some in Aklavik said no. The plucky ones who stayed behind adopted "Never Say Die" as the town's motto and they live by it.

Every 10 years or so, the water runs high through the streets of Aklavik and they keep keeping on.

It's said that people in the North are just a little bit tougher than people in the south. I've come to think the people in Aklavik are just a little bit tougher than the rest and they're way overdue for somebody to give them a break.


Grads of 2000
Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum

Echo Dene school graduated their first half-dozen high school students right in their home community of Fort Liard Friday -- a commendable achievement.

The students obviously worked hard and made a commitment to obtain their degrees, and for that they deserve credit.

Many letters have been written and words exchanged to get schooling to the level of education where it stands now in the community.

Despite that, some quietly question the quality of education. It's an issue worthy of debate. Certainly, the standards could be elevated and more resources could be applied to the high school curriculum. As the bar is gradually raised, the question will be whether the students will rise to meet the level of expectation or will they simply opt for a wage offered by a readily available slashing job? A number of students have already dropped out of school in favour of the quick cash.

Some of the graduate students are apparently planning to upgrade to ensure they meet entrance requirements at post-secondary institutions. The important thing is that they are willing to follow through on what they have started.

A handful of valuable teachers are leaving Echo Dene school this year. Hopefully, efforts to recruit effective and inspirational replacements will be successful. Of note, Fort Liard's Kimberly Deneron, who has her Indian Teacher Education Degree from the University of Saskatchewan, is planning to teach kindergarten in the community this fall.

Teachers Gerald and Pat May's daughter Jan is also going to be teaching at Echo Dene school come fall.

Principal Harry Kielly has secured the funding to try a couple of new approaches to improving literacy in the community beginning in the new school year. This is a worthy project that could not only give young students a huge boost, but will also allow motivated adults who never received a fundamental education to learn to read and write.

Other new initiatives such as the Department of Education's online (Internet) courses like Northern Studies 10, are offering promise to a growing number of computer-literate residents in the North, and to those who feel compelled to remain in their home communities.

Of course things could be better in the field of education, but there's plenty of promise. It's taken many years to attain Grade 12 in the community. The rest of the goals are not going to be realized overnight. But the more parents who supplement their children's education at home, academically and traditionally, the faster the gains will come.

A worthy battle

Congratulations to Billy Villeneuve on his new job and his courage to speak out about his experiences -- good and bad. Billy is scheduled to be one of the speakers at next week's Healing and Spiritual Conference.

We need more people willing to speak from their hearts in an attempt to help others see the dangers and harm alcohol abuse can cause. The outcome isn't always grim, so long as people take ownership of their problems and work towards making amends for them.


Solid gold effort
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News

We here at Kivalliq News seem to be leading the way lately in heaping accolades on the hamlet of Arviat.

That being said, with decisions like the one made by council this month to financially back their local student council's efforts to bring a MuchMusic video dance to the hamlet, it's hard not to do a bit of cheerleading.

There are too many hamlet and organizational leaders in the Kivalliq who lead the way when it comes to jumping on the old soapbox and trumpeting the cause of youth and elders.

The problem is that it usually takes a great deal more effort to find these same leaders when it comes time to put their money where their mouth is.

There can be no downplaying the positive message this decision sends to Arviat's youth.

Having MuchMusic come to their hamlet is a monstrous deal for these kids.

For one bright, shining night, they will be on an even playing field with kids their own age across Canada.

But beneath the joy these kids are feeling in anticipation of this event, there is an even stronger message.

The Arviat Hamlet Council is showing local kids it is, in fact, both aware and supportive of their efforts to improve their quality of life.

As one student council member put it -- maybe an event like this will convince one or two students who are teetering on the edge of dropping out that there are positive aspects of staying in school.

Efforts such as this show these kids good things really do happen when they pull together and work hard for something they believe in.

There are, no doubt, some people in the Kivalliq who can't understand all the hoopla over a video dance.

But this is much more than a dance, this is an accomplishment -- a major accomplishment for these kids.

The students involved with this project, the hamlet council, Brighter Futures, Keewatin Air and the rest of the sponsors deserve a round of applause for their efforts.

Once again, Arviat is setting the standard in the Kivalliq when it comes to showing the rest of the region what can be accomplished by teamwork, dedication, hard work and co-operation between the adults and youth of our communities.

Hopefully, this is one group effort that won't prove itself to be a one-hit wonder in our region.