|
Features
|
Friday, May 18, 2007 Road to resources trumps Mackenzie bridge
Just to recap: The last of many proposals for a bridge over the Mackenzie River started out in 2002 as a $55 million project involving the territorial government and aboriginal development companies in the Deh Cho. While this public private partnership beat the bushes for cash for the next few years, with the territorial government spending $4.04 million, world markets marched on, more than doubling the price to $130 million today. With Ottawa giving the project the cold shoulder, Handley's desire to "bite the bullet" and build the bridge would be wonderful if it made economic sense. It doesn't. Yellowknifers and city retailers have long adapted to the inconvenience of break up and freeze up. Costs have been kept in line. Building a bridge and a huge debt with a toll for trucks to make consumers and the mines pay for something they have learned to live without would be a costly blunder. A much higher priority is an idea Handley raised for pushing the Ingraham Trail up into the Barrens to help extend the life of the winter road to the diamond mines. The warm winter of 2006 showed how important and fragile that supply line is. Tahera, the smallest of the diamond mines, was hit hard, having to fly in at great cost or go without important supplies and is just recovering. The other mines suffered huge costs as well, bringing in supersized aircraft from Russia. Yellowknife, Bechoko and surrounding communities, all benefit through diamond jobs, contracts and impact agreements. The mines and future resource projects on the Barrens also bring in the very royalties Handley is trying to wrestle from the federal government. Another factor Handley must consider is the renewed interest in the Bathurst Inlet Port and Road in Nunavut. A meeting was held in Yellowknife Monday night to get public input on a project that would compete with the Tibbitt to Contwoyto winter road as the main supply route to the diamond mines. The government's own advisors are saying emphatically the focus should be on the economy we have, that being the one driven by mining, not dreams of pipelines, nor we might add, bridges. So on one hand we have a costly bridge we don't really need that's going to cost ordinary Yellowknifers and our main economic engine dearly. On the other hand, we have a seasonal road that will help ensure the continued wealth of the NWT. A bridge would be nice. Our financial future is essential.
The more the merrier
Editorial CommentDarrell Greer Kivalliq News Wednesday, May 16, 2007 The cynicism of some people in today's world never ceases to amaze me. And that, valued readers, comes from a journalist with more than a few years at the keyboard. A day or two after the May 9 edition of Kivalliq News hit the streets containing a feature story on an award-winning gym teacher, I was told in-no-uncertain terms that these awards have become meaningless because there are too many of them on the go. Believe it or not, other than cynical (which really doesn't do it justice), I don't have a word to describe the combination of tone, facial expression and eye-roll used when the person actually spoke the word "awards." It was definitely a time for a, "No, tell me what you really think," type of rebuttal, and I wish I had thought of it at the moment. The person then, of course, went on to suggest maybe it was time I stopped dedicating so much space to these namby-pamby (I kid you not) tributes. Not the best of timing when you realize the school awards are just around the corner, but, I digress. Now, let's be honest. If the person was speaking strictly about the number of Commissioner's Awards handed out each year, there may have been the tiniest grain of truth in their contention. And, we've all been to sporting events where whoever selected the award winners seemed more worried about geographic location than athletic ability. But, they are what they are and we accept them. To find fault with a relative handful of educators, volunteers and youth being publicly recognized for their accomplishments borders on asinine. We are fortunate to live in a country where we enjoy many freedoms. And among those freedoms, is the choice to watch and listen to whatever type of news we find relevant. If you want nothing but gloom, doom and despair, coupled with an endless stream of the sky-is-falling rhetoric, there are plenty of numbers on your radio dial and TV remote to accommodate you. Likewise, the Internet gives you access to plenty of written news (most even have pictures) that focuses predominately on everything that is wrong with the world. The key to the equation is balance. It's not all doom, gloom and despair, nor is it all love, luck and lollipops. Let's not waste our time playing down the importance of having people among us who strive to do the best they can. We should be happy we have so many teachers in our region who care about our kids' educations. Ditto the volunteers (written here many times and not about to change) who work so hard to make programming available in our region. In short, these awards are good things no matter how many of them are handed out. When it comes to people in the Kivalliq being named as award winners, the more the merrier. Would you rather the Kivalliq have no award-winning teachers? Wouldn't that be great fodder for filling the pages of Kivalliq News? Not!!
