Features

Attending village council meetings doesn't rank highly on most people's list of how to spend their Monday evenings. The meetings, however, provide an instructive and sometimes humorous insight into the inner workings of a small village and the challenges of living in the North.

A perfect example of what makes life in the North distinctive from many areas in the south was brought up at the most recent council meeting on Sept. 4.

During one of his regular senior administrative officer reports, Tom Matus noted that he was in contact with staff from CIBC to look into the possibility of obtaining a bank machine for the branch in the village. The request was in reply to a letter to council from a resident who wanted to see if the village would have more success than he did with getting an ATM.

Most people, especially across southern Canada, upon hearing that a community wanted a bank machine in their already existing bank branch would probably imagine this would be a done deal. Ask the bank nicely and one of those grey machines that spits out money in return for your plastic bank card and PIN number would show up in a matter of weeks in the lobby of the bank.

As it turns out, requesting a bank machine in the North can be far more tricky and touchy issue.

After congratulating Matus on his tact with CIBC, Coun. Candy Brown had a warning to give.

"Be careful guys, don't let them pull the bank," said Brown.

Coun. Tom Wilson expanded on this comment by relating how during the last occasion CIBC was asked about providing a bank machine the company said that if they were pressed they would pull the whole branch out of Fort Simpson. CIBC also stated that it wasn't economically viable to provide that service, said Wilson.

While saying that the reason the village can't have a bank machine is because economics won't allow it is one thing, threatening to close the bank is quite another. That's the kind of tactic you'd expect from a small child who's been asked to share his toys and is willing to give up his least favourite, but it's that or nothing.

Such a response, however, is something that people who live in the North in small communities have to contend with.

In places like Fort Simpson most businesses have a monopoly on the services they offer. As a result, when they feel like it, the businesses can act on a whim and residents have little choice but to live with the results. Having competition would be nice but most communities don't have the population to support it.

In general Fort Simpson doesn't have much to complain about.

The village has a bank branch, something that is missing in the other communities in the Deh Cho. There are also two other ATMs available in the community although they exact a fee each time you use them.

Maybe this time CIBC will come back with a different response and a bank machine will appear at the branch, but if it doesn't it will be just another item to chalk up on the list of costs of living in the North.

We can all get lost in the allure of gambling. I'm sure there isn't a person in this town who would turn down a sure bet.

Yes, gambling has its grip on us and it doesn't seem like we want to be let free. Not until we take that big win.

Each week I talk with my poker pals about their latest marathon session.

Nearly all of the time, one of my closest chums says he lost big; borrowed some more cash and lost that too. It doesn't take a math teacher to see that the loss outweighs the gains.

This past weekend there was a poker tournament in Dawson City. Oh yes, the Yukon's big easy; an old-time shoot'em up burg with the finest casino in the land.

I talked with a few of my friends who took the trip to Dawson City. They said it was a hootin' hollerin' good time with all the poker the eye could see.

They said that there were so many people there, it was intimidating. Real players, with real cash.

Now, this is where I want to clarify, I don't know a straight from a flush. My poker face gives me away nine times out of 10 and I don't have a strategy.

Yes, I am the perfect patsy and a prime target for casinos and gambling halls. I also don't know when to quit, I think it's in my blood to come back for another beating after I know I'm done.

This is where I know I'm not alone. Experiencing that high of ups and downs is what life is all about. Busted one minute and flush the next. It's a roller coaster of emotions.

See, gambling feeds off the greed and desperation of good people, like you and me.

I know that if lady luck holds my hand, I feel invincible. The thing about her is she gets around. Everyone has a good hand once in a while, or rolls the perfect dice.

Some people don't stop when they should. There, I said it. Just like all of the other vices, moderation is key in this case.

I don't have beef with the people who stay within their means and can spare a few hundred dollars to blow.

I don't like it when I see people so down on their luck that they need to borrow more money, or hock their watches. There are lows with gambling not unlike anything else.

There are serious repercussions to excessive gambling. Maybe their kids go without a snack because their parents lost the money.

You always hear horror stories about people in the south who lost the big win and let everyone down.

I saw an ad on TV, about just this subject. It was called the yellow flag campaign. Think of it like a reality check.

In the ads I saw, a blackjack dealer confronts the gambler with real questions, about being broke, paying bills and other nagging responsibilities.

Once in a while, we all need a wake-up call. Something to bring us back to the real world.

You don't need to spend all your change on those scratch tickets. No, you don't really need another stack of peel-back nevadas either. But it's fun. I can't deny that.

I don't have beef with fun, just make sure you are aware that there is a line. Set good examples for the youth of our community. Show them that there is more to a good weekend than gambling.

As long as we're all betting on a good, well structured future for our young generations, we're all winners.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

After reading last week's horror story of what Chris Hammerberg went through after falling ill on the street, it would be easy to label the people who passed by him callous and cold.

