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Friday, February 02, 2007
Hang up on bad service

When Bell brought digital cell phone service to Yellowknife, the number of phones in the city exploded.

Suddenly, it seemed that every teenager, every mom and dad and government bureaucrat had phones stuck to their ears, because it was affordable.

The service hasn't been without its problems: inaccurate billings, disconnects during system upgrades to allow T1 service, a 75-cent monthly fee for 9-1-1 service that's not available here and now more service interruptions.

The latest problem to come up has Bell scratching its head and doing a "root cause analysis" whatever that means.

When was the last time you heard a friend in the south complain about up and down cell service?

We expect better from Bell, a multi-billion dollar corporation that reported $4.339 billion in operating revenues in the third quarter of last year.

Maybe we don't really matter because we're so few and so far away from corporate headquarters.

Whatever the reason, Yellowknife cell phone customers deserve reliable service. Every time there's a problem, complain and demand better. Pretty soon they'll get the message.

To borrow from an American cell phone advertising slogan: "Can you hear us now?"


What's a dog worth?

It's no secret that Yellowknife is overpopulated with stray and abandoned dogs. Our no-kill shelter is constantly full; shelter workers are pleading for the public to adopt abandoned pets.

It's been estimated it costs $4,000 to keep a dog at the pound for a year, so that's about how much money the NWT SPCA and Great Slave Animal Hospital spent caring for Momma Ditch during her year-long wait for adoption. They deserve credit for keeping this dog alive, but that $4,000 could have paid for more than 20 dogs to be spayed or neutered, reducing the number of unwanted pets in our city.

The NWT SPCA offers year-long, interest-free loans to pay for spay and neuter operations. It also offers a 20 per cent rebate on the cost of sterilizing animals adopted from Great Slave Animal Hospital.

These efforts don't seem to be enough to curb our dog population.

Perhaps a week- or month-long fee amnesty covered off by public donations. That way, people could adopt impounded pets without penalty and have their puppies and kittens spayed or neutered free of charge, something that would help keep numbers down and the shelter less busy.


Numbers distort Rankin holidays

Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News


One learns very quickly in the journalism game that, with a bit of creativity, numbers can say just about anything you want them to.

At the very least, they are capable of giving the reader, listener or viewer a distorted picture of what's really happening in just about any given scenario.

This is a valuable tool for any journalist who might be looking for a sensational approach to draw their listener in.

And, make no mistake about it, it is also a valuable tool to anybody feeding the media information who would like the story to reflect their point of view.

That is why anyone listening to radio broadcasts this past week was probably wondering why anyone in their right mind would want to live in Rankin Inlet.

Or, at least, spend any time there during the holiday season.

You see, the Rankin RCMP, apparently, had a dickens of a time keeping up with all the alcohol-related disturbances in the community.

In fact, the community was so out of control, the number of people incarcerated during the holiday season's big night actually doubled from the year before.

And, the number of calls the RCMP had to respond to also rose some 20 per cent from the previous year.

Of course, all this information was given much fanfare due to the fact there was no ban on alcohol put in place this year.

We have no doubt the numbers are true. However, in a community of about 2,500, you still don't need the fingers on both hands to count the number of people who found themselves incarcerated.

And, of course, if you go to the same address four times, you are well within your rights to count each one as a separate incident.

But Rankin was hardly in the throes of anarchy this past holiday season.

Conspicuous in their absence from these reports were those who worked the Christmas Games and oversaw the community hall during the numerous dances and New Year's gathering, all of whom reported relatively trouble-free events during which everyone had a good time.

And yes, Rankin was only two behind Iqaluit, a community more than twice its size, when it came to people who were nabbed while driving under the influence of alcohol.

Of course, for the past year, the Rankin RCMP have been working under the direct order of hamlet council to be extremely vigilant in their efforts to nab those who make such a terrible decision.

And they've done a great job at it, which has made our community a safer place to be, but that has nothing to do with alcohol bans at Christmas.

Neither Mayor Lorne Kusugak nor the Rankin RCMP were happy about council's refusal to support Coun. Justin Merritt's motion to impose a ban this past year.

And, the release of these statistics, presented in the worst-possible light, almost seems to be a way of telling the community we told you so when it comes to the ban.

Maybe it's time to hold a plebiscite every two or three years during the municipal elections asking the community if it wants a holiday liquor ban during that time frame.

Then, everyone on both sides of the cork can learn to accept the will of the people.


We need police on the streets

Editorial Comment
Dez Loreen
Inuvik Drum


I want to know what the police of Inuvik are doing to protect us from crime and violence.