Skipping school is stupid
Editorial CommentDez Loreen Inuvik Drum Friday, May 18, 2007 I am getting sick and tired of kids who skip school. Each day, dozens of youth are on the streets during the day with nothing to do but linger like so many cigarette butts discarded on the sidewalk. Parents need to instill some accountability and self-respect in those kids who choose to skip class. I understand that some parents might not know their kid is out on the streets in the middle of the day, but I am concerned about those parents who are aware of their children's activity and choose not to act on it. Be strong with the youth and they will be strong in the end. I want to know what happened to the old adage 'tough love'. I still remember the days of the willow switch and the metre stick. Luckily I was a little young to be struck in school, but I remember the principle of the action. Society has changed to the point of what seems like no return. Somewhere between the past generations, parents have given all control to their kids. Any sort of child abuse is unacceptable, but there must be some way to get through to the youth. If you don't properly discipline your kid and teach them about responsibility, they become a burden to other people in the community. Every week we here at the Inuvik Drum deal with kids who are skipping school. I've heard it all, from "School is out," to "My mom said I could skip if I think it's boring." I saw one mother bust her daughter for skipping school last week to sell newspapers. Talk about a priceless moment. I think the girl tried to hide behind a car. Children are our future and we should prepare them for what challenges lie ahead. While sleeping in and skipping school may seem comfortable to those students who miss class habitually, it will not help them in the years to come. Unless you want to leave school forever and live off mom and dad for the rest of your life, you need to learn some responsibility. Take it from someone who recently had to adjust to the "real world" of employment and deadlines. The earlier you learn these important life lessons, the better off you will be and the happier your bosses will be in turn. As a community we need to stay together, like a pack of wolves. Since we are not nomadic and we have settled in an area, we can't just leave our weak behind. They stay with us and poison the rest of the pack with temptations. Those who wish to stay at home during the day will soon be faced with a sobering fact: the school won't let you skip. That's right, Samuel Hearne has had enough. Miss enough school and you'll get warnings. Your parents will get letters and hopefully those will not fall on deaf ears. Sooner than later, you'll be kicked out for the rest of the semester. Wow, what a bad situation. Being kicked out of school for missing too many classes. I know many people have had to come back and repeat courses because they didn't want to miss out on an education. Missing school is not excusable. If you don't agree with the schedule and curriculum, then move to another jurisdiction. The times are set for your benefit. Your teachers have to get up even earlier. They seem to do fine. Maybe if you're sitting in the classroom you'll be less likely to end up picking up butts from under Northmart.
A guiding hand
Editorial CommentRoxanna Thompson Deh Cho Drum Friday, May 18, 2007 There's nothing like the death of a teenager to cover a community in a dark pall. Although every death is mourned, the death of a young person is especially hard on a community because there's a sense that a future has been lost. The matter is only made worse if more than one young person has their life cut short. After such a death things are never quite the same. At graduations and special gatherings their absence always leaves an empty space. No one wants to see a young person die, so it only makes sense to take pre-emptive steps to help ensure it doesn't happen. The death of a local teenager is something that Robert Byatt, the principal of Thomas Simpson school, worries will happen as a result of unchecked drinking by minors and young adults. The issue of underage drinking was raised in Fort Simpson in relation to a recent increase in crimes by youth in the village. Members of the RCMP and Byatt both point to alcohol and underage drinking as contributing factors to this problem. This isn't the first time that the issue of underage drinking has been raised in the village. In October, Byatt sounded the alarm about the number of underage people, including some as young as 12 and 13, who were drinking over the summer. At the time RCMP Sgt. Cliff McKay said underage drinking has been a consistent problem in the village. The continued excessive drinking is behind the recent increase in crime, said McKay. While it's easy to become alarmed by the joint spectres of underage drinking, crime by youth and possible serious accidents resulting in death, some perspective is needed. The teens in Fort Simpson haven't reinvented the wheel when it comes to underage drinking and the things it can lead to. Drinking by minors can probably be found across the communities in the Deh Cho, the North and undoubtedly the rest of Canada and beyond. Drinking is almost seen as a rite of passage in modern Western culture and there are few who don't try it out before they are legally able to do so. It's also important to point out that not every teenager is an underage drinker. Some may never do it, some may do it once or every once in a while. Also, not all youth that drink will end up committing crimes or putting lives in danger. But in a community that can now see one of the effects of underage drinking, the question that needs to be asked is what can be done to prevent a tragedy. Every time this issue is raised it always seems to come back to the same two answers - cutting off the flow of alcohol, and parental guidance. While cutting off the flow of alcohol sounds like the best plan, teens will always be able to find alcohol if they really want it. So it falls on parents and the broader community to set guidelines for what constitutes acceptable drinking practices until wisdom and experience temper young age. Everyone was a teenager once and can remember what it was like to experiment with alcohol, make mistakes and learn from them. A supportive environment and guidelines can help ensure that youth can make their mistakes and still have the chance to learn from them.
Corrections An article appearing in Wednesday's Yellowknifer ("Famed aviator's mansion by the lake up for sale" May 16), states that the Engle home cannon was used to launch the Commissioner's Cup sailing race. That's true but in later years Denise Lockett and her former husband Todd Burlingame also fired a cannon to launch the race.
|