Instead, why not get your fix another way.
While other communities have junior teams to cheer on, Yellowknife has senior recreational and minor hockey leagues.
That doesn't mean you can't visit the new Multiplex or Yellowknife Community Arena to take in a game.
Minor hockey may not have the fast skating, slick passing, hard hitting and pretty goals, but the players are all household names.
They are your neighbours' sons and daughters. They've probably been in your kitchen or living room.
The games they play are entertaining in their own way.
Just think of the thrill the kids will have when they see a few dozen people -- who aren't their parents or grandparents -- in the stands cheering them on!
Is Yellowknife dogged out?
It's a question that has to be asked after the SPCA had to fly 11 dogs to Edmonton for adoption recently.
Janet Pacey, SPCA president, suggests that Yellowknife might not have a large enough population to support the number of dogs that need homes.
She's probably right. The desire to want a big dog when you move to the North is understandable, but people need to think carefully about the responsibility of such a decision.
How long are you going to be here and will you take it along when you go? Do you have the time to walk it, groom it and otherwise take care of it? And make sure it's spayed or neutered.
The dogs shipped to Edmonton should now have new homes, but without First Air's help in flying them south, we shudder to think what their fate would have been.
A shining tourism light
It's great that Aurora World Corp. is back on its feet. This company has brought thousands of tourists and millions of dollars to our city over the years.
After months in bankruptcy protection, the company received unanimous support of its creditors Sept. 20.
With that cloud lifted the company can get on with its important work: promoting Yellowknife as the best place in the world to see the Northern Lights.
Editorial Comment
Lisa Scott
Kivalliq News
When the image of a remote hamlet with a population of more than 2,000 comes to mind, the words sleepy and safe seem to fit.
That's why a recent RCMP report on crime in Rankin Inlet caught me off guard.
It was just a regular update on criminal activity in the hamlet presented to council by Sgt. Grant St. Germaine at a regular meeting, but the numbers were startling.
Eight assaults, eight break and enters and six instances of impaired driving were reported in August.
Those were just some of the 165 "activities" that kept the Rankin detachment busy. I hadn't considered the RCMP to be a visible force in the community, hence my surprise at the hectic crime schedule in town.
On the bright side, though, when the activity reports between August 2003 and 2004 are compared, criminal activity is down in Rankin. Way down in fact.
St. Germaine lauded the addition of Const. Sean O'Brien to the detachment in May of this year as a threat to drug activity in town.
"Major drug enforcement initiatives will take place over the next three to five months," he said earlier in the year.
In August alone, three cases involved drugs, compared to none for the previous August. O'Brien was the cause, said St. Germaine. The prophecy has come true.
Crime may be present in Rankin and the region, but I'm feeling more reassured that the RCMP are alert and ready.
These rainy days
The month of September can't end without a comment on the incredibly rainy weather.
If the Tea Talk Lady's stats are right, 15 rainy days were counted even before the month was over. A couple of those were storms that I wouldn't have believed.
From what others are saying, the late summer and early fall wet weather is abnormal for the region.
Rankin Inlet received 50mm of rain during one late September storm, more than an average month's worth of precipitation for the community. According to Environment Canada, 42.3mm is the average rainfall for September.
Baker Lake got 34mm at the same time, and regions across the territory faced gale-force winds along with the storm.
With this much unexpected rain abounding, Kivalliq residents must be wondering what the winter holds in store for them.
Editorial Comment
Jason Unrau
Inuvik Drum
As the price of oil surpassed $50 a barrel on the world market, it highlighted the need for us to explore alternative energy sources.
The GNWT announced it was going to pump more money into further studies related to expanding the Taltson Dam in the South Slave and building a comparatively much larger project on the Great Bear River.
Though the jury is still out on how clean hydro energy is, the resulting decrease in diesel generated power, if and when said-projects are realized, tends to trump arguments against expanding hydro potential in the Northwest Territories.
