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Features
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Wednesday, June 13, 2007 Fire alarm
It's a clear example that the Yellowknife Fire Department doesn't have the equipment to properly fight a fire on Latham. From lack of water to inability to control traffic, the present situation cannot continue. Tanker trucks ferried water back and forth from a hydrant near Fritz Theil Park, about two kilometres away. It only took three minutes to exhaust each tanker's supply of water. Firefighters did their best, but when there's just a dribble coming out of hoses, it's impossible to do their job when the tanks run dry. While everyone agrees there was little hope of saving the Morrison Drive duplex, it's very lucky the flames didn't spread to any of the adjoining houses because the fire could have been far worse. Many people are asking why the fire department didn't simply pump water from the lake. Unfortunately, the department doesn't have the equipment to do that, a problem that must be resolved. Hydrants aren't a possibility right now because the surface lines don't have enough pressure. As a result of the lack of firefighting water, Latham homeowners pay a hidden tax to live there, in the form of increased insurance. That money would be better spent by having the city install a hydrant connected to heated water lines. As deputy fire chief Merlin Klassen suggested, pumping stations might be an even easier solution, allowing fire trucks to tap directly into the lake water. It would be costly, but that expense can be shared with the rest of the city's taxpayers. That's not to say Latham taxpayers can't pay a local improvement tax to take a greater share of the burden, but all Yellowknife homeowners have something at stake, not the least higher home insurance rates. It's also important to note that the firefight was also hampered by hordes of vehicles jamming Latham's narrow streets, blocking tanker trucks and other emergency vehicles. Anyone who witnessed the crowd at St. Joe's school fire last August, smoke and flames draw spectators to fires like moths to a candle. Given that experience, municipal enforcement and RCMP should have been more aggressive in dealing with traffic. Stopping vehicles from getting onto Latham Island helped, but where was the traffic control on the island to make sure fire trucks could get back and forth? Council members say they are worried about what happened June 2, and we hope they mean it. This is a life-or-death situation that needs a detailed, timely and effective response.
My Rankin welcome
Editorial Comment Christine Grimard Kivalliq News Wednesday, June 13, 2007 When I first stepped out of the airplane in Rankin Inlet two weeks ago, I must admit I was a little intimidated. Coming from Ottawa, Yellowknife had been my big adventure when I moved up there last December. However, a few days in Rankin Inlet has made me realize that my time in Yellowknife was hardly different than in any other Southern town. With pubs, malls, dance clubs and even a movie theatre I had all the comforts of home, even if I was North of 60. I was warned before I came here that I haven't really experienced Northern life yet, and to be ready for the adjustment. Well here I am, and even in the second largest community in Nunavut I'm starting to understand how foreign a person can feel in their own country. I'd like to thank the people who have helped me start to get to know what this town is about. A weekend at Andrea Duffy's, with friendly visitors stopping by and a family that could not have been more welcoming, was a lifesaver to a stranger drowning in the unknown. I was lucky enough to be in town when Adina was visiting, and shared some time with the sisters sipping coffee and working on paintings. A friendly game of cards with a giggly group of ladies was also a great taste of home. Having left a little bit richer, I'll be glad to meet up with you ladies again. While I enjoyed a Sunday drive with Andrea out on the land, I must say that the excitement of my week was an invitation to go snowmobiling on the bay. This may be difficult for people who have grown up on snowmobiles to believe, but it was only my second time on one in my life, and the first time I got to drive one myself. What a wonderful freedom racing out on the Bay. With no roads to define our path, we set out free on what turned out to be the only sunny night this week. As my time here progresses and my job at the newspaper pushes me into the community, I'm getting to know Rankin Inlet a little more. It's tricky trying to write my impressions, having hardly spent two weeks in this place. I can say from what I've seen so far, I'm looking forward to getting to know it a little more. I've been made promises of beautiful tundra, weekends on the land, hopefully some fishing and hunting as well. As you read this, I have just five more weeks here before I return to Yellowknife and Darrell comes back. Until then, I welcome any invitations to take part in whatever you can image. From fishing to hunting, sewing to singing, I'm hoping you'll welcome me and show me what the true North is as about. For the warm welcome I've received so far, I thank you all. -- Darrell Greer, the regular editor of the Kivalliq News, returns July 16.
