Wednesday, August 17, 2005
The egg was a Sparrow missile that fell from a CF-18 as it made a landing approach to Yellowknife Airport.
An investigation into the incident found that the 200 kg missile slipped from its mount because it was only half-locked in place. It wasn't armed and did not explode when it crashed into the driving range.
The mishap closed Highway 3 and shut down the airport for an hour, but according to the military spokesperson, "the missile was never a danger per se - other than the fact it fell off the airplane."
Danger is a relative term. Walking down the street isn't dangerous - unless a driver loses control and knocks you flat, not unlike having a missile oopsed on an airport terminal or a party of early morning golfers.
Dangerous or not, the spokesperson assured the public that "we don't take any of this lightly. We've had some very competent people look at that."
The military has changed its procedures and it is "pretty damn confident ... that it is very, very unlikely this will ever happen again."
Whew! That's a relief.
With a few days left in the Canada Summer Games, Team Northwest Territories has yet to climb the medal podium.
It would be easy to boo-hoo this. There are some who would even say the NWT shouldn't send teams to these athletic events unless returning North of 60 with at least one bronze medal can be guaranteed.
But participation counts.
There may not be much NWT can do when facing monied and population-rich provinces like Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia.
But we're part of Canada. Showing up for the Summer Games is a little like voting: we shouldn't vote with the expectation of being part of the winning team. We should be voting to participate in a democratic right.
As part of Canada, our tiny teams and under-trained athletes have as much right to be in Regina these past two weeks as golden provincial athletes coming from a talent pool of millions and developed from a cornucopia of sports facilities and top coaches. Team NWT members are giving their all: proved by the number of personal bests and the pile of broken territorial records.
Doing your best. Taking part. That's all that should matter.
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
As a journalist, I learned a long time ago that human attitudes and behaviour will always be constant sources of amazement.
So, I thought I had taken it completely in stride this past week when I was stopped by a local resident and criticized for writing far too many good-news-type articles in the newspaper.
I had to stop ignoring all the bad news, I was politely told, and start being more critical of the system.
I can honestly say this was the first time I was ever accused of being a love, luck and lollipops type of writer.
However, I didn't really find the criticism as peculiar as its timing.
During my first 10 days back in Rankin after my vacation, I was actually feeling a little overwhelmed by what felt like a steady stream of bad-news-type stories.
Accidental deaths, dog attacks, crime sprees and violent acts are not pleasant stories to cover when they all involve or affect people you know personally.
And, c'mon, I've been known to take the odd swipe or two at the "system," yet, I found the person's words still bugging me two days later.
Then I realized what was bugging me was the idea of letting the bad guys win.
To me, filling the newspaper week after week with nothing but gloom, doom and despair, while ignoring those in our communities who work so hard to make things better, would be doing exactly that -- letting the bad guys win.
News is news, and must be reported, good or bad.
However, although there are times we all have moments of doubt, the good things in our lives still heavily outweigh the bad.
Yes, there is bad news again in this week's paper.
But there are also stories of heroism, of community leaders fighting to improve the quality of life in our hamlets, and of graduates receiving their diplomas in a school for the very first time.
You will also find a rising hockey star, from right here in our region, talking about the excitement of the upcoming NHL year, the hopes of a group of wrestlers battling adversity as they get set to compete on a national stage, and a local athlete who may have to choose between two sports he loves to play this coming year.
The one thing bad news and good news have in common, is that they are both part of life.
And, the job of a community newspaper is to tell the stories of the people in our towns who make life so interesting.
That being said, it is only logical that the good news stories occupy the vast majority of our pages, because we have so many good, interesting and determined-to-succeed people living in our communities.
At the risk of being somewhat philosophical (hey, it's an opinion piece, I'm allowed) - to accept the bad, is simply to accept the inevitable.
But, to celebrate the good surrounding us every day, that, valued readers, is to celebrate life itself.
