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Features
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Friday, August 3, 2007 Northern frontier wide open for women athletes
Sounds straightforward, but both members of the defending men's doubles team happened to be women. They play in the NWT Open's men's division because, as Tennis NWT president Fran Hurcomb put it, "They're good, that's why." Two decades ago, 11-year-old Justine Blainey of Toronto was playing on a girls hockey team, but found she just wasn't being challenged enough. Moving on to a boys team was a logical next step, but it took a four-year legal battle and a Supreme Court of Canada decision to get the Metro Toronto Hockey League to allow her in. One of the great things about life in the North is that it doesn't take a Supreme Court decision for common sense to prevail. We jettison arbitrary rules all the time that don't make sense given our unique geographical and sociocultural situation. So kudos to Tennis NWT for not making a federal case out of the situation, and congratulations to Irene Vasa and Nicole Terrier for keeping the men's doubles title in the NWT.
Energy plan good for Yk
Council is pushing ahead with its plan to set the EnerGuide for Houses (EGH) 80 standard as the benchmark for new residential construction in the city. Ontario and a few other communities have already adopted this voluntary federal standard, so it's likely only a matter of time before any holdouts are dragged along - kicking and screaming though they may be. The EGH 80 requirements make sense for homeowners and the planet. With a 95 per cent energy efficiency rating, the city estimates such homes will be 40 per cent more efficient than the average new homes now being built in Yellowknife thanks to greatly reduced air leakage. That means reduced heating costs to the tune of as much as $1,400 a year. But EGH 80 also makes sense for the North. There's more insulation and better windows in these homes which in our climate is never a bad thing. Back in May, several manufactured home builders - including Yellowknife-based Homes North - threatened to stop serving the city's new home needs, citing shipping woes and increased costs. We hope they reconsider and apply their design and marketing experience to make the new standard attractive to homebuyers. There will always be buyers for well-built, energy efficient homes. Council should be commended for it leadership.
Living with bison Editorial Comment Roxanna Thompson Deh Cho Drum Thursday, August 02, 2007 They include dealing with cold and lengthy winter seasons and having long distances to drive before reaching other communities. Somewhere in the sizable list that could be compiled is sharing a living space with wild animals.
This sounds a bit strange but it is all too true. You will know all about this if you have ever accidentally left a garbage bag outside unprotected and returned later to find ravens tearing it apart in search for food. Human residents of the North have to co-exist with animal residents such as ravens and black bears. There are also the bison. A number of communities in the Deh Cho including Fort Liard, Fort Providence and Nahanni Butte have the dubious distinction of counting bison among their neighbours. As the largest land mammal in North America, bison can weigh anywhere between 550 to 1,000 kilograms. Male bison can reach 3.8 metres in length and more than 1.8 metres in height. In the Wildlife Division's portion of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources' website they provide a handy overview of the local bison. Among information about historical ranges and current population sizes is a description of what bison like to do. According to the website, "In summer, they can be found in small willow pastures and uplands where they feed on sedges, forbes and willows." What the information page fails to mention is that bison are also fond of communities. Added information could note how bison enjoy creating wallows in sandy areas such as playgrounds and like the vegetation offered by lawns, gardens and airports. According to one gardener they are particularly fond of cabbage. While some people, would say that we're lucky to live near bison considering how they were almost hunted to extinction during the nineteenth century, most of them don't have to deal with the consequences of such a close relationship. Most recently some residents of Fort Liard have had enough of bison. After enduring years of repeated garden trampling, fence breaking and tree deaths, some say that if they see one more bison on their property they will be tempted to take matters into their own hands. It's easy to understand their frustration. If you go to the trouble of coaxing a garden out of the ground up here one of the last things you want is to find bison in it, eating what strikes their fancy and trampling the rest with their big hooves. The same can be said for people who have trees on their properties and see bison destroy them by rubbing against them or knocking them down. While staff with Environment and Natural Resources have a number of measures for removing bison from populated areas and have suggestions for property owners on how to minimize damage, the fact is that they can't guarantee it will never happen. What you're left with is a number of annoyed humans on one side of the ring and a grazing bison, is just doing what bison do, on the other. Unfortunately, there isn't a solution that will suit everyone. You could get rid of all of the bison, which would solve the problem once and for all but wouldn't do much for the bison. Measures should be taken to control the actions of bison, but the reality is humans and bison will just have to co-exist. The occasional garden and the occasional bison may have to be sacrificed to keep the balance.