A trashy sendoff
Editorial CommentDez Loreen Inuvik Drum Friday, June 8, 2007 Smashing bottles and blacking out -- the way that Inuvik celebrates a high school graduation -- yep, the annual bash known as the grad party has come and gone and has left people picking up the pieces. Early reports said the shindig would be happening at the Boot Lake park. It's a great location for a gathering: Lots of sun, a playground and access to the water. I guess the convenient location is just icing on the already sweet cake. So after the graduates had finished their banquet, they dispersed to their respective corners and came out swinging, ready to party. How would they top other parties? What would become of the newest flock of graduates? Well, the evidence shows that we've sent a group of destructive drinkers into the world, to accept the responsibilities of a new life outside the walls of Samuel Hearne. I think it's too bad that the people who went out to party had to trash their venue. I didn't check it out, but I hear it was one banging bash. A few of my friends called me and it sounded like a lot of people were having a good time. Oh yes, I'm sure someone had their truck doors open and music was blaring. On behalf of we who missed out on "Black-out fest 2007" I want to apologize to the graduates and to anyone else who celebrated that night. I don't want to come down on you too hard, but I am fresh off the heels from writing about littering and parties. This editorial seemed like a logical next step for me. I know almost every one of the graduates and I'm surprised that there was a mess at all. I thought that we had a responsible group of teens who were willing to pick up after themselves. Or at least they would curb the impulse to smash empty bottles against playground equipment. I can understand that you might not have been in control or maybe you were just caught in the moment, but come on. There are children who want to use those slides. Why should anyone have to deal with the aftermath of your "good time"? I want to personally thank every RCMP officer who went down and spilled the bottles of those unlucky partiers. I did laugh a few times at the saddened stories my friends told me about how brutal it was, watching a full 40-ouncer of tequila spill onto the ground. I'm glad I wasn't at the party, because it sounded like the cops had a good lock on the situation once they arrived. I have a few questions though, about why they allowed the party to continue. I thought it was illegal for under-aged people to drink. But hey, I must congratulate the class of 2007 on their ability to host a party so wild that the bar-goers crashed it after last call. Nothing like hitting on young drunk girls after striking out at the Trapper, I tell ya. Here is a toast, to a society where we celebrate the accomplishments of our youth with wild parties. I don't want to come across like a jerk, but after talking with a family of kayakers who had to pick up five large bags of your garbage, I sympathize with the cleaners, not the partiers. I enjoy a drink as much as the next guy in line at the bank, but really. There are garbage bins to collect trash for good reasons. Even if your excuse is that the bins were full, don't be a fool. Littering is for tools.
Celebration of achievement
Editorial CommentRoxanna Thompson Deh Cho Drum Friday, June 8, 2007 Graduation ceremonies are events worth attending even if you aren't related to any of the students. The ceremony held for 11 students from Thomas Simpson school on June 2 was a case in point. Although it was called a graduand ceremony, because officially the students haven't passed their final tests, the results were still the same. To begin with, a graduation ceremony can be a walk down memory lane. It provides a chance for people to reflect back on their own high school graduation. You can question whether or not your time in high school really was some of the best years of your life and wonder where your classmates ended up. Attending a graduation is a free ticket for nostalgia. Graduation ceremonies are also great events to attend because of the positive emotions that surge from them. At the ceremonies there are seldom any unhappy faces in the crowd. Some people may be crying, but generally it's because they are overwhelmed with happy emotions. The whole ceremony is designed to be a recognition of positive accomplishments. The students have put in years behind desks, bent over piles of notes and have emerged victorious, ready to face the next step in their lives. It's hard not to smile and cheer as graduates parade into a hall. Family members are beaming and the graduates smile right along as they try to maintain some degree of composure. For parents and other caregivers, graduations are a tangible acknowledgment that their children have reached an important milestone. All those early morning wake-up calls and struggles to help their children with homework questions that sometimes even parents don't understand have paid off. Parents are able to breathe a sigh of relief that their child has made it this far before worrying what the next step will bring. For students, the graduation ceremony is a time to celebrate their hard work and party with the friends from whom they might soon be parted. Graduation ceremonies are also well worth a visit for the speeches. Almost all speeches given by officials at graduations are pep talks in disguise. Students are praised for their accomplishments and given nuggets of advice for how to continue on with the rest of their lives.Speeches given here in the Deh Cho usually touch on one or more of a series of set topics that bear repeating no matter how many times they've been said. Each graduate is precious. Students face many challenges to reach a high school level of education. Getting to that point is not a given for all students and is worthy of praise. No matter where graduates end up travelling to and creating their home, they should never forget where they came from and that they are always welcome to return. The Deh Cho needs as many graduates as it can produce. There are openings in many communities in a variety of fields from professionals to trades people. It would be ideal to have these jobs filled by locals. If the Deh Cho is going to continue to move forward, it will be the local graduates who make it happen.
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