Editorial Comment
Jason Unrau
Inuvik Drum
Last Thursday morning, a woman shopping at the News Stand asked one of the clerks working there why the store was still open.
When he said he didn't understand the nature of her question, she blurted out that the Hell's Angels were fast approaching and they had a reputation for destruction.
As rumours of society's modern-day version of the Vikings - 70 odd thundering up the highway on their iron horses to collect unpaid drug debts - grew more outrageous as they sped through the grapevine, I must admit they even sucked me in.
"One of us has to go down the highway to check this out," I told my colleague, who calmly continued typing while insisting the entire story was a pack of nonsense.
But with tales of scrambled helicopters engaged in an aerial search, one could almost sense that the collective ear of Inuvik was pinned to the ground in anticipation of the unmistakable rumbling of motorcycles belching exhaust and noise into the Delta calm.
Word even spread down south, setting in motion a slew of reporters itching for sensational headlines about a battle between bikers and townsfolk.
Regardless of who might be to blame for allegedly establishing a business relationship with such a criminal organization, our collective obsession with television and its over-the-top dramatization of biker gangs and other criminal elements definitely played a role in fuelling recent events.
Visit any community in North America - be it aboriginal, southern-suburbia or uptown cosmopolitan - and you are bound to see kids emulating their favourite rap artists by adorning themselves in the current urban fashion of oversized sports jerseys, baggy pants and turned-sideways ball caps.
I suppose if there's a moral to the story - besides the fact that drug use can make one paranoid - it would be to give that idiot-box a rest once in a while.
Better do it now, though, before the entire cable/satellite-washed world walks the same, talks the same and lives in fear of the same mythological-beasts, in this case a hoard of hairy hellraisers bent on the destruction of a town near you.
Editorial Comment
Derek Neary
Deh Cho Drum
First off, the Petitot Gathering was enjoyable.
There are a few summer festivals in the Deh Cho area every year and each has its own feel, its own flavour. The common bond is that people come together and have a good time. No emphasis on politics, no fierce competition, no focus on making money.
That's a nice change of pace.
At the Petitot Gathering - set just off the highway along the Petitot River, 40-odd kilometres from Fort Liard, the nearest community - it was remarkable how human ingenuity permitted conveniences to remain.
Refrigerated trucks brought loads of quality food (chicken, ribs, turkey, salads, fresh fruit, and on and on) to the rather remote location.
A huge generator hummed away, allowing workers in a camp kitchen to turn those raw ingredients into some tasty meals (it should be noted that some traditionalists cooked dry meat and dry fish while others enjoyed stew cooked in a pot over a fire).
That same generator powered a sound system so the emcee and musical guests could entertain the crowd.
Sometimes it's hard not to take these things for granted - so often we have the will and the means to get what we need where we want it, when we want it. It's quite extraordinary. Next up on the festival circuit is the Wrigley Spiritual Gathering. See you there.
Some community leaders are practically in shock because the territorial government announced this week that it is granting "capacity building" money with few strings attached. Remaining a little cynical, they keep waiting for the catch.
The funds come from the first instalment of Northern Strategy money from the federal government. Municipal, First Nations and Metis leaders made it quite clear months ago that the cash should be disbursed to the communities so they can meet their own priorities. It seems the territorial government has paid heed. Is it really too good to be true?
The official word from Environment Canada is that Fort Simpson experienced slightly warmer than average temperatures in July and received less than average rainfall. I'm sure they have their figures right, but it sure seems like it's been an awfully cool and damp summer.
Apparently my recollection of Fort Simpson summers was skewed by last year when we had some very dry months and lengthy stretches of sweating it out.
So far in summer 2005, it seems like there's unstable weather every other day. Throughout the month of July one could look at the horizon and often see thunder clouds approaching.
And there's apparently not much summer remaining. We're still in the early stages of August but yellow leaves are already visible and gaggles of geese have packed their bags and have begun heading south.