We hope Minister of Health Michael Miltenberger is watching the debate over city land near Stanton hospital.

Council has been pressuring Stanton hospital to commit to buying 1.78 hectares of 'prime land' in front of the hospital on Old Airport Road. There are almost 10 hectares in total.

The hospital, heliport and parking lot now take up 3.5 hectares. Of the remaining 6.5 hectares, a portion behind the hospital may be unsuitable to build on. That means close to half the land is already used. The 1.78 hectares to be sold off is close to half of what remains.

The hospital board insists they need all the land for future expansion. The wish list includes a cardiac rehabilitation program (hearts), a fetal assessment unit (babies), full-time gerontology (elderly), enhanced cancer care, perhaps a nursing college. Better yet, hospital water and sewer services run right through the lot.

The problem is the hospital board doesn't want to commit until a development plan is completed, in about two years. Meanwhile, the land has no value to the city, even though private developers are interested in buying it.

City council has to make a decision whether to be patient and leave ratepayers without a million dollar asset on the books, or put out a request for proposals and invite Stanton to put in its own.

Councillor arguments the hospital doesn't need the land to expand are weak and any money the city might get is secondary to what is built there.

At the very least, a request for proposals might bring new ideas and make an affordable improvement to Northern healthcare.

In the meantime, the hospital board can convince department of health officials and health minister Miltenberger of the potential benefits. Yellowknife MLAs must start lobbying too.

In case constituency politics are a factor, Miltenberger would do well to remember Yellowknife may not be Fort Smith but it's a lot closer than Edmonton.

Encouraging the health board to state its interests in writing would signal the minister of health's commitment to the improvement of health facilities for all Northerners.

The lead up to high school graduation is an emotional collage. Years are spent thinking about the relief we'll feel at the end of the road when we are handed our long-anticipated diploma.

It's a piece of paper that we assume gives us free reign over our own lives -- no more teachers, no parents...

Things change when that fateful day arrives. There are feelings of nostalgia, panic and joy as grads look around at their classmates. They have known each other for years -- and realize they will no longer share a classroom, be on the same soccer team, complain about having too much homework, or have a food fight in the same cafeteria.

But fear not, the next chapter of your lives may bring new faces but the experiences may not be that much different.

There will be other classrooms, other soccer teams, and other complaints about too many papers. And the food fights ... we'll you're probably past that at this point.

Life is about new experiences. Enjoy every stage.

Except for a couple of days, spring has been so crappy we're thinking about calling for Mother Nature's resignation.

That's what you do in Ottawa when a federal cabinet minister goes off track.

Here's our gripe: record cold lows; snow on May 29; cold wind. You can't even get a garden in the ground without having to worry about overnight frost. OK, so we live in the sub-arctic, but Yellowknifers are used to better.

Instead of calling for Ma Nature to quit, however, let's just do the opposite.

Say to heck with the cold and ignore all the crap that's come our way.

We can still barbecue; just huddle a little closer to the flame. Go for a bike ride or walk; just wear a toque and gloves. Want to plant a garden? Get a pot, some soil, an African Violet and start growing in your living room.

Most of all, don't let her get you down.

Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News

There are, no doubt, many people in the Kivalliq who view the Northern Transportation Company Ltd.'s recent meetings to discuss streamlining its cargo services as nothing more than damage control. It is, after all, quite easy to be skeptical in the wake of the bad gas dilemma.

However, even if there is some truth embedded in that line of thinking, we should give NTCL the chance to follow up on its rhetoric and improve its system.

The gas scenario is, ultimately, going to unfold in one way or another. Hopefully, those who legitimately suffered damage to their machines will be compensated somewhere in the not-too-distant future.

That being said, any improvement to the way cargo is imported into our region would be welcome. If, indeed, these improvements are a result of the bad gas, so be it. If nothing else, it would be one small silver lining into an otherwise very dark cloud.

The cold hard fact of the matter is -- when it comes to cargo in our region -- our choices are extremely limited. There are many who would say we've been held hostage (price-wise) for decades by those who transport cargo into the Kivalliq. In some ways, that may be true. But such is life in the Arctic.

Such, also, is the nature of supply and demand when it comes to any business operating as a monopoly or an oligopoly. Taking the company at its word, NTCL is listening to the complaints of Kivalliq customers and is moving to address those concerns.

