Any way you look at it, Northern highways are a roadblock to growth and development.

Right now the majority of the 2,011 kilometres that exist are falling apart, pounded into potholes and dust by a growing number of heavy trucks.

The abysmal road conditions add to maintenance expenses, impair tourism, create hazards and result in higher shipping costs.

The government is handcuffed by a lack of money. They have turned to the territory's 42,000 residents to raise $100 million over the next seven to 10 years.

They say a proposed truck permit fee system will target traffic to mines which accounts about one-third of the trucks that rumble through the North. Estimates indicate this could generate about 40 per cent of the net toll revenue.

The rest of the trucks carry the milk we drink, the fuel that powers our snowmobiles and airplanes and the lumber we use to build our homes.

Even by increasing the NWT cost of living allowance, the impact on average folks will be too high. Our cost of living is already 25-30 per cent higher than the rest of Canada.

If the government truly wanted to recoup money from the mine, oil and gas traffic tearing up our highways, it could have just imposed a toll on them.

Traffic going up the private Lupin road pays a toll now. GNWT can charge this same traffic a similar toll to cover maintenance and upgrading costs on NWT highways.

Mining companies can then deduct that cost as a business expense which leaves less tax money for Ottawa -- which should be paying for highway upgrades in the first place.

In the face of insurmountable obstacles, it appears jewelry instructor Elizabeth Hadlari is packing it in.

For nearly a decade, Hadlari has nurtured a program in Cambridge Bay that taught art students from across the Kitikmeot how to create miniature, wearable masterpieces. "It's one thing that could really bring money into the North, something that you could really develop an economy on," Hadlari told News/North last week.

She's right. The form is lucrative, has natural tie-ins to tourism, an abundance of local materials and is light and easily shipped south.

Unfortunately, Hadlari has spent almost as much time battling bureaucrats for funding as she has actually teaching.

In what has become a depressing ritual for jewelry programs across the North, Hadlari has to scrimp together funds to keep the program afloat. The jewelry program in Cambridge Bay, offered through Nunavut Arctic College, has no core funding.

Last year, Hadlari had to turn down requests from Montreal, Paris and Japan to show her students' artwork. That's a shame, for a minimal investment might have ensured jewelry that comes from Hadlari's students in Cambridge Bay is seen -- and bought -- in Southern markets.

The dividends from that investment could far outstrip any initial outlay.

Just recently, Premier Paul Okalik and his cabinet held a retreat in Repulse Bay. The brainstorming session focused on how Nunavut can enhance its economic opportunities.

An opportunity of the golden variety is right under this government's nose, and has been for a decade, courtesy of Hadlari and other dedicated instructors.

It'll be a shame if it gets missed because the government and the civil servants didn't have the vision to see what has to be obvious to just about anyone.

Residents of Sachs Harbour are concerned about the level of policing in the Banks Island community of 140. Until Oct. 1, they hadn't had an RCMP visit since early July.

September was a particularly bad month, with a drunken youth reportedly firing rifles shots randomly in town one day, followed the next by an apparently unrelated break, enter and theft spree at the post office, school, hamlet and national park offices and co-op store.

Inuvik RCMP -- the second- largest detachment in the NWT with 14 officers -- is two-and-a-half hours away by air on the mainland.

Nunavut recently announced it will spend $3.5 million to hire 14 new RCMP officers for six detachments -- some in communities smaller than Sachs Harbour. Whether a similar fix would be right for the NWT is debatable, but Justice Minister Jim Antoine should at least take a glance at what our arctic neighbour to the east is doing.

It is as inevitable as death and taxes: the battle between those who would want to restrict alcohol sales and those who want the right to drink what is a legal substance in most parts of the country.

The latest twist is the illegal shipment of 151-proof liquor into Mackenzie Valley communities where such strong drink is prohibited. The unfortunate truth is there's only one way to cut down on this problem, and that would be to ban the sale of strong liquor anywhere in the NWT, including Yellowknife.

Residents of the capital may object, but they should be prepared to make the sacrifice for the sake of the communities. Who really needs more than 80-proof rum, anyway?

Entrepreneurial spirits in Nunavut's most southerly reaches are thinking hard about how to turn a plentiful natural resources into cold hard cash. The seabed around the Belcher Islands, it turns out, is teeming with scallops, and Sanikiliuaq's Hunters and Trappers Association is testing the waters for a commercial fishery.

For anyone familiar with the succulent shellfish, it sounds like a great opportunity. The problem is, Sanikiluaq is a long way from anything approaching a major market. Air freight is prohibitively expensive, while the prospect of building a shucking and packing plant is more than a little daunting.

It won't be easy, but taking advantage of the scallops should be high on the Nunavut government's priority lists, along with the crabs of the Central Arctic waters and fisheries of Davis Strait. Far too little locally grown and caught food is available in our stores despite the fact that importing groceries from the South poses the same financial burdens that challenge those who want to develop Northern resources.

Nunavummiut are proud of their connection to the land and their ability to live off its products. Thanks to the demands of the 21st century, however, not everyone has the time and ability to hunt, fish or whale for themselves.

Still, most would take advantage of fresh caribou, char, seal or scallops -- for a reasonable price. What we're talking about is another step toward that most prized goal: self-sufficiency.

Further down the road, once Nunavut (and NWT and Nunavik) markets have been tapped, more ambitious goals can be considered. Japanese consumers, for example, are famous for prizing a wider variety of foods, including the sea urchins and sea cucumbers that scallop nets drag up as a bycatch.

The start-up costs for these projects will be far larger than most communities can bear on their own. But isn't that what government and the land claims trust are all about?

Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News

It's rare this space is used to "gush," but it's hard to accurately describe the impression left behind by the Missoula Children's Theatre in Rankin Inlet without gushing.

First of all, what actor-directors Michael Stoddard and Ann Chris Warren were able to accomplish with the Rankin kids in such a short period of time was nothing less than incredible.

There might not be a Tony Award being readied any time soon, but the kids put on a darn good show.

This is especially true when one considers the play was the first time the vast majority of the kids were exposed to the theatre (our apologies to organizers of the annual Christmas Concert).

But, there was more to this than just the actual play itself -- much more. The fact so many of these kids jumped at the chance to be in the play, and gave it everything they had once they were selected, shows just how willing local youth are to get involved with extracurricular activities.

That is, when they're available.

The kids were also proud to be in the play. You could see it in their laughing eyes and smiling faces.

They were, indeed, part of something special and seized the moment to show all their friends and family what they were capable of on the stage.

A special tip of the hat should also go out to the students from Alaittuq High who took part in the play.

Their help and leadership went a long way in helping the younger students get over any stage fright and do their best. Most of all, they showed the younger kids taking part in a play and expanding your horizons is, in a word, cool!

Another job well done

Since it's a week to gush, another thumbs up goes out to Rankin Inlet's Jordin Tootoo.

Jordin made such a good impression at the Nashville Predators prospects camp, he was invited to the NHL team's main camp. Tootoo had a strong camp and even suited up for one NHL exhibition tilt.

And, although Nashville lost, Tootoo handled himself quite admirably from all accounts and did not look out of place in an NHL setting.

The rugged Rankin winger is back in Brandon with the Wheat Kings for the 2001-02 season. Chances just keep getting better that this time next year we'll be watching Tootoo perform on TV at the NHL level.

Editorial Comment
Malcolm Gorrill
Inuvik Drum

Another season has come and gone for the Inuvik Community Greenhouse.

This marked the greenhouse's second season, and by all accounts it was a successful one.

The commercial area grew and sold lots of bedding plants, tomatoes and other items.

Down below, all the community plots were filled, providing plenty of people the opportunity to exercise their green thumbs, or just stroll the aisles during the summer, watching a wide variety of plants and flowers take root and spring forth.

Much was happening behind the scenes, as well. Repairs and renovations have been conducted over the year, with plans in the works for more. A perennial rock garden was put in place by the front entrance, and a mural painted.

In many ways the greenhouse is like the plants it nurtures. Some years ago the idea of such a greenhouse was planted, and many people have dug down and done what was needed to make the greenhouse develop and bloom.

Congrats to those involved for the past season, with hopes for even better things next year.

Healthy choices

Nutrition and exercise are common themes nowadays.

Recently students at Sir Alexander Mackenzie got to take part in International School Milk Day, an event designed to raise awareness of the benefits of milk, with hopes of encouraging young people to drink more.

As well, organizers are sprinting ahead with plans for a running club. People will be able to drop by when able, and run, jog or walk along, while chatting with friends and neighbours.

And oh yeah, they'll become more physically fit in the process.

Plus, this is NWT Literacy Week. This past Tuesday residents were challenged to read for 15 minutes, in an effort to have people exercise their minds and expand their horizons.

Hockey week in Inuvik

This week marks the return of the ice within the arena at the Midnight Sun Recreation Complex.

It also marks the second annual hockey school, whereby young people from Inuvik and nearby communities get to sharpen their skills and perhaps dream of becoming the next Wayne Gretzky.

Good luck to them, as well as their instructors, coaches and parents.

Many adults, meanwhile, are digging out their skates, anxious to skate laps around the rink, or perhaps play some recreational hockey.

Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum, Fort Simpson

The economic development conference in Fort Simpson this week is light at the end of the tunnel for some. For the cynics it's another reason to scoff. Economic development has been occurring at a minimum level in most of the Deh Cho for decades. Six years ago the Deh Cho Means Business conference was supposed to put an end to that. However, upon reviewing the conference report, it is now clear that very few of the goals have been achieve -- with some possible exceptions in Fort Liard.

How do we know that this conference will be any different? We don't.

There's promise the political climate will improve within the next year if the Deh Cho First Nations and the federal government achieve an Interim Resource Development Agreement. That would open the door to many business opportunities.

But it's also important to ensure local people are truly prepared for the onslaught of industry if and when that door opens wide. DCFN leadership has warned of the consequences of each community storming ahead with its own plans for development. It would be easy to overwhelm the limited workforce in the Deh Cho. Therefore a regional economic working group to coordinate ventures and promote cooperation makes perfect sense.

While it seems pressure is mounting to create economic development in the depressed Deh Cho region, it would be foolish to undermine the guarantees that are being sought through political negotiations. It's short-term pain for long-term gain. In the big picture, the years ahead stand to be prosperous because of it and the environment won't have been forsaken either.

Way to go, Evelyn

Every once in a while you meet someone who is extremely motivated to do something for the benefit of others. Evelyn Krutko is one of those people. I happened to be in Fort Providence to witness her spending her lunch hour swiftly and tirelessly moving from one person to the next to round up every dollar she could for the Run for the Cure. Obviously, to raise $1,868, she must have devoted several lunch hours, early mornings and evenings to her mission.

Anne Rowe did the same thing in Fort Simpson for many years for the Terry Fox Run. It wasn't uncommon for her to singlehandedly raise $2,000.

Perhaps to use the term "singlehandedly" is stretching it. No one can really raise any more than they are willing to donate themselves unless other individuals and businesses are caring enough to give. That benevolence unquestionably exists in Fort Providence and in Fort Simpson, where another $790 was scraped together. It might be cliche, but every dollar counts. People like Evelyn Krutko and Anne Rowe realize that.