To do so would be to deny what Yellowknifers see every day in their city - people lying drunk on the ground in alleys, bank lobbies, sidewalk benches and front door steps.

So often have we witnessed these people, we have become indifferent. So indifferent in fact, the RCMP have reportedly been discouraged from laying public drunkenness charges. So indifferent, a former city councillor and high level civil servant who fell down in a store was similarly ignored (See Letters to the Editor Sept. 7, 2007).

By condemning indifferent passersby, are we suggesting women walking alone should nudge the lifeless body in the bank lobby to see if they are drunk or sick? What if they are drunk and angry at being woken from their alcohol slumber? Who then is in jeopardy?

If there were not so many people passed out on Yellowknife streets, those truly in distress would be easily spotted.

The point should be made that any one lying in the street is in distress and needs help, drunk or not, especially in the North's deadly cold. In fact, last January, after much delay getting funding in place, a program called Community Patrol Services was launched downtown.

Two volunteers were to begin patrolling city streets from 6 to 11 p.m. on weekends, looking for people who might need help. Those people, and you can bet the majority if not all would be hopelessly drunk, could be taken to either to the hospital, the Salvation Army, the Centre for Northern Families, or a friend or family member's house.

Two volunteers giving up their weekends, a tiny budget, intoxicated people falling down on the streets every day, all week long - not much of a commitment from the community at large to what is obviously a chronic problem. The experience of Hammerberg reveals yet another dangerous consequence.

The Community Patrol Services concept is one of those solutions that makes sense to everyone but the people who control the budgets. There has been no cost accounting done of people lying in the streets so it's easy to dismiss it as a line item. Usually the surface consequences don't go beyond the individual lying there and the Yellowknifers walking by who have to look at them. It's too easy not to put a cost to human misery and mean streets that greet visitors and correspondents from national publications.

You can bet these hidden costs are far greater than a well-funded and staffed Community Patrol Services would be.

Until that happens, Yellowknifers will continue to be disgusted by the sight of bodies lying crumpled on the street. They will become indifferent because nothing is ever done about it.

And those lying stricken by a medical emergency, run the huge risk of deep humiliation at least, a life threatening if not fatal situation at most.

If Hammerberg's story does anything, let it be to encourage people to make a phone call to the police, fire department or ambulance. Yes, it might be a drunk lying there. Indifferent Yellownifers can take some comfort knowing the drunk's slumber will be disturbed which might discourage a repeat. Or, they might save a person's life. Either way, it's worth a call. The next calls can be to your mayor, city councillor and your MLA.

We all have fears in our lives.

Some of us don't like heights, some can't be around creepy-crawly things and others will walk out of their way to avoid passing in front of a dog.

For others the fear of failure drives them to be obsessed with success, and some stay single out of their fear of rejection.

As adults, we can usually get away with taking strides to avoid those things that make our tummies churn and our hearts pump faster.

But, there are times we cannot escape our fears.

You can probably remember being in such a situation yourself.

You remember how, as your date with destiny approached, you became more preoccupied with the encounter you were dreading.

You would catch yourself thinking about it whether you were at work or home, rest or play.

And, you can remember the tremendous sense of relief you felt when it was over, no matter how good or bad the encounter played out.

Now imagine you had to live with that fear every day.

The night provides no relief because you know you will return to your place of misery the next day.

Imagine how that could distort your view of the world at a young age. Sadly, there are more than a few reading this who don't have to imagine it.

They've lived it.

They are the ones who were bullied as youth -- every day a nightmarish mix of negative emotions such as fear, shame, isolation and an ever-lowering sense of self-worth.

Bullying remains a problem in today's society and, if anything, it's growing worse.

We have far too many kids, right here in our own communities, who fear attending school every day.

Even worse, these kids are all too aware of the stigma attached to a victim of bullying and don't know where to turn for advice. I rarely promote any website in this space, but I recently became aware of a site that deals with the bullying problem in Canada.

It can be found at bullycanada.ca.

The site not only offers advice to victims of bullying, it can also help bystanders to a bullying act, as well as bullies themselves.

The site is informative, run by volunteers, and provides a wealth of information to those described above, as well as parents, teachers and others who deal with children on a daily basis.

Visitors can even sign up to receive a newsletter.

Bullying is not a minor problem that will simply go away if you just stand up for yourself.

Contrary to what some people think, not all bullies are cowards and many invite a physical confrontation.

Bullying remains a problem in our schools that too many people, unfortunately, still refuse to take seriously.

Websites like this one can't provide a magic solution to every situation, but they can provide useful tips and insights into the problem.

If nothing else, some time on the site will give you a greater appreciation of how tough a problem bullying can be, and what some kids go through while trying to cope.

It's a problem we must all work at together if we're ever to see its demise.