Let's be honest: anything NTCL or its partners can do to reduce the cost of cargo delivery, or expedite the level of its service, will be welcomed in our region with open arms. That too, is the nature of free enterprise when it comes to consumer satisfaction.

We enjoy lower prices, better service and ease of use when it comes to any company's business system.

It is too early to speculate on whether NTCL will be held responsible for any financial compensation to Nunavummiut who suffered damage to their machines. Only time will tell if that becomes a reality and, if it does, how it will affect the company's desire to lower prices and improve its level of service.

While we wait for this story to unfold, we should do so with open minds. There will be plenty of time for passing judgment once the story is complete.

Editorial Comment
Terry Halifax
Inuvik Drum

For good or bad, it seems the town has settled the taxi situation in Inuvik -- for now at least.

The town has done their best to get out of the taxi business with the new law and the 30 drivers will have to scrap it out on the streets for the market share.

More than just earning a living, drivers are now also driven to pay off the cost of a $10,000 license.

The $300,000 will go a long way towards a new leisure centre, or whatever council decides to do with the funds raised from the license fees, so something good has come out of all the fighting.

While I haven't been here for the many years this battle's waged, I have the sinking feeling it's not over yet.

The drivers have dropped their court challenge, but the real challenge will be keeping this issue out of town council.

As it has been for years, it seems only half of the drivers are satisfied. The other half may soon have a choice though, as I hear rumblings of a new livery license before council.

While it never seemed to worked before, competition might be just what the Inuvik taxi industry needs.

With two companies competing, the customer will surely benefit. Perhaps not with lower rates, but perhaps with cheerful, prompt service.

Let's hope the drivers will be professional enough to keep the government from stepping back into the fray.

Dust in the wind

It looks like it may be a while until the town gets the street sweeper sweeping streets again.

While the rest of town is looking good, the streets are in dire need of a scrub.

It's not like spring comes as a surprise to any of us, but it seems the town was slow reacting to the change of season.

The contract for sweeping streets was handed back to the municipality, but they have yet to even buy back the sweeper.

The push is on to get the town cleaned up this week and I think the town should be leading by example.

It's hard to get motivated to clean your yard up, when there's a half-inch of dust coating it.

More than unsightly, the dust is a real health hazard.

I surely hope the streets will get swept before we hear the words 'smoking bylaw' mentioned again in council chambers.

Hurry up breakup

We're all glad to see the ferry is starting up again.

It seemed like a short break between ice road and ferry, but I'm more used to the long wait they have down in Yellowknife.

It'll be good to see the price of milk drop on store shelves too.

That's one thing I have a hard time with up here. The price of a bottle of beer in Inuvik is about the same as it is anywhere, but the price of milk is near triple.

The GNWT swears up and down that they don't subsidize freight on booze, so I guess they just have a cheaper trucker than the milkman.

Subsidy or not, I think part of the tax government makes off the booze sales here, could go a long way towards affordable fresh milk on our tables.

Editorial Comment
Mike Bryant
Deh Cho Drum

Well, my time in the Deh Cho is drawing to an end, at least for the time being.

I would like to thank all the people who have made wearing Derek's hat over the last month a little easier to bear.

There's simply too many to mention here.

Finding stories was never a problem. Fitting them all into the paper was the only difficulty I had.

My boat ride with Steven Cli was definitely one of my favourite adventures while here.

We didn't get to where we wanted to go, but it was the trip itself, and Steven's company, that made it worthwhile.

It's too bad I missed out on the beaver though.

One of my last duties here was covering the gas pipeline consultation meeting Monday night.

It was made clear by some people that despite the soothing tone of Imperial Oil exec Randy Ottenbreit's voice, they are still worried about what benefits the pipeline will bring them.

People want jobs, and by saying the pipeline is but "a step" towards solving the North's problems, was perhaps a little short of the guarantee some people were looking for.

After all, it's suppose to be a $60-billion industry some day.

Then again, as Liidlii Kue First Nation Chief Rita Cli has said time and again, people will need training to take full advantage of it.

The GNWT Department of Education, Culture and Employment has made modest steps in recent years to tackle that very problem, but with pipeline construction looming three or four years down the road, time is certainly of the essence.

It's something the gas companies can help out with as well. Merely throwing $4 or $5 billion around without aiding in the training local workers will not solve the problem.

Anyway, I best be off. Cheers and good luck.