A man is in hospital because he was stabbed by a youth on Saturday morning. I don't know the details of the incident yet, but it is becoming obvious that we have a crisis on our hands.

Last year our town was plagued by rash after rash of break-ins and vandalism. We found out that it was a group of kids who were being helped by an adult.

People in this town don't seem to care about the police or the law. That is becoming more and more apparent by the volume of calls the RCMP have been getting.

But now, why aren't the boys in blue responding to these calls? Why do victims of break-ins have to wait days before they get a response from the Inuvik RCMP?

Since I became editor of the Inuvik Drum, people have been coming to me with their beefs with the police.

I know a guy who had some expensive property stolen from right in front of his house, a motorbike that could easily be identified.

The person stole it because they knew they could get away with it. They took the risk because they knew all they'd get was a slap on the wrist.

Hopefully someone in the RCMP detachment will read this column and spend more time on the street tonight. Go on patrol and spread that authority where it counts. I don't want to be afraid of the cops; I just want to respect them again.

A person on the street said it best: the crack dealers and vandals are still going strong; it seems like all the cops want to do is spend their resources busting pot dealers.

I was talking to the manager of a store that was broken into recently. The guy said he knew who broke into his store less than 10 hours after the fact, but the RCMP have still not done anything. He even supplied the kids' names to the cops. Maybe they will call him back now.

I am also a victim of theft. Someone came in to my office and stole my portable Playstation. The police have no leads yet, but they assured me over a month ago that they were on the case. Hmmm...

My issue may be with the state of our laws and how we handle our criminals, but police need to enforce the weak laws that are in place.

If the crooks aren't taking our prosecution system seriously, why should we? I don't think the good people of Inuvik deserve to be punked like this.

Youth don't get punished for their crimes and they keep being bad apples. Adults who are now grown-up criminals can't stay out of jail.

Maybe we should make their jail time less inviting. People who have spent time in the slammer tell me they haven't eaten that well in years. They get to read, work out and yes, play video games.

Why can't I play my video game? Oh yeah, because I obey the law.


The burden of power

Editorial Comment
Roxanna Thompson
Deh Cho Drum


Wrigley is without a chief again.

The resignation of Chief Tim Lennie from the position marks the third leadership change in just over 12 months.

The revolving door of leadership in Wrigley perhaps says less about that community than it does about the other communities in the Deh Cho. It is, in fact, a credit to the region that more communities are not stuck in this unfortunate position.

Speaking to the leaders gathered at the Dehcho First Nations' special leadership meeting in Fort Simpson, Lennie offered some insight into the role of chief.

"This is not a thankful job. We all know that," he said.

Later Lennie said that he admires other leaders, especially those in small communities for their strength.

Being a chief or a president cannot be an easy job.

Lennie cited exhaustion as his primary reason for leaving leadership and he's not the first to do so. Although he remained in the position, Chief Eric Betsaka of Nahanni Butte recently almost hung up his hat for the same reason.

Both stated that they were looking forward to a bit more personal time and being with their families.

As a leader, especially in a small community, all residents become your extended family. While juggling the needs of a biological family can be difficult in itself, keeping the proverbial balls in the air for a community full of family members is that much trickier.

To add to the confusion, many of the community members are probably blood relations to the leader in the first place. As a result a delicate tightrope walk has to be maintained. Non-family members and members of different family branches are bound to be watching for any real or imagined signs of favouritism.

In smaller communities there is also the added burden of lack of human resources. Often there are fewer people than there are jobs needing completion and leaders are ultimately held responsible for the result.

When all the responsibilities are looked at together, it's amazing that anyone wants to be a chief or president in the first place.

But in the end much of the credit for long-lasting leaders can be given to those they are leading.

A leader is suppose to act as a spokesperson and champion for their people. If they aren't representing the people's wishes their rule becomes a dictatorship.

In return for hopefully sound guidance and leadership those who are being led also have a number responsibilities to fulfil.

While leaders are often criticized, providing constructive criticism is more helpful than other forms. The occasional bit of praise never hurts either.

Providing direction for chosen leaders is also important. Without the people to act as a compass, leaders often don't know where they should be heading.

By working together leaders and community members can help ensure mutually beneficial stability.


Correction

An error appeared in the Opinions section in Wednesday's Yellowknifer, ("Snowmobile safety tips," January 31.) The letter was actually written by Wayne Overbo. Yellowknifer apologizes for any embarrassment or confusion caused by the error.