Could this be the End of the Road? Editorial Comment Dez Loreen Inuvik News Thursday, August 02, 2007 It all started at Gwich'in Territorial park. I was standing there, surrounded by a forest and lichen. The moss was soft to the touch and the mosquitoes were having their way with the back of my neck. Life is pretty relaxing at six in the morning. I couldn't focus on any of my responsibilities and it was hard not to think about the lake. All I could do was stand there, being eaten by a horde of bugs. I think I needed that, because I certainly wasn't going to find that sort of solace in town. The next morning I was back en route to Inuvik. We got back into town and I went to sleep. I woke up later that day and went outside, to take a stroll to the store. I don't know what I was thinking about, but all of a sudden I got this urge to talk about the End of the Road music festival. After talking with some friends about the annual event, we agreed that it should be bigger. Yes, the first years of the festival were something else. Then, the festival was turned over to a society, as the town did not want to run the event. I have to applaud the people who stepped in to hold the festival up, but the weight of the load was too much and cuts were made. Acts were downsized and the whole event seemed to get smaller. I feel sad because there are so many people in town that gave their all to help the music festival. Countless hours of volunteer work has been done in past years. The society members each work triple shifts so we can enjoy a weekend of live music outside the Mad Trapper. I don't understand why the town ditched the festival. I guess it just became too much to handle. I met a great pair of tourists last week who were in town for the arts festival. They both volunteered to help the event. That's right, they took their leisure time to learn more about the region through volunteering. I can look around town and say with absolute certainty that we are lazy. We don't want to help the music festival, but we're sure ready to show up drunk and bash the organizers for not appealing to all of us. There is a handful of really generous people in town that are getting shafted just because they want to share their love of music. You guys know who you are. Unfortunately, a person can only take so much. The levy has to break somewhere and I think this may be it. Really, Inuvik, let's smarten up and get with the freakin' program. That music festival is next weekend. I know the organizers will need help. I don't want to hear any excuses about how you couldn't show up and set up chairs or sell drinks. All you community-minded businesses out there, spend some money on this festival. Sponsor a band. One of my favourite bands is not on the list this year because of cost cutting. Join the music festival society, tell your friends and let's make something of the music festival. If we don't do anything to help keep this ship afloat, we'll end up looking back at the End of the Road music festival as a fond memory, like the old Delta Daze kiddie carnivals at Dave Jones arena. Oh Inuvik, I thought you were cool.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007 Great job by top cop, but more has to be done
Editorial Comment Darrell Greer Kivalliq News Wednesday, August 1, 2007 There can be no denying the respect shown to RCMP Sgt. Gavin Nash as he leaves Rankin Inlet for his new position in the nation's capital this coming Friday, Aug. 3. And, make no mistake about it, the respect is well-deserved. Now in my ninth year with the Kivalliq News, Nash is the best detachment head I've seen at casting aside the us-versus-them mentality which all too often rules Northern police stations. That's not a slight towards any of Nash's predecessors in Rankin. It is simply an observation, accurate to my way of thinking. Nash changed the RCMP in Rankin from a detachment of cops to a group of officers involved with community policing. Not only was that a refreshing change of pace, it was also a taste of how effective that approach to policing can be in building relationships in a community. It's nice to see people in your community stopping to chat with the officers, waving when they pass, and simply feeling comfortable around those who wear a badge and carry a gun for a living. There are many communities in this great nation of ours that have never had that type of a relationship with their police force. Nash also gets full marks for the relationship he established between the detachment and hamlet council during his stay in Rankin. There are few who would argue against the notion that it was one of the better working relationships of the past decade between the two. Also on the plus side of his tenure are the gains made against drinking and driving, illegal drugs and alcohol in Rankin during the past 22 months. In short, Nash is leaving big boots to fill for the next detachment head and we can only hope that person is up to the task. However, challenges do remain in Rankin. Youth vandalism and theft are out of control in the hamlet and more has to be done to alleviate that problem. And, while an argument can be made that's as much a community problem as a policing issue, the police must set the tone in sending out the message that this type of behaviour will not be tolerated in our community. Granted, that it's not always easy with how the courts deal with young offenders, but that's a topic for another day. Outside of vandalism, the biggest complaints heard on a consistent basis stem from issues that, arguably, reflect as much on hamlet council and bylaw enforcement as they do our police force. There are still many people fed up with ATVs racing around at 3 a.m., a number of which are controlled by very young drivers. Others still grumble about the double standard they see when some can seemingly drive around forever without a helmet -- or with their machine obviously overloaded with passengers -- and never receive the attention others get from the authorities. These may seem like minor issues, but they always are until someone gets seriously hurt or worse. Maybe Nash will come up with a few ideas to tackle those issues in his new position as a policy analyst with the National Aboriginal Police Service. Based on what we've seen in the past, we wouldn't bet against him.
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