Two guys in a bar are talking about the gas in the ground. The first guy says he sure would enjoy a piece of the windfall a pipeline could provide. The second guy laughs and says keep the gas in the ground and then he leaves to go hunting.
In walks the deal-maker and he says the time to deal, if you're going to deal, is now.
There isn't a punch line at the end of this. Either way, there will be unhappy people and others pleased as punch.
And the hunter may well be pleased as punch with or without a pipeline. Just as long as he doesn't mind power lines cutting through the countryside -- and a pipeline cutting straight through the valley.
Sitting around in the early hours talking territorial politics, a friend suggested that a pipeline wasn't what the territory needed.
Think about the pristine landscape carved up by high-tension power lines and a gas pipe and you will get the general idea.
Add to this the fact that it is possible to build a pipeline that can operate on its own power, without the help of hydro.
Spend more money
Judging by the territorial government's willingness to spend more money it doesn't have on studies on constructing a massive hydro project to power a tentative pipeline, the leadership obviously feels differently than my friend.
Or the World Wildlife Fund for that matter. It made an appeal to the federal government to protect ecologically and culturally significant regions in the Mackenzie Valley.
The feds promised to split the cost with the WWF, but, according to former Liberal PM John Turner, now a director with the environmental group, it takes money to make money. In other words, it would help him "fundraise" if the feds would cough up their share of the conservation project's $18 million price tag.
Regardless of how one feels about large scale development in the territory, it insults many people's sensibilities when there would appear to be millions laying around for studies on planned projects, potential projects, then review boards, voluminous impact statements for the review of those boards, and so and so forth, yet money remains tight for conservation and education.
To top it all off, some of our beloved members of parliament want a 10 per cent pay raise.
If $50 for a barrel of oil doesn't raise your eyebrows, this pay raise nonsense might just do the trick.
Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum
When Michael Jackson dangled his infant son over a balcony for a crowd of fans and paparazzi to see, the backlash was immediate and overwhelming.
Most observers agreed Jackson was an irresponsible parent for taking such a senseless risk. Some even advocated that social services should take custody of his children.
So what about women who drink while pregnant? What should be done about that woeful situation, which gives rise to fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), a condition that is completely preventable?
Regardless of what it is that compels a mother-to-be to drink, the "system" is left to deal with the subsequent burden that will last throughout the child's lifetime.
Children with FASD are often born underweight, requiring extra medical attention. They have learning disabilities, requiring teachers and classroom assistants to devote more time to their needs. Sadly, through their frustration or nefarious influences, research has shown those with FASD are more inclined to commit crimes. That puts a greater strain on the justice system and social services as well.
Fortunately, Fort Simpson has an FASD working group that is helping devise strategies. Hopefully all parents are receptive to the approaches and not reactionary. It's human nature for parents, especially of non-FASD children, to question how their offsprings' schooling may be impeded by changes in a classroom environment. If you are concerned, discuss it with a teacher or the principal.
Nobody knows the number of children with FASD at Bompas elementary or any other Deh Cho school. Diagnosis is lacking and extremely difficult. In some cases there are tell-tale signs, such as physical abnormalities like a small head; small eye openings; short, upturned nose; depressed bridge of the nose; missing groove between the nose and the upper lip; poorly formed ears. In other cases, there are no physical indications whatsoever.
Diagnosis or not, something needed to be done. Classroom disruptions caused by some children have been an ongoing source of concern for parents. If these new school strategies can minimize outbursts without "dumbing down" the curriculum in any way, then everybody wins.
In addition, the education campaign for pregnant women has to continue. The message must be driven home that drinking liquor while pregnant is unacceptable.
And although it is not hereditary, parents with FASD may possess fewer parenting skills or impaired judgement due to the disorder.
Therefore, future generations can still be affected.
While awareness seems to have grown over the past several years, there is still a long way to go to stop this terrible cycle of alcoholism and FASD.